Ford doesn’t want the F-150 Lightning’s launch to be plagued by scalpers

Resellers have been a sore spot for consumers during the chip shortage. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Ford is fighting to keep the 2022 F-150 Lightning from being scalped — the company has sent a notice offering to help dealers prevent 2022 F-150 Lightning buyers from reselling their trucks, according to a report from CNET. If a dealer chooses to add a no-sale provision provided by Ford to its contracts, the buyer will have to agree to “not sell, offer to sell or otherwise transfer ownership interest in the Vehicle prior to the first anniversary of the date hereof.” The notice also warns dealers against trying to raise the prices of the trucks themselves.

While the move could help stop people trying to turn their reservation for the electric pickup into a payday, some have criticized the move as Ford trying to control what people do with...

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Microsoft’s high-end Surface Pro 8 is $300 off

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

After a string of big shopping holidays, we landed on the first big tech event of 2022. I’m talking about CES 2022, for which The Verge produced dozens of articles. All sorts of new, exciting products were announced, and hopefully, some of them may show up in this deals newsletter once they launch later in the year. As for this weekend’s deals, we’re focusing on some hot products that we think will make your life a little better. Stay warm out there.

A specced-out Surface Pro 8 costs $1,599.99 at Best Buy

Look, it’s never affordable to get the most high-end version of a sought-after tablet. That’s why most people choose to get the most affordable one and call it a day. However, if you are after a Windows tablet that can offer big...

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Computer monitors were inventive and interesting at CES 2022

Image: LG

CES had a pretty good year, and that extends to computer monitors, which thankfully were about more than mere ports. What’s better is that this year’s interesting, feature-packed monitors are for more than just gamers. Monitors play an even more important role during the pandemic as the centerpiece of the home office, and manufacturers have responded to that demand with designs that suit a larger audience.

We got a quirky-looking, nearly-square creative- and productivity-focused monitor from LG that some people will find useful. Samsung debuted its Odyssey Ark, a 55-inch curved 4K gaming monitor that I’d feel safe floating on when the waters come. Speaking of Samsung, the company’s display division found a suitable monitor to debut its...

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Why clean energy advocates are divided over California’s plan to slash solar incentives

Solar panels are installed on the roofs of zero energy model homes, as seen on Thurs. May 17, 2018 in Clovis, Ca. | Photo By Michael Macor/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

California could soon end the perks it has been giving to residents with rooftop solar on their homes, even as it pledges to move entirely to clean electricity. While the move might seem counterintuitive, environmental advocates are divided on whether the changes will help the state meet its climate goals and benefit lower-income residents or harm both efforts.

They’re split on a proposal made last month by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) that would slash solar incentives for customers of investor-owned utilities, implement a new monthly fee to connect solar customers to the grid, and create a $600 million fund to help underrepresented communities gain access to solar panels and batteries. Industry and some conservation...

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Matter was a major star at CES 2022, but can it maintain its shine?

Samsung touted its plans for Matter compatibility in its pre-show keynote at CES 2022. | Screenshot by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Two years ago, on the floor of CES 2020, there was a lot of buzz about a chip — not the latest AMD or Intel announcement, but a new alliance of major tech companies that called itself Project Connected Home over IP, or CHIP for short. Its promise was to develop an open-source smart home standard that would make every connected home device work together, simply and securely, regardless of who made them. The buzz was: “That’s never gonna happen.”

Fast forward to CES 2022 (yeah, we all skipped 2021) and Matter — as CHIP is now called — was the darling of the show, with a full dance card and a line of admirers that stretched to the virtual Starbucks.

Practically every smart home device announcement this week had the tagline “and we announce...

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Google launches Ripple, an open standard that could bring tiny radars to Ford cars and more

Google has been publicly building tiny radar chips since 2015. They can tell you how well you sleep, control a smartwatch, count sheets of paper, and let you play the world’s tiniest violin. But the company’s Soli radar hasn’t necessarily had commercial success, most prominently featuring in an ill-fated Pixel phone. Now, Google has launched an open-source API standard called Ripple that could theoretically bring the tech to additional devices outside Google — perhaps even a car, as Ford is one of the participants in the new standard.

