Gmail ads are getting more annoying

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Gmail is getting more persistent advertisements that have started popping up in the middle of some users’ inboxes, as first reported by 9to5Google. Several screenshots posted to Twitter show promotional messages mixed in with actual emails on Gmail’s desktop site, and users aren’t very happy about it.

While Gmail has long placed ads at the very top of the Promotions and Social inboxes, it never dared to stick them in between messages. The new placement makes it even more confusing to distinguish between actual emails and ads, even if the promotions have the little green “Ad” icon placed next to them. It’s not clear if this is some kind of test or a gradual rollout. (I’m not seeing ads scattered within any of my inboxes just yet.)

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Microsoft Teams is getting animated backgrounds for your meetings

The new backgrounds in Microsoft Teams. | Image: Microsoft

Microsoft is refreshing the backgrounds available in Microsoft Teams and adding in new animated versions. It’s the biggest update to the virtual backgrounds in Teams since the original collection launched in 2020, with new options to replace the messy room behind you with an idyllic scene.

Initially, these will be a large collection of new still images followed by some animated versions in June. Microsoft is sharing some details on the new still background imagery today, but it looks like we’ll have to wait until next month to see how these animated backgrounds compare to the ones that have been available on rival Zoom for years.

“Featuring all-new images, the reimagined visual library for Teams has been thoughtfully designed to...

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Congress is flooded with bills for childproofing the internet

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

This week, lawmakers and regulators made a fresh push to strengthen privacy and safety protections for children online, introducing a flood of bills and enforcement proposals with varying amounts of support from their colleagues, civil liberties groups, and tech trade associations alike. The burst of action comes on the heels of an ongoing youth mental health crisis that seemingly all stakeholders want to resolve, but many fear these proposals could create new problems for children and members of marginalized communities online.

The largely bipartisan bills were filed in quick succession. Last Wednesday, a group of senators introduced the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act, which would establish a nationwide age verification pilot...

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Google’s Pixel Watch is better than a Fitbit and now $60 off

The Pixel Watch has Fitbit exercise software built in since Google owns Fitbit. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Next week, Google will try to impress us all with new product announcements at its I/O 2023 conference, and it’s already jumped the gun by teasing the Pixel Fold, but for now, the best thing in Google hardware you can actually buy is a sick deal on the Pixel Watch. Right now, you can get the sleek Pixel Watch for its lowest price of $289.99 ($60 off) at Wellbots when you use promo code GWATCHVERGE at checkout.

Google’s Pixel Watch may be a first-generation product that’s likely to have a follow-up in the fall, but it’s a very good smartwatch for Android users. The Pixel Watch has a unique, circular domed display that leans more minimalist than others — with some clean lines and a 41mm dial that should nicely fit most wrists. Looks aside,...

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Six months later, the iPhone 14 Pro is everything I love and hate about phones

Apple’s Live Activities and always-on display are a showcase for what our phones could be. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

The always-on display, Live Activities, and Dynamic Island tease a frictionless future where we spend less time in apps.

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Silo is a small-town mystery set at the end of the world

Rebecca Ferguson in Silo_._ | Image: Apple

The latest sci-fi series on Apple TV Plus is more than just another post-apocalyptic drama.

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JBL Tour Pro 2 review: these earbuds have a screen

The touchscreen offers quick access to earbud settings along with extras like timers and even a flashlight. It’s not a super compelling addition right now, but this is only the beginning of what’s sure to become a trend.

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The Google Home app is finally getting garage door controls

There’s currently no release date but garage door controls are available to try in the Google Home public preview. | Illustration: The Verge

Controls for smart garage doors are coming to the Google Home app. The feature has already started to roll out to some users, with one Reddit user (spotted by 9to5Google) posting an image of the large pill-shaped open/close toggle controls that have silently appeared on the app.

Image: u/MickotheNestPro

The design mirrors Google Home’s usual pill-shaped toggle.

We should note that this feature has only landed on the preview Google Home app so far, and doesn’t have an official release yet. Google is currently in the process of overhauling its Home app to prepare for Matter, and has been testing the updated version since October last year. Given Google’s I/O event is just around the corner, we might get some...

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AV fever has cooled off, but driverless cars aren’t going away

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

After years of multibillion-dollar investments, “just around the corner” promises of robotaxis, and predictions that today’s children might never need to learn to drive, 2022 ended with a hard wake-up call for the autonomous car industry.

