The Verge
All the news from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope mission
After decades of work, the launch is here
The VergeThe VergeHow the James Webb Space Telescope changed astronomy in its first year
Pillars of Creation (MIRI Image) | Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. DePasquale (STScI), A. Pagan (STScI)
As Christmas approached last year, astronomers and space fans around the globe gathered to watch the much-anticipated launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. Though a wondrous piece of engineering, the telescope was not without its controversies — from being way over budget and behind schedule to being named after a former NASA administrator who has been accused of homophobia.
Despite the debates over the telescope’s naming and history, one thing has become abundantly clear this year — the scientific ability of JWST is remarkable. Beginning its science operations in July 2022, it has already allowed astronomers to get new views and uncover mysteries about a huge range of space topics.
The most pressing aim of JWST is one of the most...
The VergeMicrosoft claims it has no idea when Call of Duty came out
One year ago this month, Microsoft announced it would spend $68.7 billion to acquire Activision Blizzard, highlighting how it would get “iconic franchises” including Call of Duty, Warcraft and Candy Crush for that fee. But now that gamers and regulators are worrying Microsoft might keep Call of Duty from appearing on Sony’s PlayStation, Microsoft’s lawyers are suddenly pretending they have no idea why Call of Duty is special.
Or even when it came out, for that matter.
The FTC claimed Call of Duty is a popular, profitable, and successful video game franchise. Microsoft's response is that it has no knowledge of Call of Duty revenues and demands all sourcing. Extremely nasty and petty. pic.twitter.com/ISZFv7bs9K
— Matt Stoller...
The VergeSamsung wants Twitch streamers to buy its new oven
Samsung’s Bespoke AI Oven has a trick up its sleeve hinted at by its name: the company says you can put food in it, and it will automatically recognize what you’re asking it to cook, and recommend the appropriate temperature, time, and mode. Part of its smarts even include “burn detection,” according to a press release, with EU models having the ability to warn you that your food is getting overcooked.
The in-wall oven can recognize “80 different dishes and ingredients” via an internal camera, though you can also use a 7-inch touchscreen to manually adjust settings and check the status of your cook. The company notes that the European model is capable of recognizing 106 dishes — which, given that it calls out burn detection as...
The VergeAll I want for 2023 are new smart home interfaces
The new Matter-ready Mui Board 2nd Gen will arrive later this year. | Image: Mui Labs
The smart home has had an interface challenge that goes back to its earliest days with The Clapper. When it comes to simple things, such as turning on your smart lights or adjusting the temperature in your home, voice control can be cumbersome and erratic, smartphone apps are fiddly and distracting, and sensors are not smart enough (yet) to always get it right.
What the smart home needs are quick and easy ways to control exactly what you want — from turning on a single light to triggering a completely automated scene. Something more robust than smart switches with their limited interfaces and less obtrusive than smart displays (people don’t want multiple screens in every room). One answer is interfaces that can provide context when...
The VergeTesla falls short of its goal of growing 50 percent in 2022
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Tesla delivered just over 1.3 million vehicles in 2022, missing its goal of achieving 50 percent growth year-over-year. The company needed to hit approximately 1.4 million deliveries to meet its target, indicating that transportation and logistics challenges continue to plague the EV company
Tesla said it delivered 405,278 vehicles in in the fourth quarter of 2022, which includes 17,147 Model S and X vehicles and 388,131 Model 3 and Y vehicles. Wall Street analysts had been predicting 415,000 vehicles delivered during the quarter. For the year, the company delivered 66,705 Model S and X vehicles, and 1,247,146 Model 3 and Y vehicles.
Analysts were hoping for a robust 1.8 million vehicles delivered for the year, but Tesla needed to...
The VergeCES 2023: all the news from the year’s biggest tech conference
Samar Haddad / The Verge
At the year’s biggest tech show, we’ll see next-gen TVs, stylish laptop updates, questionable smart home tech, and a lot of strange and surprising gadgets.