Technically, Ripple is under the auspices of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the same industry body that hosts the CES tradeshow in Las Vegas each January, but there’s little question who’s...

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A Scott Pilgrim anime adaptation is reportedly in development for Netflix

An anime adaptation of the cult comic book series could be a perfect fit. | Image: Universal Pictures

Netflix is developing an anime adaptation of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter. The adaptation doesn’t have a series order yet, THR says, and there aren’t any details about when it could hit the streaming service.

Bryan Lee O’Malley, who created the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels, one of the writers and executive producers for the adaptation, reports _THR._Edgar Wright, who directed the 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, will also reportedly be serving as an executive producer. If the series gets the green light, animation would be done by the animation studio Science Saru, which produced two shorts for the Star Wars: Visions anime anthology released in September.

This potential...

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Amazon workers will now get only a week of COVID PTO

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Amazon has changed its PTO policy for workers forced to quarantine, as reported by CNBC and the Wall Street Journal. The policy has shrunk to one week (or 40 hours) off, down from its initial length of 14 days, which is still mentioned on an Amazon hiring page (via Engadget) but had already been shortened to ten days. Engadget’s report includes an excerpt of Amazon’s notice to employees about the change, citing the CDC’s updated recommendations that people who have tested positive for COVID should isolate for five days, as long as their symptoms are gone.

Amazon isn’t alone in changing its policies along with the federal government. As Engadget points out, Walmart has also cut down the number of PTO hours employees who contract COVID...

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Elon Musk says Tesla is raising the price of its ‘full self driving’ software to $12k

Tesla is raising the price of its “full self driving” software | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the company is raising the price of its “full self driving” (FSD) software to $12,000. Musk tweeted Friday that the new price, which is an increase of $2,000, will take effect January 17th for customers “only in the US.” He said the monthly subscription price of $199 for FSD would rise as the software got closer to wide release.

Tesla began testing FSD in beta in October of 2020 — when it was priced at $8,000 — with a select group of customers. Tesla increased the price of FSD to $10,000 shortly after. The software does not make Tesla vehicles fully autonomous; Musk himself said during a 2019 earnings call that Teslas with FSD are “able to drive from one’s house to work, most likely without interventions. So it...

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The best deals on true wireless earbuds right now

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

When it comes to true wireless earbuds, there are a ton of brands and products to choose from. Whether you enjoy the unconventional design of Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Live or prefer Jabra’s compact Elite 75t, there’s a pair of wireless earbuds for just about everyone.

Regardless of which brand you prefer, we’ve compiled some of the best deals on wireless earbuds available right now. Of course, if you want to do more research before making a buying decision, we also encourage you to read our guide to the best wireless earbuds, which can help you determine which pair of earbuds are right for you.

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Apple AirPods deals

If you own an iPhone or multiple Apple products, the AirPods...

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California appeals decision regarding Activision Blizzard settlement

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Activision Blizzard’s legal troubles just took another potential turn. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) is appealing a judge’s decision that denies it from intervening in the $18 million settlement between the game developer and the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), according to a document filed Friday.

Activision Blizzard and the EEOC settled a lawsuit regarding the developer’s allegedly toxic culture in September, establishing a consent decree that included Activision Blizzard creating an $18 million settlement fund to compensate employees. This case is separate from the DFEH’s lawsuit against Activision Blizzard filed in July, which is ongoing.

In October, however, the DFEH filed a...

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Roku exec Scott Rosenberg, who helped launch the Roku Channel, is stepping down

Roku

Scott Rosenberg, a prominent Roku executive who helped launch the Roku Channel, is stepping down after nearly a decade at one of the largest streaming names in the business.

Rosenberg is currently SVP and general manager of platform business at Roku, a title he’s held since 2017, according to a press release. In addition to his role in the development of the Roku Channel, which is now home to Roku’s original programming, Rosenberg created and scaled the streamer’s advertising business, Roku spokesperson Sarah Novatt confirmed to The Verge.

According to the company, Rosenberg was a key player in Roku’s 2017 IPO. Other notable oversight roles listed on Rosenberg’s LinkedIn include partnerships, revenue, product, analytics, payments, and...

