This PS5-ready 1TB SSD is just $130

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge

Not all M.2 SSDs are PS5-compatible. They need to be PCIe 4.0-ready and boast a 5,500MB/s read speed (though some slower drives may work, according to our testing), and Adata’s XPG Gammix S70 Blade meets those requirements. The reason why I’m telling you about this one, in particular, is that it’s selling for just $129.99 at Best Buy and Amazon, a $30 price cut. At that price, it’s one of the fastest yet most affordable ways to add storage to your PS5. Similar models from brands like Samsung often sell for about $50 more than this.

Whether you plan to use it inside of a PC that has a PCIe 4.0-ready motherboard (it’s backward compatible with PCIe 3.0, just a slower speeds) or a PS5, it’ll be ready to install the moment you open the box....

Continue reading…

Elgato launches Stream Deck Pedal and official Discord plugin

Elgato is launching a new Stream Deck Pedal today, alongside official Discord integration. The Stream Deck Pedal is an $89.99 pad that has three pedals that can control software, hardware, and more. It looks ideal for streamers wanting to trigger effects, switch scenes, or even toggle cameras.

The Stream Deck Pedal is also great for accessibility, opening up streaming to those unable to use a traditional Stream Deck. As the Pedal extends the power of Stream Deck to more locations, it will likely be used by DJs and musicians to control their streams away from their PC.

Image: Elgato

Elgao’s new Stream Deck Pedal.

Elgato says the Stream Deck Pedal supports multiple actions, so you can string together a bunch of...

Continue reading…

Apex Legends studio Respawn is making three new Star Wars games

Respawn, the studio behind games like Apex Legends and Titanfall, is making a big push into the Star Wars universe. The developer announced that it’s working on three new Star Wars titles, including a sequel to 2019 action-adventure game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

The studio will also be making a currently untitled Star Wars_first-person shooter and is partnering with Bit Reactor — a recently announced team founded by former developers from_XCOM studio Firaxis Games — on a strategy game. “We are huge fans of Star Wars here at Respawn and we’re thrilled to work with Lucasfilm Games on new titles that we have wanted to make for years,” Respawn founder Vince Zampella said in a statement.

Other than that, there are few details on any of...

Continue reading…

The struggling magician behind the iBeer app was making up to $20K a day in its heyday

How is he doing that!?

Good. Clean. Honest. Fun.

That’s what the iBeer app represented to a generation of early iPhone users, and that, I’m afraid, is very much what’s missing in today’s world of “non-funkable tokens” and “idle orangutans.” Not only was the app a lighthearted parlor trick that brought smiles to the faces of millions, but it was an industrial juggernaut, earning its creator — a struggling 37-year-old magician by the name of Steve Sheraton — up to $20,000 a day. And okay, sure, you might be one of those raking in millions from cryptographical currencies at the expense of others’ financial negligence, but where’s the joy in that? Where’s the magic?

Sheraton revealed these earnings in a recent interview with Mel Magazine (which we spotted via the...

Continue reading…

MSI GE76 Raider review: Alder Lake is good, with caveats

A triumph for Intel, but a shrug from us

Continue reading…

YouTube CEO hints at potential NFT features

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

YouTube NFTs may be in the works. In a letter published today, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki suggested the company is looking to branch into NFTs in the future as another source of revenue for creators.

“We’re always focused on expanding the YouTube ecosystem to help creators capitalize on emerging technologies, including things like NFTs, while continuing to strengthen and enhance the experiences creators and fans have on YouTube,” the letter reads.

The detail was part of Wojcicki’s latest letter to the YouTube community, which outlines areas the company plans to invest in, like gaming and shopping, and how it plans to support creators. Wojcicki said YouTube is looking to Web3 “as a source of inspiration,” specifically noting the...

Continue reading…

Plaid’s new privacy controls let you manage your financial data from a single hub

Image by Plaid

Plaid, a go-between for financial apps like Robinhood, Venmo, and Betterment and bank accounts, has created a privacy hub where you can manage all of your financial connections. The hub is a requirement of a lawsuit Plaid settled about its handling of user data.

