Leica’s new M11 gains some resolution and sheds some weight

Leica M11 in black | Image: Leica

Leica has introduced the latest generation of its venerated M rangefinder camera, the new M11. The M11 is very similar in appearance to the M10 line it’s replacing, with much of the claimed 40 new improvements found on the inside. Leica says the M11 will be available starting today, January 13th, 2022, with a price tag of $8,995.

The most significant upgrade is a new, 60-megapixel backside-illuminated full-frame CMOS sensor that captures 14 stops of dynamic range at its full resolution. Uniquely, the M11 also allows photographers to capture RAW files at 36 or 18 megapixels, which unlocks another stop of dynamic range, provides better low light performance, and allows for longer burst shooting at the expense of zoomed-in detail. (The...

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The pandemic has blurred the lines between laptop categories

The HP Elite Dragonfly G3 is one of thebiggest laptop releases from CES, bringing more consumer-friendly features to a traditional business laptop. | Image: HP

HP had one of the most expansive laptop launches of this year’s CES. The headliners included two Elite Dragonfly models, a whole gaggle ofWindows 11 Elitebooks, and a dump of gaming laptpos and desktops (as well as accessories). We saw the usual spec upgrades: better chips, smaller bezels, better battery life, bigger touchpads, etc.

But a few newer themes ran through HP’s releases and through those of many other major laptop manufacturers as well. Less obtrusive, chic-er looks. Heavier duty chips in chassis that are thinner, lighter, and easier to take from place to place. AI features meant to prevent snooping in public places. Better conferencing technology — lines that have resisted adding webcams for years finally have them. These...

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How to keep your Zoom meetings safe and secure

Illustration by Samar Haddad / Photo by Becca Farsace

Back in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, people who wanted to get together while staying safe from infection discovered that they could meet with friends, families, and co-workers via videoconferencing software. Maybe because many of them were already using Zoom at work for videoconferencing, that app almost immediately became the flavor of the day.

There were a few hiccups along the way — possibly because Zoom was meant to be primarily a business app. At first, while Zoom included some methods that could be used to safeguard meetings, those features could be hard to find, especially if you hadn’t used the app before. Meetings began to be interrupted by unwanted intruders who would purposely cause disruptions, often in extremely...

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Tesla removes 2022 production date from Cybertruck website

Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

Tesla has never been fantastic at meeting deadlines, so it’s not too surprising that the company’s ambitious electric pickup — the Cybertruck — is running a little late. Recently, reference to a 2022 production schedule was scrubbed from its website.

The Cybertruck was originally announced in 2019, with Tesla promising that the vehicle would be rolling off production lines in late 2021. Then, in August that year, full production was delayed to some time in 2022. Now, that deadline seems to have been waived, too.

As first spotted by Edmunds, the order page on Tesla’s Cybertruck site previously told buyers: “You will be able to complete your configuration as production nears in 2022.” Now, it just says: “You will be able to complete your...

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Samsung Galaxy S21 FE review: just off the mark

You should probably buy the Pixel 6 instead

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TSMC earmarks record $44 billion for chip manufacturing expansion in 2022

Photo by Walid Berrazeg/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Chip manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which supplies silicon for Apple, Qualcomm, and other tech giants, plans to spend as much as $44 billion to increase its manufacturing capacity in 2022, Reuters reports. In its latest earnings release, the Taiwanese firm said it expects capital spending to be between $40 and $44 billion in 2022, up from a previous record of $30 billion in 2021.

It’s not an entirely unexpected increase, given the company’s previously announced plan to spend $100 billion on expanding its manufacturing capacity through 2023. But the record sum suggests it doesn’t expect demand for chips to slow down anytime soon, despite some analyst warnings of potentials slowdowns in areas like...

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Microsoft has discontinued all Xbox One consoles

Xbox One S | Photo by Tyler Pina / The Verge

Microsoft has stopped manufacturing all Xbox One consoles. The software giant originally discontinued the Xbox One X and digital Xbox One S ahead of the Xbox Series X launch, then quietly stopped manufacturing the Xbox One S at the end of 2020, leaving retailers to sell out their remaining stock.

