Microsoft, Meta, and others are founding a metaverse open standards group

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Microsoft, Epic Games, Meta, and 33 other companies and organizations have formed a standards group for “metaverse” tech. The Metaverse Standards Forum is supposed to foster open, interoperable standards for augmented and virtual reality, geospatial, and 3D tech.

According to a press release, the Metaverse Standards Forum will focus on “pragmatic, action-based projects” like hackathons and prototyping tools for supporting common standards. It’s also interested in developing “consistent terminology” for the space — where many players can’t even agree on what a “metaverse” is. In addition to the companies above, the group’s founding members include major pre-metaverse entities like the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), Nvidia, Qualcomm,...

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Samsung’s 75-inch Neo QLED TV is down to its lowest price ever at Best Buy

Save on this 75-inch Samsung TV and other hot tech today. | Image: Samsung

The Verge Deals team is back in action this week, serving up some excellent savings from across the internet. If you’ve been biding your time on buying a new high-end TV, you may want to check out this day-long discount on the 75-inch model of Samsung’s QN85B Neo QLED TV, which is selling for its lowest price ever. The QN85B usually sells for $2,799.99 but is currently on sale for $2,399.99. While this QLED model may lack the unparalleled contrast and brightness control of pricier OLED models, the QN85B should deliver stellar picture quality and accurate lighting with its Mini LED technology, atop a number of other excellent features.

This 4K display features a 120Hz refresh rate, and it’s HDR10 Plus-compatible, enabling excellent depth...

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GitHub’s AI-powered Copilot will help you write code for $10 a month

Image: GitHub

Microsoft-owned GitHub is launching its Copilot AI tool today, which helps suggest lines of code to developers inside their code editor. GitHub originally teamed up with OpenAI last year to launch a preview of Copilot, and it’s generally available to all developers today.

Priced at $10 per month or $100 a year, GitHub Copilot is capable of suggesting the next line of code as developers type in an integrated development environment (IDE) like Visual Studio Code, Neovim, and JetBrains IDEs. Copilot can suggest complete methods and complex algorithms alongside boilerplate code and assistance with unit testing.

More than 1.2 million developers signed up to use the GitHub Copilot preview over the past 12 months, and it will remain a free...

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Facebook and Instagram won’t take a cut from creators’ revenues until 2024

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Creators on Facebook and Instagram won’t have to share a cut of their revenue with the platforms until 2024. Meta previously said it would hold off on revenue sharing until 2023.

In a post today, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a slew of monetization updates for Facebook and Instagram, including the news of the revenue-sharing extension. Creators make money on the platforms through fan subscriptions, paid events, badges, and other methods, and the companies are adding more and more ways for creators to make money in an attempt to lure them away from platforms like TikTok. With one new feature, creators on Facebook with subscribers on other platforms will be able to give those fans access to subscriber-only groups, according to the...

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South Korea hits a space race milestone with latest rocket launch

In this handout image provided by Korea Aerospace Research Institute, a space rocket Nuri (KSLV-Ⅱ) taking off from its launch pad at the Naro Space Center on June 21, 2022, in UGoheung-gun, South Korea. | Photo by Korea Aerospace Research Institute via Getty Images

For the first time in its history, South Korea has successfully launched a satellite into orbit on a domestically built rocket. The Nuri rocket lifted off at 4PM local time today from the Naro Space Center in Goheung. The launch could help South Korea gain footing in the growing global space industry and potentially bolster the nation’s national defense arsenal with future spy satellites.

Nuri’s payload today included a set of satellites that officials say have no military purposes. The rocket placed a 357-pound performance verification satellite into orbit about 435 miles (700 km) above our planet. The performance verification satellite is now poised to help South Korea launch more satellites. While in orbit, the satellite willtest an...

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Take a leisurely drive through automotive history in Ford’s newly digitized archive

Ford is officially 119 years old, and in celebration, the Blue Oval is launching an online archive so car enthusiasts can sift through its long and storied past.

