Leak shows unannounced Sony XM5 earbuds from the inside and out

Leaked images of what could be the Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds. | Image: The Walkman Blog

Sony could be on the cusp of announcing a successor to the excellent WF-1000XM4 true wireless earbuds, if a series of leaked images published by The Walkman Blog are any indication. The new earbuds will reportedly be called the WF-1000XM5, which shouldn’t be confused with the over-ear WH-1000XM5 headphones Sony released last year. The Walkman Blog has a pretty good track record with these kinds of leaks given it published similar photos of the XM4 earbuds prior to their announcement in 2021.

Although it’s great to see evidence of a potential successor to the best true wireless earbuds available today, the images themselves suggest any changes could be minimal. The Walkman Blog notes that the earbuds seem to be more compact overall, with...

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John Wick: Chapter 4 is unrelenting in every sense of the word

Keanu Reeves as John Wick. | Image: Lionsgate

John Wick 4 is a supersized all-you-can-eat buffet of the franchise’s signature dishes: bullet-riddled revenge, teeth-chattering action sequences, and gossamer-thin characters.

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Netflix’s Kill Boksoon balances stylish assassinations with parenting in new trailer

Kim Si-A and Jeon Do-yeon in Kill Boksoon. | Image: Netflix

Retiring as an assassin is never easy, and that’s definitely the case in the upcoming Netflix film Kill Boksoon. The movie follows Gil Boksoon (Jeon Do-yeon) as a killer with a perfect success rate but a rough relationship with her teenage daughter (Kim Si-a). She decides to retire to spend more time with her kid, but — of course — on her last mission, she discovers a secret that puts her up against the entire hitman industry, _John Wick-_style.

The latest trailer for the film shows off some slick and bloody action, a very stylish criminal underworld, and a few awkward moments that come from balancing parenthood with, you know, murdering for a living. Writer and director Byun Sung-hyun’s previous work includes the political drama Kingmaker...

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The White House might be running out of time to bring back net neutrality

Image: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Shortly after coming into office, President Joe Biden moved to restore net neutrality. He signed a sweeping executive order to promote competition, calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to bring back the Obama-era internet rules rolled back by the Trump administration.

But close to two years later, the FCC remains deadlocked with only four of its five commissioner slots filled — and Biden may be running out of time.

Biden’s pick for a new FCC commissioner was Gigi Sohn, a former FCC official and public interest advocate. Sohn would have secured a long-awaited Democratic majority at the agency. After she was nominated in October 2021, however, a well-funded opposition organized a brutal opposition campaign against her....

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TikTok’s refresh feature is for when you’re sick of your For You page

Image: TikTok

TikTok is adding a way for users to “refresh” For You page content when they want to switch up their feed. In February, the company previously said it was testing the feature. Now, the Refresh button is set to roll out to users globally over the coming weeks.

When users turn on the reset feature, the recommendations algorithm will revert back as if they just signed up for TikTok. As the user watches and interacts with content, the algorithm will begin to serve up recommendations based on the user’s actions after hitting Refresh.

The app’s closely guarded recommendations system takes in user signals like watch time, comments, and likes to suggest related content. TikTok says users may want to reset their feed if they lose interest in the...

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The HP Dragonfly Pro is a great laptop with some odd extra stuff

I love the laptop, but I don’t love what it’s packaged with.

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I’m sick of reviewing gorgeous Chromebooks with bad battery

Several companies have tried pricey Chromebooks with premium builds and gorgeous screens. Many have ended up as great machines with subpar battery life. HP’s Dragonfly Pro Chromebook is just the latest.

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Microsoft Copilot leak shows AI automatically creating a PowerPoint presentation

Image: H0x0d (Twitter)

Microsoft is holding a big AI event later today, but one of the announcements appears to have just leaked. Twitter user h0x0d has published details of a PowerPoint Copilot feature, which appears to include ChatGPT-like AI that will create presentations for you.

