Nvidia and AMD GPUs are returning to shelves and prices are finally falling

The cards in this photo are now worth $1,569 — down from $2,605 last March. | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge

For nearly two years, netting a PS5, Xbox Series X, or AMD Radeon and Nvidia RTX graphics cards without paying a fortune has been a matter of luck (or a lot of skill). At its peak, scalpers were successfully charging double or even triple MSRP for a modern GPU. But it’s looking like the great GPU shortage is nearly over.

In January, sites including Tom’s Hardware reported that prices were finally beginning to drop, and drop they did; they’ve now dropped an average of 30 percent in the three months since. On eBay, the most popular graphics cards are only commanding a street price of $200–$300 over MSRP. And while that might still seem like a lot, some have fallen further: used Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti or AMD RX 6900 XT are currently fetching l...

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Nintendo moves Xenoblade Chronicles 3 release up to July

While many big games have been delayed recently, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is moving in the opposite direction: Nintendo announced that the sci-fi RPG will now launch on July 29th instead of the previously planned September release. No specific reason was given for the change. The game will be a Nintendo Switch exclusive.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will be the first main game in the series since its predecessor debuted on the Switch in 2017 and Nintendo first announced it earlier this year as part of the February 2022 Nintendo Direct. Like the rest of the series, the new game takes place in an expansive sci-fi universe; in addition to the release date, Nintendo also revealed a new trailer (embedded above) to further tease the story and world.

T...

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Apple’s incredible 14-inch MacBook Pro is just $1 shy of its best price yet

Apple’s 14-inch MacBook Pro is down to $1,749.99 at Amazon, a price you’ll see at checkout. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Somehow, we’ve reached the middle of April, which means graduation for the class of 2022 is just around the corner (congrats in advance). If you’re looking for a pricey-yet-practical gift, Apple’s newest 14-inch MacBook Pro would certainly be a welcome present. It’s an especially good one to consider today now that this model is on sale for just $1 shy of its best price to date. Right now, Amazon is selling the M1 Pro-powered MacBook Pro with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD for $1,749.99 ($200 off). Note, however, that the current discounted price applies at checkout.

We gave the latest 14-inch MacBook Pro, which can be configured with either Apple’s new M1 Pro or M1 Max processor, a rare 9.5 out of 10 in our review. We were impressed with...

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Conservation Week

Illustration by Melissa Mathieson / The Verge

A big part of imagining the future is picturing what we’ll bring with us from the present. Some things will stubbornly cling to us — like a produce sticker refusing to be composted. But other visions of the future will take a bit more work to manifest. During The Verge’s Conservation Week, we’re looking at the efforts of people who want to bring different worlds into being: whether that’s a forested future, thanks to tree-planting drones; a wildlife-filled future fueled by AI-backed research; or even a future where the world’s first MMO is still online. Along the way, meet a sustainability scientist using TikTok to fight climate doom, a group of fans fighting to preserve an early virtual world, and a community trying to maintain a more...

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The OnePlus N20 5G is headed to T-Mobile later this month for under $300

The OnePlus N20 5G offers an OLED panel and a 64-megapixel main rear camera. | Image: OnePlus

OnePlus is bringing a new Nord device to the US: the N20 5G will arrive at T-Mobile starting April 28th for $282. It will be exclusively available through the carrier, at least at first. The N20 5G, like the N10 5G that preceded it, includes a Snapdragon 600-series chipset, 128GB of storage, 6GB of RAM, and — naturally — 5G connectivity. It’s a step up from the more basic N200 5G — also sold at T-Mobile — and it comes with a notable screen upgrade to an OLED rather than last year’s LCD panel.

That 6.4-inch screen features 1080p resolution and a standard 60Hz refresh rate. That’s a slower rate than the N10 5G’s 90Hz panel, but that screen was an LCD — typically not as rich and contrast-y as an OLED. In that way, the N20 5G is an upgrade,...

