HBO Max accidentally added the TV-14 version of Birds of Prey

HBO mistakenly added the censored version of Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) to its streaming service, but said it will replace it with the R-rated version soon, as reported by CBR.

Or… counterpoint. We have a version of the film that airs on broadcast cable and the unedited version of the film for streaming which has been up for a year (which the original post on CBR noted). Will be updated on Max.

— Johanna Fuentes (@jfuentes) November 27, 2021

Johanna Fuentes, the head of communications at HBO’s parent company WarnerMedia, confirmed there are two versions of the film: a clean one for broadcast cable, and an unedited version for streaming. Fuentes notes that the Birds of Prey will be “updated on...

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The best early Cyber Monday deals on Apple devices

The AirPods Pro with the MagSafe charging case are on sale for just $190 at Amazon. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Ironically, if you’re looking for Apple discounts ahead of Cyber Monday, you won’t find them at Apple, even if the retailer is bundling Apple gift cards with almost all of its latest products. Don’t fear, however, as there are plenty of reliable third-party retailers like Amazon, B&H Photo, and Best Buy that do.

Many of these retailers started discounting some of the most popular Apple products ahead of Cyber Monday, dropping prices on everything from the latest MacBook Pro to the Apple Watch Series 7. Below, we’ve rounded up the best deals we’ve found by category, and we’ll continue to update this piece as more deals are published.

Also, if you’re looking to save even more, make sure to check out our detailed guide to the best Black...

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The best deals you can still get on Amazon devices

The first-gen Echo Show 8 is on sale at Amazon in the lead-up to Black Friday. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge

If you’re looking to score a great deal on an Amazon device ahead of Cyber Monday, you’re in luck. Amazon is offering up to 50 percent of some of its most popular products, including the latest Echo Show 5 and Fire HD 10. The company is also offering a number of deals across several categories, ranging from Kindles and Fire TV sticks to Blink devices and even the Halo View, which has yet to be released.

For your convenience, we’ve curated a list of the best deals currently to be had on Amazon devices. We’ll be continuously updating this post as well as more deals arrive, so be sure to check back. And, of course, if you want to save even more, check our coverage of the best Black Friday deals still available.

Echo deals

• If you’re looking...

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The best Black Friday 2021 tech deals still available

Still plenty of savings to be had

Black Friday may be over, but the memory — and deals — remain. Right now, there are still a ton of great discounts to be had on 4K TVs, noise-canceling headphones, and gaming accessories. Some of these deals are likely to expire soon or run out of stock, but we’ll be doing everything we can to keep this page updated with all the deals left standing, many of which will likely carry over to Cyber Monday. Also, if you’re looking for more great gift ideas, make sure you take a look at our 2021 holiday gift guide for a few suggestions.

Latest deal highlights:

• ~~Anker’s Nano II, one of the smallest 65W chargers you can buy, is currently~~~~on sale at Walmart~~~~for $32.~~
• ~~The DJI Mavic Mini Combo pack is~~~~$100 off at B&H Photo~~~~and~~~~Amazon~~~~, dropping...~~

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Nvidia’s DLSS has come to Linux gaming (but not the Steam Deck obviously)

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge

Years after its failed Steam Machines, Valve is slowly but surely improving the state of Linux gaming. The company’s upcoming Steam Deck handheld runs atop Linux, and its Proton compatibility layer lets it — and other computers — play Windows games as well. Now, Valve has officially added support for Nvidia’s DLSS machine learning temporal upscaling technique to Proton, potentially bringing big FPS boosts and less flicker in games that support the technology.

As Phoronix reports (via Tom’s Hardware), Proton 6.3-8 is the first stable release to include support for DLSS, after the feature previously hit experimental builds in October, though it appears you’ll still need to set PROTON_ENABLE_NVAPI=1 and dxgi.nvapiHack = False to turn it...

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Spotify says it’s ‘retiring’ Car View without an immediate replacement

You could set Car View to activate when connected to your car via Bluetooth. | Image: Mitchell Clark / The Verge

Spotify says it’s retiring its Car View feature, which was introduced at the beginning of 2019 as a way to make the app less distracting and easier to control while driving (via 9to5Google). It’s currently unclear if the feature is going away on all platforms or just Android, and while some userswon’t miss it, many others are unhappy it’s being removed without a reasonable replacement.

