The Verge: Posts

The Verge

Twitter is adding an edit button

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

It’s a feature that Twitter users have been requesting for so long that it’s become a meme, but now the mythical “edit button” is actually becoming a reality. Twitter has announced that it’s working to allow users to edit their tweets after posting them. The idea is that you’ll be able to fix any typos or errors in a tweet without sacrificing any replies, retweets, or likes it’s already accrued. Twitter plans to begin testing the feature with Twitter Blue subscribers in “the coming months,” the company said Tuesday.

pic.twitter.com/I13wE3eLdn

— Twitter Comms (@TwitterComms) April 5, 2022

Jay Sullivan, the company’s VP of consumer product, said that editing has been “the most requested Twitter feature for many years” in a thread on...

Continue reading…

The Verge

Eufy’s new 4G Starlight Camera goes where Wi-Fi doesn’t

Eufy Security’s 4G Starlight Camera works over LTE. | Image: Eufy

Wi-Fi is excellent for connecting battery-powered security cameras so you can have wire-free surveillance of your property. But there are plenty of places Wi-Fi can’t go where you still might want some digital eyes. Eufy Security’s latest smart security camera, the 4G Starlight Camera, is designed to solve this problem.

The 4G Starlight can be left unattended in remote locations while still providing the owner with access to any footage it captures. The Starlight uses 4G LTE cellular connectivity through AT&T to communicate with the Eufy app on your phone or tablet. It also has a built-in GPS location tool to help recover it if it’s lost or stolen. The camera costs $249 and will be released on April 15th. It also has the option of a $20...

Continue reading…

The Verge

Micromobility operator Helbiz misses payroll, blames software ‘update’

Milan’s Urban Mobility Reshaped By Scooters And Bike-Shares

Photo by Emanuele Cremaschi / Getty Images

Helbiz, a shared electric scooter and bike provider that operates in the US and Europe, failed to pay its US-based employees this past week, The Verge has learned. In an email to employees, the company’s CEO blamed “an error in our payroll system” and promised each employee a $100 bonus to make up for the snafu.

“I personally apologize for this mistake and hope you know it does not reflect my knowledge of the value you all provide to the success of this company,” Helbiz CEO Salvatore Palella said in the email, which was obtained by The Verge.

In an email, head of communications Matt Rosenberg confirmed the missed payroll, adding that it only affected the company’s US-based employees. Helbiz employees in other offices were paid on time,...

Continue reading…

The Verge

Germany shuts down servers for Russian darknet marketplace Hydra

German authorities shut down the server infrastructure for the Russian darknet marketplace Hydra, seizing €23 million (~$25.2 million USD) worth of Bitcoin in the process, Germany’s Federal Crime Police Office (BKA) announced on Tuesday (via Bleeping Computer).

Hydra is a large marketplace on the dark web that serves as a hub for drugs, stolen credit card information, counterfeit bills, fake documents, and other illegal goods or services. The market primarily caters to criminals in Russia and surrounding nations. “Treasuremen,” or dealers connected with the site, push drugs throughout the region by hiding them in geo-tagged pickup locations.

Hydra has the highest turnover rate out of any illegal market in the world

With the shutdown of...

Continue reading…

The Verge

SNK is now almost entirely owned by the Saudi crown prince’s foundation

SAUDI-RUSSIA-DIPLOMACY

Photo by ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

SNK Corporation, the developer of games like Metal Slug and Fatal Fury, is now nearly entirely owned by a subsidiary of the Saudi crown prince’s foundation. Electronic Gaming Development Company (EGDC), which is owned by the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation (MiSK Foundation), holds 96.18 percent of SNK’s shares, according to a February 15th filing on SNK’s website (PDF).

This follows “a strategic investment” announced in November 2020, where the MiSK Foundation acquired an “initial” 33.3 percent stake in SNK. At the time, MiSK Foundation indicated it planned to eventually take a 51 percent stake in SNK, but it seems MiSK Foundation decided to buy a much larger stake.

“The Mohammed bin Salman Foundation’s (MiSK Foundation) investment in...

Continue reading…

The Verge

PSA: the Xbox Series X is (finally) easier to buy

The Xbox Series X is Microsoft’s flagship console that’s remained a challenge to get until recently. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

The Xbox Series X has been one of the most challenging-to-find gaming gadgets since its late 2020 release. While always a little easier to get a hold of than Sony’s PlayStation 5, getting one has all but required keeping track of restocks from multiple retailers on a day-to-day basis — lest you turned to purchasing one from price gougers.

