PC market on the decline as Chromebook sales slide from their pandemic peak

Photo by Monica Chin / The Verge

Global shipments of PCs declined in the first quarter of 2022 as pandemic-related purchases begin to taper off, according to reports from research firms Gartner and International Data Corporation (IDC). While IDC reports a total of 80.5 million PC shipments last quarter, Gartner cites a lower 77.5 million figure, a 7.7 percent drop when compared to the first quarter of 2021.

Gartner says a decline in Chromebook shipments weighed heavily on the market — not counting Chromebooks, the PC market would’ve risen by 3.3 percent year over year. IDC didn’t include any information about Chromebooks but notes a slowdown in purchases from educational institutions, a market that utilizes over 40 million Chromebooks for teachers and students. Lenovo...

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Here are the best Kindle deals right now

Amazon’s ad-supported base Kindle from 2019 remains the cheapest Kindle you can buy at $54.99. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

When it comes to finding a device to use to read your ebooks, you have a few options to choose from. You can always buy a tablet or use your smartphone, but those devices are multipurpose and can be used for a ton of things, like surfing the web or doom-scrolling on Twitter. If you are looking for something to strictly read books, e-readers, while niche, are designed to store all of your books in a virtual library with limited functionality.

Amazon, one of the pioneers of the e-reader, has dominated the space for years with its Kindle lineup, which consists of several unique models with their own pros and cons.

Below, we’ve listed each model currently available for purchase. Sometimes, there isn’t a deal for one, or any, of the...

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Meta will let Horizon creators sell virtual items

Horizon Worlds is testing some monetization options. | Image: Meta

Meta is testing new features to let creators make money within Horizon Worlds, the company’s social metaverse platform for Quest VR headsets that is soon coming to mobile phones and possibly game consoles.

Most notably, a “handful” of Horizon creators will be able to sell virtual items and effects in the worlds they create for others to explore. The idea is that creators can sell everything from access to a VIP section of their world to virtual items like jewelry or a special basketball, according to Meaghan Fitzgerald, the product marketing director for Horizon. Participants in the US will also be able to earn money from a $10 million creator fund Meta recently set up to reward creators with the most engaging worlds.

With this test of...

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Amazon is still struggling to make drone deliveries work

Image: Amazon

A report from Bloomberg details the obstacles hampering Amazon’s efforts to get its delivery drone program off the ground, citing a high employee turnover rate and potential safety risks.

According to Bloomberg, there were five crashes over the course of a four-month period at the company’s testing site in Pendleton, Oregon. A crash in May took place after a drone lost its propeller, but _Bloomberg_says Amazon cleaned up the wreckage before the Federal Aviation Administration could investigate.

The following month, a drone’s motor shut off as it switched from an upward flight path to flying straight ahead. Two safety features — one that’s supposed to land the drone in this type of situation and another that stabilizes the drone — both...

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Activision Blizzard appoints new diversity officer

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

As Activision Blizzard continues to struggle under the weight of multiple PR disasters regarding sexual harassment and union busting, the company has appointed Kristen Hines as its new diversity, equity, and inclusion officer.

“I’m excited to join a company that is prioritizing its commitment to DEI and making progress on the ambitious goals it has set for itself,” Hines said in a press release.

The company needs all the DE&I help it can get. Last year, Activision Blizzard acknowledged that its ongoing legal troubles have impacted its ability to recruit and retain employees while a breakdown of the company’s representation data revealed women make up 24 percent of the company. Add to that the high-profile departure of Blizzard co-CEO...

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The latest update for Quest headsets lets you chill in a study with mountainside views

Think of it less as a vacation and more as an off-site retreat. | Image: Meta

Meta is delivering a new virtual office environment for all of you out there who work in VR. As part of the v39 software update coming to Meta Quest and Quest 2 VR headsets, you can be transported to the “Mountain Study” environment, which positions you within a house in a valley surrounded by mountains.

There are a few other small improvements and changes arriving in the update that is rolling out gradually over the next few weeks. You’ll be able to send content from a share sheet on an iOS device to a Quest headset, giving VR users an easier way to access content. Similar support for Android users was already added in early 2022. To use this feature, ensure that your headset’s Bluetooth function is switched on.

Image:...

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Disney’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ misstep threatens to overshadow Chapek’s reign as CEO

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Weeks ago, facing pressure internally to speak out against Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, Disney CEO Bob Chapek took a surprising approach: he did nothing. His silence angered employees and advocacy groups to such an extent that he eventually backpedaled. But when Chapek finally did condemn the legislation, he provoked politicians and set off a weeks-long bad-faith crusade against Disney by right-wing media. The ensuing chaos is just the latest in a series of public missteps that threaten to overshadow Chapek’s tenure leading one of the most powerful entertainment companies in the world.