High-profile crashes made headlines instead of big technological leaps. Major companies raised the white flag and retreated from the effort. And the demise of respected tech leader Argo AI left investors and industry officials alike wondering if they can’t do it, who can?

But even with a newfound understanding that driverless cars are years or even decades away, automakers and tech companies alike are still aiming for that goal. And big investments in driverless technology are being made, proving that...

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PSA: you’ve got just one weekend left to claim Sony’s PlayStation Plus greatest hits bundle

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

The deadline to claim the titles included in the PlayStation Plus Collection is fast approaching, meaning you’ve got until May 9th to claim the dozen-plus PS4 classics that are included as part of a PlayStation Plus subscription. Eurogamer notes that the list currently includes some absolute cracking games like Bloodborne, God of War, Ratchet and Clank, The Last Guardian, and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.

Sony launched the collection alongside the PlayStation 5 console back in 2020, allowing owners of its new console to catch up on some of the biggest games of the previous generation. It was a neat incentive to subscribe to PlayStation Plus, and a reminder of the wealth of PS4 titles available to play via backwards compatibility in the...

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Microsoft is reportedly helping AMD expand into AI chips

AMD’s AI-capable MI300 data center APU is set to arrive sometime later this year. | Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

Microsoft has allegedly teamed up with AMD to help bolster the chipmaker’s expansion into artificial intelligence processors. According to a report by Bloomberg, Microsoft is providing engineering resources to support AMD’s developments as the two companies join forces to compete against Nvidia, which controls an estimated 80 percent market share in the AI processor market.

In turn, Bloomberg’s sources also claim that AMD is helping Microsoft to develop its own in-house AI chips, codenamed Athena. Several hundred employees from Microsoft’s silicon division are reportedly working on the project and the company has apparently already sunk around $2 billion into its development. Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw has, however, denied that...

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OpenAI’s regulatory troubles are only just beginning

ChatGPT isn’t out of the EU’s data privacy woods just yet. | Illustration: The Verge

The European Union’s fight with ChatGPT is a glance into what’s to come for AI services.

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Here are the best Amazon Echo deals right now

Like Amazon’s Echo speakers, its various smart displays come in a range of sizes. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge

Amazon’s current Echo lineup offers a broad selection of smart speakers and displays that can fit just about anywhere in your home. Whether you want to place a voice assistant in your living room, replace the bulletin board in your office, or pick up a touchscreen-enabled device to showcase recipes in the kitchen, there's an Echo device for just about every occasion and use case.

Regardless of why you might want one, there’s always a way to save on Echo devices, from the last-gen Dot to the wall-mounted Echo Show 15. Even when they’re selling at full price, for instance, Amazon offers a 25 percent discount when you trade in select devices, meaning there are still other ways to save money when none of the models are on sale.

Below,...

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Meet the fossil fuel-funded startup trying to take CO2 out of the ocean

A rendering of what a large “direct ocean capture” plant from Captura could look like. | Image: Caltech

An audacious new effort to pull carbon dioxide out of the Pacific Ocean as a way to fight climate change is being backed by fossil fuel giants and Big Tech. But the nascent technology, called “direct ocean capture” (DOC), still has a long way to go to prove that it works — and that it won’t cause any new problems.

Caltech researchers founded the startup Captura, which just announced a new project today. Captura was founded in 2021 and won a $1 million award from Elon Musk’s XPrize competition the following year. Now, with funding from the US’s biggest gas utility, Captura’s setting up its biggest pilot project yet at the Port of Los Angeles.

The idea is that filtering CO2 out of seawater will allow oceans to soak up more of the...

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Apple’s latest earnings show the Mac slumping and services soaring

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

Apple surpassed Wall Street expectations and said it had reached an all-time high in services revenue and set a new March quarter record for iPhone revenue in a report on its second quarter earnings on Thursday. The numbers show continued demand for the iPhone 14 lineup even as substantial upgrades (including USB-C connectivity) approach this fall. But Apple’s other divisions, including Mac and iPad, were down year over year.

“We are pleased to report an all-time record in services and a March quarter record for iPhone despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, and to have our installed base of active devices reach an all-time high,” CEO Tim Cook said in the company’s earnings release. He told CNBC in an interview that, unlike...

