Why does Logitech have a white Xbox Series X?

A white Xbox Series S has been spotted in an Astro Gaming ad. | Image: Astro Gaming (YouTube)

A white Xbox Series X has appeared in Logitech’s latest Astro Gaming commercial. The white model appears in a new ad for the Logitech-owned Astro Gaming headphone line, featuring the new A30 wireless headphones that are compatible with Xbox Series X, PS5, and more. The commercial shows a white Xbox Series X alongside a regular PS5 and the white and pink Blue Yeti microphones that were part of a collaboration between Logitech and Blue.

Logitech-owned Astro Gaming might have chosen to use a custom white wrap on the Xbox Series X, but the company hasn’t customized any other products shown in the ad so it would be an odd choice to single out Microsoft’s console. VGC spotted the white Xbox Series X earlier today.

Microsoft currently only...

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Rad Power offers first e-bike subscriptions in Europe

The RadRunner e-bike (left) and RadWagon e-cargo bike (right) can now be rented in Berlin. | Image: Rad Power

Rad Power e-bikes can now be rented in Berlin, via a partnership with local firm Cycle. Monthly subscriptions in the German capital cost €79.90 (about $78) for either a RadRunner utility e-bike or RadWagon e-cargo bike. Subscriptions can be month-to-month or for the entire year.

For context, a brand new RadRunner 2 costs €1,449 in Europe, which is what you’ll pay after 18 months if renting.

Subscription prices also cover repair services which can be booked in the Cycle app if something breaks. And, for an additional monthly fee, there’s a peace-of-mind package which reduces the deductible in cases of damage and theft. The subscription bikes can also be fitted with options like baskets and racks (though it’s not clear if this costs...

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Garmin introduces its first smart blood pressure monitor

The Garmin Index Smart Blood Pressure Monitor can sync with the Garmin Connect app, keeping all your self recorded health data in one place. | Image: Garmin

Garmin now has an FDA-cleared (not to be confused with FDA approved) smart blood pressure monitor to accompany its other health-focused wearables. The Garmin Index BPM Smart Blood Pressure Monitor allows users to measure systolic and diastolic blood pressure and syncs that data with the Garmin Connect mobile app that also syncs with Garmin devices like smartwatches, chest straps, smart scales, and bike computers.

“When using the Index BPM as part of the larger Garmin ecosystem, all of your health and fitness data can be viewed right in Garmin Connect, helping to give you a more complete look at your overall health in one app,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of global consumer sales.

The Garmin Index BPM syncs collected data...

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Apple Music to sponsor Super Bowl halftime show amidst push into sports

Snoop Dogg performs at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2022. | Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images

Apple Music will sponsor next February’s Super Bowl halftime show, replacing long-time sponsor Pepsi. In a press release, the NFL says over 120 million people watched the Super Bowl LVI halftime show in February this year, which featured performances from Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar. The New York Times reports that the NFL had been shopping the sponsorship deal around for around $50 million, though exact terms of the finalized deal were not made public.

The deal comes as Apple and other streaming service operators are increasingly looking to sports as a source of growth. Apple has already inked deals to broadcast Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer games on Apple TV Plus, while rival Amazon...

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Google’s new adventure game takes a top-down trip through ancient Mesoamerica

I love the cute characters in the game. | Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge

Google’s Arts & Culture division has released a charming new educational game all about ancient Mesoamerica. The game, The Descent of the Serpent, is available to play right now in your browser or via the Google Arts & Culture iOS and Android apps.

There’s a light plot to Descent of the Serpent, shown in a short video that plays at the beginning of the game_._ While exploring a museum, a large artifact is stolen by Tezcatlipoca, the Lord of the Smoking Mirror, and a living statue asks for your help to recover 20 icons included on the artifact to prevent floods from taking over the world. You, naturally, agree, and the statue says they’ll send you back in time to ancient Mesoamerica.

You’ll be able to pick from one of four adorable animal...

