Eero now offers its 6 Pro Mesh Wi-Fi in a two-pack

Eero Pro 6 now offers a two-pack for purchase, for when you need a little more, but not that much more. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge

As of this week, you can finally pick up a two-pack of Eero Pro 6 mesh Wi-Fi 6 routers for under $400. The move by the Amazon-owned company gives you more price-palatable choices for upgrading your existing Wi-Fi router to a faster, more powerful option.

First announced when the Eero Pro 6 launched last year, the two-pack is now available through Amazon and Best Buy (although weirdly not on Eero’s own site). And currently, both sites are offering an extra 20 percent off for Prime and Best Buy members through September 28th. That means for around $320 you can blanket up to a 3,500-square-foot home in speedy Wi-Fi goodness using this tri-band, Wi-Fi 6 mesh router. (The single unit and three-pack also are currently discounted.)

Previously,...

Continue reading…

The Verge Guide to the iPhone

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Vergge

_The Verge_guide to the iPhoneis a comprehensive list of how-tos that will help you be the best iPhone user you can be. Buying a new iPhone 13? Updating to iOS 15? Or carefully sticking with iOS 14? We’ve got helpful hints for you.

If you to upgrade to the latest iPhone, we explain the difference between the various models, tell you how to sell or trade in your old phone, and teach you how to wipe all of your personal information when you do hand it over.

We offer you tips and tricks on how to make the most of your phone and the apps that populate it. Want to move all of your data to your brand-new phone? Need to replace a failing battery? Nervous about installing the latest version of iOS before it’s completely safe? Here is...

Continue reading…

How Fuck You Pay Me is empowering creators

Photo Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge

Information is power

Continue reading…

The NFT scammers are here

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Collectors have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of NFTs; sometimes, the community helps claw them back

Continue reading…

Tumblr’s subscription feature is now open to everyone in the US

Post Plus for gamer content. | Image: Tumblr

Tumblr is expanding the beta for its Post Plus subscription feature to all users in the US today. Post Plus, similar to Twitter’s Super Follows, allows creators to designate some of their posts as only for paying subscribers. Tumblr is planning a full launch of the feature later in the fall.

Tumblr has made some changes since the limited beta that started in July. Post Plus creators can now directly block people who subscribe to them. Creators previously had to contact Tumblr support if they wanted to block a subscriber, which raised concerns among users.

There’s now an option to set a subscription price to $1.99 a month, in addition to the existing $3.99, $5.99, or $9.99 options. Creators can go back and paywall existing content,...

Continue reading…

AI might help edit the next generation of blockbusters

Artist: William Joel

The next few Tuesdays, The Verge’s flagship podcast The Vergecast is showcasing a miniseries dedicated to the use of artificial intelligence in industries that are often overlooked, hosted by Verge senior reporter Ashley Carman. This week, the series focuses on AI for the video world.

More specifically, we’re looking at how AI is being used as a tool to help people streamline the process of creating video content. Yes, this might mean software taking on a bigger role in the very human act of creativity, but what if instead of replacing us, machine learning tools could be used to assist our work?

That’s what Scott Prevost, VP of Adobe Sensei — Adobe’s machine learning platform — envisions for Adobe’s AI products. “Sensei was founded on...

Continue reading…

One of our favorite gaming laptops is $330 off at Dell today

Normally $1,230, Dell is offering the G5 15 SE right now for 27 percent off. | Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge

Our review of the Dell G5 15 SE cemented it as one of our favorite gaming laptops of last year. More than a year later, however, this laptop still packs plenty of power and its most powerful configuration is available at Dell for just $900. While Dell’s gaming laptops typically use Intel-based architecture, the G15 SE instead relies entirely on AMD hardware. A Ryzen 7 4800H CPU capable of delivering speeds up to 4.2 GHz and a 6GB RX 5600M GPU deliver excellent performance for 1080p gaming. While we weren’t thrilled with the aesthetics of this laptop, we couldn’t argue with the overall performance.

A favorite among Verge staffers, our review of the Xbox Elite Series 2 should give you some idea about how much we love this controller....

Continue reading…

iPhone 13 review: yep, bigger batteries are better

So are bigger cameras

Continue reading…

Fitbit Charge 5 review: touchscreen fatigue

The hardware is nice, but no physical button is a big step back

Continue reading…

iPhone 13 Pro review: a better display, the best camera, and incredible battery life

Smooth operators

Continue reading…

Amazon’s new Kindle Paperwhite adds a bigger screen, longer battery life, and USB-C

Amazon is refreshing the Kindle Paperwhite for the first time in nearly three years with an updated model, adding a bigger 6.8-inch E-Ink display that’s brighter and has adjustable color temperature, USB-C charging, a faster processor, and weeks more in battery life.

