Spotify cuts 200 roles from its podcast division

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge

Spotify is axing approximately 200 roles from its podcasting division as part of a “strategic realignment” of the vertical. The cuts were announced today, June 5th, in a company memo published by Sahar Elhabashi, Spotify’s VP, head of podcast business, with the figure representing around 2 percent of Spotify’s total workforce.

The company will also be combining Parcast and Gimlet — two high-profile podcasting studios acquired by Spotify in 2019 — into a single Spotify Studios operation. While 11 podcasts from these networks were already axed last year, popular productions like Stolen, The Journal, Science Vs, Heavyweight, Serial Killers, and Conspiracy Theories will continue to be produced under the newly formed Spotify Studios name,...

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Nothing’s leaked Phone 2 design looks like a curvier follow-up to its first phone

An unofficial render of the Nothing Phone 2. | Image: OnLeaks / Smartprix

Ahead of the official launch of the Nothing Phone 2 next month, leaker OnLeaks has published unofficial renders based on a prototype of the new device via Smartprix. You might be disappointed if you’re expecting the phone to be a radical departure from Nothing’s previous devices since it looks like the essential design of the Phone 1 lives on in its successor.

But there are a couple of differences to tease out from the renders, though Smartprix cautions the phone’s design may have changed since this prototype was produced. Most notably, the flat, squared-off top and sides of the Phone 1 appear to have been given more of a curve for the Phone 2. As Android Authority notes, it makes the Phone 2 look like an iPhone 6 next to the iPhone...

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Google’s Pixel 7 Pro may not be smarter after eight months, but it’s $200 off

The Pixel 7 Pro doesn’t have the fun colors of the base model or older generations, but the hazel colorway is a bit of a charmer. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

The Pixel 7 Pro may not be a fancy foldable, and it may not have gotten immensely better through software updates and feature drops like Google promised (hint: manufacturer promises rarely pan out), but halfway through 2023, it remains a very good phone that’s made better by consistent discounts. And right now, you can currently buy an unlocked Google Pixel 7 Pro for $699 (that’s $200 off) at Amazon and Best Buy.

My colleague Allison Johnson just recently revisited the Pixel 7 Pro, and while Google still slightly overhypes its feature drop software updates as “phone gets better with time” hyperbole, an excellent phone at a lower price still goes the longest way. The Pixel 7 Pro is one of the best smartphone cameras on the market, and...

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Google trials passwordless login across Workspace and Cloud accounts

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

Google has taken a significant step toward a passwordless future with the start of an open beta for passkeys on Workspace accounts. Starting today, June 5th, over 9 million organizations can allow their users to sign in to a Google Workspace or Google Cloud account using a passkey instead of their usual passwords.

Passkeys are a new form of passwordless sign-in tech developed by the FIDO Alliance, whose members include industry giants like Google, Apple, and Microsoft. Passkeys allow users to log in to websites and apps using their device’s own authentication, such as a laptop with Windows Hello, an Android phone with a fingerprint sensor, or an iPhone with Face ID, instead of traditional passwords and other sign-in systems like 2FA or...

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Major Reddit communities will go dark to protest threat to third-party apps

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Some of Reddit’s biggest communities including r/videos, r/reactiongifs, r/earthporn, and r/lifeprotips are planning to set themselves to private on June 12th over new pricing for third-party app developers to access the site’s APIs. Setting a subreddit to private, aka “going dark,” will mean that the communities taking part will be inaccessible by the wider public while the planned 48-hour protest is taking place.

As a Reddit post about the protest, that’s since been cross-posted to several participating subreddits, explains:

On June 12th, many subreddits will be going dark to protest this policy. Some will return after 48 hours: others will go away permanently unless the issue is adequately addressed, since many moderators aren’t able...

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Everything we know about Apple’s mixed reality headset

Illustration: Kristen Radtke / The Verge

Apple is rumored to be announcing its long-rumored virtual and augmented reality headset at WWDC 2023. Here’s a timeline of all the details that have emerged about the device over the years.

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A short history of every time Apple CEO Tim Cook praised augmented reality

Laura Normand / The Verge

The rumored debut of a “Reality Pro” headset is right around the corner, but Tim Cook has been singing the praises of AR for years.

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Augmented reality needs an iPhone moment

Apple turned the iPod into a status symbol. A headset might be a taller order. | Photo by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

‘This is the single greatest thing that could happen to this industry.’

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Google’s AI-powered search experience is way too slow

Generating... | Image from Google’s I/O 2023 keynote replay

Why wait for an AI-generated summary when I can just scroll down the page?

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Blaseball season is over for good

Blaseball is no more. | Image: Alex Castro / The Verge

Born during covid, Blaseball was a bizarre text-only fantasy baseball simulator that imagined, essentially, baseball as played in a world of otherworldly horrors.

