The Verge
Forza Horizon 5 is the best road trip ever
And the best Forza Horizon yet
The VergeThe VergeThe Verge Holiday Gift Guide 2021
Illustration by Richard Parry
Shop our curated guide for everyone in your life
The VergeNintendo’s early Black Friday deals on games and consoles kick off November 21st
Photo by James Bareham / The Verge
Nintendo has shared the slate of early Black Friday deals it’ll offer starting on Sunday, November 21st. Like last year, the main attraction is the standard Nintendo Switch console that includes _Mario Kart 8 Deluxe_and a three-month individual membership to Nintendo Switch Online. It all costs $299.99. Nintendo didn’t share whether the Switch console included is the V2 model with improved battery life, but last year’s Black Friday promotion included the V2. Still, we’ve reached out to Nintendo for confirmation. We’ll also be on the lookout for which retailers will offer this holiday bundle.
Several games will receive $20 discounts, including ones that don’t commonly see such a big price drop. Those include Xenoblade Chronicles:...
The VergeDisney Plus is upgrading Marvel movies to IMAX aspect ratio
Disney and IMAX have announced a collaboration that will see several Marvel movies presented in IMAX’s Expanded Aspect Ratio format on Disney Plus. 13 MCU movies in total will be upgraded to IMAX Enhanced on November 12th, including Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which is making its debut on the service that day.
While IMAX traditionally uses a squarer 1.43:1 format, Expanded Aspect Ratio is 1.90:1, which is relatively close to the 16:9 ratio of TVs. Marvel movies are generally presented in wider, letterboxed aspect ratios, but many of them feature some 1.90:1 sequences captured with IMAX-certified cameras for a taller picture in IMAX theaters. Avengers: Infinity War and _Endgame,_meanwhile, were shot entirely in the format.
...
The VergeElon Musk, world’s richest edgelord, responds to billionaire tax with another stupid tweet
Elon Musk responds to US Senator Ron Wyden on his plans to tax billionaires.
Is it fair that the world’s richest people pay so little in tax? That in a time of extreme inequality, those that have so much contribute so little in proportion to their vast wealth? These are the questions motivating US Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, who’s been calling for new taxes on billionaires.
Is it fair that the democracy I live in might have some demands of me? How can I prove that I’m super edgy and totally unfazed by the prospect of paying more tax? These are the questions apparently motivating Elon Musk, who replied to a tweet from Wyden by asking why the senator looks like he’s just orgasmed in his profile picture.
Why does ur pp look like u just came?
— Lorde Edge (@elonmusk) November 7, 2021
Musk’s crude tweet caps a...
The VergeMetal Gear games are temporarily disappearing from digital stores
Screenshot: Metal Gear Solid 2
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater are disappearing from digital storefronts today, while Konami renews the licenses for the “historical archive footage” they contain, their publisher has announced. Although the removals are temporary, Konami’s statement doesn’t give a timeline for when the games might return to affected storefronts. “We sincerely ask for your patience and understanding as we work towards making these products available for purchase once again,” the publisher said.
The removals affect various digital re-releases of the two games, which originally came out in 2001 and 2004. These include the PS3, Xbox 360, PlayStation Vita, and Nvidia Shield TV remasters of both games, the Nintendo 3DS...
The VergeDisney Plus is giving away a month for $2 for new and returning streamers
Image: Disney
Disney Plus is offering a pretty killer deal for streamers who may have left or have yet to try its service. For new and eligible returning subscribers, one month of Disney Plus will cost just $2.
The offer is one of several promotions the service has announced as part of its anticipated Disney Plus Day event taking place November 12th. In addition to offering a month of its service to eligible users for dirt cheap, subscribers can take advantage of special perks at its parks on Disney Plus Day. The perks include early entry to parks 30 minutes before opening at the Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort, as well as free Disney PhotoPass photo downloads.
On the retail front, new merch will hit ShopDisney from across Disney...