The current Kindle Paperwhite has been Amazon’s best e-reader since it was released nearly three years ago, and Amazon isn’t messing with the formula too much. The new model’s design is similar to the old one, with a flush-mounted display, built-in backlight, 300 PPI resolution for crisp text, and IPX8 waterproofing.

Finally, a USB-C Kindle

The new model, however, looks to improve on virtually every aspect of the e-reader. The battery has been boosted from six weeks to...

Continue reading…

PayPal’s updated app helps it act more like your bank account

Image: PayPal

PayPal is updating its mobile app with a new visual design, support for a high-yield savings account, and a way to find coupons in-app. In the past, the company prioritized sending and receiving money and cryptocurrencies, but its new app is trying to be a little bit of everything to everyone, and it’s available today.

The immediately noticeable change is a visual one. The old payment-focused PayPal app put sending and receiving money at the forefront, with your account balance the first thing you see when you open the app. The PayPal app’s new “homepage” is a dashboard of sorts with quick access to your balance, the amount of crypto you own, and your frequent contacts. It sorts other options under dedicated tabs and hubs.

Direct...

Continue reading…

HP’s Spectre x360 16 uses AI to make you look glamorous on video calls

This is the HP Spectre x360 16. | HP

HP makes some of the most gorgeous laptops you can buy, and its Spectre line is the most beautiful of them all. But the new Spectre x360 16, a 16-inch 2-in-1 touchscreen laptop, will flip that dynamic around. Not only is this laptop beautiful — this laptop wants to make _you_beautiful.

That’s the idea, at least. The Spectre x360 16, starting at $1,639, is the first 16-inch laptop to include an “integrated, intelligent” 5MP webcam, HP claims. But that’s not all. It also comes with a program called — and I love this name — HP GlamCam. It’s not entirely clear what GlamCam will do, but HP claims that one of its main features, Beauty Mode, will “touch up skin, teeth, and eyes” during video calls. The goal, HP says, is to “keep your focus on...

Continue reading…

Slack launches clips, video messages that help you avoid meetings

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Slack is launching its new clips feature today, allowing coworkers to record video messages that exist in Slack channels. Clips supports audio from a microphone, alongside video and screen recordings. They’re designed to help teams communicate across various time zones, and cut down on the amount of meetings that are now taking place in a hybrid work era.

In addition to clips, Slack is also expanding Slack Connect to allow paid organization to partner with companies on free plans. It’s also announcing GovSlack that will run in a government-certified cloud environment when it launches in 2022.

Clips can be shared in channels or through DMs on Slack, and they even include live captions and a transcript that’s searchable in the Slack...

Continue reading…

HP’s new all-in-one has an ultrawide display and an RTX 3080 GPU

The ultrawide all-in-one with its magnetically attached webcam. | Image: HP

HP’s new Envy 34-inch All-In-One Desktop PC is a self-contained Windows 11 machine that’s available with comparable specs to a standalone gaming PC. It has a large 34-inch ultrawide IPS display (5120 x 2160), which can be powered by Nvidia’s RTX 3080 GPU and Intel’s 11th Gen Core i9 processor.

Externally, the all-in-one is also equipped with a number of neat quality-of-life features. It’s got a magnetically-attached 16-megapixel webcam which can be reoriented to sit on any of the monitor’s four sides, and a 15W Qi wireless charger built into the stand to charge your phone or other compatible accessories.

Image: HP

The PC’s stand has a Qi wireless charger built in.

Image: HP

The webcam...

Continue reading…

Launch startups Astra and Firefly ink secret rocket engine IP deal

Firefly’s Reaver engine being test-fired. | Image: Firefly Aerospace

A roughly $30 million handshake between two rivals is the latest display of consolidation in the small launch industry

Continue reading…

Microsoft gets ready to launch the Surface Pro 8 I’ve been waiting years for

The Surface Pro design has remained mostly the same since 2014. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Microsoft is planning to launch its latest Surface Pro 8 tablet tomorrow. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans tell The Verge that the new Surface Pro 8 will ship with the biggest hardware design and specification changes since the Surface Pro 3 launch more than seven years ago. The Surface Pro 8 looks like the Surface Pro redesign I’ve long waited for.