“To focus on production of Xbox Series X / S, we stopped production for all Xbox One consoles by the end of 2020,” says Cindy Walker, senior director of Xbox console product marketing, in a statement to The Verge.

Microsoft’s confirmation comes just as a _Bloomberg_report suggested Sony had planned to end PS4 production at the end of 2021, but that the company will now manufacture around a million PS4 consoles in 2022. Sony has confirmed PS4...

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Nigeria lifts Twitter ban, says the company has agreed to government demands

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Nigeria has lifted its ban on Twitter, first instated on June 5th, 2021. The Nigerian government says Twitter has agreed to meet all of its demands, according to a report from CNN. These include Twitter opening a local office in Nigeria, addressing concerns over its tax payments, and “managing prohibited publication in line with Nigerian law.”

This last condition is particularly important, as the original ban was condemned by many international agencies as an act of censorship. The Nigerian government banned Twitter in 2021 just days after the company deleted a tweet by the country’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, that threatened secessionists in Nigeria’s southeast region. Some had interpreted the tweet as threatening genocide for its...

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The PC market just had another big year thanks to pandemic demand

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

The PC market experienced its first big growth in a decade during 2020, when the pandemic began to force people to work and learn from home. Market research firms Gartner and IDC are now reporting that the worldwide PC market has grown again throughout 2021, as demand for traditional PCs continued during a global chip shortage.

Nearly 340 million PCs were shipped in 2021, according to Gartner. That’s a nearly 10 percent increase over the already unprecedented numbers seen in 2020. IDC puts the figure at 348.8 million, up nearly 15 percent.

“2021 has truly been a return to form for the PC,” said Jitesh Ubrani, a research manager at IDC. “Consumer need for PCs in emerging markets and global commercial demand remained strong during the...

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Dropbox finally supports M1 Macs natively with new beta

Image: Dropbox

Dropbox’s latest beta has added native support for Macs with M1 processors, _9to5Mac_reports. The addition was confirmed by a Dropbox community manager on the company’s forums, and we’ve verified it by installing the latest beta of the macOS app. You can grab it yourselves from this Dropbox forum.

The service has always worked on Apple’s M1 Macs, but until now it’s had to use Apple’s Rosetta 2 translation layer. This allowed the macOS app, which was originally designed for old Intel-based Macs, to run on machines with Apple’s new M1 processors. Offering native M1 support should result in Dropbox having better performance and consuming less power when used with Apple Silicon devices. That said, Rosetta translation is so fast you might not...

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Apple and T-Mobile say iOS 15.2 didn’t switch off iCloud Private Relay

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Apple has denied that last month’s iOS 15.2 update is behind the difficulty some iPhone owners have faced with using the iCloud Private Relay feature on cellular networks. Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile earlier this week said they weren’t blocking the VPN-like feature, but T-Mobile claimed to have identified that iOS 15.2 toggled it off by default.

Now Apple says that’s not the case. After releasing an updated beta of iOS 15.3 that clarifies the language in iCloud settings, Apple issued a statement to 9to5Mac saying that iOS 15.2 wasn’t the problem. “No changes were made to iCloud Private Relay in iOS 15.2 that would have toggled the feature off,” the statement reads. “Users are encouraged to check their Settings to see if Private Relay is...

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Alleged Apple App Store scammer AmpMe says it’ll lower prices and investigate its ‘consultants’

AmpMe _isn’t_a brand-new app that popped up just to scam unsuspecting users out of their money. See the photo atop this post? That’s from 2015, when we first covered the idea: an app that can sync up a room full of smartphones into a single gigantic speaker with no fees in sight. But as App Store scam hunter Kosta Eleftheriou points out, the app looksseriously shady more than six years later — if you downloaded it yesterday, it would immediately try to sell you on a $9.99 a week automatic recurring subscription. That’s $520 a year, an incredible sum if you pull it out as a party trick and then forget to cancel.

AppFigures estimates the app has raked in $13 million since 2018.

3. Buy lots of fake reviews on a daily basis (notice the...

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Geico made the Portal ad we never asked for

Image: Geico

We’re still waiting on the Portal movie that’s apparently been years in the making, but if you must see Portal icon / villain GLaDOS in some sort of cinematic, there’s a new Geico ad you can watch right here or at the top of this post. Yes, you read that correctly — Geico actually made a Portal-themed ad featuring GLaDOS, and the insurance company even got voice actor Ellen McLain to reprise her role as the famous robot.