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Ford’s e-scooter company is pulling out of any city that doesn’t limit competition

The decision will impact “roughly” a quarter of the company’s staff. | Image: Spin

Spin, the e-scooter company owned by Ford, announced a major restructuring Friday where it will pull out of “nearly all open permit markets.” More specifically, Spin is beginning to exit “a few” US markets, Germany, and Portugal, and it is “projecting” to close down in Spain as soon as February.

Moving forward, Spin says it will focus on “limited vendor markets,” where only a designated number of scooter companies are allowed to compete in a location, in the US, Canada, and the UK. Spin sees “double the revenue per vehicle” in limited vendor markets, according to Ben Bear, Spin’s CEO.

“This decision to restructure impacts roughly a quarter of our staff”

“This decision to restructure impacts roughly a quarter of our staff,” Bear said,...

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Here are the best Apple Watch deals right now

The Apple Watch Series 7 currently starts at $369 instead of $399. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Thinking about picking up a new Apple Watch to help you achieve your New Year’s fitness goals? It might be tempting to order one of the new Series 7 models, but new Apple hardware always comes at a premium. Apple’s latest wearable offers a slightly larger display and some improvements to durability but is largely the same Apple Watch we’re familiar with.

Thankfully, each Apple Watch model offers ample functionality and has seen its fair share of discounts over the last year. So which ones should you consider if you’re in the market for Apple’s popular smartwatch while trying to shop smarter?

There are currently four Apple Watch models to choose from, all of which support watchOS 8. The highest-end is the Apple Watch Series 7, which...

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Satechi’s new charger provides 165W to four ports and has a cute stand

This charger can provide a single device with 100W, even with two other devices plugged in. | Image: Satechi

Satechi has announced a charger with some interesting specs: it has four USB-C ports capable of supplying 165 watts of power at once, and it will sell for $120. It’s capable of pumping out 100W of power for a single device and can even do that while charging one or two other devices, depending on the power they draw.

That’s impressive, given that the 120W Anker brick we wrote about last month (which also had four ports) wasn’t capable of doing the same — it could only charge at a 60W / 30W / 20W split, where the Satechi can do 100W / 30W / 30W. It can also provide two devices with 60W and give the third 45W if you’re more into charging a few lighter-weight computers at a time — for example, maybe a 13-inch MacBook Pro, a Chromebook, and...

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Pixar’s Turning Red is ditching theaters to premiere on Disney Plus

Image: Pixar

Late last year, movie studios seemed set on returning to theatrical premieres for all movies for the first time since the pandemic started, but now Disney has announced a change of plans for an upcoming family flick, Pixar’s Turning Red. Instead of coming to theaters on March 11th, now it “will premiere exclusively in homes worldwide” on Disney Plus, but still on March 11th.

Disney and Pixar’s #TurningRed will stream exclusively on #DisneyPlus beginning March 11. pic.twitter.com/QrOKVtkktY

— Disney+ (@disneyplus) January 7, 2022

There’s no plan for a Premier Access video-on-demand setup like the company arranged for Mulan. Instead, it will be available to all subscribers in the same way that Pixar’s last two animated features, Soul...

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Facebook is giving you homework to learn about its privacy settings

Meta wants Privacy Center to be the place you go to access privacy and security controls. | Image: Meta

Meta (the company formerly known as Facebook) has announced a new version of its Privacy Center, which it says you can use to learn about how it collects and uses data and figure out how to navigate the myriad privacy and security controls available. It says the current version of the tool will have categories covering security, sharing, collection, data use, and ads. While it seems like a good tool to have around, it does feel more like Meta is putting the onus on users to make sure its apps work for them.

Meta says that this version of the Privacy Center (it’s had various things called privacy centers in the past) is currently available to “some people using Facebook on desktop” but that it “will roll it out to more people and apps in...

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Samsung is showing off the foldables of the future at CES

Image: Samsung

Samsung is arguably leading the charge on folding phones, and even though the first Galaxy Fold got off to a rocky start, last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 were impressive devices that delivered on the promise of how handy a device with a folding screen can be. But the company isn’t stopping with those form factors; at CES 2022, it showed off a bunch of prototype folding devices that could hint at foldables to come.