Confirmation of the change actually came back in October, when a Spotify moderator responded to a post on its community forum asking why the feature was missing. The moderator wrote:

We can confirm that we’re retiring the car view feature. This however doesn’t mean we don’t want to improve on how our users listen to Spotify while driving. On the...

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Four gaming PCs you might actually buy for an RTX 3080, 3070 Ti or 3060 Ti on Black Friday

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge

Good gaming GPUs are still selling for ridiculous sums on eBay, because they’re practically impossible to find at retail — particularly for anything close to their MSRP. But if you’re willing to buy an entire prebuilt gaming PC instead, there are four specific Black Friday deals I think are worthy of bringing to your attention.

RTX 3080

You can get this true 4K graphics card in one specific configuration of the HP Omen 30L (GT13-1380z) for just $1,611, paired with an AMD Ryzen 5600X and, admittedly, a paltry 8GB of RAM and a very small 256GB SSD that you’ll probably want to upgrade later.

You won’t see that GPU or that price when you first click the link; you’ll need to add the $40 premium for the case with the 800W power supply first,...

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Samsung’s new A03 and A03 Core look like big bargains but we can’t quite tell yet

The Samsung Galaxy A03 Core has a 6.5-inch display. | Photo by Samsung

Samsung has quietly added two new devices to its entry-level A-series lineup: the Galaxy A03 and Galaxy A03 Core. And while both devices don’t yet have a set price, we can predict that they’ll both be pretty affordable, considering how Samsung prices the rest of its A-series devices.

Photo by Samsung

The Samsung Galaxy A03 has a dual rear camera with a 48MP main sensor.

An infographic posted on Samsung’s site outlines the A03’s specs (via 9to5Google). The device comes with a dual rear camera with a 48MP main sensor and a 2MP depth sensor, which helps the camera focus on the main subject of the photo rather than giving you a different ultrawide or zoomed in perspective. Meanwhile, the front of the device comes...

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In Animal Crossing, holiday shopping is ‘Nook Friday,’ not Black Friday

Today through November 30th (next Tuesday), some of our favorite virtual shopkeepers are having a “Nook Friday” sale in Animal Crossing: New Horizons (via Eurogamer). If you’ve been drawn back in by the game’s recent update, it could be a chance to save 30 percent on items for your island or on in-game gifts — I’m currently trying to decide whether my wife would rather have a virtual train set, or a real-life air fryer.

In the spirit of the holidays, you could also pick up some virtual presents for friends, particularly if Timmy and Tommy stock items you know would fit _perfectly_in their kitchen (a room they may actually use now thanks to the new cooking mechanic). You can check out our sister site Polygon’s full guide to mailing gifts...

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Black Friday 2021 PC deals: accessories, headphones, and more

Razer’s BlackShark V2 headset is on sale at GameStop and Amazon right now for $70, a $30 discount.

If you’re looking to expand your armory of gaming peripherals, you’ve come to the right place. Several retailers have a wide variety of gaming peripherals available at a deep discount, some of which are seeing their lowest prices ever. This list isn’t about price breaks on gaming PCs or componentry, but if it's something you can connect, attach, or plug into your computer, you’ll find it here.

There are a ton of mice, keyboards, and headsets on sale, as well as monitors, speakers, and a handful of other accessories you can save on. And if you’re in the market for a new machine, be sure to take a look at our guides to the best Black Friday laptop deals and best Black Friday gaming deals.

Keyboard deals

• The Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro is...

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Strange signals on Venus may be coming from an erupting volcano

Venus, Earth’s hellish doppleganger. | NASA/JPL-Caltech

A new study adds to a growing pile of evidence that Venus may be volcanically active — a finding that, if true, would help explain how volcanoes impact planetary evolution and habitability across the cosmos. The research, which focuses on strange signals coming from a Venusian volcano called Idunn Mons, is fueling excitement about future missions to Earth’s nearest neighbor that will settle the matter once and for all.