The hub, called Plaid Portal, shows users exactly which apps they’re connected to by Plaid. It can be found by accessing my.plaid.com, where the service will prompt users to set up an account. Then, it’s possible to browse connections and disconnect unused apps from bank accounts. The portal details the kinds of data users sharing through Plaid, as well as which bank accounts are connected. It’s also possible to wipe all of a user’s linked data through the portal.

If you don’t...

Continue reading…

Amazon brings Just Walk Out convenience to the suburbs

A render of Amazon’s upcoming store in Mill Creek. | Image: Amazon

Amazon is bringing its cashierless Just Walk Out technology to a new format of stores aimed at suburbs, the company announced today. The new stores will use the Amazon Go branding that the company already uses for its locations in city centers, but will instead be located further afield where they’ll sell food, snacks, alcohol, and “a few every day essentials.”

They’re convenience stores, basically, and come at a time when a shift to home working means that people are spending more time in the vicinity of their homes rather than commuting into city-based offices. Like its other Just Walk Out stores, Amazon says customers will be able to browse the store, pick up items, and then leave without having to interact with a cashier or...

Continue reading…

Neil Young tells Spotify to remove his music over Joe Rogan vaccine misinformation

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images

After the gold rush of signing Joe Rogan, Spotify now has to deal with the harvest.

The latest difficulty in reaction to Spotify’s controversial star turn comes from singer and songwriter Neil Young, who says he’s extremely unhappy to be sharing a platform with Rogan. “I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform,” Young wrote in an open letter to his manager and record label (which has since been deleted from his website). “They can have [Joe] Rogan or Young. Not both.”

The reason? Rogan’s hand in spreading vaccine misinformation. As first reported by Rolling Stone, Young writes: “I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to...

Continue reading…

Nvidia is making preparations to give up on Arm acquisition, says report

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Nvidia is reportedly preparing to give up on its $40 billion purchase of chip designer Arm, according to Bloomberg News. The deal has faced intense scrutiny from regulators and vocal opposition from rivals, forcing Nvidia to adjust its original timeline for the purchase.

Now, Bloomberg says Nvidia is telling partners it doesn’t expect the deal to go through at all, while Arm’s current owner SoftBank is reportedly “stepping up preparations” to take Arm public via an initial public offering — which could be an alternative way to profitably rid itself of the firm.

Both Nvidia and SoftBank remain publicly committed to the deal, and Bloomberg notes that no final decision has been made. But such rumors are not surprising given it’s long been...

Continue reading…

Apple hit with weekly €5M fines in Dutch dating app dispute

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The Dutch competition regulator, the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), has fined Apple €5 million (around $5.6 million) for failing to let dating app developers use third-party payment methods, the ACM has announced. The regulator says that Apple will continue to be fined €5 million a week until it properly complies with the order, which was publicly issued on December 24th.

With a market cap of well over $2 trillion and revenues last quarter of $83.4 billion, Apple’s bottom line is unlikely to be impacted by these €5 million fines. But the Dutch regulator’s actions, like South Korea’s before it, could embolden others to take action against Apple’s App Store policies, as well as Google’s which are also being scrutinized.

Apple...

Continue reading…

Here are the best iPad deals right now

Select iPad models go on sale quite regularly. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

We saw some of the best iPad deals of the last year during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but if you missed out, there are still a couple of decent discounts available. Whether you’re after the high-end iPad Pro or the most affordable Apple tablet, the entry-level iPad, there’s a sale going on somewhere you may be interested in.

Of course, it’s difficult to know exactly where you can find the most notable deals unless you’re scouring the major retailers on a daily basis. But that’s often what our deal hunters at _The Verge_are doing each and every day, so let us help you out. Below, we’ve listed the best deals available on each iPad model that is currently available, some of which are outgoing models with freshly introduced replacements....

