HBO Max canceled Raised by Wolves after two seasons

Photos By: Coco Van Oppens Photo

After two seasons, HBO Max has decided to cancel the sci-fi TV show Raised by Wolves, Variety reports. Originally ordered to series for the cable channel TNT, its first season premiered in 2020, and four months after HBO Max launched, it ranked as the service’s top streaming series.

The first two episodes were directed by Ridley Scott, and the plot, which focused on two androids raising human children on a desolate alien planet, aligned well with the hallmarks of his style. We mentioned the show as one of the standout options on HBO Max in 2021, saying, “There is a strong sense of foreboding in this world, but you just can’t turn away.” The cancellation of big-budget shows with intense fandom followings is a move we’ve seen from Netflix...

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You can now install Windows 11’s next big update a little early

Microsoft is releasing its next big Windows 11 update to the Release Preview ring of final testing today. Windows 11 22H2 is expected to be available in the coming months and will include a number of big changes to the operating system, including new Start menu folders, updated touch gestures, and drag and drop for the taskbar.

While you can wait for Microsoft to officially roll the update out through Windows Update, you can grab the final version, build 22621, through the Windows Insider option inside the Windows Update section of Windows 11. Just follow the prompts to sign up for the Windows Insider Program, and make sure you select Release Preview.

Image: Microsoft

Windows 11’s new Start menu folders.

W...

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How to buy a PlayStation 5

A year after launch, Sony’s PlayStation 5 remains (almost) as elusive as ever. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

While both the PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition have been available for more than a year now, supply hasn’t caught up with the massive demand for Sony’s next-gen consoles, namely due to the ongoing global supply chain issues that have impacted everything from cars to consoles. So, how are you supposed to get your hands on either system without resorting to the secondhand market — or worse — scalpers? After all, the consoles are often gone in a matter of minutes, regardless of when and where the restock takes place.

Thankfully, there are ways to keep on top of restocks, which will increase your chances of securing the popular next-gen machine. And with a little patience, determination, and luck, you can still get a PlayStation 5 for the...

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Chromebook 101: how to add another user to your Chromebook

Because they tend to be inexpensive and fairly hardy, Chromebooks are often bought as laptops for families — to be shared between parents and kids or passed around among friends. And because a Chromebook may have more than one user, it needs to have more than one login so that each user has access to their own personal apps and content.

Adding a new user to a Chromebook is not difficult. Here’s how to do it:

• Click on the button in the lower-right corner. (The one that shows the time, battery life, etc.)
• Click on Sign out at the top of the pop-up window.
• You’ll be brought back to the sign-in screen. At the bottom left of the screen, click on the button labeled Add Person.
• You’ll be asked whether you want to add an adult (assuming you’re...

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The best deals on Nintendo Switch games right now

Pokémon Legends: Arceus and other awesome titles are on sale right now | Image: The Verge / Nintendo

The Nintendo Switch is one of the most popular consoles ever released, one with an ever-expanding library of games to choose from. Odds are if a game is capable of working on the Switch’s hardware, it’s either already available or it will be soon.

Thankfully, a number of games are currently receiving price breaks if you’re looking to expand your collection, including first-gen offerings like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and remasters likeTony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2. However, if you want to add some less conventional titles to your collection, pixelated platformer, Thomas Was Alone, and the brutal side-scroller, Blasphemous, are also discounted right now.

Below, we’ve rounded up some of the deals on Nintendo Switch games. In...

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First look at Netflix’s Wendell & Wild

Wendell & Wild. | Image: Netflix

Regardless of the circumstances, it’s never not a great idea to make deals with demons from the underworld when they pop up offering to make deals. In the first look at Netflix’s upcoming stop-motion animated feature Wendell & Wild, from director Henry Sellick, that’s precisely what an unsuspecting teenager does.