The VergeNew Trailers: The Power of the Dog, Moonfall, Morbius, The Book of Boba Fett and more
Benedict Cumberbatch stars in The Power of the Dog, coming to Netflix December 1st. | Netflix
I have noticed this irritating thing where more and more trailers have a scene to introduce the trailer. It is already an introduction! You are wasting precious seconds telling me what I’m about to see instead of just showing me!
OK end rant. I finished my (late) binge of Maid on Netflix and am now really interested to read the book. It may have been one of the most realistic descriptions of poverty I’ve ever seen, where even the smallest setback can have a devastating effect, and you’re painfully aware of every penny you earn and where it’s going to go before you even get paid. Also The Morning Show finally had a good, return-to-form episode with Ruthless Cory, Spiraling Chip, and Awful Alex each at their peak. The best scene, though,...
The VergeGoogle explains why the Pixel 6’s fingerprint scanner may be sluggish
There’s a lot to rave about with the Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, but their fingerprint scanners are not among those things. Since the Pixel 6 release in October, users have been complaining about its sluggish, unreliable fingerprint scanner that makes the phone a hassle to unlock. Google has finally responded to those complaints, and while it provided an explanation, it didn’t really offer any solid solution (via Engadget).
We're sorry for the hassle. The Pixel 6 fingerprint sensor utilizes enhanced security algorithms. In some instances, these added protections can take longer to verify or require more direct contact with the sensor. Try troubleshooting steps: https://t.co/uTbifE5Uyo. Thanks. ^Levi
— Made By Google (@madebygoogle) N...
The VergeSpaceX Crew-3 launch delayed again, this time to November 10th
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon | Image: NASA / Joel Kowsky
The SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station has been delayed again, this time to November 10th at 9:03PM ET, NASA said Sunday. Although NASA had originally planned to have a changing of the guard with the Crew-2 astronauts greeting the Crew-3 team before Crew-2 departed, the space agency has decided to return the Crew 2 to Earth first, pushing that mission from Sunday to Monday, November 8th at 2:05PM ET, because of weather concerns.
Wednesday so far has an 80 percent chance of favorable weather for liftoff, SpaceX noted in a tweet on Sunday. If all goes to plan the craft will take off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and dock with the ISS at about 7:10PM ET on November 11th.
Following Crew-2’s return to Earth,...
The VergeMicrosoft says it will end OneDrive updates to Windows 7 and 8 in March
Image by Alex Castro / The Verge
Microsoft says OneDrive users on Windows, 7, 8, or 8.1 will be unable to sync their content to the cloud starting on March 1st, 2022, according to a blog post on its Tech Community forum. OneDrive will also no longer receive updates if it’s running on a system that doesn’t have Windows 10 or Windows 11 installed.
Files will still be accessible from the OneDrive app no matter what version of Windows you’re using — they’ll just no longer automatically upload to the cloud. To avoid any issues with OneDrive, Microsoft recommends upgrading to a newer version of Windows before March of next year. As for systems that aren’t able to run Windows 10 or Windows 11, Microsoft says that users can still back up their files by uploading them to the...
The VergeNetflix will reportedly make games available via the App Store on iOS
Image: Netflix
Earlier this month, Netflix officially got into gaming by rolling out a mobile game service for Android users. While Netflix says that it's working on an iOS version of the service, _Bloomberg_tech reporter Mark Gurman says that Apple’s App Store policies will prevent Netflix from making games available from its app.
Apple bars third-party apps from functioning as a hub for games, which has become a point of contention with cloud gaming services like Xbox Cloud Gaming, Nvidia GeForce Now, and Google Stadia. Cloud gaming services can only get around this by offering their games through a web app, just like Facebook has already done.
“Apple will need to change its rules or grant Netflix an exemption”
According to Gurman’s latest Power On...
The VergeForza Horizon 5 will add on-screen sign language interpreters in a post-launch update
Forza Horizon 4 will add sign language interpreters to cut scenes in a post-launch update | Playground Games
The developers of Forza Horizon 5 are planning to add on-screen sign language interpreters who would appear in a picture-in-picture display during the game’s cutscenes. The feature won’t be available when the game launches worldwide on November 9th, but Playground Games creative director Mike Brown wrote in a blog post on Xbox Wire that it would be “coming soon.”