The Copilot appears in a sidebar in an online version of PowerPoint where you can ask the assistant to create a presentation based on a Word document. PowerPoint then immediately drafts a presentation, complete with a full slide deck based on the contents of the Word document supplied.

PowerPoint Copilot pic.twitter.com/oWpYwl3beG

— WalkingCat (@_h0x0d_) March 16, 2023

There are even options to ask the Copilot assistant to “add animations to this slide” or “apply a modern...

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How to watch the Microsoft 365 AI event

Illustration: The Verge

Microsoft is holding a special “future of work with AI” event today, where the company says it’ll be “reinventing productivity with AI.” Microsoft is expected to demonstrate how its ChatGPT-like AI will work in Microsoft 365 and Office apps like Teams, Word, and Outlook. CEO Satya Nadella and head of Microsoft 365 Jared Spataro will host the event starting at 8AM PT / 11AM ET.

The event takes place just two days after Google announced AI features in Gmail, Docs, and more to rival Microsoft, in what looks like another front in the battle between the two companies over the future of productivity apps.

The Verge revealed last month that Microsoft was planning an AI event in March to demo how its new ChatGPT-like AI will transform its Office...

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MLB replay umps will deliver their calls over Zoom

Photo by Brandon Sloter / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The next time a coach or umpire calls for a review, they’ll get the results beamed in from the Major League Baseball (MLB) replay center in New York over Zoom, creating one more meeting that could’ve been an email.

Starting this season, umpire crew chiefs on the field will use the new “Zoom Replay Operations Center” to beam into replay reviews taking place at the league’s replay center in New York. Previously, umps only had access to audio of review conversations, and now they’ll have video, too, even though the remote umpires’ decision will be the one that’s final. Once an umpire or team manager calls for a review, the results depend on the person watching the replay.

Naturally, it won’t just be umps that will see more Zoom branding...

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Snapchat’s new parental controls aim to protect minors from sensitive content

Snapchat’s latest safety feature allows parents to filter out sensitive content on their children’s devices. | Image: Snapchat

Snapchat has rolled out new parental Content Controls to help prevent minors from being exposed to potentially inappropriate content while using the app. Announced on Tuesday, parents and guardians can now access new content filtering capabilities through Snapchat’s Family Center supervision tool to block “sensitive or suggestive” content from appearing on their child’s Snapchat Stories or Spotlight feed.

The feature can be enabled by selecting “Restrict Sensitive Content” within the Family Center settings. Snap notes that enabling the feature won’t restrict the content your child can view elsewhere on the app outside of Snapchat’s Stories and Spotlight sections, such as Chat, Snaps, and Search.

Snapchat has publically released its...

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Is Nothing behind mysterious new ‘Particles by XO’ earbuds?

Leaked images of the supposed ‘Particles by XO’ earbuds. | Image: 91Mobiles

A new Bluetooth SIG listing has 91Mobiles and us speculating whether Nothing could be involved in a second true wireless earbuds brand. By itself the listing isn’t anything interesting. It’s for an unnamed pair of wireless earphones with the model number B154 running the Bluetooth 5.2 standard. But that model number, B154, previously appeared in a December report from 91Mobiles which said they’ll be sold under the name “Particles by XO,” though it’s unclear whether this refers to the earbuds themselves (Particles?), the subbrand (XO?), or some combination of the two.

Yes, Nothing is just about to launch a successor to its Nothing Ear 1 earbuds on March 22nd. But those earbuds reportedly use the model number B155, which appears in a s...

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Biden administration reportedly demanding that TikTok sell or face a ban

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

TikTok is facing a direct challenge to its continued operations in the US. The Biden administration is reportedly demanding that TikTok be sold off from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or face a potential ban. The demand was first reported by The Wall Street Journaland later by The New York Times.

The White House’s threat is an escalation from the limited bans and pending legislation that have been bubbling up for some time. In late February, the Biden administration said federal agencies would have 30 days to remove TikTok from government devices, and similar restrictions have spread across dozens of US states.

