Apple rumors point to a 15-inch MacBook Air, 12-inch laptop, and 14-inch iPad Pro

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

It has only been a few days since Apple introduced a new generation of its custom chip family with the M2 and a round of updated laptops, including the new MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro. But even though the WWDC 2022 keynote is over, the rumor mill never stops. Now, there are more reports about what’s next in Apple’s pipeline, and several of the items will feel very familiar.

Over at Bloomberg, Mark Gurman’s latest report based on his sources claims that updated 14- and 16-inch M2-based MacBook Pros could ship at the end of this year or in early 2023. These will come with M2 Max chips that expand on the 10 CPU cores and 32 GPU cores of their highest-end predecessor with 12 CPU cores and up to 38 GPU cores.

Make room for more...

Continue reading…

The Verge’s 2022 Father’s Day Gift Guide

Illustration by Harry Bhalerao / The Verge

Get a gift that the dad in your life will actually enjoy

Continue reading…

Apple retail workers in New York switch unions

Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Apple retail workers at the Grand Central store in New York are unionizing with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) rather than Workers United as originally planned. The move is part of a broad organizing push at Apple retail stores across the country, where workers in Maryland, Georgia, and Kentucky have announced union campaigns. If any of the stores are successful, it will represent the first union of Apple employees in the United States.

In a press release, both unions framed the move as a positive step toward consolidating worker power across the country. “CWA has a national plan that will lead to density and collective power for Apple Retail workers,” said Lynne Fox, international president of Workers United. “It is...

Continue reading…

Get a bundle of hit Capcom PC games for just $20 from Humble

Street Fighter V is one of eleven games included in the Humble Bundle. | Image: Capcom

If you’re hyped up today for gaming news, there’s a very special deal running now that you should check out. Humble has a new bundle collecting a whole slew of big Capcom hits from the last bunch of years, including some remastered PS2-era classics. Some notable ones include Street Fighter V, Devil May Cry 5, and Monster Hunter: World. As is often the case with a Humble Bundle, proceeds go to charities, the developers, and Humble itself. This one has contributions going towards the ACLU and The Trevor Project.

As for the bundle itself, you can get in on the full package of 11 titles for $20 (or more, if you are in the charitable mood). At full price, these Capcom games are valued at $224 — so you’re getting a huge discount of over 90...

Continue reading…

Spotify comes for audiobooks

Image: Spotify

This article first ran in Hot Pod Insider, The Verge’s audio industry newsletter.

Spotify wants to make audiobooks the next pillar of its business. On Wednesday, company executives pitched the audiobooks business to investors as their next target for industry domination. When they launch the audiobooks vertical (which is TBD), it could have huge ramifications not only for Spotify’s own business, but for the publishing industry as well.

“We believe that audiobooks, in their many different forms, will be a massive opportunity,” Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said. “And just as we’ve done in podcasting, expect us to play to win.”

“Just as we’ve done in podcasting, expect us to play to win.”

Spotify’s first big step into that business is its...

Continue reading…

How to change the alert sounds on your iPhone

You can easily change up your iPhone’s ringtone, alarm, and notification chimes. | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

Apple’s ecosystem can be a little “one size fits all” without a lot of room for personalization (though that’s changing in iOS 16). Customizing your iPhone’s alert sounds can make your device feel a little more personal and fun. And maybe — I’m just spitballing here — you can even make a funny reference to a ’90s comedy starring Bill Murray in the process. Just an idea.

In any case, here’s how to change the sounds for your ringtone, mail, texts, and calendar alerts. For reference, I tested this out on an iPhone 11 running iOS 15.5:

• Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics.
• Tap the task with the alert tone you want to change.
• Scroll down to choose from a list of ringtones (longer sound clips) or another of alert tones.
• At the bottom of each...

Continue reading…

The federal government’s Tesla Autopilot investigation is moving into a new phase

The federal government is upgrading its investigation into over a dozen incidents of Tesla vehicles using Autopilot that crashed into emergency vehicles. The probe is now designated as an “Engineering Analysis,” which is the second and final phase of an investigation before a possible recall.

This next phase will involve additional tests and crash analyses “to explore the degree to which Autopilot and associated Tesla systems may exacerbate human factors or behavioral safety risks by undermining the effectiveness of the driver’s supervision,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in documents posted on its website Thursday.