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Forget ad-supported streaming — here come the ad-supported TVs

This is the company that Pluto TV’s co-founder is reportedly working on. | Image: Telly

The co-founder of Pluto TV, Ilya Pozin, wants to give away free ad-supported TVs — yes, you read that right. That’s according to a report from Janko Roettgers in his Lowpass newsletter, who says the free television set will come with a second, built-in screen dedicated solely to ads and a soundbar.

Instead of profiting from TV sales, Roettgers reports Pozin’s new company, called Teevee Corporation, would make money off of the ads that appear on TV’s secondary screen. The idea isn’t as ridiculous as it sounds, as Vizio, for example, already makes far more money from ads and commissions than it does from selling TVs.

Sources tell Roettgers that the built-in screen would be about the same height as a smartphone and stretch across the...

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Slack GPT could soon attend Huddles so you don’t have to

Slack GPT will eventually provide conversation summaries with a single click. | Image: Slack

With Slack GPT, natively integrated AI features are being developed for Slack that could help boost productivity without disrupting how users already interact with the platform. Some examples include directing the tone and length of messages composed directly in Slack and even attending Huddles on your behalf, summarizing them along with any unread messages you may have missed.

Introduced at the Salesforce World Tour event on Thursday, Slack GPT is a new generative AI experience that has three main focus points: the aforementioned natively integrated AI features, customizable automated workflows, and a dedicated Einstein GPT app for Slack. It’s going to be a while before any of these features are available to everyday Slack users, but...

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Here are the best noise-canceling headphone deals we could find

The Sennheiser Momentum 4 (right) offer improved noise cancellation and better comfort than the prior model (left). | Photo by Chris Welch / 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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Transform the look of your Android phone with a new launcher

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

One of the reasons to choose an Android phone over an iPhone is the flexibility you get in terms of customization — and there’s really no better example of that than third-party Android launchers.

If you’ve never come across the term before, a launcher revamps the homescreen of your Android phone. We’re not just talking about a different wallpaper: launchers give you control over icons, colors, menus, and just about every screen handled by the Android operating system. These tools let you manage everything from the number of shortcuts on the homescreen to the way your notifications work; they also give you much more control over how your phone’s interface looks.

Say, for example, you want oversized app drawer icons or icons that are all...

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Netflix’s One Piece adaptation sounds like it might have hit some choppy waters

Concept art of the Going Merry. | Image: Netflix

While we haven’t even seen any footage from Netflix’s upcoming live-action adaptation of One Pieceyet, earlier this year, the streamer announced that it intended for the series to debut sometime in 2023. That could still happen, but a new update from Eiichiro Oda makes it sound like there’s a chance we might be waiting a little longer than expected, which is a bit tricky considering that Netflix’s One Piece doesn’t even have a firm premiere date yet.

In a lengthy update shared to Netflix’s Geeked Twitter account today, Oda opened up about what it’s been like working with Tomorrow Studios and Netflix on One Piece and how, even though everyone involved in the new series “understand each of the characters,” they also “come from very...

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Dell’s XPS 13 Plus gets 13th Gen Intel processors

Are you a Platinum person or a Graphite person? | Image: Dell

Dell has refreshed what might be its boldest and funkiest laptop, the XPS 13 Plus. The new model looks quite similar to the product released last year; the flat keyboard, LED function row, and invisible haptic touchpad remain. But inside, the new model is powered by Intel’s 13th Gen Core processors — specifically, from what I can see on Dell’s website, the Core i7-1360P.

Honestly, the processor is probably what most needed changing. The XPS 13 Plus I reviewed in 2022 was a nice-looking, well-built machine with a great screen, but it was hot and loud with subpar battery life. Those are big issues for a thin and light laptop, but they’re also issues that a better processor could potentially fix.

Image: Dell

You...

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All the rumors about Google’s upcoming Pixel hardware so far

Illustration: The Verge

From the Pixel 7A to the rumored Pixel foldable, here’s what we’re expecting out of Google’s hardware division in May and beyond.

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Google announces the Pixel Fold

Google Pixel Fold | Image: Google

The rumors are true: next week, Google will introduce its first foldable phone, the Pixel Fold, during the Google I/O 2023 event.

Google hasn’t revealed any specs for the device, but a brief teaser video shows off a full-size outer display on a phone that opens up similarly to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold devices. The camera bar on the back is similar to other Pixel devices but doesn’t stick out as prominently, reflecting what we’ve seen in leaked marketing materials and even a hands-on video.