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Wyze’s new door lock isn’t that smart, but that might be a good thing

The Wyze Lock Bolt is a $70 smart lock with fingerprint and keypad access. | Image: Wyze

Wyze’s latest product is something of a departure for the smart home company. The Wyze Lock Bolt is a smart lock that ditches cloud connectivity in favor of local control over Bluetooth. A rectangular matte black keypad with a fingerprint reader, the Wyze Lock Bolt replaces your entire deadbolt and costs $69.99 (plus $10 shipping), in keeping with Wyze’s reputation for high-level tech at rock bottom prices. The lack of an internet connection may be a wise move for Wyze right now, considering the recent controversy around the company’s failure to disclose a security flaw with its original cloud-connected Wyze Cam.

Available starting today, the Wyze Lock Bolt is a motorized deadbolt that can be unlocked with your fingerprint or with a...

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How a sustainability scientist uses TikTok to fight climate anxiety with solutions

Illustration by Melissa Mathieson / The Verge

Alaina Wood discusses her content and how climate doom impacts mental health

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How to take screenshots on your Windows 11 PC

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

Screenshots can be really handy. You can use them to show your grandparent how to use a new app. You can use them to send a shot of a strange error message to your company’s IT department. And you can use them to capture tweets before they disappear into the black hole of deletion. So, in case you need to capture a screenshot or two, here’s a quick and simple guide to taking screenshots on your PC.

Windows 10 introduced a screenshot tool called Snip & Sketch, but Windows 11 mostly relies on the simpler Snipping Tool. And there are other ways you can take screenshots as well. We’ll start with the simplest.

Use the PrintScreen key

If you’re in a real hurry, a quick method is to take a screenshot of your entire screen by pressing the W...

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Habitat for humanity: how a classic MMO got a second life

Illustration by Melissa Mathieson / The Verge

Habitat, the world’s first MMO developed for the Commodore 64 personal computer, went offline in 1992. It came back online in 2017 through the efforts of MADE, the Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment.

Founded by Alex Handy in 2011, MADE “seeks to legitimize the preservation of video games as both a historic and artistic medium within the context of our time.” To that end, MADE amassed a collection of working video game consoles and a library of old games for patrons to play.

“We do exhibits, we do preservation activities to preserve old systems, old code, and old games,” Alex Handy told The Verge via Zoom.

But what’s exactly involved in bringing an MMO back from the dead? A generous donation, a lot of luck, and an absurd amount of...

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Sega is reportedly working on big-budget reboots of Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio

A screenshot from Jet Set Radio HD.

Sega has reportedly started work on big-budget reboots of two cult titles: Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio. According to a report from Bloombergciting “people familiar with its plans,” the Japanese game giant wants to create new games that can become global hits like Fortnite and deliver recurring revenue.

Fortnite, of course, has built its success on a number of attributes. It’s cross-platform, free-to-play, and generates money for publisher Epic Games through the use of cosmetic micro-transactions. Bloomberg doesn’t state that Sega is following this mold exactly, but it’s hard to know how you’d create a _Fornite-_like hit without ... replicating Fornite’s key traits.

Sega wants to reboot old games to boost flagging video game revenue

V...

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Audi’s latest concept car is an oversized urban EV that shouldn’t be legal in cities

Audi completed its luxury concept car triptych with the unveiling of the Urbansphere, a massive, fully autonomous people mover that somehow manages to be entirely too large for the streets it’s designed to travel.

Audi says the Urbansphere was designed “for use in traffic-dense Chinese megacities, although the concept is also suitable for any other metropolitan center in the world.” And yet the vehicle’s staggering size — a whole two feet longer than the 2022 Cadillac Escalade — practically disqualify it from being driven on any city street, regardless of country of origin.

Its minivan-esque appearance in the renderings is misleading

Its minivan-esque appearance in the renderings is misleading, based on the numbers provided by Audi....

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Judge orders Amazon to reinstate warehouse worker unlawfully fired over safety protests

Photo by Natt Garun / The Verge

Amazon has been ordered to reinstate an employee unlawfully fired by the company two years ago for his involvement in safety protests at a Staten Island warehouse.

Gerald Bryson was protesting outside the Amazon facility known as JFK8 on April 6th 2020, when he got into an argument with an employee on a break. Court filings (which include transcripts of the incident taken from videos as appendixes B and C) show that both Bryson and the employee used profanities and insults against one another. Bryson said Amazon should shut down the warehouse for failing to adequately protect workers against COVID-19, while the employee replied “it’s the only fucking job open so appreciate it.”