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Amazon is tightening its ebook return policy to thwart BookTok

Amazon’s Logo. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Amazon plans to limit automatic ebook returns to cases where people have read no more than 10 percent of the book, according to the Authors Guild. The change, which follows complaints that Kindle buyers were returning titles they’d fully read to get a refund, is expected to take place by the end of the year.

The Authors Guild says it reached the deal after negotiating with Amazon executives. Individual authors raised concerns about an uptick in returns earlier this year, noting that Amazon would bill them for any royalties they earned from the books. Some pinned the practice’s rise on the book community of video platform TikTok, and in a press release, the guild blamed “BookTok influencers” for encouraging people to get “free” books by...

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I briefly played with Logitech’s new G Cloud Gaming Handheld

When you’re in the Xbox Cloud Gaming app, the yellow Logitech button pulls up the Xbox shade as if you were playing on a console. | Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge

Yesterday, Logitech announced its $349.99 G Cloud Gaming Handheld, which is coming out in the US on October 17th (until then, it’s $50 off to preorder). Today, I got to briefly test it out. It was just a 10-minute demo, but it was long enough for me to snap a few photos, launch some apps, and see how it felt in my hands. We’ll have a full review in the coming weeks.

As I arrived at the testing station, Deathloop (freshly available on Xbox Game Pass) was streaming via Wi-Fi to the handheld’s Xbox Cloud Gaming app. Sadly, it was the action-less intro sequence, but I still got to sprint and jump around. Though it wasn’t a fun killer, like all of my experiences with cloud game streaming, there was just a whiff of input lag that, at least for...

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Valve overhauls Steam’s stats page with new real-time charts

Valve’s stats page for its Steam storefront now has real-time charts showing both the top-selling and most played games at any given moment. You can look at the new stats page right here.

As I write this, the top-selling title is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II — which perhaps isn’t too shocking given that preordering the game gets you early access to the open beta — but the next best-selling game is, to my surprise, Slime Rancher 2.

According to a blog post from Valve, the top-selling lists are ranked based on total revenue, including DLC and in-game purchases, which is intended to provide a “more complete picture of which games players are excited about getting into and continuing to play.” And Valve has added metrics like number of...

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The best entertainment of 2022

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. | Image: Amazon

We all know the feeling: you sit down in front of the TV, exhausted after a long day, only to become absolutely paralyzed by choice. There’s so much to watch and play that settling on one single thing to do can be a challenge. So we’re here to make your evenings a little less stressful. Throughout 2022 this page will be regularly updated with all of our favorite entertainment experiences — everything from the latest hit on Netflix to that open-world game people can’t stop talking about — to make those moments of choice that much easier. If you see a show, game, or movie in this collection, know that it’s an experience we fully recommend.

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The best instant cameras you can buy right now

Photo Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge

We found the best cameras for your budget and needs

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The best noise-canceling headphone deals

You can currently buy the AirPods Max for around $449 instead of $549. | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

With more people working from home than they used to, owning a good pair of noise-canceling headphones has become more appealing than ever. However, they can be expensive and difficult to shop for due to the range of available models, many of which cater to different lifestyles and priorities. Some are better suited for long-haul flights, for instance, while others are ideal for multitasking and marathon listening sessions.

That’s why we’ve curated this list of the best deals on noise-canceling headphones. Here, you’ll find sales on all kinds of on-ear and over-ear headphones, all of which are designed to eliminate outside noise but come with their own strengths and weaknesses. And if you want to do even more research before making a...

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Apple has picked up the next show from Breaking Bad’s creator

The Untitled Vince Gilligan Project is now in officially in the works. | Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for TNT

Apple has picked up the next show from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul creator Vince Gilligan. The two-season Apple TV Plus show, which Apple currently calls the “Untitled Vince Gilligan Project,” will star Rhea Seehorn, who was nominated for an Emmy for playing attorney Kim Wexler in Better Call Saul.