“We’re constantly listening to the community to make Forza Horizon 5 an inclusive experience for everyone to enjoy,” Brown said in a blog post on Xbox Wire. “With this in mind, the team is excited to share we are also working on American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL) support for cinematics in Forza Horizon 5.” He didn’t offer an exact release date for the...
The VergeGo read this report about how GM’s deal with Rivian fell apart
Photo by Mitchell Clark / The Verge
A little over two years ago when Rivian’s all-electric vehicles were still just blueprints, American carmakers Ford and GM were itching to invest. Fast-forward to the present, and Ford wound up becoming one of Rivian’s biggest partners alongside Amazon. What most people may not realize, however, is that Ford nearly lost its spot to GM.
This Wall Street Journal report describes some of the clandestine dealings in cinematic detail, and explores how Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe’s bond with Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s former president of global operations, became the foundation of Ford’s investment in the company.
According to the_WSJ_, Hinrichs first met with Scaringe in 2018. But because Ford had just missed its earnings targets, it wasn’t ready to...
The VergeElon Musk polls his Twitter followers to ask if he should sell 10 percent of his Tesla stock
Elon Musk polled his Twitter followers | Photo by PATRICK PLEUL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Tesla CEO and wealthiest person in the world Elon Musk tweeted out a poll Saturday, asking his Twitter followers whether he should sell 10 percent of his stock in the automaker, ostensibly to pay more tax.
“Much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10% of my Tesla stock,” he tweeted. He said in a subsequent tweet that he’d abide by the results of the poll “whichever way it goes.” By Sunday morning, “yes” replies were leading, with 57 percent of more than 3.1 million votes.
I will abide by the results of this poll, whichever way it goes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2021
Musk had been a vocal critic of a proposal to tax unrealized gains on publicly traded assets for some of the...
The VergeNetflix’s Arcane is a slick and exciting intro to League of Legends
Image: Netflix
For years, fans have been wondering just when the heck League of Legends developer Riot would make an animated series. It seemed inevitable. The studio previously created stunning animated shorts to promote everything from new characters to esports tournaments. And with an increasing focus on expanding League’s storytelling — something that’s tough to do within the confines of a team-based strategy game — a show made a whole lot of sense. Now, it’s real, with a nine-episode series called Arcane. The best part: not only is it a lot of fun, but you don’t have to know anything about League to get into it.
Arcane is set (mostly) in a city called Piltover early on, which is on the verge of a big change that could impact the entirety of the...
The VergeWhatsApp may be working on a Communities feature
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Evidence is mounting that WhatsApp may be working on a Communities feature. XDA Developers first spotted the possibility in October, but now WABetaInfo has come forward with similar findings.
According to WABetaInfo, the Communities feature appears to give group admins more power over groups. This includes the ability to create groups within groups, which may be similar to how channels are arranged beneath an umbrella Discord community.
Photo by WABetaInfo
Admins may be able to invite new users via a Community Invite Link and then start messaging other members. It’s hard to tell how exactly these chats might look right now, but WABetaInfo notes that they appear to be end-to-end encrypted.
It also looks like a subtle...
The VergeFacebook reportedly is aware of the level of ‘problematic use’ among its users
More leaked documents suggest Facebook is aware of its problems | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Facebook’s own internal research found 1 in 8 of its users reported compulsive social media use that interfered with their sleep, work, and relationships— what the social media platform calls “problematic use” but is more commonly known as “internet addiction,” the _Wall Street Journal_reported.
The social media platform had a team focused on user well-being, which suggested ways to curb problematic use, some of which were put into place. But the company shut down the team in 2019, according to the WSJ.
Pratiti Raychoudhury, a vice president of research for Meta, Facebook’s new parent company, writes in a blog post that the WSJ misrepresented the research (a claim the company has made about some of the other articles the WSJ has...