I regret that I never got to play Blaseball, and now it looks like I won’t get to because developer The Game Band is shutting it down. The company is laying off its Blaseball development team and will provide them with severance pay, healthcare extensions, and a dedicated staff member for job search help.

It was a remarkable example of procedural storytelling. Blaseball players could bet on the games to win points throughout a given week, where chance encounters, Dungeons & Dragons-style could rend games, and reality itself, asunder. At the end of the week, Blaseball’s...

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Star Wars: KOTOR II for the Switch won’t get its game-finishing DLC

KOTOR II’s game-finishing DLC isn’t coming. | Image: Aspyr Media

The Nintendo Switch port of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II is not getting the free Restored Content DLC that developer Aspyr Media promised at launch, the company announced late yesterday on Twitter. Instead, the studio is offering a consolation prize of free Star Wars game keys for anyone who has bought the game, which Aspyr says can be done through its support page (though it doesn’t specify how).

The apology games include the original KOTOR Switch port, KOTOR II on Steam, Star Wars: Episode I Racer, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and others.

Update on the Restored Content DLC pic.twitter.com/P0TQtJsgRc

— Aspyr (@AspyrMedia) June 3, 2023

The Restored Content DLC started as a fan-made mod that incorporated parts of the...

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The MSI Prestige 16 Studio Evo could be the most exciting Windows laptop of 2023

* rubbing hands together * Yes. Yessssss.

Amid all the excitement over generative AI, valuations, and such, consumer PC news was a bit of an afterthought at Computex 2023. That’s why I was so excited to discover this gem buried in the middle of MSI’s very loud and crowded show floor booth: the Prestige 16 Studio Evo. This is coming in the second half of this year, with pricing still to be announced, and I am very eagerly waiting.

First things first: This device has received Intel’s coveted “Evo” certification. The reason this is exciting is that, to my knowledge, no device with a GeForce RTX GPU has received the Evo certification since the program’s inception in 2020. (It’s possible there’s one out there somewhere I don’t know about, but even if so, it’s still a very rare...

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How to control what boots up with Windows

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

When Windows boots up, it’s not just the operating system loading itself into memory: a variety of other apps, tools, and services start up as well, configured to automatically start up with Windows. And depending on what you’ve installed, many of them may be starting up without your knowledge or consent.

Sometimes this can be very useful, especially when you don’t have to worry about forgetting to launch something important. You want to make sure your antivirus software is always running, for example, and that your media server or backup software is always available. On the other hand, as you add more and more applications to your computer, a lot of them may be set to automatically start up with Windows, which means it takes longer for...

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PlayStation games and colorful PS5 console covers are discounted for Days of Play

Now through June 12th, you can score a rare $10 discount on the purple, pink, and blue PS5 console covers. | Image: PlayStation

Whoa, Nelly. There are a whole lot of PlayStation-related deals going on right now as part of Sony’s ongoing Days of Play promo, which runs through Monday, June 12th. Sony has a wide-ranging deals page that pulls together deals on digital games for the PlayStation 5, PS4, and even some of its PC ports on Steam, but the promo also extends to physical PS5 and PS4 games at a number of different retailers.

At Amazon, for example, you can get The Last of Us Part I for $49 ($20 off), Gran Turismo 7 for $39.99 ($30 off), God of War Ragnarök for $49.99 ($20 off), and the Ultimate Edition of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales for $39 ($30 off). The latter includes Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, allowing you to fully catch up on the Insomniac...

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Half a year later, the Pixel 7 Pro is a smartphone that isn’t a lot wiser

The Pixel 7 Pro isn’t much smarter than it was at launch, but not for lack of trying.

I revisited the Google Pixel 7 Pro half a year after it launched to see if it’s any smarter. It is — but not exactly in the ways that Google wants it to be.

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If Apple wants its headset to win, it needs to reinvent the app

Illustration by Hugo Herrera for The Verge

If Apple’s mixed reality headset is going to succeed, it’s going to be because of the apps. On Monday, Apple will take the stage at its 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference to talk about FaceTime and Apple Books and all the other cool built-in stuff you’ll be able to do with its ski goggles strapped to your face. But if it can’t get third-party developers on board, and those developers don’t figure out how to build life-changingly great stuff for those goggles, the Reality Pro (or whatever it’s called) doesn’t stand a chance.

Apple knows this better than anyone, of course. The iPhone took off when apps like Instagram and Uber showed what you could do with a camera and a GPS in your pocket. The iPad became a creative tool because creative...

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Tesla claims every new Model 3 now qualifies for $7,500 EV tax credit in US

Photo: James Bareham / The Verge

The starting price of a Tesla Model 3 — after federal tax credits — may once again be below the fabled $35,000 mark. Tesla’s website now claims every new Model 3 is eligible for the full $7,500 federal tax credit in the United States, after those credits were previously cut in half on April 18th for the entry-level Standard Range and Long Range RWD models.