Exploring how Autopilot may “exacerbate human factors or behavioral safety risks”

The...

Continue reading…

NASA is putting together a research team to study UFOs

Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

Today, NASA announced that it is putting together an independent team of researchers this fall to study sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs, the updated term now used to refer to UFOs. The space agency says it plans to study these sightings from a scientific perspective but also stressed that “there is no evidence UAPs are extra-terrestrial in origin.”

The study team, to be led by astrophysicist David Spergel, will attempt to identify what data is out there on UAPs and figure out how to best capture data on UAPs in the future. NASA noted that the limitations in sightings make it hard to come to logical conclusions about where UAPs come from. The researchers will also try to identify how “NASA can use that data to move the...

Continue reading…

The Last of Us Part I remake plans leaked, coming to PS5 in September and PC someday

The Last of Us Part I is finally coming to PCs. | Image: Naughty Dog

A forum post at ResetEra points out a leaked listing on the PlayStation Direct site (via IGN) that reveals confirmation of the previously rumored PS5 remake of The Last of Us — the first one that is — scheduled for release on September 2nd. The page they spotted included box art, screenshots, and information about a PlayStation Direct-exclusive Firefly Edition with special bonuses, but it’s already been pulled.

However, the source link for a trailer advertising the release is still live as of this writing, and a title card at the end reveals not only the potential PS5 release date but one final tag saying “also in development for PC.” That sets up Joel and Ellie’s adventure to follow in the footsteps of the PC ports for updated older...

Continue reading…

Google Chrome’s on-device machine learning blocks notification requests and could adjust your browser buttons

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Google Chrome has built-in phishing detection that scans pages to see if they match known fake or malicious sites (using more than just the URL, since scammers rotate those more quickly than it can keep up). And, now, that tech is getting better. Google also says that, in Chrome 102, it will use machine learning that runs entirely within the browser (without sending data back to Google or elsewhere) to help identify websites that make unsolicited permission requests for notifications and silence them before they pop up.

As Google explains it, “To further improve the browsing experience, we’re also evolving how people interact with web notifications. On the one hand, page notifications help deliver updates from sites you care about; on...

Continue reading…

Amazon launches AR-powered virtual shoe try-on in its iOS app

iOS users can try on various brands within the Amazon app. | Image: Amazon

Amazon is now letting iOS users virtually try-on shoes, the company announced in a blog post. Amazon customers in the US and Canada are able to try on shoes for various brands including New Balance, Adidas, Reebok, and more.

In this virtual try-on, customers can simply point their camera at their feet and scroll through a variety of shoes to see how they look from different angles. But, the tool can’t be used to determine shoe size. While the new feature is currently available for iOS customers with an iPhone 7 or newer, Amazon confirmed in its blog post that it will be available for Android customers soon.

In 2017, Amazon launched an in-app augmented reality feature that let customers preview how a piece of furniture would look in...

Continue reading…

Porsche is acquiring German e-bike company Fazua in its latest micromobility purchase

Porsche’s electric bike shopping spree isn’t over. The German automaker announced Thursday that it would be acquiring Fazua, an e-bike drivetrain manufacturer that specializes in lightweight motors.

After buying a 20 percent stake in the company earlier this year, Porsche said it would acquire all of Fazua’s shares, making it the latest e-bike company to come under the automaker’s control. Porsche acquired a majority stake in Croatian e-bike company Greyp (pronounced like the fruit) late last year.

Fazua is an intriguing purchase for Porsche and could indicate the direction of the company’s future lineup of e-bikes. The Fazua Drive System, which unites the battery with the motor into one single unit, weighs only 4.6kg (10 pounds) and...

Continue reading…

New research points to bad math behind corporate renewable energy claims

Solar panels were installed on four buildings on the Microsoft campus in Mountain View, California. | Photo by Tony Avelar/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Even though more companies than ever are proclaiming that they’re powered by renewable energy, those claims are usually exaggerated, new research shows. That disconnect between a company’s claims and realitycould jeopardize global efforts to stop climate change.