Take the Flex S, a multi-foldable device that can stretch all the way out to a triple-wide screen. Or the Flex G, a pocket-sized device that folds inward to protect the screen. There’s a device with a right rail that slides out to add some screen real estate. And Samsung even showed off a 17-inch folding laptop that’s...

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App claims to track blood pressure through a smartphone camera

Binah.ai built a blood pressure monitor into its health platform.

Health platform Binah.ai announced this week that it added blood pressure monitoring to the suite of health tools available on its app, which is available through partnered businesses. The company says it can calculate blood pressure using only video of someone’s face through a smartphone or laptop camera — but experts say they need to see significantly more data from the company before they’d trust the feature.

Tracking blood pressure without the usual cuff is a longstanding goal for cardiologists and tech companies — it would eliminate a step in the process and could help people monitor their blood pressure at home more easily, which could be useful for people with some heart conditions. “We designed this to replace home cuff devices,”...

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Is Elizabeth Holmes’ guilty verdict a wake-up call for startups?

After a long trial, former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has been found guilty of four out of the 11 charges brought against her, including three counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud investors in her now-defunct blood testing company. The verdict caps a journey filled with both promises and disappointments, one that ultimately led to the downfall of what could have been one of the most successful companies, and entrepreneurs, to come out of Silicon Valley in over a decade.

While the verdict is a milestone in holding startup founders accountable for false promises, it actually further complicates the difference between fraud and the “fake it til you make it” mindset of many startups. The Verge’s deputy editor Liz Lopatto breaks...

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Ikea and Sonos’ second-gen Symfonisk bookshelf speakers get a light refresh

Ikea has quietly updated its Sonos-partnered Symfonisk bookshelf speakers with a second-generation version that’s already available in the Netherlands, via Dutch tech website Tweakers.

Unlike the recently revamped Symfonisk lamp, which added a brand new design, the second-gen bookshelf speakers are a more minor update: they still feature the same basic shelf-style design and compatibility with Sonos’ speaker network and Apple’s Airplay 2.

Tweakers reports that Ikea’s made some internal changes, though, adding a faster processor, more memory, and lowering power consumption when in standby mode. It’s also added a longer power cable, which should be helpful for anyone trying to mount them in awkwardly wired rooms.

But the biggest change...

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The Verge Awards at CES 2022

The Verge Awards at CES | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The things that got us most excited, bewildered, and delighted at CES 2022

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How to watch the Awesome Games Done Quick 2022 speedrunning marathon

Two blindfolded players tackle a game together at AGDQ 2020. | Image: Games Done Quick

Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ), the annual week-long speedrunning marathon for charity, kicks off on Sunday, and if this year’s schedule is anything to go by, the event promises to be another exciting event of jaw-dropping gaming.

The lineup for this year has a great mix of old and new games that players will try to beat as fast as they possibly can. I’m personally excited to see Chicory: A Colorful Tale beat in 35 minutes, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart finished in just over an hour and a half, and the original Halo finished in an hour and 17 minutes on Legendary. Some of the races look like they could be great to watch, too, like the 26-minute three-way Diddy Kong Racing race. (Will they beat Wizpig? Tune in to find out.) And one of the...

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How Signal is playing with fire

Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Today, let’s talk about a little-discussed story that I worry could someday have big implications: the encrypted messaging app Signal’s introduction of anonymous cryptocurrency payments, and the opportunity it could create for regulators around the world who have been looking for an excuse to eliminate end-to-end encryption altogether.

A year ago, Platformer was the first to report that Signal was considering adding cryptocurrency payments to the platform, and it started with MobileCoin. Signal CEO Moxie Marlinspike has served as an adviser to the MobileCoin cryptocurrency, which is built on the Stellar blockchain and is designed to make payments as anonymous as cash. As Wired described it in 2017, “the idea of MobileCoin is to build a...

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Asus’ ROG Flow Z13 is a Surface Pro for gamers

Look familiar?