Screenshot by Sean Hollister / The Verge

Tesla’s shopping pages now display this badge.

Here in California, a short distance from Tesla’s Fremont factory, I would pay $41,630 before tax — but only $32,130 after federal and state incentives, assuming Tesla is correct that its cars now qualify for the full federal credit. It could cost less under $30,000...

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GPD’s G1 is the impressively small dock that could jumpstart eGPUs in the handheld era

The GPD G1, next to a pocketable laptop. | Image: GPD

GPD is crowdfunding a new compact external GPU docking station that can both boost the gaming capabilities of some laptops and handheld gaming PCs, and also help anchor them to a desk for mobile workers (via Liliputing).

The company is calling it the G1, and it includes an AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT chip with HDMI 2.1 plus two DisplayPort 1.4 video outputs, a USB 4 / Thunderbolt 4 connector to dock and charge, and something called Oculink (more on that in a bit).

GPD says it’s the “world’s smallest mobile graphics card expansion dock”, at just over an inch thick (29.8mm), around nine inches long (225mm) and four and a third (111mm) deep — all with an integrated power supply.

Image: GPD

GPD isn’t quite the household...

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Here are the best Apple Watch deals right now

The Apple Watch Series 8 isn’t a massive step up from the prior model, but it does offer a few new features. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

In September, Apple launched its latest batch of smartwatches, introducing the first-ever Ultra ($799) alongside the Series 8 ($399) and a new Apple Watch SE ($249). Each wearable has its own pros and cons associated with it, but the introduction of the high-end Ultra also means there are now more Apple Watch models on the market before than ever before — and a lot more deals to be had.

But with all of those options, which one should you pick? Generally speaking, you want to buy the newest watch you can afford so that it continues to receive software updates from Apple. The latest update, watchOS 9, launched on the Apple Watch Series 4 and newer models in September, though no one can say with certainty whether the Series 4 will get the...

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Maryland school district sues Meta, Google, and TikTok over ‘mental health crisis’

Illustration by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

A Maryland school district is suing Meta, Google, Snap, and TikTok owner ByteDance for allegedly contributing to a “mental health crisis” among students. A lawsuit filed by the Howard County Public School System on Thursday claims the social networks operated by these companies are “addictive and dangerous” products that have “rewired” the way kids “think, feel, and behave.”

The lawsuit cites a laundry list of issues on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok that it accuses of harming kids. That includes the (allegedly) addictive “dopamine-triggering rewards” on each app, such as TikTok’s For You page, which leverages data about user activity to provide an endless stream of suggested content. It also mentions Facebook and...

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Microsoft will end support for Cortana on Windows later this year

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Microsoft is ending support for Cortana in Windows. In a support page spotted by XDA Developers and Windows Central, the company says it will “no longer support Cortana in Windows as a standalone app” starting later this year.

Cortana’s discontinuation on Windows doesn’t come as much of a surprise. During its Build conference in May, Microsoft announced its new Windows Copilot tool, which will live in your taskbar and use AI to help you do everything — and more — that Cortana does once it’s widely released. That includes summarizing content, rewriting text, asking questions, adjusting your computer’s settings, and more.

Microsoft first brought Cortana to Windows 10 in 2015, allowing you to set reminders, open applications, and ask...

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The Diablo IV (not) review

Blizzard

My time with Diablo IV was short but enough to inspire a crisis of self.

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Some other ideas for bundling with Amazon Prime

More bang for your buck! | Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge

Right, so Amazon is reportedly in talks to bundle free or reduced-cost mobile service with its Prime subscription. I figure as long as we’re talking about making Prime more useful, I might as well contribute!

Here are my ideas:

• Buy Kindle books on the iPhone. Amazon pays Apple the digital fee on your behalf.
• Veto power. If Amazon decides not to renew a show, a critical mass of Prime subscribers can overrule the decision.
• Secret Santa. Amazon sends Prime subscribers a random overstocked item from its warehouse. It’s usually a tangled clump of cords.
• Layoff participation. Every time Amazon does a layoff, Prime subscribers get to vote on who in the C-suite is also out.
• VIP section at Whole Foods and One Medical. Serves champagne.
• S...

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YouTube will stop removing false presidential election fraud claims

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge

YouTube is reversing its policies on election misinformation. Starting today, YouTube will stop removing content that “advances false claims that widespread fraud, errors, or glitches occurred in the 2020 and other past US Presidential elections,” according to a blog post published on Friday.