The Ford Heritage Vault is a digital database that contains more than 5,000 curated photographs and product brochures from Ford and Lincoln vehicles, spanning from the company’s founding in 1903 to its centennial in 2003.

The vault allows anyone to view and download the images for “personal use, free of charge,” Ford says. The automaker will update the archive with more automotive ephemera over time, so the vault will only grow in size.

“We’re opening up in a way we’ve never done before,” said Ted Ryan, Ford archive and heritage brand manager, in a statement. “Our archives...

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A legal challenge over crypto reporting could strike down decades-old anti-money laundering laws

Alex Castro / The Verge

Advocacy group Coin Center is suing the US government over ‘unconstitutional financial surveillance’

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Everyone’s ready to die on that hill in Stranger Things 4 Volume 2’s first trailer

Max under Vecna’s thrall. | Netflix

Though music played a surprisingly significant role in the first half of Netflix’s Stranger Things 4, volume 1 never actually got around to giving Eddie Munson the sick guitar that was featured in this season’s earliest trailers. In the first teaser for Stranger Things Volume 2, though, the outgoing king of Hawkins High’s Hellfire Club is finally getting his ax just in time for an epic battle in the Upside Down.

Stranger Things 4 Volume 1 finally revealed the origins of Vecna, the malevolent presence that’s been menacing Hawkins for years, and established that Eleven and her friends truly are one of the only groups capable of taking the creature down as it tries to enter their world from the Upside Down. In the new trailer, everyone’s...

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Anker’s new Soundcore fitness earbuds take on the Powerbeats Pro with a rotating ear-hook design

Image: Anker

Fitness-focused, sporty earbuds usually come with one of two solutions for staying in your ears: they either have wing tips to help anchor them in place (as recently seen in the Sennheiser Sport buds), or there’s a wraparound ear hook a la the Powerbeats Pro. With its new Soundcore Sport X10 earbuds, Anker is opting for the latter. The $79 X10s have a bass-forward sound signature, IPX7 sweat and water resistance, and up to eight hours of continuous battery life (or 32 including case recharges). They’re available now in black or white, with a red color coming sometime later.

Anker says the rotatable ear hook lets you “adjust the wearing angle to ensure the earbuds nest comfortably in place to prevent them from falling out during vigorous...

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How Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius is refocusing for an electric future

Photo Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge

Big plans to go all-electric by 2030

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Here’s what the Nothing Phone 1’s rear lights can actually do

The phone gets a lot of use out of its light strips. | Image: Marques Brownlee

We already know that Nothing’s debut smartphone, the Phone 1, will come equipped with a series of light strips on its back. But now, thanks to an in-depth video from Marques Brownlee, we have a much better idea of what they’ll actually be useful for. Brownlee’s video highlights a couple of different use cases, including having the LEDs work as a charging indicator, highlighting unread notifications, or flashing in time with ringtones.

The strips, which Nothing is branding as its “glyph interface,” consist of a little over 900 individual LEDs embedded into the rear of the phone. Nothing CEO Carl Pei previously hinted in an interview with The Verge that they could serve as a modern take on the classic smartphone notification LED, but now...

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Facebook is cracking down on fake reviews on its platform

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Facebook is cracking down on user reviews to prevent people from leaving fake feedback on businesses’ pages. The company has updated its Community Feedback policy to address this widespread issue.

While Facebook has already been taking action against potentially abusive reviews, the new policy puts these rules into writing. Facebook’s new guidelines protect against people who leave fake bad reviews as a way to get refunds or other freebies out of a business that wants to please its customers, and they’re also supposed to tackle incentivized reviews. This addresses the overly positive (and usually very vague) reviews businesses pay random users to leave on their pages. I’m guessing that this applies to any (actually real) bad reviews...