But now, we can say (with fingers crossed) that those days may be behind us. The Xbox Series X is readily available at a few retailers — and has been for the past handful of days. What’s more, you don’t need any paid memberships or pricey bundles to be able to get one. This, coupled with the lowering costs and better availability of some desktop GPUs, is great news for gamers who want to upgrade to new...

Continue reading…

The Verge

The Xbox Series S is on sale at Adorama today for just $249.99

Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox Series S is on sale for $249.99 for a limited time. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

If you’d prefer a more affordable console to the Xbox Series X — or one that’s more readily available than the PlayStation 5 and PS5 Digital Edition — you can once again buy Microsoft’s Xbox Series S at its lowest price to date. Regularly $299.99, Adorama is currently selling the entry-level Xbox for $249.99 when you use the promo code XBOXS2250 at checkout.

While the Xbox Series S lacks a disc drive, it can play the same games as the Series X and is backward compatible with original Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One games. It also targets a 1440p resolution and up to 120fps in supported games (with 4K upscaling), though many games still run at 1080p right now. The console also only offers 512GB of internal storage. However, unlike the...

Continue reading…

The Verge

Comcast says it’s starting to roll out its first Wi-Fi 6E routers

Picture of the Comcast xFi Advanced Gateway

Not a bad router for $14 a month. | Image: Comcast

Comcast announced on Tuesday that it’s starting to send out the xFi Advanced Gateway, a Wi-Fi 6E router the company announced at CES 2022, to customers that subscribe to Xfinity Internet Gigabit and Ultrafast plans. Until this point, many routers that support the new, higher bandwidth Wi-Fi standard have been far too expensive for most budgets (think $500 to $1,500, though there are now some in the $300 price range) — but Comcast’s is $14 per month, the company’s standard fee for equipment rental.

The xFi Advanced Gateway also has some smart home tricks up its sleeve. It includes built-in support for Zigbee, and Comcast has also said it will support Matter, a smart home standard slated to come out later this year.

ISP-provided routers...

Continue reading…

The Verge

Smart devices and the fight against climate change

Green Thermostat

TORONTO, ON - AUGUST, 30 Diana Carradine with Ecobee smart thermostat in her home in the Eglinton and Avenue road area. The province is launching the Green Ontario Fund, bankrolled with $377 milion in cap-and-trade revenues, to help homeowners and businesses with programs to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The first move is offering free smart thermostats to eligible homeowners, so they can more easily turn down the heat or air conditioning when they’re not home — saving on natural gas and electricity. | Richard Lautens/Toronto Star via Getty Images

Smart devices have a role to play in the move from dirty to clean energy,according to a major new climate reportreleased this week. People need tools that help them better understand where their energy comes from, see how much they’re using, and pitch in to make a more resilient power grid.

“Digital technologies can contribute” to the fight to stop climate change, the report released yesterday by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says. That contribution can include smart appliances that make homes more energy-efficient or rooftop solar panels that work in tandem as “virtual power plants.” Those technologies have the power to cut down greenhouse gas emissions and transform the electric grid.

Smart...

Continue reading…

The Verge

Star Trek: Picard is bringing back more Next Generation stars in its final season

Sir Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard and Evan Evagora as Elnor of the Paramount+ original serie

CBS

To answer the question of why we should care about Paramount Plus, the service is going back to the well of nostalgia and snagging some of our favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation characters to be featured in season 3 of Star Trek: Picard.

A brief trailer for the news shows just Patrick Stewart in his role as Jean-Luc Picard but uses voiceovers to tease the upcoming appearances of LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, and Brent Spiner.

Without showing them, it’s unclear if we’ll see the use of often-controversial de-aging technology applied to the stars or if there’s any other plan to deal with the impact of time and plot circumstances. Guinan’s return in season 2 has included both Whoopi...

Continue reading…

The Verge

Elon Musk tweeted his way onto Twitter’s board — now what?

GERMANY-ECONOMY-AUTOMOBILE-TESLA

Photo by PATRICK PLEUL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Ahahahahahaha fine. Longtime shitposter Elon Musk, who has a side gig as the CEO of Tesla, is on the board of Twitter, a newly minted meme stonk, after filing the wrong form with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Tremendous content.