Microsoft is planning to bring most of the sleek design elements of the Surface Pro X to the Surface Pro 8. The tablet itself will be more rounded at the edges, and a new Surface keyboard will house a new slim Surface Pen inside just like the Pro X does. While the display bezels at the top and bottom of the Surface Pro 8 won’t be fully eliminated, they will be a lot smaller and nearly...

Continue reading…

Snap has new Lenses that show users how to fingerspell in American Sign Language

Snap

To mark the International Week of the Deaf, Snapchat has created custom stickers and three AR Lenses to encourage users to fingerspell, the company said Tuesday.

The new features were designed by incorporating feedback and guidance from deaf and hard-of-hearing employees at the company, and using AI and computer vision technology developed by Hungarian startup SignAll, which focuses on technology for deaf people. SignAll has developed technology that can be used to track hand movements to translate sign language into spoken language. The company launched fingerspelling mobile app Ace ASL for iOS in April, and for Android earlier this month.

The new Snap features were also driven internally by Snap Lab software engineer Jennica Pounds,...

Continue reading…

Comcast and UK subsidiary Sky reportedly launching smart TVs

Comcast appears to be planning to offer TVs running its own software across at least two territories, according to recent reports from Protocoland The Financial Times.

In the US, the TVs will reportedly be branded as XClass TVs. Originally manufactured by Hisense, the 43 and 50-inch sets will run Comcast’s X1 operating system, which is already found on its set-top boxes and Xfinity Flex streaming box. An Xfinity landing site confirms the “XClass TV” branding, while an FAQ spotted by Protocol says they’ll aggregate “your favorite apps, live channels, and On Demand movies and shows together in one place.”

“Apps, live channels, and On Demand movies and shows together in one place”

Meanwhile in the UK, Comcast subsidiary Sky is reportedly...

Continue reading…

Netflix launches free, first-of-its-kind Android mobile plan in Kenya

Image: Netflix

Netflix is launching a new free Android mobile plan in Kenya that will allow users to watch a limited selection of its catalog, including full seasons of select shows.

Netflix announced that beginning this week, the new ad-free Netflix mobile plan for Android gives users the option to sign up without having to enter any payment information (though they’ll need to verify that they’re 18 or older and will still need to submit an email address to create a login).

Netflix hopes users will upgrade to a paid subscription

A Netflix spokesperson confirmed to The Verge that it’s the first time the streamer has offered a free tier. Roughly a quarter of its library will be included in the free plan, and users on this tier will be able to watch...

Continue reading…

So Snoop Dogg just claimed to be a prominent NFT booster

Snoop Dogg, the famous rapper, tweeted on Monday that he’s the one behind a Twitter account that discusses NFTs. Yes, this really is a thing that’s happened. While Snoop Dogg has released NFTs before, that’s not really anything new for celebrities — running a Twitter account that constantly tweets about crypto, and owning around a hundred of the crypto tokens, however, would be another level. Is this reveal real? A prank? It’s unclear, but it sure is interesting.

@CozomoMedici (seemingly named after a prominent Renaissance-era Italian banker) is a Twitter account that’s amassed quite a few followers in the month or two it’s been active and talking about crypto. Part of what’s made the account splashy is that it’s seemingly spent...

Continue reading…

iOS 15 is here, but we’re still waiting on a few new features

Photo by Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge

Apple’s iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 are finally here, but not all of the features announced at WWDC have made it alongside them. We looked through Apple’s product pages for each OS to find the features that have yet to show up on iPhones and iPads, such as SharePlay, improved AirPod Find My support, Universal Control, and more. Except for Universal Control, which isn’t for iPhones (yet), every feature listed is missing from both platforms.

Perhaps the most prominent missing feature is SharePlay, which lets users watch videos or listen to music with friends on a FaceTime call. Apple warned us (and developers) about the delay after removing SharePlay from beta tests, but it’s still a bit awkward given how significant the feature looked at first....

Continue reading…

How to fix Deathloop ‘stuttering’ on PC

Deathloopis the big triple-A game of the moment, and it’s an amazing experience — assuming you’re not fighting your gaming PC to get it to run smoothly. Bethesda is aware, and a patch seems to be on the way. But as Digital Foundry’s Alex Battaglia explains in this in-depth video, there may be a few things you can try right now to fix it, including one weird, counterintuitive trick that instantly made my seemingly stuttery performance smooth.

Here’s the TL;DR.