A bill introduced earlier this month would give the secretary of Commerce the ability to prohibit foreign companies...

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Match Group’s CEO says he spent $50K in three months on Clash of Clans

Illustration: The Verge

Have you ever spent money on microtransactions or in-game items and then regretted it? Bernard Kim, CEO of Match Group, has. During a talk at New Street Research’s online dating summit, he dropped this anecdote while talking about mobile games (emphasis mine):

No one plays these games forever. After a certain point, people churn out of a game experience. And what are you left with? I’ve personally spent $50,000 in three months in Clash of Clans, and I still look back at that with lots of shame. I’m like “oh my God, what did I really get out of that experience?” Nothing, other than, like, a really amazing wall, which is not cool today.

You can watch the whole exchange below:

Wow. Okay so uh — why is he admitting this? And also:...

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Police take down ChipMixer service tied to stolen crypto from FTX, Axie Infinity hacks

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

ChipMixer, a cryptocurrency mixing service with ties to the hacks targeting FTX and Axie Infinity, has been pulled offline by the FBI, Europol, and other international authorities. In a press release published Wednesday, the Justice Department says authorities seized $46 million worth of cryptocurrency along with the service’s domains and GitHub account.

Crypto mixing services like ChipMixer make it more difficult for third parties, such as law enforcement, to trace crypto transactions, as they funnel different payments into a single pool of crypto before splitting up each amount and sending them to designated recipients. According to law enforcement, unlike crypto services registered to operate in the US, it naturally didn’t collect...

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The Silicon Valley Bank fallout is just beginning

The girls are fightinggggggg. | Illustration by Hugo Herrera / The Verge

Following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last week, a lot of companies and entrepreneurs have been making the flight to — at least perceived — safety. That means the biggest banks have been getting more deposits: JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo.

“Everyone is asking, ‘Where should we bank? Where is it safe to bank?’” Ryan Gilbert, founder of Launchpad Capital, told Silicon Valley Business Journal. “When you think you bank with the safest bank in your ecosystem, and they disappeared overnight, you realize it’s impossible to predict an earthquake.” He moved his account to Chase.

“Where should we bank? Where is it safe to bank?”

Startups such as Brex, Mercury, and Meow have also benefited. Brex specializes in...

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Best printer 2023: just buy this Brother laser printer everyone has, it’s fine

The Brother HL-L2305DW is a laser printer that just prints. It is fine. | Image: Brother

Here’s the best printer in 2023: the Brother laser printer that everyone has. Stop thinking about it and just buy one. It will be fine!

Seriously, ask around or just look in the background of Zoom calls: there’s a black Brother laser printer sitting there. Some people have the bare-bones Brother HL-L2305DW, which costs like $120. We have the $270 Brother MFC-L2750DW, which adds a sheet-fed scanner, because my wife is a lawyer and scans things for judges or whatever she does with it. It doesn’t matter. We only bought that one to replace our previous Brother laser printer that we lost in a move, and even then, I didn’t even look at the model numbers. It has been connected to our Wi-Fi for like six years straight, and I have never replaced...

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Google Glass Enterprise Edition is no more

Image: Google

Google Glass largely went off sale to consumers in 2015, and Google has since been focusing on how the headset could be useful for businesses and developers. But even those efforts have come to an end. The company is no longer selling Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2, Google spokesperson Patrick Seybold told The Verge. A help document spotted by 9to5Google says the company will end support for the AR headset on September 15th.

According to the company, the devices should still work after that date, but it’s not planning on releasing any software updates. The support cutoff also extends to the built-in Meet app and repair service. “The app may stop working at any time after September 15, 2023,” warns Google’s support page, before saying...

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The best Xbox controller to buy right now

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Basic, premium, affordable, and customizable — lots to pick from.