A different style of billionaire might elect to buy a national newspaper with a storied past and re-invest in it, just like he might secretly test his dick-shaped rocket for many years before publicly taking a ride on it. But despite owning Amazon, Jeff Bezos is somehow less internet-poisoned than the meme lord of Dogecoin. The true platform for brain worms isn’t The Washington Post, despite its op-ed writers’ best efforts. It’s Twitter.

The platform’s top shitposter already has the keys to the castle

N...

Continue reading…

The Verge

Crystal Dynamics announces the next Tomb Raider, built in Unreal Engine 5

tomb raider

Buried at the tail end of Epic Games’ State of Unreal presentation was the news that Crystal Dynamics is working on a new entry in the Tomb Raider series.

Crystal Dynamics is incredibly excited about the future of Unreal and how it will help us take our storytelling to the next level. That's why we're proud to announce that our next #tombraider game is being built on Unreal Engine 5! pic.twitter.com/UFMiWzJAZc

— Tomb Raider (@tombraider) April 5, 2022

Tomb Raider launched on the original PlayStation in 1996 and has spawned numerous sequels, a reboot, and three movies (of which, the two Angelina Jolie movies, I maintain, are good). It’s been four years since the last Tomb Raider game, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, launched to tepid...

Continue reading…

The Verge

Samsung’s new Frame TV is already on sale at Woot

The newest model of The Frame TV is already discounted at Woot.

The latest 43-inch model of Samsung’s The Frame TV was made available yesterday but is already discounted at Woot. Normally $999.99, Woot has discounted this TV to just $799.99 for today only. This QLED panel imitates the look and feel of a piece of framed art, hence the name. The Frame TV is all about aesthetics and turning a large and otherwise unsightly appliance in your home into a tasteful piece of decor. Just like last year’s model, 2022’s The Frame TV is just an inch thick, allowing it to seamlessly blend into just about any living space.

The 43-inch panel on The Frame TV is a 4K QLED HDR display. While 4K is pretty much par for the course at this point, HDR provides a greater depth of color. Additionally, the QLED display allows...

Continue reading…

The Verge

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar announces exit as Discovery deal nears close

15th Annual CNN Heroes All-Star Tribute

Photo by Dominik Bindl/Getty Images

The chief executive of WarnerMedia, Jason Kilar, has announced that he is leaving the company.

In a memo shared with staff today and obtained by The Verge, Kilar said that his exit will correspond with the pending merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery. Kilar wrote there were “many feelings one could have in a moment like this, but for me there are none bigger, or more lasting, than the feelings of gratitude and love that I have for this team, this company, and this mission.” The news was earlier reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

“I’ve never been more fulfilled professionally. I’ve never been happier professionally. This team — and what we’ve built together — are the reasons for that,” Kilar wrote. “We’re leading the industry...

Continue reading…

The Verge

Twitter says Elon Musk won’t get special treatment from its rules, even as a board member

The Twitter bird logo in white against a dark background with outlined logos around it and red circles rippling out from it.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Twitter says it won’t give Tesla CEO Elon Musk special treatment on the platform after earning a seat on the company’s board of directors. In a statement to The Verge, Twitter spokesperson Adrian Zamora said the platform is “committed to impartiality in the development and enforcement of its policies and rules,” implying that Musk will be subject to the same Twitter rules as everyone else. In other words, Twitter could likely still ban or suspend Musk, if need be.

In regards to Musk’s potential influence on the platform, Zamora said board members aren’t able to make decisions about Twitter’s policies, but they still do play a large part when it comes to providing guidance and feedback.

“Our policy decisions are not determined by the...

Continue reading…

The Verge

Lexus teases its first electric vehicle, and oh no, it’s got a steering yoke

Lexus

Lexus, the luxury automaker owned by Toyota, announced that it will reveal its first electric vehicle on Wednesday, April 20th, at 6AM ET. And it released two teaser images, one of which — we regret to inform you — features a steering yoke.

In a sense, it’s not surprising. Toyota’s next-generation, long-range EV, the BZ4X, will also come with an optional yoke when it’s released later this year. The automaker appears to be taking its design cues from Tesla, which included a yoke in the Model S Plaid. The BZ4X will also come with a standard steering wheel and system for those not interested in going full yoke.

It’s not clear whether Lexus will offer a non-yoke version of its upcoming EV, which it named the RZ 450e. The company has also...

Continue reading…

The Verge

Apple’s WWDC22 kicks off June 6th as an online event

Apple’s developer conference is online only again this year. | Image: Apple

This year Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will once again be an online-only event when it takes place from June 6th through June 10th. However, Apple said it will host an in-person session at Apple Park on June 6th, with some developers and students watching the keynote and State of the Union videos together, along with the online community. Details on how to apply for entry there will be available “soon.”