If you’ve seen any Geico ad featuring Martin the Gecko from the past many years (or perhaps forever, it feels like he’s always been a character I’m aware of), this ad will be familiar territory. Martin, armed with an Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, makes a few quips (and of course mentions that it’s possible to...

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Apple will clarify iCloud Private Relay error messages in iOS 15.3 to not blame cell carriers as much

Photo by Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge

Apple is updating the wording for iCloud Private Relay issues in the latest iOS 15.3 beta, clarifying that problems with the service may be an inadvertently switched-off setting and not issues with a customer’s specific cell carrier, via MacRumors.

The old message put the blame for iCloud Private Relay not working squarely on the shoulders of cell carriers.

Private Relay is turned off for your cellular plan. Your cellular plan doesn’t support ‌iCloud‌ Private Relay. With ‌iCloud‌ Private Relay turned off, this network can monitor your internet activity, and your IP address is not hidden from known trackers or websites.

Unsurprisingly, that wording led to confusion earlier this week when customers couldn’t get iCloud Private Relay to...

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GM is creating an online used car marketplace

It’s called CarBravo and is set to launch in the spring. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The used car market is red hot, and it seems General Motors wants to compete squarely with used vehicle sites like Carvana with a new website called CarBravo. GM is beginning to enroll dealers now to be a part of the site, which is set to launch in “spring 2022,” according to a press release.

CarBravo will not only let shoppers look at inventories from both dealers and GM’s central stock of used vehicles, but it will also let people shop for non-GM used vehicles, Steve Carlisle, GM’s EVP and president of GM North America, said in a statement. That could help it better take on Carvana (which just announced it has sold one million cars) and other sites such as CarMax and Vroom, which let people shop across many different car brands.

The...

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OnePlus Buds Pro gain multipoint support after latest update

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Multipoint support on earbuds has long been one of Jabra’s hallmarks, but slowly we’re starting to see other brands add the convenience to their buds. The latest is OnePlus, which is adding “dual connection” to its flagship OnePlus Buds Pro with a new firmware update.

Once that update is installed, the Buds Pro will be able to connect to two devices at once, letting you seamlessly switch between, say, listening to music on your laptop and taking a call on your mobile phone.

This functionality is common in a lot of premium wireless headphones but has been much slower to make its way to earbuds. For a long time multipoint was a big selling point for Jabra’s Elite 65t, 75t, and 85t earbuds. But other companies like Anker and JBL have...

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Congressional watchdog calls for stronger regulation of crypto ATMs

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

In a public report issued earlier this week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommends that the IRS and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) be given more information about the location of the kiosks where people can turn cash into crypto or vice versa. In its report, GAO cites crypto’s potential use in sex trafficking and drug dealing as the reason why the government should have more insight into one of the ways people obtain crypto outside of the more tightly regulated exchanges.

While kiosk operators already have to comply with several regulations (they have to register with FinCEN, keep transaction records, and collect extra information for transfers over $3,000), GAO argues that it’s still hard for government...

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Wear OS will work better for lefties... eventually

Unfortunately, us reviewers also tend to snap photos exclusively on the left wrist. | Photo by Dieter Bohn / The Verge

Good news for Wear OS southpaws: Google is adding the ability to rotate the screen on Wear OS watches 180 degrees. There is, however, a catch — you might have to upgrade to get the feature.

The news was initially spotted on Reddit by journalist Mishaal Rahman and picked up by Android Central. In a Google IssueTracker thread requesting customizable screen orientation, a developer wrote, “Our development team has implemented the feature you have requested and will be available on future new devices.” That prompted somemixedresponses. On the one hand, the feature exists. On the other, it’s implied the feature may not make its way to all Wear OS smartwatches.

Should this be the case, it’s understandable why Wear OS users are cheesed. It’s...

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Apple patches HomeKit denial-of-service bug with new iOS update

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

On Wednesday, Apple released the 15.2.1 version of iOS, a minor update to the mobile operating system that fixes bugs, including a denial-of-service vulnerability previously reported by The Verge.