The VergeFederal appeals court temporarily halts new Biden vaccine rule for companies
New vaccine rules have been frozen by an appeals court | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
A federal appeals court on Saturday issued a stay against the Biden administration’s vaccine rules for US companies. The new rule announced Thursday requires workers at businesses with 100 or more employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, or submit to weekly testing. The rule requires affected companies to provide paid time for employees to get vaccinated, and to ensure any unvaccinated employees wear face masks while at work. The deadline for meeting the provisions is January 4th, 2022.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton petitioned for an emergency stay of the rule, which was to be enforced by the Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The petition was joined by attorneys general from Louisiana,...
The VergeSomeone stole an entire shipment of EVGA RTX graphics cards
Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge
As if the chip shortage didn’t make it hard enough to get our hands on graphics cards, criminals are making it a heck of a lot worse. According to a forum post by EVGA product manager Jacob Freeman, thieves made off with a whole truckload of EVGA RTX 30-Series graphics cards. The graphic cards were in transit from San Francisco to EVGA’s southern California distribution center at the time of the theft, and it remains unclear how many cards were affected.
“If a user does end up acquiring a stolen card, we will address [it] on a case by case basis”
If you think you may have a card that was involved in this theft, you can find out by entering your card’s serial number on EVGA’s warranty status page. You can also check by attempting to...
The VergeStranger Things 4 will have a summer 2022 release date
Eleven is back for Season 4 of Netflix’s Stranger Things series | Netflix
Netflix tweeted Saturday that _Stranger Things 4_will premiere in the summer of 2022. While not a precise release date, it’s at least something for fans of Netflix’s flagship supernatural series, who have waited through months of delays and a seemingly endless parade of mysterious teasers.
A new teaser dropped Saturday as well, showing Eleven in California, adjusting to her new life and school. She writes in a letter to Mike that everything is great (even though we see her classmates being mean to her), and says she can’t wait for spring break. But of course, our girl can’t have anything nice last for too long; after a fade to black, we get some eerie music under shots of a roller rink and Eleven looking afraid, along with helicopters,...
The VergeGoogle Pixel 6 appears to fall short of expected 30W charging speeds
When Google released the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, it boasted about the devices’ fast-charging capabilities. Plugging a Pixel 6 series device into its $25 30W Fast Charger — which isn’t even included in the box — is supposed to take full advantage of the phone’s fast charging speed, juicing it up to 50 percent in just 30 minutes. We all can agree that this is an impressive spec, but unfortunately, it may not be totally realistic.
Android Authority put the Pixel 6’s fast charging speed to the test, and its findings suggest that Google’s spec sheet is misleading. After trying out the 30W charger with the Pixel 6, Android Authority found that the Pixel 6 doesn’t fully harness the power of the charger — instead, it only hits a maximum...
The VergeJack in the Box suing crypto exchange FTX, says it ‘brazenly’ copied its Jack mascot
Jack in the Box is suing a crypto exchange it says copied its longtime mascot. Left is Moon Man, right is Jack.
Restaurant chain Jack in the Box says it is suing cryptocurrency exchange FTX because it “brazenly and illegally copied or derived its ‘Moon Man’ mascot” from its established Jack mascot, and is doing damage to the Jack in the Box brand.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court in the Northern District of California this week, Jack in the Box claims that FTX’s Moon Man character, aka Lou Nar, “has a spherical white head also affixed to a talking human actor, with blue-dotted eyes, a nose, and a smile,” which is “strikingly similar to Jack. Both change their facial expressions and clothing throughout ads and appearances,” the suit maintains. Moon Man, however, is a “far inferior version” of Jack, the restaurant chain argues, and is ...
The VergeRiot swapped a live show for a massive music video at Worlds 2021
Every year, one of the highlights of the _League of Legends_World Championship is the opening ceremonies. It’s been a regular chance for developer Riot to create a real-world spectacle ahead of the big game. In the past that’s meant everything from holographic musical performances to an appearance from an augmented reality K-pop group. In 2021, though, things went in a different direction.