The VergeSamsung makes Mini LED even bigger with the Odyssey Neo G9
I feel threatened by the breadth of this monitor. | Image: Samsung
Remember the Samsung Odyssey Ark? Of course you do — it was released last year, had a monstrous 55-inch display that towers over you in portrait mode, and used Mini LED tech. In his review, my colleague Cameron Faulkner said that using it “feels like being in VR,” and called its presence “magnetic.” In short, it’s a monitor dialed (literally) so far past 11 that its Multi View mode was barely able to keep up.
So of course Samsung went and made something even bigger, with even higher-end specs, and is announcing it at CES. Enter the new Odyssey Neo G9 (ignore the fact that new and neo mean the same thing), a follow-up to Samsung’s $2,499 49-inch Mini LED display of the same name, released in 2021. This time, it has a 57-inch “super...
The VergeSamsung is releasing two ultrawide QD-OLED gaming monitors in 2023
Samsung claims that the 49-inch Odyssey G95SC is the world’s first 32:9 aspect ratio OLED gaming monitor. | Image Credit: Samsung
OLED gaming monitors are everywhere at CES 2023, and Samsung’s lineup is no exception. The company revealed the Odyssey G95SC monitor today, a 49-inch model that it claims is the world’s first 32:9 aspect ratio OLED gaming monitor. It also reminded us that its Odyssey 34-inch G8 QD-OLED monitor that debuted in the fall during IFA 2022 will be releasing “very soon.”
What sets these two models apart from what LG recently announced is that they use Samsung’s own QD-OLED tech, not LG Display’s latest panels. Below I’ve embedded a sidebar explaining how QD-OLED differs from OLED, but the TL;DR is that it’s able to produce a more contrast-rich picture at higher brightness levels — one of the few limitations of conventional OLED tech.
I have a...
The VergeSamsung takes on Apple and LG with its own 5K display for creative pros
The ViewFinity has an aluminum stand and enclosure. | Image: Samsung
Samsung’s 2023 monitor plans don’t just include Odyssey gaming screens and a new version of its Smart Monitor: the company is also directly coming after Apple and LG with a 27-inch, color-accurate 5K monitor called the ViewFinity S9. Samsung says the 5120x2880 IPS display has a matte finish to reduce glare and covers 99 percent of the DCI-P3 wide color gamut.
The ViewFinity S9 will support a wide mix of I/O including HDMI, Thunderbolt 4, USB-C, and DisplayPort. It can charge laptops at up to 96 watts. The S9’s sleek design and metal enclosure are in keeping with Apple’s Studio Display and LG’s higher-end OLED monitors. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get an answer at press time as to whether Samsung’s latest monitor includes local dimming. I’m...
The VergeApple’s battery replacement prices are going up by $20 to $50
If you need a new battery, now might be the time. | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge
Apple is raising the price of getting a new battery installed in most iPhones, iPads, and Macs, starting on March 1st. The company made the announcement on the devices’ repair pages, in small text under its price estimators, which was noticed by 9to5Mac.
How much the price hike is depends on what device you have. For iPhones, it’s simple — Apple’s site says “the out-of-warranty battery service fee will be increased by $20 for all iPhone models prior to iPhone 14.” For phones with a home button, that means the price will be going from $49 to $69, and for Face ID phones that means it’ll be going from $69 to $89. Those prices, by the way, were put in place in 2019, after Apple ran a year-long promotion where you could get a new battery for...
The VergeA partial list of all the EVs that qualify for the new $7,500 tax credit
Photo by Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge
As of January 1st, 2023, a bunch of electric vehicles became newly eligible for the $7,500 tax credit, which passed into law as part of the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act a year ago.
Some models new to the list had lost their eligibility when their manufacturer hit the previous credit’s sales cap of 200,000 vehicles (Tesla models, Chevy Bolts). Others have recently shifted their production to North America, meeting one of the crucial requirements (VW ID.4).
There’s still a lot in the air right now
There’s still a lot in the air right now — the Treasury Department has set a March deadline for releasing guidance on some of the thornier issues surrounding battery material sourcing and other rules that could drastically reduce the...