It’s long been known that Venus is covered in some seriously surreal volcanoes. But it is impossible to tell from Earth whether they are still oozing lava today, because Venus’s thick and hazy atmosphere obscures whatever may be happening on the ground.

Now, using archival observations from old orbiter missions and the...

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The best Black Friday deals at B&H Photo

B&H Photo has deals on cameras and a whole bunch more for Black Friday. | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

B&H Photo in New York City may be commonly known to locals of the tri-state for its brick-and-mortar presence in midtown Manhattan, but the camera and electronics retailer has a lot on offer via its website for nationwide Black Friday deal hunters. Many people shop there for niche photography equipment — you can still buy darkroom supplies through B&H if you see fit — though there is also a lot of general tech on offer.

Below we have surfaced some of the best tech deals we can find at B&H for Black Friday, with wide-ranging sales on products across photo and video gear, earbuds, computers, TVs, and more.

Cameras and photo/video accessories

• The Sony A7R IVA has enough resolution to be a dedicated landscape and studio camera, but its fast...

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The best Black Friday streaming deals for Hulu, YouTube TV, and more

Many can enjoy one year of Hulu’s ad-supported streaming service for just $1 per month. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Now that Black Friday is finally upon us, several popular streaming services are offering a number of discounts. New and even some previous subscribers can, for example, enjoy a year of Hulu for just $0.99 a month. While that’s probably one of the best deals out there this year, other services are also great limited-time offers for new, past, and even existing subscribers alike. Below, we’ve curated some of the best we’ve seen this year to help you get the best bang for your buck.

Also, if you’re looking for deals outside of streaming, be sure to also check out our ever-expanding roundup of the best Black Friday deals, where you’ll find discounts on everything from streaming devices and laptops to TVs and smart speakers.

Get one year of...

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The best Black Friday deals on Google devices

The Pixel 5A leads the charge in a variety of early Black Friday deals from Google. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

Google has launched its Black Friday deals, and there’s a lot to like if you’re in the market for a Pixel, Chromecast, or Nest device. The search giant kicked off the deals in the Google Store early, and now many of the big-name retailers are offering equivalent deals on the same items. Google even advertises these deals as running until December 1st, a few days after Cyber Monday.

By now there are many great Black Friday deals to consider, and in addition to our retailer-specific roundups for sales at Target, Amazon, and Walmart, if you’re starved for ideas on what to shop for, we also have a variety of gift guides for you to check out.

In the meantime, we have highlighted all the worthwhile Google deals below — such as $50 off the...

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The Verge’s Guide to Black Friday 2021

Black Friday usually begins the day after Thanksgiving in the US, but in 2021, that’s just when it morphs into its final form. The once-a-year deal extravaganza started early at a couple of retailers, including Best Buy, Target, and Walmart. Each marked down a batch of tech products weeks ahead of schedule, and each retailer is frequently sharing more deals and details.

Now that we have reached the big day, there are deals aplenty just about everywhere. We’ve even got a live blog covering the latest Black Friday Amazon Lightning Deals, so you can get buying advice directly from our team as the biggest deals happen.

You can find all of the latest deals and must-know details to make your shopping journey easier right here on this page,...

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The Verge Black Friday 2021 Lightning Deal Live blog

Illustration by The Verge

The best deals for the day of Black Friday, as we find them

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The best Black Friday deals you can get right now

Black Friday has been happening through all of November, but now it’s _really_here because it’s the Friday after Thanksgiving in the US. If you’re enjoying some much-needed rest with friends and family, we want you to keep doing that. But if you have some downtime, it won’t be wasted by checking out our curated list of the best Black Friday deals below.

Whether you’re on your phone or a computer, we’ve organized it to be easy to navigate. At the top of the post is where we’ll put the latest deals we’ve found, including Lightning Deals that will likely sell out quickly. That way, you won’t need to scroll a bunch and wonder what’s new versus what isn’t, or miss out on a stellar deal. If you want to stay even more up-to-date (and feel like...