The 15.2.1 patch addresses a vulnerability triggered through HomeKit, the software API for connecting smart home devices to iOS applications. If the vulnerability was exploited, HomeKit devices labeled with a very long name would cause iPhones and iPads to endlessly freeze, crash, and reboot.

Since HomeKit device names are backed up to iCloud, signing in to the same iCloud account with a restored device would trigger the crash again.

Apple’s security notification for the 15.2.1 update lists only one change, a fix for the HomeKit vulnerability....

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White House to launch COVID test-ordering site ‘by this weekend,’ reports say

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

On Wednesday, a senior White House adviser said that a government-run website to order COVID-19 rapid tests “should be online by this weekend,” according to new reporting from PBS NewsHour. Tests should start arriving this month.

The promise comes weeks after President Joe Biden announced that Americans would soon be able to order 500 million free COVID tests directly from the government. “We’ll have websites where you can get them delivered to your home,” Biden said in a speech on December 21st as the Omicron variant surged across the country. In prior remarks from White House press secretary Jen Psaki, the website would go live “as soon as these tests are available.”

The website would go live “as soon as these tests are available”

S...

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Wordle copycat creator apologizes for ripping off the popular free word game

Developer Zach Shakked — the creator of one of several controversial copycat versions of Josh Wardle’s popular free word-guessing game — has responded to Apple removing his app from the App Store after an internet backlash that followed his boasting about the money-making potential of his clone.

“I realize I crossed a line. And I surely, surely will never do anything remotely close to this again. I fucked up,” tweeted Shakked. He goes on to explain that “Wordle” itself wasn’t trademarked and that Wardle’s game was similar to Lingo, an older TV game show with a similar word-guessing mechanic. Shakked also says that he planned to expand on Wordle with more functionality and change the overall design of the app to less resemble Wardle’s...

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California is ‘revisiting’ Tesla’s Full Self-Driving beta in light of ‘dangerous’ videos

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The California Department of Motor Vehicles is “revisiting” its opinion to not regulate Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta software. The news comes after numerous safety advocates and regulators have expressed concern about the company’s willingness to allow its customers to test its Level 2 driving feature in public. (The news was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.)

The state’s DMV oversees the largest autonomous vehicle testing program in the country, with over 60 companies permitted to operate test vehicles on public roads. Only a handful are approved to operate fully autonomous vehicles without safety drivers at the wheel, and even fewer have been approved to deploy vehicles for commercial purposes.

Unlike other companies...

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Windows 11 is finally getting a new volume indicator

It has taken nearly 10 years, but Windows is finally getting a new modern volume indicator. Originally introduced in Windows 8 in 2012, the black bar that pops up when you adjust the system volume using a keyboard or other device is finally going away. Microsoft is replacing it with a volume indicator that matches the overall Windows 11 design.

Indicators for volume, brightness, camera privacy, camera on / off, and airplane mode are all being updated soon with a more modern design. “These new flyouts will appear when you press the volume or brightness keys on your laptop and will honor light/dark mode to give you a more coherent Windows experience,” explains Microsoft’s Windows Insider chief Amanda Langowski. “Brightness and volume...

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Magic Leap’s new AR headset is rolling out to healthcare companies

Magic Leap

Augmented reality headset maker Magic Leap has announced early partners for its Magic Leap 2 headset — a signal that the once consumer-focused company is still moving ahead with its enterprise-focused business.

In a press release today, Magic Leap named four healthcare partners that are getting access to the device: clinical data visualization company SentiAR, neurotechnology company SyncThink, diagnostics company Heru, and surgical software tool Brainlab. The Magic Leap 2 is slated for more general release in mid-2022. It’s a smaller, lighter follow-up to the Magic Leap headset that debuted in 2018; in an interview with Bloomberg, Magic Leap CEO Peggy Johnson said it would be “slightly” pricier than its predecessor, which starts at...

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The PS5 and Xbox Series X will restock on Thursday for Walmart Plus subscribers

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s becoming ever-so-slightly less of a maddening exercise to get your hands on a PS5 or Xbox Series X. Granted, it’s still harder than it should be, but recent retailer restocks have taken longer to sell out than they used to. So, here’s hoping that you’re able to purchase whichever console you want during tomorrow’s restock at Walmart, which is specifically for paid Walmart Plus subscribers.