• Obvious: Reduce your quality settings
• **Far less obvious:**Try the beta hotfix: “juliannashotme” in Steam > Deathloop > Properties > Betas
• **Counterintuitive:**Lock your framerate at 60 or 120fps

Let’s start with that last one, because it’s what worked for me — and it may be the...

Continue reading…

Now the SEC is investigating Activision Blizzard too

Image: Blizzard

The list of government agencies investigating Activision Blizzard has grown to now include the SEC. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission has subpoenaed the video game publishing giant, including CEO Bobby Kotick, for records pertaining to employment, separation agreements, and communications between senior executives. The Wall Street Journal report says that the SEC is investigating whether Activision Blizzard disclosed information about harassment and discrimination claims to investors in a timely fashion.

Two months ago, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued Activision Blizzard for facilitating a culture of abuse, harassment, and discrimination. The suit alleges that...

Continue reading…

OpenSea has an app, but you can’t buy NFTs on it

Image: OpenSea

OpenSea, one of the most popular NFT marketplaces, has launched its first app for iOS and Android. The app allows OpenSea users to view the platform’s collection of digital items, but notably doesn’t allow for any kind of money to change hands, digital or otherwise (via TechCrunch).

The OpenSea app basically works as a kind of gallery. You can browse artwork, share listings you find, and lovingly ogle and manage your own NFTs. The app shares a lot of the same blue and white stylings of the OpenSea site, just missing the button that says “Buy Now.”

There are a couple possible reasons why actual NFT purchases are missing. At the most obvious, highest level, OpenSea probably doesn’t want to share a 30 percent cut of NFT transactions with...

Continue reading…

Microsoft’s Surface hardware event: rumors, news, and announcements

A variety of new hardware updates are expected from Microsoft. | Image: Microsoft

The event kicks off at 11AM ET / 8AM PT on September 22nd

Continue reading…

Tom Hanks embraces two of man’s best friends in the trailer for Finch

Image: Apple TV Plus

Tom Hanks is set to return to Apple TV Plus in Finch, a soon-to-debut feature film about a robotics engineer surviving a new post-apocalyptic world with his four-legged companion Goodyear (and a robot).

The heart of Finch’s storyline centers on Hanks’ determination to find a caretaker for Goodyear after his death. The science-fiction drama takes place after a solar flare that devastated life on earth. Finch, the engineer, has been surviving a post-apocalyptic wasteland for a decade in an underground bunker, where he lives with his dog Goodyear — a very good boy and Finch’s only companion after the catastrophic event.

In this underground workspace, Finch develops a robot, Jeff, with whom they’ll embark on a treacherous journey to beat a...

Continue reading…

Senate Democrats call on FTC to fix data privacy ‘crisis’

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Senate Democrats are calling on the Federal Trade Commission to write new rules to protect consumer data privacy in a new letter to the agency authored on Monday.

The letter, led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and signed by eight other Democratic senators, was sent to FTC Chair Lina Khan Monday, calling on the agency to “begin a rulemaking process” on privacy. Specifically, the senators are requesting that the FTC pen new rules addressing privacy, civil rights, and the collection of consumer data.

“Consumer privacy has become a consumer crisis”

“Consumer privacy has become a consumer crisis,” the lawmakers wrote. “Tech companies have routinely broken their promises to consumers and neglected their legal obligations, only to receive...

Continue reading…

Coinbase cancels Lend program launch after SEC fight

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Crypto exchange Coinbase has discontinued its plans to launch a Lend feature designed to let customers earn interest on certain coins as reported by Bloomberg. The company announced the change by updating a blog post from late June, saying that it would also be discontinuing the waitlist that it had set up for the feature.

The cancellation comes after Coinbase received legal warnings about the feature from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Earlier this month, Coinbase said that it would be delaying the now-canceled feature “until at least October.”

Coinbase promised that the Lend feature would offer users a 4 percent APY return if they let the company make loans to “verified borrowers” with it. The company planned to the...

Continue reading…

GM says defect-free Bolt batteries are in production

Image: Chevy

LG is once again making batteries for the Chevy Bolt, and General Motors says that it worked closely with the South Korean conglomerate to make sure the new cells are free of defects that have led to at lest a dozen fires in the automaker’s electric vehicle and a massive recall. GM says it will start swapping the new batteries into Bolt EVs in October, though it did not say when it will restart production of brand new versions of the electric car.

Owners of older Bolts (model years 2017 to 2019) will have all the modules in their battery packs swapped for new ones. Owners of newer models may only get individual modules changed out, GM said.

GM said Monday that it will also have dealers start installing new diagnostic software on Bolts...

Continue reading…