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SpaceX Starlink rolls out $200 per month ‘global’ satellite internet package

Image: Thomas Ricker / The Verge

Last summer, we reviewed Starlink RV, a version of the satellite internet service that promised users access from pretty much anywhere on their continent. Now, it has been rebranded as Starlink Roam, available in either a regional access flavor for $150 per month or for global use anywhere the service is available for $200 per month.

As with the RV package, users can choose either a portable antenna for $599 or one intended for in-motion use for $2,500. Previously, you could only travel with Starlink’s satellite dish (nicknamed Dishy) within the same continent.

Starlink now offers global roaming https://t.co/WlRNSDfwJ6

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 15, 2023

Starlink markets the rebranded subscription as a way for customers to use...

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Belkin’s smart home brand Wemo is backing away from Matter

Wemo’s smart home light switches work well... but now only with HomeKit. | Image: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Wemo, Belkin’s smart home company, has paused development of Matter smart home devices. In an email exchange, Jen Wei, Vice President of Global Communications and Corporate Development at Belkin, confirmed that, while the company remains convinced that “Matter will have a significantly positive impact on the smart home industry,” it has decided to “take a big step back, regroup, and rethink’’ its approach to the smart home. Benson went on to write that Wemo will bring new Matter products to market when it can find a way to differentiate them. It seems like Wemo might be concerned its smart home gear is becoming commoditized.

During CES 2022, Wemo announced it would bring Thread-compatible, Matter-compliant products to market when that...

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It’s on sight between Ali Wong and Steven Yeun in Beef’s first trailer

Ali Wong as Amy Lau and Steven Yeun as Danny Cho in Beef. | Netflix

For many people, the waves of rage that take hold whenever someone cuts them off in traffic come as quickly as they go, but that could not be further from the truth for the aggrieved strangers in the first trailer for Netflix and A24’s upcoming series Beef from Lee Sung Jin starring Ali Wong and Steven Yeun.

Before the pair first meets one fateful day, neither Danny Cho (Yeun) nor Amy Lau (Wong) have any way of knowing just how hopeless, burned out, and adrift the other is feeling about their personal lives. Though Amy seemingly has it all — a loving husband named George (Joseph Lee), kids, and a beautiful home — she can’t help but feel there’s something deeply important missing in her life that her family can’t fix. Danny, a contractor...

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Here’s the new spacesuit that astronauts will wear when they return to the Moon

Photo by Mark Felix / AFP via Getty Images

NASA has revealed the new spacesuit that astronauts will wear to explore the Moon under the Artemis program. Created by Axiom Space, the new suit is designed to improve mobility for astronauts working on the lunar surface.

Developed for the Artemis III mission, which will see the first woman and person of color walking on the Moon, the prototype suit was revealed at an event on Wednesday, March 15th. The prototype includes a dark gray cover, which was designed by costume designer Esther Marquis, who worked on the TV series For All Mankind, but the actual suit will be white for thermal reasons.

The prototype includes a dark gray cover, which was designed by costume designer Esther Marquis, who worked on the TV series For All Mankind

“...

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You can play with Microsoft’s Bing GPT-4 chatbot right now, no waitlist necessary

Illustration: The Verge

Microsoft appears to have removed the waitlist for its new Bing Chat feature, so now anyone can sign up and use the GPT-4-powered chatbot. Windows Central spotted that if you try and sign up for the new Bing, it will simply unlock immediately. The Verge has tested this on multiple Microsoft accounts, and access was granted immediately with an email confirmation.

We’ve reached out to Microsoft to comment on whether it has temporarily removed the waitlist or if it’s being removed fully. If you want to try and get access to the new Bing, then head over to bing.com/new and hit the “join waitlist” button and sign in with your Microsoft Account. You should get access immediately.

Microsoft’s waitlist change comes just a day after the company...