Apple isn’t revealing much about the series just yet, but Gilligan did share a tiny hint of what we can expect. “After fifteen years, I figured it was time to take a break from writing antiheroes… and who’s more heroic than the brilliant Rhea Seehorn?” Gilligan said in a statement. “It’s long past time she had her own show, and I feel lucky to get to work on it with her.” Gilligan will be serving as showrunner and executive producer.

In...

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Apple releases fixes for iPhone 14 Pro camera shaking and constant copy / paste prompts

Image of an iPhone 14 Pro sitting in a ball pit full of colorful pastel dots. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Apple is fixing a bunch of big iOS 16 bugs today. A new update that’s out now, iOS 16.0.2, is meant to fix the issue where the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro’s camera would vibrate while using third-party apps, as well as the overbearing “Allow Paste” notifications, according to an Apple Support page. The patch fixes other various bugs, which you can read in the update text shown to iPhone users below:

This update provides bug fixes and important security updates for your iPhone including the following:

Camera may vibrate and cause blurry photos when shooting with some third-party apps on iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max

Display may appear completely black during device setup

Copy and paste between apps may cause a permission prompt to appear...

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The Dynamic Island is already available on Android devices

The DynamicSpot app gives Android users their own private island.

I’ve always been on team Android, but every so often, Apple rolls out a feature that makes me just a little jealous. Thankfully, with the introduction of the divisive Dynamic Island, I didn’t have to wait very long before somebody shoehorned that sweet pill-shaped void into the Android OS. The DynamicSpot app, developed by user Jawomo, is currently available as an early access download from the Google Play Store.

You can currently check out the app for free, and it allows you to adjust the position and size of the island based on where the notch lives on your particular Android device. However, adding some of the more advanced functions, like showing the island on your lock screen or tapping icons to open apps, requires an additional...

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Amazon Fire 7 review: a budget tablet for the basics

Sure, it’s slow, and the screen is low-res and dim, but it’s the best tablet you can get for $59.99. At this price, decent is perfectly fine.

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The best deals on Nintendo Switch games right now

Right now, there are discounts on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and a handful of other essential Switch titles. | Image: Nintendo

Our roundup has discounts on some of our favorite physical and digital Switch titles including Hades, Spiritfarer, Hot Wheels: Unleashed, and more.

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TikTok pulls posts for weight loss drugs that reached kids

Nick Barclay / The Verge

TikTok allowed content promoting prescription drugs as weight loss aids to reach teenagers, according to a report by The Pharmaceutical Journal.

The journal set up a new TikTok account, indicating to the platform that the user was a 16-year-old girl and began searching for content under #dietpills, looking closely at the top 100 posts. Of the 100 videos, researchers found that nearly a third promoted diet pills for weight loss. Under the “diet pills” term, organic posts named prescription drugs for epilepsy, migraines, and addiction. Some of the posts flagged by the journal to TikTok were eventually removed, The Guardian reports.

In 2020, the company updated its policies by banning ads for fasting apps and weight loss supplements and...

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How fiber-optic cables helped researchers eavesdrop on whales

A baleen whale swimming in Alaska. Many species of baleen whales, like the one pictured above, spend time in the Arctic region. | Image: Planet One Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Scientists have been “eavesdropping” on whales in the Arctic using fiber-optic cables. In July, a group of scientists published a study that took a practical method usually used to monitor the cables themselves and used it to monitor the activity of baleen whales in the Arctic. The researchers say similar studies could transform how scientists collect data on marine life.

Under the oceans, fiber-optic cables carry internet traffic around the world. They have also become a usual tool for scientists in the field who would like to collect and access data in real time. Notably, they can be used to detect earthquakes, including aftershocks that go undetected by traditional seismic stations. In this case, those cables were used to detect...

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Trombone Champ’s developers want to take the game ‘farther than we originally planned’

It’s not just the music that’s ridiculous in Trombone Champ_._ | Image: Holy Wow Studios

If your Twitter feed is anything like mine, it’s recently been filled with hilarious videos of the trombone rhythm game Trombone Champ. Much of the silliness comes from players “sliding” the in-game cursor to try and hit the next note, and the resulting songs often turn out to be absolutely ridiculous.