Rather than debuting a new Wendell & Wildteaser or trailer during this year’s Netflix Geeked Week, the streamer instead released a short clip introducing Kat Elliott (Lyric Ross), a 13-year-old girl dealing with a load of guilt that leads to her making a pact with demon brothers Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Jordan Peele).

#WendellAndWild sliding into #GeekedWeek the way Kat slides into paranormal activity p...

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Here are the best iPad deals right now

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

While some of the best iPad deals happen around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you can still find plenty of great discounts if you know where to look. Whether you’re after the high-end iPad Pro or the most affordable Apple tablet, the entry-level iPad, there’s likely a sale going on somewhere you may be interested in.

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

The...

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Car companies haven’t figured out if they’ll let Apple CarPlay take over all the screens

Image: Apple

Apple can’t seem to build its own car, so it’ll just have to take over everyone else’s.

At its annual WWDC event on Monday, the tech giant announced that the next generation of CarPlay will soon break free from the bonds that confine it to the main infotainment screen and spread to additional screens within the vehicle. CarPlay will also, for the first time, use vehicle data to show crucial driving information like speed, fuel level, and engine temperature measurements as well as allow users to control settings including radio or climate.

Will your car be ready for this more expansive version of CarPlay? Because the car companies certainly aren’t.

Will your car be ready for this more expansive version of CarPlay? Because the car...

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Day Shift’s new behind-the-scenes teaser promises one hell of a vampire-hunting ride

Jamie Foxx as Bud Jablonski. | PARRISH LEWIS/NETFLIX

In Netflix’s upcoming action horror thriller Day Shift from director J.J. Perry, Jamie Foxx stars as Bud Jablonski, a father who provides for his family by living a dangerous double life. While his loved ones believe Bud spends his days working hard as a pool cleaner, in reality he’s one of many unionized vampire hunters who’ve committed their lives to exterminating the bloodsucking living dead.

For this year’s annual Geeked Week presentation of its upcoming projects, Netflix has just released a new behind-the-scenes look at Day Shift that teases a sizable chunk of the fast-paced action that Foxx, Perry, and producer Chad Stahelski have infused the film with. In the video, Stahelski describes how his previous working relationships with...

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Why every new TV show has a podcast

When Game of Thrones was in its prime in 2014, I was really, really annoying about it. All I wanted to do was talk about the show and books, and I was running out of humans in my life who cared enough about it. Podcasting as an industry was far less developed than it is now, but there were still plenty of GOT recap and analysis pods to feed my obsession — some good, like Boars, Gore and Swords and A Cast of Kings, and some very bad, which I won’t name because it was eight years ago and we are all different people now. They allowed me to obsess over details, criticize the show when necessary (which was often), and, maybe most importantly, kept me awake on my 4AM commute to MSNBC.

Inspired by grassroots recap podcasts, official podcasts...

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Google Meet for teachers can automatically transcribe lessons into a Google Doc

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Google Meet is getting an automatic transcription feature for educators signed up to Google’s Workspace for Education Plus and Teaching and Learning Upgrade plans. The text-based documents should take up less space than a full recording for educators looking to store or share their past lessons and may also make it easier to review, search through, and send lessons to students.

Google is also bringing polls and Q&A sessions to teachers who use Meet to livestream their lessons, potentially opening up more opportunities for interactivity. These features were already available in standard meetings but not during livestreams.

Users will be able to livestream events directly to YouTube

Google is expanding the reach of Meet livestreams as...

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Education Chromebooks are getting Figma, a very cool set of design tools

Figma CEO Dylan Field. | Image: Getty

Google for Education has announced a new partnership with Figma. The companies will bring Figma’s design and prototyping platform as well as its collaborative whiteboarding app FigJam to education Chromebooks. Schools can apply now to the beta program, which will begin over the summer.

