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The VergeThe VergeSpotify removes Kremlin-backed content and closes Russia office
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Spotify has closed its office in Russia and removed content from Kremlin-backed outlets RT and Sputnik, _Variety_reports. In addition, it’s also restricting the discoverability of content from other outlets affiliated with the Russian government. Reuters reports that RT and Sputnik’s content has been removed in several markets including the United States and European Union, but not in Russia itself. In total, Spotify says it’s reviewed thousands of pieces of content since the start of the war.
Closing Spotify’s Russian office means that the company is no longer in compliance with a Russian law from July 2021 which obliges foreign social media companies with over 500,000 daily users to have a local office in the country. Failing to comply...
The VergeThe Arc One is an electric boat with a battery pack three times the size of Tesla’s
Electric boat startup Arc revealed new images and a video of the pre-production version of the Arc One, a 24-foot-long vessel with a massive battery pack and an elegant design. The company has raised $30 million from a group of prominent investors that include Will Smith, Kevin Durant, and Sean “Diddy” Combs.
The company has already tested an early prototype, and the reveal of its pre-production version is meant to send the signal that the company is getting closer to customer deliveries, which are on schedule for this summer.
The specs of the Arc One have changed slightly since the company first came out of stealth last year. The boat will still have a top speed of around 40 miles per hour and can last about four hours under power...
The VergeIs Samsung the latest Android device maker throttling apps?
There are conflicting reports about whether Samsung’s S22 series devices are affected. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge
Some of Samsung’s smartphones include software that appears to be artificially limiting, or throttling, the performance of thousands of popular apps, _Android Authority_reports. Reports about the behavior have been gathering steam on Twitter, as well as Samsung’sKoreancommunity forums.
At the core of the issue is Samsung software called Game Optimizing Service (GOS), which is reportedly throttling the performance of 10,000 apps. This list includes popular apps like Instagram, Netflix, TikTok, and even Samsung’s own apps like Secure Folder and Samsung Pay. Crucially, however, it doesn’t appear to include benchmarking apps like 3DMark and GeekBench, which means they might not give an accurate picture of the performance of a phone. So a...
The VergeElon Musk dares autoworkers union: hold a vote at Tesla’s California factory
Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
Elon Musk has invited the United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union to hold a vote to unionize at Tesla’s Fremont factory in California.
Musk tweeted the challenge after President Joe Biden, speaking in his State of the Union Address, mentioned rival automakers Ford and General Motors — both of which have a strong union presence, a key component of Biden’s political base — but not Tesla.
Gene Simmons, bassist and singer from iconic rock band Kiss, noted on Twitter that the snub from pro-union Biden may have been “because Tesla is non-union and moved to Texas, a ‘right to work’ state.”
Musk apparently agrees, and responded: “I’d like hereby to invite UAW to hold a union vote at their convenience. Tesla will do nothing to stop them.” Musk’s...
The VergeAmazon Labor Union says it has NLRB go-ahead for second NYC election
Two other Amazon warehouses are involved in union elections. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Amazon employees at the Staten Island LDJ5 warehouse have reportedly gotten the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) permission to continue with unionization efforts, according to the Amazon Labor Union, after the workers filed a petition to unionize in February. According to a screenshot posted by Vice reporter Lauren Kaori Gurley, Amazon has acknowledged the decision in a message sent to employees through its A to Z app.
The Amazon Labor Union, or ALU, has been working to unionize the facility for a while — in October it filed a petition to unionize Amazon’s facilities on Staten Island, but later refiled that petition to focus on a single warehouse, JFK8. Workers at JFK8 have since gotten approval to hold an election starting on...
The VergeTikTok faces investigation into its impact on young people’s mental health
Several state attorneys generals are looking at TikTok’s methods of keeping kids on the platform. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
A coalition of state attorneys general from California, Florida, Kentucky, and more is investigating TikTok for its potential effect on young people’s mental and physical health (via CNBC). The group of AGs is looking to see if the way TikTok designs, operates, and markets its platform has a negative effect on children, teens, and young adults’ health, according to a press release from Attorney General Maura Healey of Massachusetts.