The problem stems from companies’ reliance on Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to back up their green claims. A company receives a REC by paying to support renewable energy projects around the world. When brands say that they’re powering their business with 100 percent renewable energy, they’re typically still using electricity generated by fossil fuels; they’re just buying up renewable energy certificates to try to cancel out the environmental impact of their energy use.

T...

Continue reading…

How to watch Congress’ public January 6th hearings

Tonight, the Congressional committee tasked with investigating the Capitol riot will hold its first public hearing in months, part of a broader push to bring public attention to the committee’s findings. Further public hearings are expected throughout the month.

Initially organized as a protest and rally for former President Donald Trump, the “Save America” rally on January 6th, 2021, escalated into a full-scale attack on the Capitol building over the course of hours. More than 130 US Capitol police were injured in the ensuing chaos, and four responding officers died by suicide in the following months. Speech platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter responded with strict moderation actions, including a network-wide ban on President...

Continue reading…

Google tool shows what’s on the surface of the Earth in real time

Image: the Dynamic World project

A new dataset from Google shows the features on the surface of the Earth in near real time, the company announced Thursday. The tool, called Dynamic World, uses deep learning and satellite imagery to develop a high-resolution land cover map that shows which bits of land have features like trees, crops, or water.

Land cover maps usually take a long time to produce, and there are big gaps between the time images are taken and when the data is published. They also often don’t have a detailed breakdown of what’s on the ground in a particular area — a city would be classified as “built-up” (a designation for human-altered landscapes) even if there are big sections with parks, for example.

Dynamic World classifies the land cover type for...

Continue reading…

How to watch Summer Game Fest 2022

Summer Game Fest

Summer Game Fest isn’t quite E3 — which was unceremoniously canceled earlier this year. But it’s become one of the year’s big game events, and it’s kicking off with a livestream this afternoon.

Game Fest host Geoff Keighley has tried to set expectations for the show this year, saying it won’t be filled with “megaton shocks” and will involve mostly known titles. “We’ve got a couple of new game announcements in the show and hopefully some surprises if everything holds. But it definitely is a show that’s primarily focused on stuff that is announced,” he said in a Twitter Spaces session.

When does Summer Game Fest start?

Summer Game Fest’s livestream starts on Thursday, June 9th, at 11AM PT / 2PM ET.

The show will be immediately followed by...

Continue reading…

OnePlus 10 Pro’s 12GB RAM model arrives stateside on June 15th

The OnePlus 10 Pro. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

A higher-capacity version of this year’s OnePlus flagship, the 10 Pro, is releasing in the US and Canada on June 15th, the company announced today. This model comes with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, up from 8GB and 128GB, respectively, in the base level model. It will retail for $969 in the US and $1,249 in Canada and be available in whatever color you want, so long as it’s black.

OnePlus said it would eventually release this higher-capacity model in the US when it first launched the OnePlus 10 Pro in the country in April (the 12GB / 256GB model was already available in some other markets, like the UK). In the US, it’ll retail for $70 more than the 8GB model, whose MSRP sits at $899. It’ll support 5G on Verizon and T-Mobile’s...

Continue reading…

A month with DJI Mini 3 Pro

I always thought the DJI Mini 2 was the perfect drone for most pilots — either beginners looking for a reliable drone or experienced pilots who want a more portable solution. Aside from its compactness, it was also affordable at $449 and provided very good, if not quite great, image quality. The newly announced DJI Mini 3 Pro drastically improves image quality, but at a starting price of $759 (with the remote controller), it is no longer easy to recommend for everyone.

But I can also see the argument that the price hike is justified. After all, you are getting a lot more than you ever did with the Mini 2. For one, obstacle avoidance sensors open up the possibility of autonomous flights. The aperture is large and makes night images and...

Continue reading…

Nope’s final trailer reveals true horror Jordan Peele’s been hiding this whole time

After months of carefully dancing around the truth of what’s going on Jordan Peele’s new horror Nope, Universal’s final trailer for the film at last reveals the reason why everyone in it is terrified of the sky, and it has very little to do with the weather.

The sudden death of Otis Jr. (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald Haywood’s (Keke Palmer) father Otis Sr. (Keith Haywood) is what initially sends the brother and sister reeling, and left with the task of figuring out what to do with the family’s ranch full of rodeo horses in the new trailer. Though both of the siblings are ready to step up to the plate in their father’s absence, Otis Jr. (who goes by “OJ”) can’t shake the feeling that their father was murdered — not by a person per se, but...