Verge reporter Dami Lee described Figma as “Google Docs for design.” Like Google’s software, Figma is primarily web-based and is a lighter load for a computer to run than many industry-standard creative programs. Figma also allows team members to collaborate in a way that is similar to how they might in Google Docs — but on prototypes and design projects rather than text. Users can add annotations and notes to projects, mark things with stickers, and even...

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How to download the iOS 16 developer beta

The iOS 16 developer beta is here. | Image: Apple

At this year’s WWDC, Apple introduced a bevy of new features for the forthcoming iOS 16. That includes new lock screens and widgets as well as the ability to edit Messages. And, if you’ve got an Apple developer account, you can now download the developer beta to get a firsthand look.

Fair warning: beta software isn’t the finished product. If you download the iOS 16 developer beta, you have to be prepared for some apps and features to be a bit wonky. That’s why we recommend downloading the beta onto an iPhone that isn’t your daily driver. If that’s not an option for you, it’s not a bad idea to wait for the public beta, which arrives next month. And as always, back up your phone before you download the beta in case anything goes wrong.

T...

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Instagram’s sensitive content filters are changing

Image: Instagram

Instagram’s Sensitive Content Control feature, which puts an adjustable filter on content recommended by the platform, now applies to more areas on Instagram. In a post on its blog, Instagram says it’s expanding the setting’s impact beyond the Explore page to include anywhere it makes recommendations, including in your feed, search, hashtag pages, Reels, and Accounts You Might Follow.

While you could always choose from three toggles that vary in how much sensitive content Instagram filters out, Instagram is renaming those existing options. Instead of “Allow,” “Limit,” and “Limit Even More,” Instagram’s now calling the tiers “More,” “Standard,” and “Less.” Instagram will set accounts on Standard by default, which will allow you to see...

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Waymo is teaming up with Uber on autonomous trucking because time really heals all wounds

Image: Waymo

Waymo and Uber, former legal foes and bitter rivals in the autonomous vehicle space, are teaming up to speed up the adoption of driverless trucks. Waymo is integrating Uber Freight, the ride-hail company’s truck brokerage, into the technology that powers its autonomous big rigs.

This “long-term strategic partnership” will enable fleet owners to more quickly deploy trucks equipped with Waymo’s autonomous “driver” for on-demand delivery routes offered by Uber Freight, the companies said.

The announcement represents a convergence between two of the companies’ major side projects. Waymo divides its autonomous projects into two divisions: Waymo One, its consumer ride-hailing service, and Waymo Via, which is focused on goods delivery in both...

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Apple’s Screen Time gets a handy new feature, but parental controls can be better

Family Sharing gets a simpler setup in iOS 16. | Image: Apple

I’m irrationally excited about a new feature coming to Apple’s Screen Time, the company’s gentler term for parental controls. When my kid wants that extra 15 minutes on her favorite app, her plaintive request will come through iMessage as well as a pop-up notification on my Apple devices.

Why is this exciting? Well, it’s a small thing, but if you miss that Screen Time notification, which is currently the only alert you get, you have to dive into the Settings app to manually address the request. This is fiddly and time-consuming, especially when you’re in the middle of making dinner, as it involves passcodes and multiple taps. With the request sitting handily in my Messages app with a dropdown menu that presumably will give me the same...

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TikTok launches custom avatars to rival Snapchat’s Bitmoji and Apple’s Memoji

TikTok is launching a new feature that lets users turn themselves into custom animated avatars in the style of Apple’s Memoji, Snapchat’s Bitmoji, and Meta’s Avatars.

The feature is rolling out globally today and is accessible from the app’s camera alongside TikTok’s various other effects. To use the feature on yourself, open the app, flip the camera to selfie mode, tap effects, and select the avatar effect. You can then either use a preset look or hit “new” to create a custom avatar. This lets you customize your avatar’s face shape, skin tone, hairstyle, and accessories, including makeup and piercings. You can then record a video with the avatar following your movements and facial expressions.

The new avatar feature...