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UberX Share brings carpooling back to NYC, LA, Chicago, and six other cities

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Last November, Uber launched a pilot of its Uber Pool replacement, dubbed UberX Share, in Miami, Florida. Today, the company says shared rides have returned to nine cities: New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix, San Diego, Portland, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh. Like Lyft, Uber paused its Uber Pool service in March 2020 with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Lyft Shared rides resumed in several cities over the last few months, and now, UberX Share is following a similar rollout. According to Uber senior vice president of mobility Andrew Macdonald, the feature will only match riders headed in the same direction and is designed to add no more than eight additional minutes to your trip’s arrival time.

...

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What’s on your desk, Alice Newcome-Beill?

A home workspace teeming with tech, toys, and the occasional cat.

Gaming tech, fan collections, and cats and dogs

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The Future Of: The Verge’s Netflix show about the future of everything is now streaming

Courtesy of Netflix

It’s taken nearly three years of work, but The Verge’s first Netflix show — The Future Of — is finally here, with a second set of episodes coming on June 28th.

The Future Of is an ambitious look at how everything around us might change over time, narrated by Jurnee Smollett. And it really is a show about everything: our episodes focus on subjects from cheeseburgers and dogs to skyscrapers and life after death. We did our best to envision how these things might change in our lifetimes, the near future, and then the wildest far futures we could imagine. And we did it by talking to the people working on these ideas now — and a few Verge reporters along the way. Think of it like a documentary for the future.

We wanted the predictions in The...

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Twelve South’s new Apple charger is a compact and cheaper three-in-one alternative

Three devices on one neat charger. | Image: Twelve South

Twelve South’s latest accessory is the HiRise3, a $99.99 three-in-one charger designed to keep your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods topped up with power. It has a very similar set of features to Belkin’s Boost↑Charge Pro 3-in-1 Wireless Charger with MagSafe with a more compact design, lower starting price, and a couple more caveats.

Let’s get the caveats out of the way first. Although the HiRise3 only works with MagSafe-compatible iPhones, it’s not an MFi-certified MagSafe charger. iPhone 12 and 13 devices will still magnetically stick to it, and they’ll still charge — but only at 7.5W rather than the full 15W of charging that MagSafe is capable of. That doesn’t mean an iPhone will literally charge half as fast, but it’s not as speedy...

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The world’s first PlayStation 5 ‘Slim’ now exists thanks to a YouTuber

The PS5 is a giant console, the biggest in modern history, and a DIY YouTuber has now created a PS5 “Slim” model that’s a fraction more than the thickness of the plastic cases that house PS5 games. Matt Perks, known as DIY Perks on YouTube, has spent a considerable amount of time and effort to create a PS5 “Slim” that brings the size down from nearly four inches to just under an inch.

The result is a slim copper console that contains the key PS5 components, and a rather giant external power supply and cooling solution that can be hidden away. Most of the thickness of the PS5 comes from its cooling heatsink and power supply, so DIY Perks relocated those into a long external unit to make the actual console far more attractive on top of a...

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Today I learned you can identify plants and flowers using just your iPhone camera

Behold, my beautiful ... moth orchids. | Image: The Verge

Sometimes, even as a tech reporter, you can be caught out by how quickly technology improves. Case in point: it was only today that I learned that my iPhone has been offering a feature I’ve long desired — the ability to identify plants and flowers from just a photo.

It’s true that various third-party apps have offered this function for years, but last time I tried them I was disappointed by their speed and accuracy. And, yes, there’s Google Lens and Snapchat Scan, but it’s always less convenient to open up an app I wouldn’t otherwise use.

But, since the introduction of iOS 15 last September, Apple has offered its own version of this visual search feature. It’s called Visual Look Up, and it’s pretty damn good.

It works very simply. Just...

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Sony could have a trio of new gaming headsets on the way

A leaked image of Sony’s Inzone H9. | Image: 91Mobiles / Onleaks

Sony might be ready to announce a new lineup of gaming headsets, according to a report from 91Mobiles based on information provided by OnLeaks. Rather than being specifically PlayStation-branded, like Sony’s Pulse headset, the three headsets will apparently be part of a new gaming hardware brand from Sony called “Inzone,” which could also include a pair of gaming displays.