Continue reading…

Dell’s new XPS 13 adds Alder Lake CPUs, but this is more than just a spec bump

Image: Dell

Today Dell is launching the 2022 revision of its XPS 13 to include Intel’s latest 12th-gen Alder Lake CPUs that add more cores and a hybrid architecture setup, and says the new version is its thinnest and lightest 13-inch XPS ever. The new laptop is 13.9mm thick (0.55-inches) and weighs as little as 2.59 lbs, compared to its predecessor’s 14.80 mm (0.58-inches) and 2.64 lb starting weight for a non-touchscreen model. The new XPS 13 is available starting today in the US and Canada, starting at $999 with Windows 11 or $949 for an Ubuntu 20.04-equipped Developer Edition.

The flagship XPS 13 has gone from previewing the future of laptops when Dell introduced the InfinityEdge design with thin bezels in 2015, to kind of stale a few years...

Continue reading…

Dell transforms its XPS 13 2-in-1 into a tablet with a magnetic folio and stylus

Dell’s new XPS 13 2-in-1 is a tablet now. | Image: Dell

Dell is totally overhauling its XPS 13 2-in-1 laptop today by revealing a new design that’s a tablet instead of a thin laptop with a reversible hinge. The 2022 model swaps the reversible hinge for an XPS Folio keyboard case, which is much like Apple’s Magic Keyboard for the iPad. It magnetically connects to the XPS 13 2-in-1 and allows the device to transform into a laptop instead of a standalone tablet.

The magnetic XPS Folio will support three angles: 100 degrees, 112.5 degrees, and 125 degrees, and there’s even a magnetic stylus that attaches to the top of the device to charge. Dell has designed the XPS Stylus for both right- and left-handed usage, and it should run for around 50 days on a full charge. Both the folio and stylus will...

Continue reading…

The freelance artist behind a million-dollar NFT collection

Mengxin Li / The Verge

If you were passing through Art Basel Miami in December, you might have heard about a Pudgy Penguins club night. The founder Cole Thereum was there, surrounded by penguin artwork on the wall and even etched into ice. The artist behind it all, Antoine Mingo, was there too, sipping a gin and tonic in the back of the venue, but he kept a lower profile. He drew the faces and bodies that made up the penguins, but his connection to the project has stayed under the radar. Unlike Cole, no one at the party recognized him.

The Miami event was a high point in Mingo’s unusual career as an NFT artist. Tokens built from his art have sold for upwards of $400,000 even as he remains largely on the sidelines. As far as the NFT world is concerned, the real...

Continue reading…

The Xbox game streaming TV app feels almost like the real thing

There’s nothing particularly novel about the actual Xbox app. If you’ve used xCloud, you’ve seen this interface before.

Playing games on the new Xbox app made for TVs feels like a big deal. There’s no console and no hidden HDMI streaming device. Yet, in my brief hands-on demo, games like Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 loaded quickly and — most importantly — they played well with both Xbox and PlayStation 5 wireless controllers. And if you aren’t a Game Pass subscriber, you’ll still be able to jump into Fortnite immediately through the app for free after you sign in with a Microsoft account.

The app aims to provide a console-like experience to people who don’t want the cost and cruft of buying and setting up a console. It lets you pair a Bluetooth headset to hear audio and chat with Xbox friends, and Xbox save data gets synced over the cloud, letting...

Continue reading…

Xbox Cloud Gaming will support your game library later this year

Microsoft is planning to bring a lot more games to Xbox Cloud Gaming later this year, allowing Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers to stream most of their own game library. “We’re excited to share that later this year, it’s our intent to roll out the ability for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members to play, from the cloud, select games they already own or have purchased outside the Xbox Game Pass library,” says Will Tuttle, Xbox Wire editor in chief.

This expansion will make Xbox Cloud Gaming a lot more valuable, opening the service up to potentially thousands of more games. Microsoft only says “select games,” so it’s clear not every single Xbox game will be available, and the company isn’t saying anything more about its plans. But it looks...