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OpenAI co-founder on company’s past approach to openly sharing research: ‘We were wrong’

Image: OpenAI

Yesterday, OpenAI announced GPT-4, its long-awaited next-generation AI language model. The system’s capabilities are still being assessed, but as researchers and experts pore over its accompanying materials, many have expressed disappointment at one particular feature: that despite the name of its parent company, GPT-4 is not an open AI model.

OpenAI has shared plenty of benchmark and test results for GPT-4, as well as some intriguing demos, but has offered essentially no information on the data used to train the system, its energy costs, or the specific hardware or methods used to create it.

Should AI research be open or closed? Experts disagree

Many in the AI community have criticized this decision, noting that it undermines the...

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How to choose between the AirPods Pro and Beats Fit Pro

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Apple’s second-gen AirPods Pro outperform the Beats in sound quality and noise cancellation, but the Beats Fit Pro have some strengths of their own — especially if you’ve got an Android phone.

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How data centers at public pools can keep swimmers warm

Deep Green CEO Mark Bjornsgaard. | Image: Deep Green

Installing a mini data center could become a more sustainable way to heat public swimming pools in the UK. One data center, which is roughly the size of a laundry machine, has already been installed underneath a swimming pool in Devon County. Seven more similar setups are in the works across the UK, BBC News reports.

It’s a practical partnership that helps the pools and data centers solve expensive technical problems. Since most of the electricity computers consume is eventually released as heat, data centers need to cool down their hardware. Public pools need to heat themselves up but face skyrocketing energy costs that have pushed many pools in the UK to close.

“We see that supply and demand as two sides of the same coin.”

“We see that...

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Oura is adding chronotypes to its smart ring, but without the cute animals

The smart ring is adding a number of features that center around circadian rhythms. | Image: Victoria Song / The Verge

Over the past year, wearable makers have started adding sleep profiles, or chronotypes, associated with cute cartoon animals to help users better understand their circadian rhythms. For instance, Fitbit Premium users can discover whether their wonky sleep patterns mean they’re a giraffe or a tortoise, while Samsung Galaxy Watch owners can find out whether they’re a sun-averse mole or a nervous penguin. So it’s hardly a surprise that the feature is now coming to the Oura Ring sleep tracker — though, regrettably, it doesn’t come with any adorable animals.

Image: Oura

The new body clock feature will tell you how well your sleep habits align with your chronotype’s “optimal” schedule.

Starting this week, Oura users...

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Apple’s second-gen Magic Trackpad hits its best price in months

Apple’s second-gen Magic Trackpad is $25 off. | Image: Sean O’Kane / The Verge

Happy hump day, readers! We’ve got a few good deals today to help you power through the midweek slump. First up, Apple’s white Magic Trackpad is on sale for $103.99 ($25 off) at Amazon and Target, which is the best discount we’ve seen this year. The trackpad offers a wide glass surface so you can more comfortably scroll through websites on your Mac, iPad, or even Windows device. At the same time, the trackpad is so much more than just a very spacious extra mouse but is an accessory that also allows you to perform additional time-saving actions. That’s thanks to support for customizable gesture controls and Apple’s Force Touch technology, so you can, say, use your fingers to quickly zoom into an article or simply hard-click on an address...

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Zipline’s new drones release tethered mini-drones for precision package deliveries

Zipline’s P2 Zip drone can dock at a partnered facility to charge and let down a “droid” for workers to drop a package into. | Image: Zipline

Zipline is revealing its new drone delivery platform today that the company says is capable of making a 10-mile delivery in 10 minutes, precisely placing packages on small targets like a patio table or the front steps of a home.

The new drone, which Zipline calls the Platform 2 (P2) Zip, uses a system of wires that lets down the package inside a cute little mini-bus-looking container the company describes as a “delivery droid.” The P2 Zip hovers more than 300 feet above the ground at the delivery point, keeping its blades and noise away from people (and trees and wires and buildings) to let down its tethered droid instead.

The droid has the ability to steer with propellers as it’s coming down, then lands and softly drops its payload.

...

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