CNBC reported in April that the Pixel Fold would be a 5.8-inch phone that folds out into a 7.6-inch tablet, with a Google Tensor G2 processor, weigh 10oz, and have “the most durable hinge on a foldable,” along with a price that’s over $1,700. Samsung’s...

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There’s a new Zephyrus G14 in town, with Mini LED and Zen 4

Image: Asus

The 2023 model of Asus’ ROG Zephyrus G14 is now available for purchase. The release, first announced in January, brings a 504-zone Mini LED screen, Nvidia’s Advanced Optimus feature, and AMD’s Zen 4 CPU architecture to the bestselling gaming line.

The new G14 can be purchased at Best Buy or on Asus’ website for a purported starting price of $1,429.99. I’m not seeing a model for this price available on Asus’ store, however, but I have found several models currently selling at Best Buy. It appears that the $1,429.99 model includes an Nvidia RTX 4050, a Ryzen 7 7735HS, 16GB of DDR5 memory, and 512GB of storage. I’m not going to recommend most people buy that model (the combination of the low-powered RTX 4050 and limited storage is not great...

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Hulu with Live TV is adding local PBS stations

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Hulu is adding a few new channels to its live TV lineup. That includes the local PBS stations that are available across the country, PBS Kids, and the Magnolia Network.

Hulu says local PBS channels and PBS Kids will start streaming on its Live TV subscription in “the coming months,” which includes shows like American Experience, Antiques Roadshow, Frontline, and Nature. While PBS first brought its local channels to YouTube TV in 2019 and later started airing them on DirecTV Stream, the broadcasting company also offers local stations available to stream from its website.

Meanwhile, the Magnolia Network, a home-improvement-focused channel, will join Hulu’s live TV lineup on May 25th. This channel airs shows like Fixer Upper, Beach Cottage...

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The best Mother’s Day gifts on a budget

Illustration by William Joel / The Verge

It’s okay to cheap out on a gift for mom as long as you go with something thoughtful. Lucky for you, we’ve gathered recipe books, board games, and plenty of other ideas to consider.

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WhatsApp’s latest feature additions include better polls and picture caption forwarding

Image: Meta

WhatsApp is officially announcing and rolling out a series of new features designed to improve the messaging app’s polls and give you more options when it comes to captions. It says these options are rolling out globally now and will be available to “everyone” in the coming weeks.

First up, polls, a feature WhatsApp originally launched last year. Currently, polls are multiple-choice by default. That’s great for when you’re asking people to list all the dates they’re free (which is what I mainly see them used for) but less so when you want everyone to pick just one option each. So now there’s an “Allow multiple answers” toggle when creating a poll for this purpose.

Other neat additions to the polls feature includes a new search option to...

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The best Star Wars Day deals

Even the big-boy Lego UCS Millennium Falcon is on sale. Though it’s still expensive. And massive. And massively expensive. | Image: Wicked Brick

According to the calendar, it’s Star Wars Day. You know, the day that just happens to sound like you’re telling someone “May the Force be with you” if you don’t say the date like a normal person and just call it May 4th. But since this has become a small bedrock of a nerd holiday, that means there are often various promotions and deals to take advantage of. Of course, not all of them are good deals (some are downright scruffy-looking), but we’re collecting some worthwhile ones here — ranging from video games and somewhat-relevant tech stuff to a whole bunch of officially licensed Lego.

May the deals be with you.

One of the hottest deals for Star Wars Day is on the buzzy new action-adventure game Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, revisiting...

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AI offers new tools for making games, but developers worry about their jobs

AI was a hot topic at the 2023 Game Developers Conference. | Image: GDC

The early days of AI in game development have been full of questions and murky answers.

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Amazon plans to rework Alexa in the age of ChatGPT

Going beyond “What’s the weather like?” | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Amazon is looking to add new AI chatbot technology to Alexa, reports Insider based on leaked documents. The voice assistant needs reanimation in a world now seemingly infatuated with generative AI like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard.

One example in the document describes Alexa generating a bedtime story after an eight-year-old asks it to tell a story about a “cat and a moon.” And in true ChatGPT-style, it makes up a whole story about “Mittens, the first cat to ever go to the moon.” It also describes the use of an Echo Show camera that sees the child holding an Olaf toy, so it incorporates the character into the story.

Disney is just one of several partnership opportunities that Amazon is imagining alongside Lego and others.

Amazon...

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