Continue reading…

Xbox Project Moorcroft will bring early game demos to Xbox Game Pass

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Microsoft is working on Project Moorcroft, a program designed to bring early game demos to Xbox Game Pass subscribers. The demos will be similar to the limited levels and early samples of games that fans would typically spend hours waiting in line to play at E3 or PAX.

These early game demos have largely been lost in the transition to virtual game conferences during the pandemic, and they’re key for indie developers trying to generate awareness for their titles. Sarah Bond, Microsoft’s head of gaming ecosystem, describes Project Moorcroft as a way to bring back that E3-like experience.

“Why don’t we take Game Pass, and make it like the show floor?” says Bond. “Why don’t we make it possible for a developer to take a piece, a level of...

Continue reading…

Microsoft’s new Xbox TV app streams games without a console later this month

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft is launching its Xbox TV app later this month, allowing owners of Samsung’s 2022 smart TVs to play Xbox games without a game console. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be able to access more than 100 games through Samsung’s 2022 smart TVs, streaming through the cloud powered by custom Xbox Series X hardware. Fortnite is even available to stream free of charge if you’re not a Game Pass Ultimate subscriber.

The Xbox TV app will work very much like Netflix does on TVs and will be available from Samsung’s gaming hub on June 30th in 27 countries. You simply log into your Microsoft account in the app and stream Xbox games just like you would through Xbox Cloud Gaming in a browser.

Image: Microsoft

The...

Continue reading…

The Xbox Design Lab is getting even louder

Image: Microsoft

Xbox announcing a host of planned improvements to its hardware and services today. In addition to cloud gaming improvements and new supported platforms for the Xbox app, it was announced that Xbox will expand its Design Lab store with even more customization options.

This includes new pastel colors — soft pink, orange, green, and purple — as well as new Camo Top cases with matching side caps — Mineral Camo, Arctic Camo, Forest Camo, Sandglow Camo, and Blaze Camo. These colors join the already expansive roster of personalization options that Xbox has been steadily adding to the Design Lab, including metallic finishes and rubberized grips.

The Xbox Design Lab already has millions of different combinations.

The Xbox...

Continue reading…

Xbox Cloud Gaming launches in Argentina and New Zealand

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Microsoft is bringing Xbox Cloud Gaming to Argentina and New Zealand today. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be able to stream more than 100 games to phones, tablets, and PCs today, as well as Samsung TVs later this month thanks to a new Xbox TV app.

“We’ve continuously heard from gamers in Argentina and New Zealand that accessing Xbox Cloud Gaming is a priority and we’re thrilled to make it a reality,” says Catherine Gluckstein, vice president and head of product for Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Much like Xbox Cloud Gaming elsewhere, anyone will be able to use the service to play Fortnite free of charge, or you’ll need to be an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate member to access the more than 100 games available on the service.

This Xbox Cloud...

Continue reading…

Xbox bringing new gaming features to Microsoft Edge

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Xbox is announcing that everyone’s favorite gaming platform, Microsoft Edge, is getting a number of new features that prioritize cloud gaming integration and personalization for the blue browser. Microsoft has been consistently growing and improving support for Xbox Cloud Gaming across multiple platforms and is clearly taking steps to optimize this service on browsers by providing it with more gaming-forward features.

Some of the additions include a personalized gaming homepage that provides easier access to the Xbox Cloud Gaming library and a built-in efficiency mode that reduces resource usage of the browser when a game is launched. Edge will also be getting “Clarity Boost” to help improve the fidelity of games streamed over the...

Continue reading…

How to frame your NFT

Mengxin Li / The Verge

So let’s say you bought an NFT. Not because you want to make a bunch of money and you’re just going to flip it — we’ll call those people the JPEG flippers — and not because someone sold you on a big idea about “community” and you didn’t buy an NFT so much as a link to a Discord — those are the yacht clubbers — but you bought it because you just liked the way the thing looked. Maybe you’re a collector, maybe this is the first valuable piece you’ve ever acquired. Either way, you bought it not to sell it or use it. You bought it to look at it. You want to hang it up in your home!

On one hand, you have plenty of ways to get your digital art on display. It’s just a picture, after all. (You could even — gasp — just print the thing and hang it...

Continue reading…