Leaked images show the three so-called H-series headsets with a similar white color scheme to the existing Pulse headset. The H3 is wired, and has a USB-C port with a physical volume dial. There’s a button marked “NC/AMB” shown in renders of the H3, which suggests it might support noise cancellation and have an ambient audio mode to allow players to hear what’s going...

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Philips Hue gets a new Tap dial switch, customizable track lighting, and more

The faster you turn the Philips Hue Tap dial switch the faster your lights brighten or dim. | Image: Signify

Signify just announced a new Philips Hue Tap dial switch, portable Hue Go lamp, and fully customizable track lighting in a range of smart lighting updates today.

The Hue Tap dial switch (€49/$49) is available in matte black or white and adjusts lights with a turn of the dial. The faster you turn it the faster your lights brighten or dim. It features four buttons than can control scenes in up to three rooms or zones in the home. The magnetic base allows the Tap dial to be used as a remote control.

The Philips Hue Perifo track lighting is made of individual rails that let you choose the length the of track. It can be attached to the wall or ceiling, connected to internal wiring or a standard outlet, and be fitted with your choice of Hue...

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Cloudflare outage breaks large swathes of the internet

A screenshot of Downdetector showing problems across numerous services. | Screenshot: Downdetector.com

Cloudflare is currently experiencing an outage, according to its status page. Cloudflare’s technology powers numerous other sites and services across the internet, and the outage appears to be affecting a range of different sites, including Discord, Shopify, Grindr, Fitbit, and Peleton, according to Downdetector. The problems appear to have started at around 2:30AM ET. As of 3:20AM ET Cloudflare reports that “a fix is being implemented.”

The issues are most problematic if you’re a user of Cloudflare’s own DNS lookup service. Multiple Verge staff members found they were unable to access any websites at all during the outage as a result of using Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 DNS service. Thankfully, the fix here is simple: change your DNS...

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There has to be a better way to binge

Image: Matt Kennedy / Lucasfilm Ltd.

There’s a lot of big shared universes that should be easier to binge

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There is currently no way to finish Star Wars: KOTOR II on the Switch

Image: Aspyr Media

Plenty of games have launched in an unfinished state, but it's rare to see a port of a game first released in 2004 be so buggy that people who buy it can’t actually finish it. On Twitter game developer Aspyr admitted it was aware that Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II was currently impossible to finish when played on the Switch.

Aspyr’s bread and butter is porting beloved games so you would think it would know better than to ship something so busted. KOTOR II launched on the Nintendo Switch June 8, 2022, and as fans have picked it up and begun to play they noted a bug made it impossible to get past a cut scene about midway through the game.

As first seen by Kotaku, one fan replied to Aspyr’s official Twitter account asking if...

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You’ll be able to bet against Bitcoin with an ETF, before you can buy a Bitcoin ETF

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

There’s good news for people who find bad news about crypto to be good. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be able to buy an exchange-traded fund based on shorting Bitcoin. The financial firm ProShares will debut the first ETF to let you bet against Bitcoin, and it’s set to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange when the bell opens tomorrow, June 21, under the ticker BITI.

The SEC previously approved a futures Bitcoin ETF, also from ProShares, in October. It debuted alongside some of the biggest growth Bitcoin has seen. Now, cryptocurrencies have been severely struggling, with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and even stablecoins all suffering major losses.

What’s funny about the SEC’s approval of an ETF that can be used to short Bitcoin is that it has not...

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More than one person can now use Google TV

The Chromecast with Google TV is one of the first devices to access this new feature. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

One of the big features that shipped with the Chromecast with Google TV in late-2020 was its namesake Google TV software and dashboard. Google’s latest attempt at putting its services in front of your eyeballs while watching TV was a launcher that put personalization and smart recommendations at the forefront, as long as you’re a one-person household, of course. Google TV only supported one user profile, and after later adding kid profiles so you don’t have to subject yourself to endless Baby Shark-adjacent recommendations, Google promised to support more profiles. After some long delays and a slow rollout, that feature is finally here.