Chapek replaced beloved Disney boss Bob Iger as the company’s CEO in 2020 — just before the pandemic would shut down Disney’s parks and theaters. Under...

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Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 4 is on sale for its lowest price ever at Amazon today

Amazon has discounted the Surface Laptop 4 to its lowest price ever | Photo by Monica Chin / The Verge

Our collection of deals today proves that Mondays don’t have to be all bad. Our headlining deal on the 13.5-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop 4, for instance, brings the laptop down to its lowest price to date on Amazon. Normally, this configuration would cost $1,299.99, but it’s currently on sale for $949.99. This discount currently applies to the black, silver, and beige colorways, but the blue model is also on sale for $969.99.

This configuration includes an 11th Generation Intel Core i5 processor paired with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of built-in storage. The 13.5-inch touchscreen features a maximum resolution of 2256 x 1504 and is powered by an Intel Iris Xe integrated GPU. The 8GB of RAM is a bit paltry by modern standards, but the 512GB of...

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Kingdom Hearts 4 is an opportunity to win back lapsed fans

Kingdom Hearts 4 needs to be a reset.

There was a time when news of a new Kingdom Hearts entry would have sent me into paroxysms of joy. But the announcement that Kingdom Hearts 4 is in the works barely inspired a “huh, that’s neat.” I’ve been a faithful devotee of the Church of the Keyblade from the moment I heard Hikaru Utada’s “Simple and Clean.” Kingdom Hearts and _KH2_were my games, one of the foundational texts at the core of my identity as a gamer. But the spinoffs began to fragment across consoles I didn’t own, and the story devolved into a quagmire of characters and plot points (Aqua got ‘norted!) that even I, with my years of training in the gladiator pits of weird-ass World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy lore, could not...

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Elon Musk’s SEC filings reserve the right to buy a larger stake in Twitter

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images

Now that Elon Musk will not be the new member of Twitter’s board of directors, it means more speculation about his true intentions and, yes, more paperwork. Musk has, again, updated the required filing (pdf) for investors buying a significant chunk of a publicly traded company, in which investors must explain their intentions.

The new form confirms that any arrangement blocking Musk from trying to buy a significantly larger share of the company is gone, and it lays out various ways he may make his voice heard going forward. The result is a piece of evidence for anyone who suspects Musk’s reversal had something to do with the legal requirements that would come with serving on Twitter’s board.

Last week, Musk filed a Schedule 13G form with...

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Lincoln to show off EV concept on April 20th

It looks like a crossover. | Image: Lincoln

Lincoln, Ford’s luxury brand, has announced that it’ll show off a “fully electric concept vehicle” on April 20th as a way to tease upcoming electric offerings. In a short video, the company shows off a partial outline of the vehicle, which will likely be a smaller SUV or crossover, as the company currently doesn’t make any sedans (sad news for anyone like me who would love a Hyundai-esque ’80s Continental revival).

There currently aren’t any fully electric Lincolns, though the company does offer three plugin hybrids, as Electrek points out. Last year, the company announced its plans to “electrify its entire portfolio of vehicles by 2030” and promised that its first full EV would “debut” in 2022.

Sanctuary reimagined. On April 20,...

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Square’s new iPad stand has tap to pay and chip card readers built in

Image: Block

Square’s newest version of its popular Square Stand payment terminal has a payments reader built right in, the company announced on Monday. The stand lets businesses slot in an iPad so it can be used as a point-of-sale device, but the previous version needed a separate reader to accept payments from a card or phone.

The new version has its card slot and contactless payments reader right next to the display, and like the previous version of the stand (which was introduced in 2013), the device is designed to spin so that you can access those payment options when it comes time to pay.

Square, a subsidiary of Block, also says the stand has new software. “New software for Square Stand creates a faster, more transparent checkout process that...

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The best phone plans in 2022 (and how to pick one)

Photo by Avery White for The Verge

Shopping for a phone plan doesn’t have to be painful

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You can now tell Alexa to plant a tree

Workers plant saplings outside the Pavagada Solar Park on October 9, 2021 in Thirumani village, Karnataka, India. | Photo by Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images

Starting today, customers in the US can donate $1 to plant one tree by telling Alexa-enabled devices, “Alexa, grow a tree,” Amazon announced today. Customers will be able to keep track ofhow many trees they’ve planted in their Amazon Pay account.

Amazon also said that it’s donating $1 million to the environmental charity it’s partnering with on the initiative, called One Tree Planted.

It’s worth taking these kinds of effortswith a grain of salt

The money will initially go towards four different projects in the US and India. In Centre County, Pennsylvania, the funds will help to reforest land that was razed for mining, logging and agriculture. In California, “hard-working foresters will dedicate time to promote improved vegetation...