Continue reading…

Mission: Impossible release dates have been pushed back again

Mission: Impossible Fallout | Photo: Paramount Pictures

The release dates of the seventh and eighth installments of the Mission: Impossible series have been pushed back again due to pandemic-related delays, Deadline reported. The two flicks are the latest in a long list of movies to be delayed by the pandemic, which upended Hollywood as it has struggled to deal with closed movie theaters and halted or scaled back productions.

The films Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8, both co-produced by Paramount Pictures and Skydance, are the latest installments in the film series that began in 1996, starring Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, an agent for Impossible Mission Force.

Mission: Impossible 7 was supposed to be released last year on September 30th but is now set for July 14th, 2023, and M...

Continue reading…

Philips Hue outdoor lights add an old-timey vibe to your smart home

Philips Hue’s new smart outdoor light fixture the Inara harkens back to a less high-tech time. | Image: Signify

Spring is coming (soon, we promise), and smart lighting company Philips Hue has some new products that can help you spruce up your outdoor space, so you can enjoy spending more time outside when the ice finally melts.

Signify, which owns Philips Hue, has announced three new additions to its outdoor smart lighting line, all arriving in the US on March 1st, 2022. Plus, two new lighting effects are scheduled to arrive on the Hue app later this year to add features to its indoor smart bulbs.

The Philips Hue Inara wall light ($99.99, available on March 1st) is a vintage-style outdoor wall light featuring a filament bulb. Also known as an Edison bulb, a filament bulb has its “electric” filament visible through the bulb, resembling that...

Continue reading…

Here are the best Apple Watch deals right now

The Apple Watch Series 7 currently starts at $349 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 Series 7 models, but new 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 starts at...

Continue reading…

Steam Deck’s new cloud saves could be the system’s best feature

When you put your Steam Deck into sleep mode, Dynamic Cloud Sync will upload modified save data to the cloud. | Image: Valve

Ahead of the Steam Deck’s launch, Valve has detailed a new feature for Steam’s cloud saves that should carry over your progress from your Steam Deck back to your PC (or another Steam Deck) even when you put your Steam Deck into suspend mode without fully exiting a game. Valve has talked about this intriguing idea before, but now it has a name — Dynamic Cloud Sync.

Here’s how it should work: when you put your Steam Deck into sleep mode, Dynamic Cloud Sync will automatically upload “all modified save game data” to the cloud, Valve explained in a blog post published Monday. That way, you can pick up your save when you sit down at your PC or another device with Steam. The Steam Deck will also automatically download save updates when you...

Continue reading…

Giant iceberg releases 152 billion tons of fresh water around remote Atlantic island

Image: British Antarctic Survey/Povl Abrahamsen

An iceberg that was once the largest on the planet, dubbed A68a, recently released 152 billion tons of fresh water close to the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, potentially impacting the region’s ecosystem,a study published earlier this month found.

A68a captured the world’s attention in 2017 when it broke off the Larsen-C ice shelf, located near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.The largest iceberg in the world at the time of its formation, it initially floated around the Weddell Sea close to Antarctica before making its way its way across the Drake Passage between southern South America and the northern reaches of Antarctica. As it approached the southern Atlantic island of South Georgia in December 2020, researchers became...

Continue reading…

At long last, Nvidia and AMD GPU street prices are beginning to drop

Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge

We’re not out of the woods yet — not even close — but it looks like the prices of Nvidia and AMD GPU prices may finally be coming down. Tom’s Hardware in the US and 3DCenter.org in Germany have been charting eBay and local retail prices, respectively, and they’re each seeing the same thing: a substantial dip for nearly every new graphics card that Nvidia and AMD make.

Want an Nvidia RTX 3080? Just two months ago, that might have cost you $1,773 on the street — over two and a half times the manufacturer suggested retail price. As we reported in November with our own chart, that was typical of the hottest graphics cards, and Tom’s Hardware shows things got slightly worse in December. But in January, those prices have dipped 11 percentto...

Continue reading…

Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin goes its own way

Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin looks like Square Enix’s biggest departure yet for the long-running Final Fantasy series. Though the name _Final Fantasy_has been synonymous with RPG for the last 35 years, Stranger of Paradise is an action game focused on challenging and fast-paced combat. With only two months to go before launch, The Verge spoke with its developers to talk about Stranger of Paradise and the unique place it occupies in the Final Fantasy family.