Amazon fired Bryson for abusive language, but not the other...

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Mercedes-Benz announces EQS SUV, its first electric sport utility for the US

On Tuesday, Mercedes-Benz unveiled the EQS SUV, an all-electric seven-seater that shares a platform with the automaker’s recently released luxury EQS sedan. With an estimated range of 373 miles (600 km), the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV will go toe to toe with the Tesla Model X and BMW iX when it goes on sale in the US later this year.

Mercedes isn’t releasing pricing information yet, but the SUV is expected to retail for $110,000 to $130,000, depending on the trim level. It will be the German automaker’s first electric SUV to reach the US after the EQC SUV’s release was delayed indefinitely.

In many respects, the EQS SUV is simply a larger EQS: same 56-inch, pillar-to-pillar Hyperscreen (for the higher trim level), same 107.8kWh battery,...

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Logitech’s Lift is a low-cost vertical mouse that might convert you

Only the graphite-colored model pictured here is available in both left and right-handed options. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Logitech has announced Lift, a $69.99 wireless vertical mouse that’s launching today in multiple colorways, as well as with both right- and left-handed options. The Lift features a vertically oriented design that puts your hand at a 57-degree angle for better ergonomics. Compared to using a traditional mouse, using mice like the Lift may help to greatly reduce wrist strain since you’re holding your wrist at a similar angle to shaking someone’s hand. At least, that’s what I experienced. Last year, I made the shift to a split ergonomic keyboard, and a mouse like the Lift completes the setup.

For those keeping track, the Lift isn’t quite as fully featured as the pricier $99.99 MX Vertical, but it could be a good starting option if you don’t...

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Netflix’s Love, Death, and Robots season three is coming May 20th

Image: Netflix

The third “volume” of Netflix’s science fiction anthology series Love, Death, and Robots will debut on May 20th. The company announced the release on Monday with a short video — though don’t be fooled by the footage of The Crown and The Queen’s Gambit at the beginning. The streaming service teased that a third volume was on the way when it announced Volume 2 almost exactly one year ago, but only gave a vague “2022” release at the time.

In the video, Netflix didn’t specify how many episodes would be included with the new season. Volume 1 had 18 episodes, while Volume 2 had eight, and according to a report from IGN last year, there will be eight episodes in the third volume as well. We’ve reached out to Netflix to see if that’s still the...

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Kamala Harris to announce US will no longer conduct anti-satellite tests

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

This evening, Vice President Kamala Harris is announcing that the United States will no longer conduct anti-satellite, or ASAT, missile tests — the practice of using ground-based missiles to destroy satellites in orbit around Earth. Harris is challenging other countries to make the same commitment and establish this policy as a new “norm of responsible behavior in space.”

Harris will speak more extensively on the new commitment during a speech at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California this evening. Harris currently serves as the chair of the White House’s National Space Council, an executive advisory group that helps to set the nation’s space agenda.

This declaration comes five months after Russia conducted an ASAT test in November....

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Here are the best tablet deals right now

Microsoft is currently discounting the Surface Pro 8, dropping the entry-level configuration to $949.99. | Image by Becca Farsace / The Verge

Tablets exist in a space between phones and laptops that is becoming increasingly muddled. As phones become more powerful and gain larger displays, laptops continue to get lighter. Tablet manufacturers haven’t been resting on their laurels, though. Many of the more recent tablets we’ve seen are looking to bridge the gap in terms of performance and, in select cases, handle some tasks more efficiently than both phones and laptops.

The tablet spectrum is varied, too. Inexpensive models like the Amazon Fire HD 10 make for excellent media streaming devices, while those in Microsoft’s versatile Surface lineup can easily serve as ad-hoc laptops when paired with an optional folio-style keyboard. Then there’s the ubiquitous iPad, a slate that has...

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Pixel 6 owners say their phones are automatically rejecting some incoming calls

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales

Odd issues have popped up following software updates Google’s released for its latest flagship phones frequently enough for us to look into why Android 12 has been so buggy for certain phones. Now some Pixel owners report that their phones are failing to complete a fairly basic task — ringing when there’s an incoming call.

