WhatsApp’s new Channels feature brings social media to your messaging app

Illustration: The Verge

The newest feature in WhatsApp brings a very different kind of messaging to the world’s most popular chat app. It’s called Channels, and it’s designed specifically for one-to-many broadcasts rather than conversation. The Meta-owned company calls it “a private way to follow what matters,” and names local and sports updates among the ways you might use it.

But what is a channel, really? It’s a Twitter feed, minus all the metrics and reply guys. WhatsApp has clearly noticed all the governments, transit agencies, brands, and others looking for a new (and non-Twitter) place to share their most important updates, and sees Channels as a drop-in replacement.

Channels is also a creator tool to some extent, a place for those with an audience to...

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Apple wants to turn your iPhone into a pet-tracking camera

Image: Apple

Apple has a new development framework that can be used to turn your iPhone into an autonomous pet-tracking camera. According to documentation on Apple’s website, developers can use pet-tracking features with motorized phone stands to capture and follow your pet around your house while you’re not home.

As noted by Apple, developers can achieve this using a new framework called DockKit, which can create “photo and video experiences” while an iPhone is mounted on a motorized stand. From there, devs can then use something called the Animal Body Pose API (application programming interface), which is capable of identifying and tracking animals with your phone’s camera. It’s able to identify a pet’s pose, too, including if your pet is sitting...

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What New York City looked like stifled in wildfire smoke

The view of Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge Parks Pier 6 was obscured as New York City was shrouded in smoke on Wednesday, June 7th, 2023. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

New York was eerily orange on Wednesday as smoke shrouded the city. The haze drifted in from wildfires raging in Quebec, some 500 miles away, wreaking havoc on air quality across the Northeast US.

The smoke was so thick, New York City briefly ranked as the most polluted city in the world. The Environmental Protection Agency issued its highest warning for pollution, a “Code Maroon” for hazardous air quality. The pollution was record-shattering on Wednesday, with an air quality index score of 392 around 4PM ET for fine particles beating a record of 174 set a day earlier (according to the EPA’s records, which started in 1999, The New York Times reports).

Fine particle pollution is especially worrying because it’s small enough to enter the...

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Twitch walks back controversial ad rules policy

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

Twitch is reversing its newly announced rules concerning the way streamers could display ads on the platform after swift backlash from streamers and content creators.

On Tuesday, Twitch released new rules concerning the way streamers could display ads on the platform. The rules prohibited “burned in” video, display, and audio ads — the first two of which were popular and common formats used throughout Twitch. Twitch apparently did not discuss the new rules with ambassadors or streamers beforehand, and many were furious about the new policies.

Twitch content creators took to social media to decry the changes. OTK, a network of popular, high-value streamers like Asmongold, released an open letter to Twitch, telling it, “The once-unique...

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GameStop fires its CEO

Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge

GameStop has fired CEO Matt Furlong, the company announced as part of its first quarter 2023 earnings on Wednesday. There’s no immediate replacement, though board chairman Ryan Cohen has been appointed executive chairman, the company said in a short press release about Furlong’s firing.

Not for long

— Ryan Cohen (@ryancohen) June 7, 2023

Cohen, who founded the e-commerce site Chewy, has invested in a number of “meme stocks,” including GameStop and Bed Bath & Beyond. His surprise sale of Bed Bath & Beyond stock in 2022 raised eyebrows and led to at least one lawsuit accusing him of pumping and dumping the stock. His initial investment in GameStop back in early 2021 led to an enormous rise in the stock and contributed to its status as...

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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the start of something big, but it’s a terrible Beast Wars movie

The Autobots, Maximals, and human heroes of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts_._ | Paramount

Paramount’s new Transformers feature barely capitalizes on Beast Wars’ Maximals, but the action-packed movie has a couple of surprises sure to please a certain kind of fan.

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Apple’s Vision Pro is the Retina display moment for headsets

The Apple Vision Pro. | Image: Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

I tried the Vision Pro, and just like the introduction of the iPhone 4 over a decade ago, there’s no going back from here.

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Here are the best iPad deals right now

Select iPad models go on sale quite regularly. | Image: Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

While the best iPad deals come around during major sale events like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Amazon Prime Day, you can still find plenty of great discounts at all times of the year if you know where to look. Whether you’re after the high-end iPad Pro or the most affordable entry-level iPad, there’s likely a sale going on somewhere that you may be interested in.

Of course, it’s difficult to know exactly where you can find the most notable deals unless you’re scouring the major retailers on a daily basis. But that’s often what our deal hunters at The Verge are doing each and every day, so let us help you out. Below, we’ve listed the best deals you can get on each iPad model that is currently available, including the latest ones...

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Messi’s move to MLS is a big deal for Apple

Photo by Manuel Cortina / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images

Lionel Messi has found a new home, and it’s a big win for Apple. The legendary soccer player has said that he will be signing a deal with Inter Miami in MLS, fresh off of winning the World Cup last year with Argentina, and the club confirmed the news with a not-so-subtle tease on Twitter. Having arguably the best player in the game is a big coup for both the club and the league — but also for Apple, which has MLS streaming rights for the next decade.

The announcement comes after much consternation about where Messi would land following a stint in Paris; rumors placed him returning to Barcelona or heading for a big payday in Saudi Arabia. But in coming to MLS, he instantly makes an MLS Season Pass subscription, which is available through...