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Apple gets hit by its second fine by Italian regulators in a week

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Apple and Google have each been fined €10 million (around $11.3 million) by Italy’s competition authority for not properly obtaining a user’s consent before using their data for commercial purposes, the AGCM has announced. Both are accused of not correctly informing users when their data will be used in this way, preventing customers from being able to give their informed consent.

In a statement, Google said it disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal. “We give people simple controls to manage their information and limit the use of personal data, and we work hard to be fully compliant with the consumer protection rules,” a spokesperson said. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Google plans to appeal the fine

T...

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Apple’s AR headset coming next year with ‘Mac-level’ power: report

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Apple’s first AR headset will be released in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to a research note from analyst Ming-chi Kuo seen by MacRumors and 9to5Mac. Kuo predicted back in March that the headset would be released sometime next year, and is now also providing more technical information on the device.

The headset will have two processors, according to Kuo, one with “the same level of computing power as M1” and one lower-end chip to handle input from the various sensors. For example, Kuo says that the headset has “at least 6-8 optical modules to simultaneously provide continuous video see-through AR services.” The headset is also said to have two 4K OLED microdisplays from Sony.

Kuo cites the headset’s “Mac-level (PC-level)...

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Make your Oculus Quest 2 fit — and sound— better with these discounted mods

This is what your headset will look like with these discounted modifications.

The Oculus Quest 2 is an all-around solid piece of hardware, and it’s a very popular holiday gift since there are some great deals happening now. But anyone who already owns one can tell you that the company’s straps leave a lot to be desired. The cloth strap included in the box isn’t supportive, and while the $50 Elite Strap addresses that, it’s quite fragile. Mine broke within a year of normal use, and surfing Oculus’ Reddit page will show you that some people’s straps meet a similar fate.

A popular and crafty modification that you can make to your headset is to attach HTC’s Deluxe Audio strap (originally made for the Vive) with a set of third-party adapters to make it fit perfectly with your Oculus headset. Once it’s all set up, you...

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The latest Kindle Paperwhite is 25 percent off for Black Friday

Photo by Chaim Gartenberg / The

The all-new Kindle Paperwhite is already a great buy at its regular price of $139.99. It has a great 6.8-inch display, USB-C charging, and a battery that can last for months — our reviewer calls it “the ultimate Kindle.” If you’ve been eyeing this device, now is a great time to buy it. It’s available on Amazon right now for $104.99, $35 and 25 percent off its original price of $139.99. Other retailers, including Best Buy and Staples, are offering the same price.

Note that this is the ad-supported model — the ad-free version is currently $124.99 ($35 off its original price of $159.99). If you don’t want ads (or to pay the $20 premium for the ad-free model), a savvy move is to get the Kindle Paperwhite Kids for $114.99, which is $45 off...

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Why a toaster from 1949 is still smarter than any sold today

A Sunbeam Radiant Toaster. | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge

My colleague Tom once introduced you to a modern toaster with two seemingly ingenious buttons: one to briefly lift your bread to check its progress, and another to toast it “a bit more.” I respectfully submit you shouldn’t need a button at all.

That’s because in 1948, Sunbeam engineer Ludvik J. Koci invented the perfect toaster, one where the simple act of placing a slice into one of its two slots would result in a delicious piece of toasted bread. No button, no lever, no other input required. Drop bread, get toast.

Some of you are no doubt already connoisseurs who know what I’m referring to: the Sunbeam Radiant Toaster, sold from 1949 all the way through the late ‘80s. (It goes by many names, including the T-20A, T-20-B, T20-C, T-35,...

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The best streaming device to buy right now

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Getting something great costs less than $50

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Evercade VS is a retro console that turns your living room into an arcade

Image: Evercade

The original Evercade was an extremely niche device. It posited a future where dedicated video game handhelds not only thrived, but even still used cartridges. In a world where there are so many ways to play retro games — subscription services, compilations, emulation — it offered something very different. It didn’t make sense for everyone, but it did its job very well. Now the family has grown with the Evercade VS. If the original was a modern take on the Game Boy, this is its NES counterpart. It’s still niche and aimed at a very specific audience — and still does its job very well.

At its most basic, the Evercade VS is a home console version of the original device. It’s a white plastic box that supports up to four controllers, includes...