How can you not laugh at this? It’s absurd! And I love the bright-eyed Nintendo Mii-like avatars — they give the game a fun playfulness.

The world's first trombone rhythm game is instantly a GOTY contender. And no, I'm not kidding. Turn up the volume and hear Beethoven like you've never heard it before. https://t.co/Qu7Cmkhjzc pic.twitter.com/jTXNdWx3Zm

— PC Gamer (@pcgamer) September 20, 2022

Trombone Champ’s seemingly overnight...

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Instagram is having some major problems right now

It’s not just you. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Instagram is having some issues right now affecting users trying to open its app on their iPhone or Android device. Users on Reddit report that the app is continually crashing, making it difficult for them to see any posts, and DownDetector shows that there have been over 20,000 reports filed about the service since around 12:30PM ET (9:30AM PT).

The problems don’t seem to be 100 percent consistent — for some Verge staff, the service appears to be working totally fine. Others, however, report repeated crashes, especially when trying to view stories. Redditors report that restarting or reinstalling the app doesn’t appear to fix the issue.

Chart: DownDetector

People have been having issues with the app for around...

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Elon Musk vs. Twitter: all the news about one of the biggest, messiest tech deals ever

Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images

Stay up to date with the latest in the Musk-Twitter saga

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Charging your EV at night is about to become more expensive

Electric vehicle charging stations in New York City are often inside paid parking lots. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

One of the perks of electric vehicle ownership is charging your car overnight while parked in your driveway at home. Electricity demand is usually low, so rates are fairly cheap, making it both convenient and affordable for many people. But that’s about to change as more people buy EVs and the demand for overnight charging begins to rise, according to a new study published today.

The study, which was conducted by a team at Stanford University and published in Nature Energy, found that increasing EV ownership in the western US could lead to peak net electricity demand increases by up to 25 percent by 2035, the year California has said it would ban the sale of gas-powered cars and trucks.

increasing EV ownership in the western US could...

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Nothing starts teasing its next pair of earbuds — the Ear Stick

The Nothing Ear Stick. | Image: Nothing

Nothing has released its first teaser for the Ear Stick, its second pair of true wireless earbuds following last year’s Ear 1. In a series of images, the consumer tech firm has shown off the new charging case for the earbuds, which appears to use a cylindrical design almost like a tube of lipstick. The new earbuds are set to launch later this year, Nothing’s press release says.

In an email, Nothing’s US PR manager Lewis Hopkins confirmed that the Ear Stick is more than just a new charging case for the company’s existing earbuds. “The Ear Stick is an entirely new product. New charging case and new bud,” Hopkins tells The Verge.

Ear (stick). Supremely comfortable. Exquisitely unique.

Revealed exclusively on Chet Lo's SS23 runway. p...

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How to watch Netflix’s Tudum event this weekend

A Netflix ad for Tudum | Image: Netflix

Tudum, Netflix’s annual exhibition of upcoming projects / fan event that also shares a name with the streamer’s embattled editorial website, is upon us once again to give the world its first look at a number of projects like D.B. Weiss and David Benioff’s The Three-Body Problem adaptation and a new season of The Witcher.

When does Tudum start?

The year’s main Tudum showcase of Western productions kicks off at 10AM PT / 1PM ET on September 24th with a presentation of Enola Holmes 2 and runs for about three hours as other films and movies are previewed. In addition to the main event, Netflix is also spotlighting a number of its upcoming Korean productions beginning at 11AM KST (7PM PT / 10PM ET on September 23rd), as well as its Indian...

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Nintendo is releasing the first Mario movie trailer next month

Image: Nintendo

Nintendo and animation studio Illumination will be debuting the first teaser trailer for the upcoming Mario movie on October 6th at New York Comic Con.

We don’t know exactly what to expect from the trailer yet, but fingers crossed that we’ll finally get to hear Chris Pratt’s Mario voice.