The VergeTelegram’s revamped media editor adds a blur tool and more text options
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Telegram’s latest update includes an overhauled media editor outfitted with a bunch of new tools to decorate — or conceal — parts of your image or videos. In an update on its blog, Telegram says it’s introducing a new blur tool that lets you block out certain areas of a photo or video, allowing you to hide sensitive information, or blur the faces of passersby who appear in the background.
To make the blurred portion of your photo blend in, Telegram says you can use the eyedropper tool to match the color of the blur brush to your image. Additionally, Telegram’s adding a way to change the size, font, and background of text (sort of like Instagram or Snapchat) when adding it to photos or videos.
Image: Telegram
T...
The VergeSony’s A7R V camera is a technical triumph, so why is using it such a pain?
Sony has pioneered many state of the art features in modern cameras, but it still feels like you’re wielding something not quite meant for human hands.
There’s only so much that really needs to be said about Sony’s A7R V mirrorless camera. Sony made so many right decisions with this new model, that it’s easily one of the best cameras money can buy right now. The new AI autofocus system is an excellent jump forward. The improved built-in image stabilization is excellent for hand-holding slower shots. The new articulating display is so good it should just be copied by all other manufacturers as soon as possible. And the 61-megapixel sensor yields some of the best image quality you can get today without jumping to medium format — trusting your computer and storage are up to the task of processing these beefy files.
But while Sony has made some recent strides to offer quality-of-life...
The VergeKaleidoscope is a generic heist story but a fascinating experiment
Giancarlo Esposito and Tati Gabrielle in Kaleidoscope_._ | Image: Netflix
On the surface, Kaleidoscope is a straightforward, albeit generic, heist story. It hits all of the beats you’d expect: the revenge-filled backstory, the complex process of finding a team and forming a plan, and the satisfaction of watching that plan unfold. And since Kaleidoscope’s story spans around 25 years, you get plenty of all of those things over the course of its eight episodes. But that’s not what makes the show interesting. Kaleidoscope is also a fascinating experiment, an attempt to tell the kind of drama most viewers are familiar with — but designed so that you can watch episodes in any order. As a nonlinear story, it’s a success — but as a fun crime caper, Kaleidoscope leaves a lot to be desired.
The series is centered on Leo...
The VergeTesla broke labor laws by telling workers not to discuss pay, NLRB claims
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Tesla’s accused of violating national labor laws by allegedly telling employees at its Orlando, Florida location not to talk about pay and working conditions, as first reported by Bloomberg. In a complaint filed in September, the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) regional director in Tampa claims Telsa “told employees not to complain to higher level managers about their pay or other conditions of employment” and said “not to discuss their pay with other persons.”
The complaint goes on to accuse Tesla of instructing employees not to discuss the hiring, suspension, or termination of employees with others. These incidents occurred from December 2021 to January 2022, the complaint alleges, and violates laws that prevent companies from...
The VergeGrubhub must pay DC $3.5 million over claims it charged customers hidden fees
Grubhub has been ordered to pay $3.5 million to settle a lawsuit from the District of Columbia that claims the company misled customers by tacking on hidden fees to their orders. According to a press release, Grubhub must pay $800,000 to DC as a civil penalty, while the remaining $2.7 million “will be paid back to affected customers.”
In March, DC Attorney General Karl Racine filed a lawsuit against Grubhub, accusing it of falsely promising “free” online orders to customers, as well as “unlimited free delivery” for those who subscribe to Grubhub Plus. The lawsuit alleges this practice is “deceptive” since Grubhub still takes a service fee for non-pickup orders made by Grubhub Plus customers, and charges both delivery and service fees for...
The VergeFarewell to 3G
It’s no more.
It’s well and truly curtains for 3G, one of the key technologies that helped usher in the age of the smartphone. Throughout December, Verizon has been disconnecting its customers who were still using the tech, cutting off their phones’ ability to use data, make calls, and send texts. It was the last major US carrier to do so — AT&T turned off its 3G service in February, and T-Mobile started winding its old networks down the month after.