TikTok’s algorithm determines what content users see, and has proven remarkably effective at keeping users engaged on the app. While the company has offered some insight into how it works, it’s hard to get a grasp on exact details outside of leaks and educated guesswork. The attorneys general may be looking...
The VergeApple resurrects Beats Pill Plus in limited edition collab
Image: Stüssy
Beats is releasing a limited-edition model of its discontinued Beats Pill Plus in collaboration with fashion brand Stüssy. The release comes not long after Apple discontinued the Beats Pill Plus in January.
Apple released the original Beats Pill Plus speaker, which measured a bit larger than the first Beats Pill, in 2015. It was the first speaker Apple released following its 2014 acquisition of Beats for $3 billion. This new version of the Pill Plus will only be available for a limited time.
Image: Stüssy
Image: Stüssy
The new Pill Plus will keep the original design and come in a sleek black with a white skull and crossbones design on the front of the speaker. One side of the speaker reads “the...
The VergeWordle rip-offs are running rampant on the App Store again
The Wordle clones are back on the App Store, just a few weeks after Apple wiped out nearly all the copycat games in January.
A quick glance at the top free apps on the App Store reveals at least two prominently placed Wordle-alikes, while diving into Apple’s more specific word games category (or simply searching “Wordle”) surfaces plenty of other copycats, many of which appear to have been part of Apple’s first wave of takedowns a few months ago.
None of the new games are actively passing themselves off as Wordle — at least, not in name_._ Instead, the clones have creatively rebranded to “Wordus,” “Word Guess,” “Wordl,” and other thinly veiled references to the original game. But all of them offer some variant on Wordle’s gameplay, down...
The VergeTwitter may be adding a built-in podcasts tab
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
It looks like Twitter’s building a tab dedicated to podcasts, as shown in a screenshot posted by reverse engineer Jane Manchun Wong. The image shows a microphone icon in the Twitter app’s bottom menu bar, which appears to lead to a page titled “Podcasts.”
Twitter is working on Podcasts tab pic.twitter.com/64tTd3XPdu
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) March 2, 2022
The screenshot doesn’t show any indication of how podcasts could be displayed on the platform or if it’ll somehow incorporate Spaces, the platform’s audio-only chatrooms. Right now, live Spaces are stuffed at the top of Twitter feeds, and it would make sense to organize them into a separate tab.
Twitter began branching out to audio when it first launched Spaces in 2020 and...
The VergeRivian has altered the deal, and now its EVs will cost buyers up to $20K more
Photo by Mitchell Clark / The Verge
Rivian increased the estimated prices of its R1T electric pickup and R1S electric SUV this week by up to 20 percent, as reported by TechCrunch. The company is applying the new estimates to new orders and changing them for reservation holders who don’t yet have a vehicle entering production.
This is the first significant change in pricing Rivian has revealed since orders opened, and while customer preorders all stated “prices are subject to change as they get closer to production,” it seems like no one was ready for a change this big. Prospective EV buyers are used to fluctuations in the pricing of cars from Tesla, but in that case, prices are usually locked in from the time they put in their orders.
Many customers shared they have...
The VergeHBO Max will soon begin streaming US soccer matches
Photo by Erin Chang/ISI Photos/Getty Images
HBO Max is adding more sports coverage to its programming slate. Turner Sports, an arm of WarnerMedia, has reached a deal with the US Soccer Federation to air matches exclusively on TNT, TBS, and HBO Max.
As part of the eight-year agreement that will begin in 2023, HBO Max will stream more than 20 matches for the men’s and women’s national teams each year, WarnerMedia announced Tuesday. WarnerMedia-owned linear channels TNT and TBS will simultaneously air roughly half of those, while the other half will stream exclusively on HBO Max.
Turner Sports and its division Bleacher Report will have exclusive rights to live coverage of the matches as part of the agreement. Additionally, the deal positions Turner Sports as the exclusive...