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Google’s Pixel 6 Pro is $100 off for a limited time

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales

The Google Pixel 6 Pro, a behemoth smartphone with a brilliant telephoto lens (along with wide and ultrawide lenses), is $100 off in time for Father’s Day. Normally $899, it’s $799 at Amazon, Best Buy, and the Google Store through June 19th. What kind of person surprises their dad with a $799 phone? Someone who’s very giving, obviously, but also someone who wants their dad to be able to take pretty spectacular photos wherever they go.

But back to that 48-megapixel telephoto lens with 4x optical zoom, which makes the Pixel 6 Pro worth getting if you or your dad is into taking intimate, close crop shots — whether portraits or landscapes. One of the biggest gripes we had in our review of this phone, however, was the price you have to pay...

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The Year of the NFT

Illustration by Mengxin Li / The Verge

In March 2021, an artist called Beeple sold an NFT-based artwork for a record-setting $69 million — and NFTs began to shake up the art world, the tech world, and dozens of other subcultures. The year that followed has been a rollercoaster: artists and collectors have made fortunes off NFTs, brand after brand has launched digital marketing gimmicks, and NFT apes even made it onto The Tonight Show.

But more recently, the NFT scene has lost much of that early momentum. Sales of NFTs have cratered, and the entire crypto market has lost much of its value. This slowdown has put the space in a new light. Can the tremendous growth and the communities that formed around it in the early days of NFTs be maintained, or was this whole thing just a...

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Wyze’s new smart scale features modes for babies, pets, and luggage

The Wyze Scale X adds additional modes for measuring luggage, pets, and babies. | Image: Wyze

Wyze announced today that it’s launching the $33.99 Scale X, a refresh of its previous Wyze Scale. For the most part, it’s a slightly cheaper but pretty standard smart scale. But the interesting thing is it includes new Baby, Pet, and Luggage modes so you can more easily measure other things without having to do the math.

It might seem like a silly thing. After all, anyone can whip out their phone to subtract a baby, pet, or suitcase’s weight from their own. That said, doing the math for you is neat as it saves you from having to measure twice — once by yourself and once with the thing you’re trying to actually measure. As someone who regularly has to wrangle a cranky 18-pound cat to see if his diet is working, eliminating the extra...

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Ms. Marvel feels like the future of the MCU

Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan. | Image: Marvel Studios

Ms. Marvel stars Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan

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Furbo’s latest pet cam gives you 360-degree views

Furbo’s dog treat camera can now rotate 360 degrees to catch your pooch wherever he may be. | Image: Furbo

A favorite among Verge staff, Furbo is a smart dog camera that lets you see, hear, and talk to your pet and — their favorite part — throw treats at them. But it’s had one flaw: your animals roam around all day, and this camera can’t move. (Well, unless you pop it in the back of Amazon’s Astro home robot, but that’s a whole other blog). This week, Furbo fixed that issue with the launch of its new Furbo 360° Dog Camera, which is available now and costs $210 but is launching on Amazon and Furbo.com at the discounted price of $167.

In addition to rotating 360 degrees on its base to catch all the action, the new Furbo has been upgraded with a wide-angle lens, color night vision, and auto dog tracking to automatically follow your pup as they...

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NBA Top Shot seemed like a slam dunk — so why are some collectors crying foul?

Mengxin Li / The Verge

What happens when the hype wears off?

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The linguistics search engine that overturned the federal mask mandate

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Conservative judges are falling for the glamour of big data

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Why a $30 million CryptoPunks auction fell apart at the last minute

Illustration by Mengxin Li / The Verge

In the Sotheby’s salesroom one evening in late February, fluorescent lights beamed down on the assembled crowd. A sea of spectators is not unusual for Sotheby’s — the 278-year-old auction house typically hosts more than 600 sales per year — but this sale was different. It was the auction house’s first-ever evening sale dedicated solely to NFTs.