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Netflix is rolling out a Two Thumbs Up button

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Netflix is introducing a new button to help the streaming service curate your homepage with even better recommendations: Two Thumbs Up.

The new feature will join the existing Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down controls that already help Netflix understand what to show individual subscribers. But Two Thumbs Up will allow users to indicate that they really liked something, and the company says that it’s been a highly requested feature within the experience.

“Members have never had as many great entertainment options as they have right now,” Christine Doig-Cardet, director of product innovation and personalization experiences at Netflix, tells The Verge. “Being able to find the shows and movies that you’re going to love is really important. We want...

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The Batman will be available to stream on HBO Max beginning April 18th

The Batman_stars Robert Pattinson at Batman and Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle._ | Image: Warner Bros.

_The Batman,_the new Batman movie starring Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader, will be available to stream on HBO Max starting April 18th, WarnerMedia announced Monday. The film first debuted in theaters on March 4th.

The quick turnaround shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. While WarnerMedia did release all of its 2021 movie slate simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max, the company has moved to a more traditional theater-first release cycle for many films in 2022, though with a shorter 45-day theatrical exclusivity window.

If you’re interested in seeing The Batman when it hits streaming, you might want to check out my colleague Charles Pulliam-Moore’s review first — he says the Batman franchise has “seen better days.” But...

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US says internet services are exempt from Russian sanctions

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge

The US Department of the Treasury is exempting telecommunications services from ongoing sanctions against Russia. The move, confirmed late last week in an order, follows requests from advocacy groups who feared a disruption would cut off Russian activists’ access to the outside world. It may not, however, cause companies that voluntarily cut off access to restore it.

The new order authorizes business transactions involving “services, software, hardware, or technology incident to the exchange of communications over the internet,” including messaging, domain registration, email, and sharing photos or videos. It does not authorize transactions involving Russian financial institutions or state-controlled entities like the Russian Ministry of...

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What is going on with Elon Musk and Twitter?

Illustration by Alex Castro

Here’s everything we know

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The Nimona movie is finally coming in 2023

Key art for Netflix’s upcoming_Nimona._ | Annapurna Pictures/Netflix

Though it once seemed like the animated adaptation of ND Stevenson’s _Nimona_might end up being stuck in production hell, Annapurna Pictures and Netflix are stepping in to make sure that’s not the case.

When Disney acquired 21st Century Fox back in 2019, it also gained ownership of Blue Sky Studios, the animation house behind the Ice Age_movies and the previously announced Nimona adaptation._ While Disney could have decided to complete Blue Sky Studios’ already in-progress projects like Nimona, the larger company ultimately decided to shutter the studio, leaving 450 employees without jobs and the movie’s future in jeopardy.

Today, ND Stevenson took to their Twitter to announce that, after a few setbacks, _Nimona —_now an Annapurna...

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Vivo announces its first folding phone

The Vivo X Fold. | Image: Vivo

Vivo has announced the X Fold, its first folding phone. The X Fold takes a similar approach to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold series and its competitors, with a large 8.03-inch folding screen on the inside for tablet-style use and a more conventional phone-sized screen — in this case, 6.53 inches — on the outside.

Like Samsung, Vivo’s folding display uses a layer of Ultra Thin Glass (UTG) produced by Schott, which should help with durability. GSMArena reports that its hinge allows the phone to fold flat or to be propped open at angles between 60 and 120 degrees. According to Android Authority, Vivo advertises that the phone’s screen should survive 300,000 folds, which appears to be a big increase over the 200,000 folds Samsung claimed for its...

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Fitbit gets FDA clearance for passive heart rhythm monitoring

Photo by Avery White for The Verge

A Fitbit feature that passively monitors users’ heart rhythms was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, the company announced today.

The feature periodically checks wearers’ heart rhythms and alerts them if they show signs of atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat that puts people at a higher risk for stroke. Fitbit already had an FDA-cleared EKG app that can do spot checks for the condition, but users had to manually take those readings. The new tool runs in the background.

Fitbit ran a study testing the feature in 2020, which found that the tech could correctly identify cases of atrial fibrillation 98 percent of the time. Adding this tool to Fitbit devices brings its heart monitoring tech more in line with the A...

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Google sues scammer for ‘puppy fraud’

Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images

On Monday, Google sued a scammer for allegedly running an online “puppy fraud scheme,” defrauding vulnerable people, including the elderly, out of thousands of dollars with false promises of purebred puppies.

The complaint, filed Monday, accuses Nche Noel of Cameroon of using a network of fake websites, Google Voice phone numbers, and Gmail accounts to pretend to sell purebred basset hound puppies to people online. In one instance, a victim paid Noel $700 in “electronic gift cards” to purchase a puppy. After sending the gift cards, Noel continued to string along the victim, telling them that the delivery company needed an additional $1,500. According to the complaint, the puppy never arrived.