WWDC is traditionally a software-focused event where Apple details its forthcoming updates to iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS. Last year, for example, Apple announced a series of software improvements like SharePlay support for FaceTime, the ability to store IDs in digital form in Apple Wallet, widget support for...

Continue reading…

The Verge

Google Maps will start estimating tolls and display more details to help you find your way

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge

Google is announcing a handful of updates to Google Maps, including one that will show toll prices before you start navigating to where you want to go.

“We look at factors like the cost of using a toll pass or other payment methods, what the day of the week it is, along with how much the toll is expected to cost at the specific time you’ll be crossing it,” Google said in a blog post. If a toll-free route is available, that will be shown as an option as well. The feature will begin rolling out on Android and iOS for “nearly 2,000” toll roads in the US, India, Indonesia, and Japan this month. The feature will come to more countries “soon.”

Google is also adding more detail to its navigation maps. “You’ll soon see traffic...

Continue reading…

The Verge

First autonomous X-ray-analyzing AI is cleared in the EU

Vintage Congestion X-Ray

Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

An artificial intelligence tool that reads chest X-rays without oversight from a radiologist got regulatory clearance in the European Union last week — a first for a fully autonomous medical imaging AI, the company, called Oxipit, said in a statement. It’s a big milestone for AI and likely to be contentious, as radiologists have spent the last few years pushing back on efforts to fully automate parts of their job.

The tool, called ChestLink, scans chest X-rays and automatically sends patient reports on those that it sees as totally healthy, with no abnormalities. Any images that the tool flags as having a potential problem are sent to a radiologist for review. Most X-rays in primary care don’t have any problems, so automating the...

Continue reading…

The Verge

Epic launches Unreal Engine 5

An Unreal Engine metahuman. | Image: Epic Games

Nearly two years after it was first announced, Epic Games has released its next-generation game engine. As part of a State of Unreal event today, the company revealed that Unreal Engine 5 is now available to download.

The updated engine features a number of improvements for developers — including enhanced performance and an upgraded UI — but the most significant changes come from a handful of technologies designed for more photorealistic visuals. These include Lumen, “a fully dynamic global illumination solution” for more true-to-life lighting, and Nanite, which Epic says “gives you the ability to create games and experiences with massive amounts of geometric detail.” There are also more practical tools, like the ability to partition off...

Continue reading…

The Verge

Is streaming just becoming cable again? Julia Alexander thinks so

Photo Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge

Julia Alexander is a senior strategy analyst at Parrot Analytics, a company that helps streaming companies do better at… streaming. She also hosts the downstream podcast, which is about the business of streaming. Since we are a couple years into a huge shift to streaming entertainment in Hollywood. It’s clear the streamers are here to stay, while the legacy media companies are in the middle of huge transformations.

On the one side, Apple just won the Oscar for Best Picture for a film it bought out of Sundance called CODA. Amazon now owns MGM. Netflix is investing in games and hinting at advertising for the first time.

On the other side is Disney: a company with a new CEO in Bob Chapek, who is reorganizing the company around streaming —...

Continue reading…

The Verge

Microsoft will let IT admins send Windows 11 desktop or taskbar messages

If you’re an IT admin and you’ve always wanted to send messages to your Windows users, Microsoft is opening up a new option soon. IT admins will soon be able to send organizational messages to Windows 11 PCs, and they can appear on a lock screen, desktop, or above the taskbar.

“With the shift to hybrid workplaces, we can see that organizations need to better connect with employees in a way that is tailored to individual situations,” explains Heena Macwan, principal group product manager for Windows. “In a future release we will enable IT to target specific users with organizational messages that can appear on Windows surfaces such as a lock screen, desktop, or above the taskbar.”

Image: Microsoft

IT admins can...

Continue reading…

The Verge

Test-riding VanMoof’s new S5 and A5 e-bikes

The new VanMoof S5 (left) and A5 step-through e-bikes. | Image: VanMoof

First look at the next, next generation

Continue reading…

The Verge

Microsoft is integrating its Windows 365 Cloud PCs into Windows 11

Windows 365 will soon be part of Windows 11. | Image: Microsoft

Microsoft put PCs in the cloud with Windows 365 last year, and now it’s integrating these Cloud PCs directly into Windows 11. Windows 365 lets businesses access Cloud PCs from anywhere to stream a version of Windows 10 or Windows 11 inside a web browser. It’s something Citrix and many others have been doing for years, but now Microsoft will allow Windows 11 PCs to boot straight to Windows 365 Cloud PCs or easily switch between them using Windows 11’s virtual desktops feature.