Without an audience in attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions, Riot instead went with a pre-produced series of music videos that featured gigantic real-world sets spliced with moments from the upcoming _Arcane_animated series. It may not have been a live performance, but it was still impressive. “This is really what feature films do, what Marvel does,”...
The VergeAlienware X17 review: pretty pixels for a pretty penny
It delivers the 4K future I’ve been waiting for, but it came at a weird time
The VergeApple’s handy AirTag Loop is selling for a low price at Amazon
You can now buy an AirTag Loop for $24 from Amazon. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
iPhone owners planning on traveling or making lots of plans this holiday season may find today’s AirTag Loop deal useful. Right now at Amazon, you can buy the handy loop made specifically to carry Apple’s ultrawideband-capable Bluetooth tracker at an all-time low price of around $24 instead of $29. This deal is valid on the orange or deep navy colorways.
Other colors are also on sale, but are selling for a little more. You can pick up the white or yellow variants for $26, for example. Given that AirTags lack a lanyard hole of their own (a very Apple move), you’ll need a loop to securely attach them to backpacks, keys, and other items. So, while you might be buying one a little begrudgingly, but you’ll probably be happy you have it.
N...
The VergeStranger Things 4’s new teaser promises ‘the best spring break ever’
_Stranger Things 4_has gotten yet another mysterious teaser trailer, the latest in a series of clips promoting the upcoming fourth series of Netflix’s flagship supernatural drama.
We open with a voiceover of Eleven writing a letter to Mike, looking forward to spring break when she gets to see him again. She describes how much she likes school and has made lots of friends (even though we actually see other kids being mean to her). We then get a few quick cuts of a roller rink, Eleven watching skaters and looking upset with some creepy music playing, someone shooting through windows, Joyce looking at a creepy doll, government thugs restraining Eleven, helicopters, explosions, and a dial being turned up (but we cut away before we can see if...
The VergeApple hires Tesla’s former Autopilot software director
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Apple hasn’t been all that vocal about its electric car project, but according to Bloomberg, the iPhone maker is hiring Tesla’s Autopilot software engineer to work on its EVs. Sources close to the matter told_Bloomberg_ that Apple scooped up Christopher “CJ” Moore to work on its self-driving software. He’ll report to Stuart Bowers, another Tesla ex-pat who previously served as the vice president of engineering.
During his time at Tesla, Moore stirred up controversy for calling CEO Elon Musk’s “full self-driving” claims exaggerated. In January, Musk stated that he was “highly confident the car will be able to drive itself with reliability in excess of human this year.” The full self-driving software, currently in beta, does not make a...
The VergeI spent hours waiting to find out what an NFT looks like IRL
The Dreamverse gallery.
New York City has been filled with NFTs this week. Since Monday, hundreds, if not thousands, of people have darted between talks, galleries, hangouts, parties, and other events assembled for and by the usually all-online NFT community to talk about the future of art, hype the space, and discover new and potentially soon-to-be-explosive projects. The result has been an exceptional number of hours spent in Times Square, one surprise Strokes concert, and a lot of dudes wearing crypto merch.
Capping it all off was a two-part event on Thursday called Dreamverse, hosted at the expansive music venue Terminal 5. The venue is tucked in between the car dealerships and wedding dress shops that inexplicably line the western edge of Manhattan beneath...
The VergeThe best deals on MacBooks right now
The 2020 MacBook Air, one of the best laptops you can get, is now available at Amazon starting at $850.
With multiple configurations and various models to choose from, including some equipped with Apple’s new M1 processor, finding a deal on a MacBook or Mac Mini is not all that difficult, especially with Black Friday and Cyber Monday just on the horizon.
Here, we’ll run through the discounts that are currently available for the latest MacBook models, as well as any deals to be had on the Mac Mini. Of course, there are also frequent discounts available for older Intel-based configurations — which are compatible with the recently-released macOS Monterey — and we’ll highlight those when we find them.
Alternatively, purchasing refurbished is another way to save money on an Apple computer. Apple’s refurbished store provides a one-year warranty...