Sotheby’s described the event, titled “Punk it!,” as “a truly historic sale for an undeniably historic NFT project.” It consisted of a single lot — 104 CryptoPunks sold as an all-or-nothing bundle. Sotheby’s estimated the bundle would go for $20–30 million, on par with sales of paintings by David Hockney or Jean-Michel Basquiat.

To drum up interest, the auction house had thrown a series of events...

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Polestar’s first electric SUV will officially debut in October 2022

The Polestar 3, the aptly named third vehicle from the electric performance marque, will have its official reveal in October 2022, the company announced. It will be Polestar’s first sport utility vehicle and its first made in the US.

The Polestar 3 marks Polestar’s attempt to break into the highly competitive and highly lucrative SUV market in the US. When it comes out, it will slot into the premium category, putting it in competition with EVs like the Tesla Model X, Audi E-tron, Mercedes-Benz EQE, Rivian R1S, and Fisker Ocean. Notably, the Polestar will be assembled at Volvo’s factory in Charleston, South Carolina, giving it the distinction of being the company’s first EV made on US soil.

At launch, the Polestar 3 will sport a...

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USB-C will be mandatory for phones sold in the EU ‘by autumn 2024’

A collection of USB-C cables. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

European Union lawmakers have reached an agreement on legislation that will force all future smartphones sold in the EU — including Apple’s iPhone — be equipped with the universal USB-C port for wired charging by fall 2024. The rule will also apply to other electronic devices including tablets, digital cameras, headphones, handheld video game consoles, and e-readers.

The legislation has been under consideration for years, but an agreement on its scope and details was reached this morning following negotiations between different EU bodies.

The European Parliament’s Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection announced the news in a tweet ahead of a press conference due to take place at 12:30 CEST (6:30AM ET) later today. The...

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Apple’s macOS Ventura leaves trusty 2015 MacBook Pro behind

macOS Ventura. | Image: Apple

A new version of macOS means a new collection of Macs can no longer run Apple’s latest desktop operating system. Perhaps most notably, the new macOS Ventura update won’t be available for the 2015 MacBook Pro.

This laptop quickly became a fan-favorite model because it was one of the last to come with a traditional scissor switch keyboard before Apple ditched it in favor of its much derided butterfly keyboard. Thankfully, Apple has since brought back this traditional keyboard design, meaning there are some very good Apple Silicon-powered replacements available for anyone still holding on to the 2015 machine.

Here’s the complete list of Macs that Ventura is compatible with:

• iMac (2017 and later)
• iMac Pro (2017)
• Mac Pro (2019 and later)
• M...

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Apple finally lets you see your Wi-Fi network’s password in iOS 16

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Apple is finally adding the ability to see your stored Wi-Fi password in iOS 16. MacRumors reports that the iOS 16 developer preview includes an option to view a Wi-Fi password and even copy it to share with friends or family. You need to authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode to see a stored password, and then you get an option to copy it.

If you own an iPhone then you know of the struggle to share Wi-Fi passwords when a family member or friend visits and they’re a green bubble aficionado (Android user) or they own a Windows laptop. Even though your phone is connected to the network, you still have to search around for the Wi-Fi password at the back of the router or on that old crusty piece of paper where you shouldn’t be...

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iOS 16 supports Nintendo’s Switch Pro and Joy-Con controllers

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge

Apple is adding native support for the Nintendo Switch Pro and Joy-Con controllers in iOS 16. Riley Testut, one of the iOS developers behind AltStore, discovered the new controller support in a developer beta of iOS 16 that was released yesterday.

The Nintendo Switch Pro Controller works “perfectly” according to Testut, and both Joy-Con controllers show up as a single device for apps and games to take advantage of. Nat Brown, an engineering manager at Apple, has confirmed the new controller support and even revealed there’s a neat method to switch how the Joy-Cons work in iOS 16. You can dynamically switch between using both Joy-Cons as a single controller or two separate ones by holding the screenshot and home buttons for a few...

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