Join us October 6th at 4pm ET for the teaser trailer premiere of Nintendo & Illumination’s upcoming Super Mario Bros. film, releasing April 7, 2023. pic.twitter.com/1jEFnlvCnU

— New York Comic Con (@NY_Comic_Con) September 22, 2022

The movie, which was delayed from a holiday 2022 release to April 7th, 2023, has an absolutely wild cast. In addition to Pratt, it includes:

• Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach
• Charlie Day as Luigi
• Jack Black as Bowser
• K...

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Watch president Lil Nas X’s video for Star Walkin’

Image: League of Legends

President of League of Legends Lil Nas X has finally delivered his State of the Union address in the form of the music video for 2022’s Worlds anthem, “Star Walkin’.” Worlds anthem reveals are events unto themselves. In the minutes before the video premiered, over 70,000 people parked on the video’s YouTube page, leaving ecstatic messages one could not feasibly read because the sheer number of comments made chat scroll too fast for human eyes to follow. Combine the hype of a new Worlds theme with the sheer magnetic, queer-as-hell energy of Lil Nas X, and it’s a recipe for a good time.

The “Star Walkin’” video features prominent League pros going about their lives until the lure of the hallowed Summoner’s Cup calls them to take up arms...

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Zendure’s 100W SuperTank Pro battery is $75 off for Verge readers

The 26,800mAh SuperTank Pro is a little chunky but travel-ready with its sleek aluminum shell. | Photo by Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge

In need of some portable power? How about a whole lot of it, with the ability to output up to 100W of fast charging to top up your devices in minimal time? That’s exactly what the Zendure SuperTank Pro is capable of, and Wellbots is offering a special discount for today only — just for Verge readers.

You can save $75 on the SuperTank Pro 26,800mAh power bank at Wellbots when you use code VERGE75 at checkout. That brings the price down to $154.99, and it ships for free. This beefy portable charger has four USB-C ports, with a maximum output of 100W to charge a laptop or fast charge multiple smaller devices like smartphones, tablets, a Steam Deck, or a Nintendo Switch. It’s quite a versatile power bank, and the real kicker is its built-in...

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The US officially commits to global pact to drop planet-heating refrigerants

Air conditioner units sit in windows of an apartment building on July 20th, 2022, in Washington, DC. | Photo by Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images

The Senate finally voted to ratify the landmark Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which commits the US to quickly phase down the use of a certain class of refrigerants that also happens to be a super greenhouse gas.

Specifically, the Kigali Amendment pushes developed countries to slash the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) — found in air conditioning, refrigerators, and fire extinguishers — by 85 percent by 2036 The plan was drafted back in 2016 by delegates from countries seeking to update the Montreal Protocol, which sought to protect andrepair the ozone layerback in the 1980s. The Montreal Protocol focused on reducing the use of ozone-depleting substances called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons...

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How to record audio on a MacBook

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

If you’re interested in recording audio on your MacBook, there are all kinds of ways to do it. There are a number of third-party apps that can record your voice, but macOS also offers several tools that you can use with no installation required.

Before you start recording, make sure whatever mic you’re using is on, connected, and working. The MacBook’s built-in microphones can record as well, but an external microphone may offer better quality.

How to record audio on a MacBook using QuickTime Player

Literally all you do is click that button.

• Open QuickTime Player.
• Click File > New Audio Recording.
• Click the record button (it’s the red circle in the middle of the window) to start recording, and click it again to...

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videogamedunkey launches an indie game publishing company

Image: Bigmode

videogamedunkey, a popular YouTube video game reviewer with over 7 million subscribers, has decided to start his own indie game publishing company. No, none of these words are in the Bible, but it’s true — Dunkey’s now in the business of publishing games.

In the video, Dunkey said that over 11 years of honest and forthright reviewing has taught him what he needs to know to separate the video game wheat from the weak sauce chaff to bring to the public the very best in indie games. He asserted that through his channel, he put “millions of eyes” on indie darlings like Enter The Gungeon, Celeste, Hollow Knight, and Undertale — games that, without his endorsement, probably would have been just fine, but hey, every little bit helps right?

A...

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