YouTube says that the “ability to openly debate political ideas, even those that are controversial or based on disproven assumptions, is core to a functioning democratic society — especially in the midst of election season.” YouTube first introduced its election misinformation policy in December 2020, which barred users from posting content that spread false claims about the integrity of US elections. The platform says it has removed “thousands” of...

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A fully transparent Steam Deck could soon be yours with these new front plates

Jsaux’s Steam Deck transparent front plate. | Image: Jsaux via Overkill.wtf

“My favorite new Steam Deck mod is this $30 see-through heatsink backplate,” I wrote in January. “Wake me up when someone makes a transparent front shell,” some readers told me.

Well, your nap is nearly over: Jsaux just confirmed to Overkill.wtf that a transparent front shell is on the way, providing the image you see atop this story (which we’re using with Overkill’s blessing). And ExtremeRate tweeted this earlier today:

Introducing the First Ever Full Housing Shell for Steam Deck.

Play Different with More Stunning Color Options. #ComingSoon #SteamDeck #eXtremeRate pic.twitter.com/IkAyt962Vj

— eXtremeRate (@ExtremeRate) June 2, 2023

Yes, atomic purple is an option!

Jsaux is the same company that made my back plate and carries all...

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Climate change makes food scarce, but Yellowstone bears are staying fat

A mother grizzly and her cub walk through a meadow in Yellowstone National Park. | Photo by Will Powers / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images

Yellowstone’s grizzly bears have managed to stay just as fat over the years regardless of growing environmental stressors, according to new research. Fat is life for a bear; it needs lots of fat to make it through months-long winter hibernation and have healthy cubs. That’s why scientists monitoring the bears in and around Yellowstone National Park were happy to find plump grizzlies despite some of their major food sources dwindling.

“We were kind of surprised,” says Frank van Manen, an ecologist with the US Geological Survey who leads the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team. Looking back on data collected on the park’s bears over 20 years, van Manen and his colleagues found that body fat levels had stayed roughly the same for bears...

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Sonos is slashing prices on speakers and soundbars ahead of Father’s Day

The current promo extends to both the Sonos Roam and Sonos Move, two of the best portable speakers you can buy. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Another holiday, another sale from Sonos. Father’s Day is a little over two weeks away, and in honor of the forthcoming celebration of all things paternal, Sonos is dropping discounts on a number of its smart speakers and soundbars — promos that both Best Buy and Target appear to be matching in the run-up to the holiday on June 18th.

As far as what’s on offer, you have a lot to choose from. Neither the Sonos Era 100 nor the Era 300 — Sonos’ latest pair of smart speakers — are discounted outside of a bundle, but you can save on a handful of other models on their own. This includes excellent, portable options like the Sonos Roam and Sonos Move, which are on sale at Best Buy for $134.25 (about $45 off) and $299.25 (about $101 off),...

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Searching Gmail on your phone is (hopefully) about to get way better

Top results in search are rolling out to Gmail’s mobile apps starting today. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

When it comes to Gmail, I’m a native app loyalist. Try as I might to explore third-party clients for Android or iPhone — and yes, even my Mac — I always come back around to Google’s own app for simplicity’s sake. So anytime the company says meaningful improvements are coming, it’s cause for celebration. This particular Friday is one of those days: the mobile Gmail app will now display “top results” whenever you do a search, and Google at least claims that these are likely to be much more relevant and nail what you’re looking for.

“When searching in Gmail, machine learning models will use the search term, most recent emails and other relevant factors to show you the results that best match your search query,” the company wrote on its...

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Judge throws out DC’s privacy lawsuit against Meta

Image: Nick Barclay / The Verge

A judge has dismissed the lawsuit filed against Meta by the attorney general of Washington, DC, which alleged Meta’s “lax” privacy policies led to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, as reported earlier by The New York Times. In a ruling on Thursday, Superior Court Judge Maurice A. Ross found that “Facebook did not materially mislead consumers as to their response to Cambridge Analytica.”

DC Attorney General Karl Racine initially filed a lawsuit against Facebook in 2018 — just months after reports revealed that the British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica had harvested the data of millions of users on the platform. At the time, Racine accused Facebook of misleading users about the amount of information third-party apps can obtain from...

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WWDC 2023: what to expect and how to watch Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference

Image: Apple

Apple’s upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is expected to be one of its biggest yet. After years of rumors and leaks, Apple could finally take the wraps off of its mixed reality headset, entering the company into a new product category and giving the world a first look at its attempt to prove that virtual reality is worth investing in.

There’s also certain to be a lot more: operating system updates, new apps and features, and possibly some new hardware, too. Here, we’ve pulled together details on how and when you can watch the main WWDC keynote as well as some of the announcements that we expect from Apple.

When is the WWDC 2023 keynote?

Apple has confirmed that this year’s main WWDC keynote is slated for Monday, June 5th,...

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