Asus has announced its ROG Flow Z13, which it’s touting as the “world’s most powerful gaming tablet.” Yes, you read that correctly — it’s a tablet for gaming. Not mobile gaming, but PC gaming. It’s got an RTX 3050 Ti inside, and you can hook it up to Asus’ ROG XG Mobile external GPU for even more frames.

I will caveat right off the bat that we don’t have a price for this thing yet, and it doesn’t seem like the type of thing we can expect to be super affordable, especially if you tack on the XG Mobile. Asus’ last crack at this sort of form factor, the ROG Mothership, started at $5,499.

But even if this ends up being a luxury product, it may be a glimpse into a form factor that will eventually make its way to a more accessible tier (as...

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Here’s the truth about the crypto miner that comes with Norton Antivirus

Norton Crypto promises to turn your computer’s idle time into cash.

Norton is facing criticism for including a crypto miner alongside its Norton 360 security software. Activists like Cory Doctorow have claimed that the company “sneakily installs cryptomining software on your computer” and skims a commission on profits, and outlets like PC Mag, Krebs on Security, and Digital Trends have also written about users expressing frustration trying to uninstall it. While there’s more than a grain of truth to these claims, we dug into it ourselves and found they’re being blown out of proportion.

Last summer, Norton very publicly announced it was adding a crypto miner to its Norton 360 security suite, pitching it as a safer alternative to trying to install complex, “unvetted” mining programs from the internet. It...

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Justice Department cracks down on Amazon sellers’ DVD price-fixing scheme

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The Justice Department has charged three men with a DVD and Blu-ray price-fixing operation run through the Amazon Marketplace. The men — Morris Sutton, Emmanuel Hourizadeh, and Raymond Nouvahian — pleaded guilty yesterday to violating criminal antitrust laws under the Sherman Act for a scheme that lasted from 2017 to 2019.

Sutton, Hourizadeh, and Nouvahian collaborated with each other (as well as other unnamed parties, at least one of which has also pleaded guilty) across several US states to make buyers pay more for movie discs from Amazon’s third-party Marketplace storefronts. A setofplea agreements offer a few more details about the plot, which resulted in Sutton selling at least $360,000 worth of DVDs and Blu-rays over the course...

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Vergecast: CES 2022 favorites, vaporware, and what may actually ship

Every Friday, The Verge publishes our flagship podcast, The Vergecast, where co-hosts Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn discuss the week in tech news with the reporters and editors covering the biggest stories.

Today, we published the first Vergecast of 2022 — and we’re starting off strong with a 90-minute show on nearly everything we saw from the Consumer Electronics Show this week. In what turned out to be a pretty decent CES (without even being there in person), Nilay, Dieter, and Alex Cranz run through all the gadgets, TVs, cars, and computers that point toward the future of consumer technology and some perhaps that were just an art installation or vaporware.

There’s a whole lot discussed on this week’s show, so listen here or in your...

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Swiss Army drops WhatsApp for homegrown messaging service, citing privacy concerns

James Cridland / Flickr

The Swiss army has banned the use of WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, and other foreign encrypted messaging services by army personnel, according to Associated Press reports, and instructed staff to use the Swiss-made Threema app instead. The announcement was made in a letter sent to top army staff in December, citing privacy concerns based on US authorities’ ability to access data.

The original letter reportedly told army chiefs that “no other messaging service will be authorized,” although a spokesperson subsequently seemed to tone down the strength of the decree, describing it to the AP as a “recommendation.”

The primary concern seems to be the ability of authorities in Washington to access data stored by companies that fall under US...

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Apple Fitness Plus is adding audio running workouts

Time to Run launches January 10. | Image: Apple

After launching Fitness Plus in December 2020, Apple has continuously added new features, including audio walks with celebrities and new workout programs for pregnant and older users. Today, it’s announcing a few more additions, with the standout being audio running experiences dubbed Time to Run.

According to Apple’s press release, Time to Run can help users “become more consistent and better runners,” and each session focuses on a popular running route in a specific location. The sessions will be led by Fitness Plus trainers Emily Fayette, Jamie-Ray Hartshorne, Sam Sanchez, and Scott Carvin — they all also coach the service’s treadmill workouts. Apple will also be adding another running coach, Cory Wharton-Malcolm. Each episode will...

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