Starting at 3PM ET / 12PM PT on Thursday, January 13th, Walmart will offer the $499.99 PS5 with a disc drive, the $399.99 PS5 console that can only play digital titles, as well as the $499.99 Xbox Series X. These consoles will be available to non-trial Walmart Plus members, meaning you actually have to opt-in to pay...

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The Nvidia Shield is getting Android 11 and other upgrades

The seemingly indefatigable Nvidia Shield is getting another major Android update, with the new Shield Software Experience Upgrade 9.0 that adds Android 11 and a host of other upgrades.

The new update is rolling out to all Shield set-top boxes, including the original model from 2015 — which originally ran Android 5.0 Lollipop when it first launched. The latest upgrade to Android 11 gives the popular set-top box the honor of being one of the most upgraded Android devices ever released. To put that in perspective, a comparable Android phone from 2015 would be the Galaxy S6, which never got past Android Nougat (Android 7.0).

In addition to updating the OS to Android 11, the latest Shield software is also bringing some other...

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Sony says it’s still making new PS4s, but most stores aren’t selling them

ps4 playstation 4 stock

While many of us fall somewhere between trying to find a new-generation gaming console like the Xbox Series X / S and PlayStation 5 or trying to find worthwhile gaming experiences once we have them, Sony tells Bloomberg it’s still manufacturing new PlayStation 4s. According to the report, an internal plan had projected an end to the production of the system in 2021, but the ongoing shortages will cause the company to build about a million PS4s in 2022, according to sources.

If you really need one, Sony will still sell you a PS4 Slim for $300

Sony confirmed that PS4 production is still ongoing, providing a quote to Bloomberg saying the system “is one of the best-selling consoles ever, and there is always crossover between generations.”...

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Apple’s largest iPad Pro with the M1 processor is $100 off

The larger 12.9-inch iPad sports a Mini LED screen and more real estate for use with Apple’s Pencil. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

There is no better screen in the world of tablets (yet) than the Mini LED panel on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro of 2021. While Mini LED is not super common yet — though we did see more of it announced at CES 2022 — it’s appealing as it achieves deeper black levels, a high contrast ratio, and high brightness. It’s also more expensive than a traditional LCD panel, so any dollar saved can be a worthwhile one.

If you want that Mini LED-equipped iPad Pro, we have a solid discount to share. Apple’s Wi-Fi-equipped base 128GB storage configuration is $100 off. This model usually runs for $1,099, but Amazon is selling it in the silver colorway for $999. The 2021 iPad Pro also packs Apple’s stellar M1 processor, ensuring its performance can not only...

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Kirby’s post-apocalyptic Switch adventure is coming in March

Horizon Zero Kirby, better known by its official title, Kirby and the Forgotten Lands, launches on March 25th and has a new trailer showing off the game’s co-op features and all the cool powers you’ll be able to suck out of the local fauna.

In Kirby and the Forgotten Lands, the eponymous Pepto-Bismol-colored creature travels to a mysterious land dotted with overgrown buildings and rusted-out cars to investigate the mass kidnappings of Waddle Dees. Kirby, eater of worlds, is joined on his journey by a cute blue sidekick called Elfilin, who will help him defeat the evil Beast Pack.

The trailer showcases two new abilities Kirby can learn using his power of vore: Drill and Ranger. With Drill, Kirby can dive underground dodging attacks and...

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Netflix’s The House is an unsettling anthology wrapped in cozy stop-motion

Image: Netflix

The House, one of Netflix’s first new releases of the year, is a straightforward concept. It’s a film split into three chapters, each helmed by a different director, all of which explore a different story related to the same sprawling home. What connects each short, aside from the physical house and stop-motion animation, is a creeping sense of dread. The House looks cute, with talking animals and dollhouse-like visuals, but in each story there’s something lurking just beneath the surface; something wrong, unsettling. It could be a recession or a scary creature — but when you put it together the result is an anthology with a trio of distinct, yet clearly connected stories.

The first chapter, directed by Marc James Roels and Emma de...

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