“Sadly, this scam disproportionately...

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Epic announces $2 billion in funding for its metaverse efforts

Fortnite.

Epic’s plans to build a metaverse just got a huge cash injection: today the Fortnite developer announced a $2 billion round of funding, which it says will be used “to advance the company’s vision to build the metaverse and support its continued growth.”

The funds come from Sony, which has previously invested in Epic, and KIRKBI, an investment group operated by the Kirk Kristiansen family, which founded the Lego Group. Just last week, Epic and Lego announced a partnership to build a family-friendly take on the metaverse, though with little in the way of concrete detail. According to a press release, both Sony and KIRKBI invested $1 billion as part of the most recent funding round.

The nebulous metaverse concept has become a popular...

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DoorDash adds cheaper subscription tier for takeaway-hungry students

Food delivery platform DoorDash is adding a new cheaper subscription plan called DashPass for Students. It costs $4.99 a month, half that of its regular $9.99 DashPass subscription, and offers similar benefits including: free delivery on eligible orders over a minimum threshold (generally $12 for restaurants and $25 for grocery orders); five percent credit back on pickup orders from certain restaurants; and access to other members-only promotions.

DoorDash’s announcement says the student membership will be available to “all undergraduate and graduate students at accredited colleges and universities in the US,” and it’s working with SheerID to verify student status. Its website adds that subscribers are free to “cancel anytime,” with no...

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Elon Musk and the disappearing board seat: all of the updates about Twitter’s largest shareholder

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

What’s next for Twitter and Elon Musk?

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Nintendo Switch Sports feels like more than just a party game

Nintendo

Nintendo Switch Sports, the follow-up to the wildly popular Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resortannounced in February, is more imaginative than its boring name might imply. While those Wii titles served as tech demos, of sorts, for Nintendo’s at-the-time new motion controls and Mii characters, Switch Sports feels more like a full game, with more involved controls, better visuals, and a post-launch plan for online modes and in-game cosmetics.

Each mini-game looks gorgeous, with detailed venues and more expressive avatars to play as (for those who are curious, you _can_still use the older Miis on your console, if you really want to get into that _Wii Sports_mindset). I got to play each of Nintendo Switch Sports six mini-games during my...

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Astra Fund announces six ‘thinking’ games from Zach Gage and other indie developers

Schrödinger’s Cat Burglar is one of the games supported by the fund. | Image: Abandoned Sheep

Astra Fund, a venture fund that supports developers making “thinking games,” revealed the first batch of games it’s funding, including an unannounced title from Good Sudoku developer Zach Gage.

Let’s first back up and discuss what a “thinking game” is. According to Astra, the term is defined as “cognitively challenging games whose systems and mechanics spark curiosity and require problem solving.” Astra looks for three main features, per its website: “thinky” mechanics, like in Baba Is You and Portal 2; “welcoming worlds,” like in Pikuniku and Thinkrolls; and “compelling narratives,” like in The Gardens Between and Outer Wilds.

Here is the list of games:

• _Rytmos,_a “musical puzzle game where you create music by solving puzzles,” by F...

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TP-Link’s affordable new Wi-Fi 6E mesh router helps dip the cost of the new tech

Yes, it does look like an air purifier. | Image: TP-Link

TP-Link has a new “cheap” router. The Deco XE75 is a tri-band Wi-Fi 6E mesh router that should lower the cost barrier for the new 6GHz wireless technology standard. The new two-pack mesh whole home router is available now for $299.99. It’s certainly one of the first signs of Wi-Fi 6E technology reaching affordable pricing, and, best of all, the Deco XE75 seems to cut very few features.

$200 cheaper than the Eero Pro 6E

The Deco XE75 covers about 5,500 square feet with the pair and is $200 cheaper than a two-pack of the recently released Eero Pro 6E that covers just 4,000 square feet. And the Deco claims to have a very fast peak wireless network speed of 5.4 Gbps. Though that’s a bit slower than the Linksys Atlas Max 6E at 8.4 Gbps, the...

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Explaining crypto’s billion-dollar bridge problem

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

What are blockchain bridges, why do they keep getting hacked, and can we ever stop it from happening?

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YouTube ends picture-in-picture iOS test for Premium subscribers

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

YouTube Premium subscribers can no longer sign up to test YouTube’s picture-in-picture feature on iOS. PiP has disappeared from YouTube’s list of available experimental features, where it was previously listed with an April 8th expiry date. _9to5Google_reports that some users are seeing a “The feature you’re trying has been turned off” banner notifying them that the test has ended, but both it and iMore add that the feature is still working on their accounts that previously signed up to the test.

Picture-in-picture support is available for video services generally at a system level for both iPhones and iPads, but YouTube’s support for the feature has been spotty, requiring workarounds like watching it through a browser rather than via its...

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