Google TV users should now be able to add multiple user profiles to their devices thanks to a...

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Oculus VR games are up to 40 percent off through June 26th

Resident Evil 4 on the Quest store is discounted to $35.99. | Oculus

Meta has kicked off a Summer Sale on Quest VR games, and there are over 60 titles on sale. It might be a good time to stock up on games for a Quest 2 headset, especially if you’ve been holding out on some popular ones like Resident Evil 4, Vader Immortal, or Superhot VR.

While Meta has been testing out all kinds of new VR and mixed reality headsets, the Quest 2 remains the de facto VR headset for gaming outside of Steam and PlayStation, and the only viable standalone option on the market. Today’s sale is discounting some individual games and bundles by as much as 40 percent off, though sadly Resident Evil 4 is only discounted by 10 percent — knocking its price down to $35.99 from its usual $39.99. That’s not much, but it’s still the...

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Morbius finally finds some success...on Vudu

Columbia Pictures

If at first you don’t succeed you can try again, and again, and again, and eventually you might find an audience. At least that’s what appears to have happened for Morbius. The abysmal vampire superhero film starring Jared Leto is finally number one somewhere.

In a press release issued by Fandango, which acquired Vudu in 2020, the company says that Morbius was the number one title in terms of revenue on Vudu for the week of June 13th, 2022. Notably, that’s revenue, not actual streams. Vudu charges for rentals and purchases and Morbius is currently available to rent for $5.99 or purchase for $19.99.

While Morbius was number one at the box office its first weekend, its second week saw a drop off of 74-percent. That’s the worst second...

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iOS 16 will let you bypass CAPTCHAs on some apps and websites

Using tech called “Private Access Tokens.” | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

When iOS 16 comes out later this fall, you may notice that you don’t have to deal with as many annoying CAPTCHAs asking you to slide a puzzle piece or distinguish between a hill and a mountain. That’s because Apple’s introducing a feature for its iPhones and Macs called Automatic Verification, which let some sites know that you’re not a bot without you actually having to do anything (via MacRumors).

Apple has worked with two major content delivery networks, Fastly and Cloudflare, to develop the system. When it launches with iOS 16 and macOS Ventura, sites that use either of the services to defend against spam should be able to take advantage of the system and stop showing you so many CAPTCHAs. If you’re attentive to how many sites go...

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Picard showrunner teases even more legacy returns for season 3

Image: CBS

In the final season of Star Trek: Picard a lot of long-loved characters are expected to make their big returns (and possibly goodbyes) to the Star Trek universe. Earlier this year it was announced that almost the entire original cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation was going to be showing up in season 3. Now showrunner Terry Matalas is teasing even more characters from TNG showing up.

As first noticed by TrekCore, Matalas recently appeared on the Inglorious Treksperts podcast and had a lot to say about the final season of the show. Including teases about some as-yet-unannounced returns:

“There are some people from ‘Star Trek’ who come back in this season who aren’t the ‘Next Gen’ [primary] cast. I mean there’s one character who is in...

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Why getting hit by space dust is an unavoidable aspect of space travel

Last week, NASA revealed that one of JWST’s primary mirror segments, shown here, was damaged by a larger than expected micrometeoroid. | Image: NASA

On June 8th, NASA revealed that its new powerful space observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope, is now sporting a small dimple in one of its primary mirrors after getting pelted by a larger-than-expected micrometeoroid out in deep space. The news came as a bit of a shock since the impact happened just five months into the telescope’s space tenure — but such strikes are simply an inevitable aspect of space travel, and more thwacks are certainly on their way.

Despite what its name implies, space isn’t exactly empty. Within our Solar System, tiny bits of space dust are zooming through the regions between our planets at whopping speeds that can reach up to tens of thousands of miles per hour. These micrometeoroids, no larger than a grain...

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