More than setting itself apart by being an action game, Stranger of Paradise looks and feels vastly different from its numbered siblings with its bloody aesthetic. Most _Final Fantasy_games entice by offering a bright world to explore with beautiful people to befriend. S...

Continue reading…

Twitter’s ‘close friends’ feature could share tweets with up to 150 select users

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Twitter appears to be working on a feature that lets you share tweets with a specific group of people (via Input). If this sounds familiar, it’s because Instagram’s Close Friends feature lets you do the exact same thing — but in Twitter’s case, you’ll be limiting your tweets to your “Flock.”

Twitter first gave us a glimpse of the feature last July, which it called “Trusted Friends” at the time. Since then, mobile developer Alessandro Paluzzi has been keeping track of Twitter’s progress, and it’s really starting to take shape.

#Twitter continues to work on Twitter Flock by adding an explanation of how it works

ℹ️ You can choose up to 150 people to include in your Twitter Flock
ℹ️ People won't be notified if you remove them from the...

Continue reading…

Costco has PlayStation 5 consoles on sale for members right now (update: sold out)

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Update January 24th, 4:56PM ET: Costco’s listing sold out at this time and has been removed from its site for now. We are continuing to keep an eye out for more restocks happening soon.

The Sony PlayStation 5 comes and goes fast, with high demand at each and every restock opportunity. If you have not landed one yet, your options can be slightly improved by paying for subscriptions to select retailers that give special access. If you are a Costco member then you already do just that, and your time is now.

You can order a PlayStation 5 console from Costco right now, bundled with additional accessories and 12-month PlayStation Plus membership card. You must be a paid Costco member to place this order. A membership starts at $60 per year and...

Continue reading…

The iconic silver bullet Airstream camping trailer has returned as a remote-controlled EV

Airstream eStream concept by Thor Industries — being towed by a Tesla Model X | Image: Thor Industries

Recreational vehicle manufacturer Thor Industries revealed last week an electric tow assisted “eStream” trailer concept under its Airstream brand and also a battery-powered RV with a range of up to 300 miles (via Electrek).

The Airstream eStream trailer could be like any other camper that you tow — but this one can be detached and remotely moved around a campsite. That could make maneuvering easier and improve safety. While it may seem similar to such gimmicks as a Tesla’s remote parking feature, the eStream’s electric propulsion enables other advances, such as the ability to synchronize with a towing vehicle to help increase range between recharging.

Nowadays, electric vehicles have expanded range capabilities, but if you’ve ever tried...

Continue reading…

PG&E’s criminal probation is ending, but the company remains a ‘menace to California’

A burned tree is seen through the window of a business that was destroyed by the Dixie Fire on September 24, 2021 in Greenville, California.  | Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Embattled California utility PG&E ends a five-year felony probation period tomorrow that failed to rehabilitate the company, according to theUS District Court judge that oversaw the probation.

“In these five years, PG&E has gone on a crime spree and will emerge from probation as a continuing menace to California,” US District Judge William Alsup wrote in a scathing report released days ahead of the probationary period that lifts at midnight.

“PG&E has gone on a crime spree”

The company was placed on probation in 2017 when it was convicted of six felony crimes connected to one of its natural gas pipelines that exploded in 2010, killing eight people. Since a company can’t go to prison for committing a crime, PG&E faced a $3 million fine...

Continue reading…

Cracking a $2 million crypto wallet

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge

First, he forgot his PIN — then he started looking for hackers

Continue reading…

TikTok is feeling emotional damage over the market crash

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

My TikTok For You page is generally a wonderland of soothing cooking videos, lesbian carpentry, dieticians frothing at the mouth at fitness scams, and whatever it is @yoleendadong is up to. But every so often, my FYP will land me in FinanceTok and CryptoTok. And buddy, I do not think everyone there is OK.