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The best early Black Friday deals at Walmart

Image: LG

As Black Friday approaches, several retailers are already offering significant discounts — and Walmart is no exception. Right now, the retail giant is dropping early Black Friday deals on everything from the AirPods Pro to the most popular TVs and streaming devices.

We’ve featured a few of these items in our guide to early Black Friday deals, however, the list below highlights all of the best sales Walmart is offering across several categories rather than just a few. It’s perfect, then, for anybody who plans on shopping primarily at Walmart.

The store will continue to publish more deals as we get closer to the big day, with many of the better deals going live on November 22nd, according to a recent online circular. If you subscribe to...

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The best early Black Friday deals at Target

Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge

Black Friday is just around the corner, but lots of retailers are already dropping prices ahead of everyone's favorite shopping holiday. Right now at Target, we’re seeing great discounts on everything from Beats Studio 3 headphones to the Fitbit Versa 2 fitness tracker. We’ve already highlighted some of these products in our guide to early Black Friday deals, but this list is perfect for anyone doing most of their shopping at this particular retailer.

If you’re doing your shopping elsewhere over Black Friday, we’ve also gathered all the best deals you can currently get ahead of the 26th from Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. Also, for anyone biding their time, we’ve put together a guide to help you find the best deals on Cyber Monday.

We’ll...

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The best games to play this Thanksgiving weekend

As Thanksgiving approaches, many people will have the opportunity to relax, unwind, and log the kind of gaming hours only possible during an extended holiday weekend. Halo Infinite’s multiplayer will likely be a highly popular choice, almost guaranteeing servers will be crammed with players the way Los Angeles’ 405 freeway is crammed with travelers every Thanksgiving season. So, in the event you just can’t connect to a game of capture the flag, or if you have no interest in the multiplayerat all, here are the best non-Halo Infinite games we’re playing to make it through the holiday. — Ash Parrish

Andrew —Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier

It turns out the thing that finally pulled me away from _Fortnite_was a game...

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The best early Black Friday deals at Amazon

Amazon has wide-ranging discounts on products, including its own network of hardware. | Chris Welch / The Verge

If you’ve been tracking Amazon’s lead-up to Black Friday like we have, you’ve likely seen the online retail giant rebrand its “Deal of the Day” page to “Epic Daily Deals” and now “Early Black Friday Deals.” We’re nearly on the precipice of full-on Black Friday sales everywhere — when that landing page will be transformed yet again — but there’s already a lot to consider if you plan on getting your holiday shopping done early. In fact, Amazon has a slew of deals worth jumping on now if time is of the essence.

Below are a variety of deals worth your time and attention, especially if you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber. If you’re cross-shopping at the other major retailers, we’ve also put together a more general roundup of the best early...

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The snooze button is the best part of the world’s most hated gadget

Few gadgets are more hated than the alarm clock, a device whose primary purpose is to rudely rip you from the pleasant world of sleep into the cold, harsh, unforgiving reality that we live in every day — and whose level of functionality is directly proportional to how goddamn annoying the beeping sound it can make is.

But within virtually all alarm clocks is also a crucial reprieve: the snooze button, a temporary salve for the alarm’s cruel clarion call, a stay of execution for the day you will inevitably have to face. It is the phrase “just a few more minutes” rendered in plastic.

The alarm clock here is a Sharp SPC028B, bought from a Walmart somewhere in Pennsylvania ahead of my time as a sleepaway camp counselor over a decade ago....

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Spotify becomes latest to experiment with a TikTok-style video feed

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Spotify is testing a new TikTok-style video feed in its beta iOS app that shows fullscreen video clips as songs are played, TechCrunch reports. The feature was first spotted by Chris Messina, who posted a video of the feed in action. When available, the video feed is accessible from a new fourth tab in the navigation bar labelled “Discover.” Individual tracks can then be liked as you scroll through the feed, and there’s also a three dot menu icon to bring up options for each song.

Spotify confirmed the test in a statement provided to TechCrunch, but declined to comment on if or when it might see a wider rollout. “At Spotify, we routinely conduct a number of tests in an effort to improve our user experience,” a spokesperson said. “Some of...

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