It’s part of a hybrid work push for Windows, allowing businesses to support a mix of working remotely on traditional devices or through virtual cloud-powered ones. Microsoft is working on three new Windows 365 features that will be deeply integrated into Windows 11....

Continue reading…

The Verge

Windows 11’s new meeting features improve eye contact, framing, and background blur

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Microsoft is building new intelligent meetings features directly into Windows 11. Four new features are coming soon that will improve background noise suppression, eye contact, framing, and background blur. These new features will arrive first on Qualcomm devices and take advantage of neural processing unit (NPU) chips to improve video and audio in meetings.

While Microsoft Teams already has a noise suppression feature, Voice Focus will be built into Windows 11 and can automatically remove unwanted audio during meetings and calls. Microsoft’s eye contact feature is also being rolled out more broadly on compatible devices, instead of being limited to the Surface Pro X.

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft’s new meetings...

Continue reading…

The Verge

Windows 11’s refreshed File Explorer gets tabs, favorites, and a new homepage

Microsoft’s updated File Explorer in Windows 11. | Image: Microsoft

Microsoft is bringing tabs to the File Explorer in Windows 11 soon, alongside a refreshed design that makes it easier to quickly access folders or find favorite files. The highly requested tabs feature was first spotted in Windows 11 test builds last month, and now Microsoft is making it official at a hybrid work event for Windows 11 today.

The updated File Explorer design includes tabs to navigate multiple folders in a single window and the ability to move tabs around. Microsoft first started testing tabs in Windows 10 apps, under a feature named Sets. This included support for tabs inside File Explorer, but Microsoft eventually canceled the project and never shipped it to Windows 10 users.

Image: Microsoft

The...

Continue reading…

The Verge

The Apple Watch Series 7 is cheaper than ever at Walmart and on Amazon

The Contour watch face is exclusive to the Series 7.

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

It’s a day of Apple Watch deals. At Walmart and on Amazon, you can get a great deal on the Apple Watch Series 7, Apple’s latest smartwatch that has a bigger screen than prior generations, along with fast charging. Each retailer has a limited selection of color options available in both the 41mm and 45mm sizing with GPS onboard. Normally $399, you can snag the blue, green, or red variants (with matching case and band colors) for $329 — the best price ever.

If you want the 45mm-sized case, the price drop is equally sweet. Instead of paying $429, it costs $359.99 for the green, red, or blue aluminum 45mm watches at Walmart and Amazon (the blue option isn’t as steeply discounted on Amazon, by the way). Read our review of the Series 7.

If...

Continue reading…

The Verge

Substack makes a pitch for your podcasts

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Happy Tuesday, everyone. I had to pause working on today’s Wordle so I could finish up this newsletter. My stats are fully tied when it comes to solves in 3, 4, and 5 guesses, so I’m taking this one seriously in hopes of pushing things in the right direction. I’ve got three yellows and a green and still have to make guess three, so wish me luck.

Now, on to the news.


The Substack of podcasts

Substack wants you all to know that it isn’t just a newsletter platform — it’s a podcasting one, too. Or at least, it’d like to be thought of that way.

The company announced this morning that three Patreon-hit podcasts are jumping ship to join Substack: The Fifth Column, which has more than 4,100 subscribers paying a minimum of $5 per month;American...

Continue reading…

The Verge

The OnePlus 10 Pro is the best phone I won’t recommend to most people

Last week, I published my review of the OnePlus 10 Pro and gave it a 7/10, which it solidly deserves. The hardware is lovely, performance is up there with some of the best Android phones, and it’s priced just right at $899. Take a look for yourself — you can hear all of my ramblings and see it in action on our YouTube channel now.

There’s a lot I like about it, but there are two major strikes against the 10 Pro that keep me from recommending it to most people: the camera system and the fact that it doesn’t work on AT&T 5G. The cameras aren’t bad, but you can get noticeably better image quality from similarly priced competitors. And AT&T is one of the few major wireless carriers we have in the US. A top-tier phone really should work on...

Continue reading…

The Verge

Gigabyte Aero 16 review: a workstation that can game (kind of)

A costly creator-focused machine

Continue reading…