The VergeAmazon is closing all 68 of its Books, 4-Star, and Pop Up physical stores
Opening day at the Amazon 4-Star brick and mortar store located in Soho in New York City. The cashless enterprise offers a variety of items that have been rated 4-stars or higher. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Amazon is closing most of its physical stores, the company announced today, with all 68 of its Amazon Books, Amazon 4-Star, and Amazon Pop Up locations across the US and the UK set to close while the company refocuses on its grocery and fashion stores, Reuters reports.
Amazon Books was one of the primarily online storefront’s first physical retail experiences when the first location opened in Seattle in 2015. Amazon has since expanded to 24 bookstores across the US, all of which are now slated to be closed down.
Amazon is ending most of its retail experiments to focus on grocery stores
The company would go on to expand its retail efforts with Amazon 4-Star in 2018, with a more generally focused store that sold products with a four-star...
The VergeMost Apple Watch users won’t get health benefits from AFib detection, study finds
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
One promised benefit of the Apple Watch is early detection of a heart condition called atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heart rhythm. But most people who wear the watch are in a demographic that wouldn’t actually be able to do much with that information, according to a new study — most doctors wouldn’t prescribe them the medication usually given for that condition, which is usually detected in older people.
Getting an alert about a heart rhythm, then, doesn’t help the typical Apple Watch user’s overall health, says study author Josh Pevnick, co-director in the division of informatics at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. “It can cause anxiety for people who it identifies, and if there’s no treatment, then you’re maybe...
The VergeFord’s ‘radical’ move to split the company won’t come easy
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Ford’s decision to divide its business into two separate entities — one focused on electric vehicles and the other on gas-powered ones — may complicate the automaker’s efforts to recruit top-tier talent and could risk upsetting dealers already chafing under the shift to electrification, auto analysts and experts said Wednesday.
Ford also isn’t going so far as to spin off its EV divisions entirely as a separate business, as some major Wall Street banks advised. The automaker’s share price could suffer as a result. By keeping both divisions within the same company, Ford is entwining their fates. Ford Model E won’t succeed without the profits and efficiencies created under Ford Blue.
On Wednesday, Ford announced the creation of two...
The VergeLooks like Google’s on an audio startup buying spree
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Over the past year or so, Google has been buying up several audio hardware startups, according to a recent report from Protocol. The fact that Google’s estimated to have spent tens of millions on startups and patent portfolios of companies working on audio hardware, 3D audio, noise cancellation, and Bluetooth tech could hint that it’s planning on expanding its lineup of audio products. In many cases, it’s reportedly brought on employees from the companies as well.
Google is no stranger to the world of audio products. It’s sold multiple models and generations ofwireless earbuds, and it brands its Nest Audio smart speaker as being “all about sound.” But at the moment, it doesn’t have the same range of offerings as competitors like Apple...
The VergeNetflix’s Lupin and The Crown sets both reportedly hit by master thieves
Netflix
Though Netflix was likely on higher alert than usual after the set of its series _The Crown_was recently robbed to the tune of $200,000 in antiques and props, Lupin, another one of the streaming platform’s shows, was similarly — albeit more ironically — hit by thieves the very next day.
Variety reports that production on the third season of Netflix’s Lupin, the series inspired by author Maurice Leblanc’s fictional master thief Arsène Lupin, has resumed after halting last week following an on-set robbery in the city of Nanterre where the series has been shooting. Though no members of the cast or crew were hurt when some 20 or so individuals reportedly hurled fireworks onto the set, the thieves were able to make off with about $333,000...
The VergeGoogle’s Bay Area employees will return to the office in April
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Google announced Wednesday that employees at its Bay Area offices and several other US locations will officially return to the office on April 4th. Starting that date, the company will kick off its previously announced hybrid work approach, where it expects most staffers to be in the office approximately three days per week.
In December, Google delayed a planned January 10th return to office until sometime in 2022, and now we know when that return will be. The company will use the month of March to help transition to the new hybrid model, according to Google spokesperson Lora Lee Erickson.
Depending on their job, some employees may need to be onsite more than three days a week. Workers who want more time before they return to the office...