I’ve never turned down a chance to leap down the TikTok rabbit hole, and perusing the #marketcrash2022 and #cryptocrash2022 tags is truly tragic. There’s this baby going through a rollercoaster of emotions watching stocks go up and down. There’s also this grown adult man doing the same thing, set to the Emotional Damage vs. Pompeii by William Li sound. Actually, it seems like a lot of grown menarecryingabout theircryptocurrencyand...

Continue reading…

Twitter suspends Wordle-ruining bot

The Wordlinator account tweeted rude messages with spoilers at people posting results.

Twitter has banned @wordlinator, a bot that replied to people’s Wordle posts with rude messages that include spoilers for the next day’s game. The account’s spoilers appeared to be accurate (the key is easily accessible in the game’s code, so it’s not necessarily a surprise), which could end up ruining the game for anyone who sees them.

For anyone who’s managed to avoid it, Wordle is a game where you get six chances to guess a five-letter word — if you’re interested, you can learn how to play it here. The answer is the same for everyone playing, and it only changes once a day. The game also has an interesting sharing mechanic, where you can copy and paste a series of emoji to let people know how easy or hard it was for you to guess the...

Continue reading…

Google could bring the fight to Roku and Amazon with an even cheaper Chromecast

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Google is working on a lower-end Chromecast with Google TV that would slot in below its current model in price — and also video resolution. According to Protocol’s Janko Roettgers, the upcoming, cheaper Chromecast will run the same Google TV software as the existing hardware and will still include a remote control. But it will be limited to a maximum of 1080p video quality.

Playing to that limitation, Protocol believes Google might market the device as “Chromecast HD with Google TV,” similar to the branding of Apple’s Apple TV HD. The product would be marketed towards consumers with 1080p TVs who don’t necessarily care about having the very best picture quality. Other specs mentioned in the report include a maximum of 2GB RAM and 60fps...

Continue reading…

It’s 2022, and the Surface Duo is finally getting Android 11

The Surface Duo is getting Android 11 at last. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

At the beginning of this month, my colleague Monica Chin published an article with the headline “It’s 2022, and the Surface Duo still doesn’t have Android 11,” pointing out that Microsoft hadn’t brought Android 11 to the dual-screen phone despite having said in September that it was working on delivering the by the end of 2021. That’s finally changing, as Microsoft has begun to roll out Android 11 for unlocked Surface Duos in North America and Europe, as reported by 9to5Google.

Not every Surface Duo will be getting the update right away; if you have a Surface Duo that’s tied to AT&T, it sounds like you’re going to have to wait just a bit longer. “For locked or unlocked AT&T Surface Duos, we are testing this release and it is pending...

Continue reading…

NASA’s revolutionary James Webb Space Telescope reaches final orbit in space

After traveling hundreds of thousands of miles through space over the last month, NASA’s revolutionary new James Webb Space Telescope performed its last big course correction maneuver this afternoon, putting itself into its final resting place in space. Now, the observatory will live in perpetuity at a distance of roughly 1 million miles from the Earth, giving the vehicle a front row view of the most ancient stars and galaxies of the Universe.

Launched on Christmas Day, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, has had a wild ride to its destination. Too enormous to fly to space in its final form, the telescope had to launch folded up inside its rocket. Once it reached space, JWST began an extremely complex routine of shape-shifting...

Continue reading…

Tesla Cybertruck walkaround video shows the absurdly huge windshield wiper in detail

Even in handheld video, the truck looks a little unreal. | Image: Cybertruck Owners Club

We got the closest look yet at an alleged prototype of the Tesla Cybertruck, thanks to a walkaround video posted to the Cybertruck Owners Club forum (via Electrek). We get to see a good deal of the vehicle, including its giant windshield and wiper. You can watch the whole thing below.

We saw the wiper last month when a drone video captured a Cybertruck doing laps on the company’s test track in Fremont, California. Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented on the wiper at the time, saying that it troubled him and that a wiper you could stow away in the front trunk would be “ideal, but complex.” (Is getting out in the rain, sleet, or snow to put on your windshield wiper _really_ideal, though?)

Image: CybertruckOwnersClub.com

The...

Continue reading…