Verizon customers with 3G devices have had plenty of warning. It previously said the network would be going offline in 2019, but with one delay after another, the date has slowly been pushed back to December 31st, 2022. In the meantime, it’s sent people new, LTE-capable phones, as well as letters...
The VergeNvidia RTX 4070 Ti leak reveals specs from ‘unlaunched’ RTX 4080
Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge
A new leak could confirm rumors that Nvidia’s planning on releasing the “unlaunched” 12GB RTX 4080 graphics card as the RTX 4070 Ti. The company briefly posted the specs for its upcoming RTX 4070 Ti GPU on its website, but Twitter user @momomo_us managed to snag a screenshot before Nvidia pulled the page down.
So far, the leaked specs look identical to that of the 12GB RTX 4080, with the chip sporting 7,680 CUDA cores, a 2.61 GHz boost clock, and 12GB of memory. It also says the GPU could run 4K at up to 240Hz or 8K at 60Hz with DSC and HDR, while an included chart indicates that the RTX 4070 Ti could outperform the RTX 3080 by about 3.5 times when playing Cyberpunk 2077 with its new Ray-Tracing: Overdrive mode.
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti
C...
The VergeBring back personal blogging
Twitter is creaking. Social media seems less fun than ever. Maybe it’s time to get a little more personal.
The Verge9 great games for your Steam Deck from 2022
Micha Huigen / The Verge
If you’re the proud owner of a shiny new Steam Deck, here are some of The Verge’s favorite games to enjoy on Valve’s handheld.
The VergeMeta acquires smart lensmaker Luxexcel as it works toward AR glasses goal
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge
Meta’s throwing more money into the metaverse with its acquisition of Luxexcel, a Netherlands-based company that specializes in 3D-printing prescription lenses for smart glasses. The news was first reported by Dutch outlet De Tijd (via TechCrunch), but Meta has since confirmed to The Verge that it purchased the company.
“We’re excited that the Luxexcel team has joined Meta, deepening the existing partnership between the two companies,” Meta says in a statement provided by Ryan Moore, the company’s head of financial communications. While the terms of the deal are unknown, Meta CTO and Reality Labs head, Andrew Bosworth, revealed in a blog post earlier this month that the company’s pouring “about half” of the metaverse-focused division’s...
The VergeTwitter will soon let you swipe between tweets, topics, and trends
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Twitter will soon let you swipe to switch between different views containing recommended and followed tweets, trends, topics, and more. In a tweet, Elon Musk announced that support for the navigation feature will arrive in January.
Musk first hinted at the feature earlier this month, noting the “main timeline should allow for an easy sideways swipe between top, latest, trending and topics that you follow.” The platform already lets users swap between a chronological timeline that shows the latest tweets in order, and the Home timeline, which displays recommended tweets, by tapping the stars icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
New Twitter navigation coming in Jan that allows swiping to side to switch between recommended &...
The VergeKeep your eyes peeled for this comet in 2023
Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) was discovered by astronomers using the wide-field survey camera at the Zwicky Transient Facility this year in early March. This fine telescopic image was taken on December 19th. | Dan Bartlett via NASA
Here’s something to look forward to in the new year: 2023 could give us a once-in-a-generation chance to see a new comet grace our skies.
Stargazers can keep their eyes peeled for Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) throughout January and early February, although they’ll need a telescope or binoculars to spot it at first. As the comet races closer to Earth, however, there’s a chance the comet could become visible to the naked eye under dark skies. If that happens, it’ll be the first comet to reveal itself to the unaided eye since NEOWISE passed us by in 2020.
This new comet was discovered last March while it was within Jupiter’s orbit. The comet’s current trajectory should bring it closest to the sun by January 12th. On February 2nd, according to...
The VergePSA: the Dark Sky’s iOS app will stop working imminently
Photo by Thilina Kaluthotage/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The time has come: Dark Sky, the (mostly) beloved weather app for iOS is going to stop working on January 1st, according to in-app warnings. The sunsetting has been in the forecast for a while — Apple announced it was planning on shutting down the service last year after acquiring it in 2020, and it removed Dark Sky from the App Store a few months ago, according to 9to5Mac. But if you’ve been putting off finding a new weather app, now’s the time to finally get around to it.