The VergeFacebook shuts down its attempt to remake original Facebook inside Facebook
Facebook is shutting down Campus | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Less than two years after its launch, Facebook is shutting down Campus, a section of its app designed for college students, the latest blow to the company’s efforts to retain younger users. Campus users could access a special news feed and join groups, events, and chat rooms focused on college life. It also included a directory where users could find and friend other students on the app.
“We’ve decided to end our pilot of Facebook Campus,” Facebook spokesperson Leah Luchetti said in a statement emailed to_The Verge_. “We learned a lot about the best ways to support college students, and one of the most effective tools to help bring them together is Facebook Groups. We’ve notified students in the test schools that Campus will no longer be...
The VergePSA: You can order a second round of free COVID tests starting next week
A single household can now order a total of two sets of COVID-19 tests from the US government. | Photo Illustration by Toby Scott/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Starting next week, you’ll be able to order four more free COVID-19 tests from the US government. A notice on the USPS COVID test kit order page states US households “will be able to place a total of 2 separate orders for free at-home COVID-19 rapid tests (4 tests per order)” sometime next week. If you’ve already ordered your first round of tests from the government, you’ll be eligible to order to place a second order as well.
To order a second set of tests (or place an order for the first time), simply head to the USPS website, fill out your name and address, and hit “Check Out Now.” Your tests will ship for free. If you’ve never placed an order before, note that you can only place two “separate” orders, meaning you won’t be able to get...
The VergeEufy’s newest doorbell camera is also a smart lock
Eufy’s new Video Smart Lock could solve two smart home security problems in one. | Image: Eufy Security
Anker’s smart home brand Eufy Security today launched its latest product on Kickstarter. The $399 Eufy Security Video Smart Lock is a video doorbell and smart lock in one and is expected to ship to backers in May 2022, with a general release in June. The somewhat unique two-in-one security device notably uses a fingerprint reader to unlock the door and can send alerts when specific people arrive or leave using facial recognition, according to the company.
An apparent amalgamation of Eufy’s $260 Eufy Smart Lock Touch & WiFi and $200 Eufy Video Doorbell 2K, the Video Smart Lock provides a slight bargain compared to shelling out for two devices, but there are obvious issues with a dual product here.
For starters, most people struggle with...
The VergeElden Ring patch fixes PS5 save bug
Elden Ring developers, FromSoftware, have rolled out a fix for the bug that caused the loss of game save data on PS5 (via Polygon). In a tweet, developers confirmed that they’ve made “changes to save progression even when the game is not terminated” on PS5, in addition to issuing a few other patches on PC.
(2/2)
PS5:
Changes to save game progression even when the game is not terminated.— ELDEN RING (@ELDENRING) March 2, 2022
Last week, Elden Ring publisher Bandai Namco warned PS5 players that putting the console in rest mode or turning it off while the game is running may cause the game to save improperly. Players were instead instructed to save the game manually by exiting through the menu. The new patch should hopefully fix this...
The VergeFord sells electric scooter unit Spin to Berlin’s Tier
Image: Spin
Ford is selling its electric scooter operation Spin to one of Europe’s top shared mobility companies. Tier Mobility will take over all of Spin’s operations, marking the first time the Berlin-based scooter company will have a foothold in North America. The companies declined to disclose the sale price, though the CEO of Tier said it was an all-stock deal.
Spin first launched in March 2017 in Seattle after working with the city to create a policy framework for regulating dockless bikes. The founder, Euwyn Poon, was inspired to create a dockless bike company after visiting Beijing and seeing the growing interest in micromobility services in that city. The company soon pivoted to electric scooters after Bird’s success in Southern California....
The VergeUkraine’s nuclear power plants are at ‘unprecedented’ risk as fighting continues
Six reactors generate 40-42 billion kWh of electricity, making the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant the largest in Ukraine. Russian officials told the IAEA that it has “taken control of the territory around” Zaporizhzhia. | Photo credit should read Dmytro Smolyenko / Barcroft Media via Getty Images
Nuclear experts are increasingly worried about the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants as Russia’s invasion of the country continues. The conflict has the grim distinction of being the first time warfare has exploded in a region so heavily reliant on nuclear energy.