Unlike the issue with notification vibrations suddenly changing without explanation, this isn’t something we’ve been able to confirm. However, posts on Reddit (via Android Central and Phone Arena) and Google’s support forums describe issues where some incoming calls seem to be silently rejected, sending the caller directly to voicemail.

Pixel 6 Pro is declining calls from contacts without me knowing from ...

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A Streets of Rage movie is coming from the creator of John Wick

A movie based on the classic Streets of Rage game series is in the works, according to a report from Deadline. John Wick creator Derek Kolstad reportedly wrote the script on spec (without a studio deal), while the production company behind the Sonic the Hedgehog films will produce the adaption. Escape Artists, the studio behind The Equalizer franchise, is also on board to produce the film, Deadline reports.

Streets of Rage was first released for the SEGA Genesis back in 1991, with Streets of Rage 2 and 3 launching on its heels in 1992 and 1994. In each game, you play as badass vigilantes punching the crap out of villains polluting the streets of the city. The fourth installment of the side-scrolling beat-’em-up came out in 2020, 26...

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Jason Momoa reportedly in talks to star in the Minecraft movie

Photo by David Livingston/FilmMagic

The years-in-the-making Minecraft movie from Warner Bros. might be one step closer to becoming a reality, as Jason Momoa, who you might know as Aquaman, is in “final negotiations” to star, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. However, it still seems the movie might be a long way from actually hitting theaters, though, as neither publication provided a projected release date. Warner Bros. didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

The Minecraft movie has hit a few blocks (buh-dum tish) over the past several years. The movie was first announced in 2014, and months later, Night at the Museum and Free Guy director Shawn Levy was reportedly set to direct. But in 2015, Rob McElhenney, known for his work on It’s Always Sunny...

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Today I learned that the FBI has an 83-page guide to internet speak

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Today I learned (TIL) there’s an 83-page FBI “guide” to internet slang filled with abbreviations entered either by a complete troll or someone totally clueless, as recently reported by Input. And yes, TIL is actually included in the guide, but so are thousands of other abbreviations that I’m convinced someone just made up. Because no one actually uses BTDTGTTSAWIO (been there, done that, got the T-shirt and wore it out) ...right?

As Input points out, the FBI’s guide was made available through a 2014 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. If you decide to check it out, you should know it’s in pretty crappy quality, but it’s still readable for the most part. The Verge actually reported on this back when it was first released; it...

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Thor: Love and Thunder’s cracked Mjolnir may be hiding an even cooler gadget

Jane Foster gripping the hilt of Mjolnir. | Marvel Studios

Though it’s very much felt as if Mjolnir’s days of being important in the Marvel Cinematic Universe were over, Thor: Love and Thunderis set to bring the magical weapon back and put it in the hands of Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster. In her brief appearance in the movie’s first trailer, Jane’s new armor and ability to call a reformed Mjolnir to her suggests that she, along with Chris Hemsworth’s Odinson, will bear “Thor” as a title, a concept explored in Marvel’s The Mighty Thor comics from writer Jason Aaron and artist Russell Dauterman.

Thor: Love and Thunder tells the story of how the original Thor is pulled out of his adventurous but relatively chill retirement by the arrival of Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), a killer on an...

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DuckDuckGo insists it didn’t ‘purge’ piracy sites from search results

Image: DuckDuckGo.com

Users of privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo have been unable to site search the domains of some well-known pirated media sites recently, as reported by TorrentFreak on Friday. DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg called it “completely made up,” tweeting over the weekend that this is the result of a site operator error. Weinberg insisted the company is not purging any results. “Anyone can verify this by searching for an outlet and see it come up in results,” Weinberg tweeted.

To observers, it seemed as if DuckDuckGo had de-indexed searches for copyright-flouting media download sites like The Pirate Bay and Fmovies, and even a site search for the open-source tool youtube-dl came up empty. TorrentFreak later updated its report citing a...