As for what alternatives iPhone users have available (the Android app was axed in 2020), perhaps the most obvious is Apple’s own built-in Weather app. The company even has a support document titled “How Dark Sky users can use the Apple Weather app,” which talks about...
The VergeThe button on Canon’s image-stabilized binoculars unlocked superhuman sight
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
From pirates to spies to kid detectives, it’s a common Hollywood trope: hold a simple spyglass or binoculars up to your eyes, and you’ll effortlessly get a crystal-clear cylindrical picture of what’s going on.
That’s horseshit, of course. Unless you’ve got the hands of a surgeon, it’s surprisingly hard to line up eyeballs, multiple pieces of glass, and a faraway subject. Kid Sean was sad to learn that fact. But I’ll never forget the day Teen Sean pressed the magic button that made all the difference: the one in the center of the image-stabilized binoculars that Canon still sells today.
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
The binoculars come in many different magnifications, from 8x to 18x, and with...
The Verge9 great Android games and gaming subscriptions from 2022
Micha Huigen / The Verge
There are plenty of great games on Android to play, whether you’re using a phone, tablet, or a dedicated Android handheld. Some of them even work on your Google TV-equipped television with a Bluetooth controller connected. And in 2022, it became much easier to play Xbox and PC games over the cloud if you don’t mind paying a subscription fee to do so.
For Android veterans and newcomers alike, jumping into the Google Play Store to find a new game may be overwhelming. (It’s not your fault, the shop’s curation is hard to navigate.) Instead of leaving you alone to find what’s good from the immense selection, we’ve pulled out a couple handfuls of recommendations. All of these games should support touch controls and some may also be compatible...
The VergeThe 10 best shows to stream on Apple TV Plus from 2022
Micha Huigen / The Verge
Apple TV Plus is one of the best bangs for your subscription buck. It started with a limited number of shows back in 2019, but the offerings have steadily increased, the shows that have ended have ended super satisfyingly, and there’s just a whole lot of stuff you can binge on there.
The problem is that, unless it’s Ted Lasso, you might have problems finding other people in your friend group to watch these shows with. But there are probably dozens — dozens! — of us watching Apple TV Plus. Below are some of the best shows you can watch. I excluded Ted Lasso from this list because I’m positive you’ve already watched it.
Severance
You know it’s been a long year when you realize Severance premiered this same year. The show is about people...
The VergeAndrew Tate detained in Romania by police investigating human trafficking
A still image from Andrew Tate’s Twitter profile promoting his Hustler’s University program. | Image: Andrew Tate / Twitter
Andrew Tate — an “alpha male” influencer / podcaster of sorts who has described himself in videos as “absolutely a misogynist” and has been banned from TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram — and his brother Tristan were detained in Romania by police investigating organized crime, human trafficking, and rape.
He was led away from his home in Romania by police one day after his Twitter dustup with young environmental activist Greta Thunberg went viral, as he targeted her with a boast about his 33 cars and their “enormous emissions” while she remained unimpressed by the size. In a now-deleted YouTube video, Tate, who was born in the US and is a British citizen, said “40 percent” of his reason for moving to Romania was “because in Eastern...
The VergeGoogle Voice will now warn you about potential spam calls
Google says it’s using “advanced artificial intelligence” to determine if a call is legit. | Image: Google
Google has announced that it’s adding a red “suspected spam caller” warning to Google Voice calls if it doesn’t think they’re legitimate. In a post on Thursday, the company says it’s identifying spam “using the same advanced artificial intelligence” system as it does with its traditional phone app for Android.
If the spam label appears, you’ll also have the option of confirming that a call was spam — in which case any future calls will be sent straight to your voicemail — or clarifying that it wasn’t, which will get rid of the label for future calls.
Google Voice has had the ability to automatically filter calls identified as spam to voicemail for years, and has also allowed you to screen calls before actually picking them up, but those...