“The situation in Ukraine is unprecedented and I continue to be gravely concerned,” International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in an introductory statement to the agency’s Board of Governors meeting today and shared with the press. “I have called for restraint from all measures or actions that could jeopardize the security of nuclear and other radioactive material, and the safe operation of any nuclear facilities in Ukraine,...
The VergeOnly athletes should give a whoop about Whoop
That $30 monthly subscription is hard to swallow
The VergeEpic Games is acquiring music platform Bandcamp
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Epic Games is acquiring independent music storefront Bandcamp. The companies announced the news today, saying that Bandcamp would “keep operating as a standalone marketplace and music community” but use Epic’s resources to expand internationally and continue adding new features.
An Epic blog post says Bandcamp will play “an important role in Epic’s vision to build out a creator marketplace ecosystem for content, technology, games, art, music and more.” An announcement from Bandcamp co-founder and CEO Ethan Diamond, meanwhile, emphasized that the core deal for artists won’t change in the near future. “The products and services you depend on aren’t going anywhere, we’ll continue to build Bandcamp around our artists-first revenue model,”...
The VergeCarl Pei’s Nothing reportedly plans to launch a smartphone by next month
Nothing’s first product was a pair of true wireless earbuds. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
Nothing, the consumer tech brand led by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, is planning to launch its debut smartphone by next month, according to a report from TechCrunch. The company has reportedly been working on the phone for over a year, and Pei is said to have shown off a prototype to executives from companies including Qualcomm at this week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
An April launch would come a little under a year after the company released its debut product, a pair of wireless earbuds called the Ear 1. The phone will reportedly contain similar design elements to the earbuds, such as using transparent components, although other details on the new device are limited. TechCrunch cites a source with direct knowledge of the...
The VergeEA is removing Russian teams from its FIFA and NHL games
FIFA 22.
Electronic Arts hasannounced that it’s in the process of removing both Russian national teams and the country’s professional clubs from some of its biggest sports games.
That will include NHL 22, FIFA 22, FIFA Online, and FIFA Mobile; it’s not clear when the teams will be pulled from the game, but the publisher says that it has “initiated processes” for their removal. EA says that the decision was made “in line with our partners at FIFA and UEFA,” as well as the IIHF. Those governing bodies — which manage global and European soccer and international hockey, respectively — recently banned Russian teamsfrom all competitions “until further notice.” In addition to the Russian teams, NHL 22 will also be removing Belarusian clubs as well....
The VergeA new standard could let companies build processors out of Lego-like chiplets
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
The world’s biggest chipmakers are coming together to create a new Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express (UCIe) system for integrating chiplets together in future semiconductor designs.
Virtually every major name in processor technology is onboard with the standardization effort, including foundry owners like Intel, TSMC, and Samsung and major players in semiconductor-adjacent spaces, like AMD, Arm, Qualcomm, Meta, Google Cloud, and Microsoft.
As the name alludes, UCIe is aiming to take the same broad ecosystem model PCIe (peripheral component interconnect express) has used for years, expanded over to chiplets— tiny, more specialized chips that only do a few specific functions.
The goal with UCIe is to create a standard...
The VergeApple officially announces March 8th event
Apple will be holding its next event online on March 8th, the company announced today with an invite featuring the “peek performance” tagline, and multicolored Apple logo that could hint at the colors of new devices.
The company didn’t disclose further details about what the virtual event will entail, beyond the timing set for 1PM ET / 10AM PT.
Peek performance. March 8th. See you there. #AppleEventpic.twitter.com/cEKMq7BuBh
— Greg Joswiak (@gregjoz) March 2, 2022
Image: Apple
‘Peek performance’
However, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, who is often a reliable source for Apple rumors, speculates Apple may announce a low-cost iPhone SE. The new device, he suggests, will arrive with 5G, a faster A15 CPU...