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Overwatch developers confirm my conspiracy theory about Lúcio’s hair

Blizzard Entertainment

At long last, I’ve finally uncovered the truth behind an Overwatch question that’s plagued me for six years: what the hell is going on with Lúcio’s hair?

Last week, I talked with Overwatch 2 developers Geoff Goodman and Dion Rogers about Sojourn, the game’s first Black female hero. Since this was the rare chance to be alone with a couple of Overwatch developers, I took the opportunity to ask a burning question about another Black Overwatch hero: Lúcio

Lúcio is my favorite pre-Sojourn Overwatch character both for his gameplay and his story. He’s a healer with unique movement and healing abilities. He was one of the first and only characters I devoted myself to mastering (with dubious, less-than-mastered results) despite not being big on...

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The best Chromebook for 2022

Acer’s Chromebook Spin 713 | Photo by Monica Chin / The Verge

The best Chromebook for work or school for every Chrome OS fan

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Amazon is working on a mysterious AR smart home product, according to job listings

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Amazon might be the next big tech company to get into augmented reality, as the company is hiring for a “new-to-world smart-home product” that uses “XR” technology in some fashion, according to job listings reported on by Protocol.

There aren’t many specific details included in the listings, unfortunately. One for a “software engineer — XR/AR, XR/AR Devices” says the job will include “conceiving and developing key software and architecture for a new-to-world smart-home product.” The role is on a “new cross-functional team.” Another listing for a “Sr. Technical Program Manager, New Products — XR” describes how “you will develop an advanced XR research concept into a magical and useful new-to-world consumer product.” That listing and...

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Google denies Ukrainian reports it unblurred satellite Maps imagery in Russia

Satellite imagery of Lipetsk Air Base from Google Maps.

Google says it hasn’t made changes to how it censors satellite imagery of Russia, contrary to widely circulated claims on Twitter that it “opened access to Russia’s military and strategic facilities.”

Early Monday morning, Twitter account @ArmedForcesUkr (which is unverified but has been cited several times by the official Ukrainian Ministry of Defence account) tweeted a set of images that appear to show military equipment. The tweeted message translates roughly to “now everyone can see a variety of Russian launchers, intercontinental ballistic missile mines, command posts and secret landfills with a resolution of about 0.5 meters per pixel.”

The post has been cited by news organizations like The Moscow Times, and an English translation...

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Beanstalk cryptocurrency project robbed after hacker votes to send themself $182 million

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

On Sunday, an attacker managed to drain around $182 million of cryptocurrency from Beanstalk Farms, a decentralized finance (DeFi) project aimed at balancing the supply and demand of different cryptocurrency assets. Notably, the attack exploited Beanstalk’s majority vote governance system, a core feature of many DeFi protocols.

The attack was spotted on Sunday morning by blockchain analytics company PeckShield, which estimated the net profit for the hacker was around $80 million of the total funds stolen, minus some of the borrowed funds that were required to perform the attack.

Beanstalk admitted to the attack in a tweet shortly afterward, saying they were “investigating the attack and will make an announcement to the community as soon...

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Google Wallet may be making a return

Image: Mishaal Rahman

Google seems to be working on bringing Wallet back in some form after it made the app part of Google Pay (via Android Police). According to Mishaal Rahman, the company is creating a Wallet interface for Google Play Services that will act as a way to access and manage your payment and transit cards, passes, rewards memberships, and more.

Currently, you manage most of these in Google Pay, and it seems likely that you’ll be able to get to the new Wallet UI from within that app, which Rahman says will still be used for contactless payments. It also appears that the cards you put into your Wallet will be accessible from elsewhere, as the screenshots show a link saying “learn how passes in your Wallet will appear across Google.”

More...

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Judge says masks can’t be required on planes and trains

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

A federal judge said Monday that the Biden administration could not require masks be worn on airplanes and public transportation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not have the authority to introduce a mask mandate and did not follow the proper rules to implement a mandate, US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle wrote in the ruling.

The mask mandate has been in place since January 2021. The CDC had just last week extended it through May 3rd. It had been set to expire on April 18th, the same day the judge made the ruling.

Public transit was one of the last places masks were reliably required in the United States

Public transit was one of the last places masks were reliably required in the United States — most states...

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