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Reddit will exempt accessibility-focused apps from its unpopular API pricing changes

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Reddit is creating an exemption to its unpopular new API pricing terms for makers of accessibility apps, which could come as a big relief for some developers worried about how to afford the potentially expensive fees and the users that rely on the apps to browse Reddit. As long as those apps are noncommercial and “address accessibility needs,” they won’t have to pay to access Reddit’s data.

“We’ve connected with select developers of non-commercial apps that address accessibility needs and offered them exemptions from our large-scale pricing terms,” Reddit spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt says in a statement to The Verge.

The Reddit community has been in an uproar over the API pricing changes that might saddle developers with exorbitant...

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Here are the features Apple didn’t announce in the WWDC keynote

WWDC 2023 was chock-full, but there was still a lot Apple didn’t say. | Illustration: The Verge

Apple held a monstrous WWDC this year, and a ton of what was rumored, it turns out, will actually see the light of day. There’s the new 15-inch MacBook Air, M2-powered Mac Studio, and Apple’s finally realized AR headset — which we now know is called the Vision Pro.

As usual, Apple didn’t touch on everything new during its opening keynote. But lots of small features that could change the way you use your Apple devices (or are just fun to play with) get packed in, and we’ve collected as many of those as we could find here. To keep this article from being a mile long, I’ve noted in the top iOS 17 section where I could confirm features will hit other platforms. So take a deep breath and dive in.

Image: Apple

iOS 17...

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Group chats between Android and iOS might be getting better — but only for iPhones

iOS 17 might alleviate a little bit of the pain of cross-platform group chats. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

A change to messaging in iOS 17 might be on the way to alleviate some of the pain involved in group chats between iPhone and Android owners. The folks at XDA Developers spotted some new messaging behaviors in the iOS 17 developer beta released yesterday that means iOS users will retain some of the benefits of iMessage chats even in mixed company. If the new features make it to the full iOS 17 release, it would be a win for iPhone owners — and a bit of a mixed bag for those on Android.

Right now, a group chat with both Android and iOS users reverts everyone to green bubbles and the ancient SMS / MMS protocol that limits the quality of shared images and videos and strips away iMessage features like the ability to edit sent messages. iPhone...

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The best deals on 4K TVs

We’ve got deals on all sorts of TVs, ranging from affordable (yet feature-packed) models to high-end OLED and Mini LEDs that will really wow you. | Image: Chris Welch / The Verge

Things are looking bright for those who want to nab a great TV in 2023 at a substantial discount. Although some new models announced during CES 2023 are now arriving, it might still be a while until they receive significant discounts. However, you don’t have to wait to land a great deal on a mid- or high-end TV from LG, TCL, Hisense, or Amazon’s own Fire TV brand, as many of the flagship models from last year are currently selling for hundreds of dollars less than their original list price.

Right now, there are a number of discounted 4K TVs to choose from, spanning a wide variety of prices, size configurations, and feature sets. Whether you want a secondary TV for the bedroom or a high-end OLED that’s built for a cinema-like...

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New York City sues Kia and Hyundai over car thefts that went viral on TikTok

Image: The Verge

New York City became the latest city to file suit against Hyundai and Kia over a rash of vehicle thefts that went viral on TikTok and other social media platforms in recent years, according to The Wall Street Journal.

In its lawsuit, the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York claims the automakers were guilty of negligence by failing to include anti-theft devices in their cars that would have made them much harder to steal.

The so-called “Kia Challenge” has led to hundreds of car thefts nationwide

The so-called “Kia Challenge” has led to hundreds of car thefts nationwide, including at least 14 reported crashes and eight fatalities, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Thieves known as the...

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Amazon Prime Video is reportedly planning an ad-supported tier

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Amazon is in talks to launch an ad-supported tier of Prime Video, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Sources close to the situation tell the outlet that the discussions are still in the “early stages” but have been happening over the span of the past several weeks.

Amazon currently offers Prime Video as part of its $14.99 per month Prime membership or for $8.99 per month as a standalone subscription. Subscribers can tack on other ad-free subscriptions to services like Max, Paramount Plus, and Showtime through Prime Video Channels.

As noted by the WSJ, Amazon is currently weighing several ways it could implement ads in Prime Video, such as showing more ads to existing Prime subscribers and then offering an “option to pay...

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How to connect Alexa to Spotify, Apple Music, and more

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

As you might expect, Alexa-friendly devices tend to assume that you want to hear tunes from Amazon Music. If you prefer Spotify, Apple Music, or another music service, it’s not all that hard to set it up and use it with your Amazon devices.

• In the Alexa app, tap the menu icon at the bottom right of the screen, and then tap Settings.
• Scroll down to Music & Podcasts (in the section Alexa Preferences) and tap that. You’ll see any services you’ve already installed and an entry named Link New Service. Tap that.
• You’ll see logos for available services, such as Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, Deezer, and Tidal, as well as streaming services including iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and SiriusXM. (No, there is no option for Google Play Music. Surprise,...

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Twitch’s new ad rules will hurt streamers, charities, and brands

Illustration: Nick Barclay / The Verge

Twitch’s new rules governing how certain kinds of ads can be displayed has caused confusion, fear, and anger among streamers.

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Windows 11’s modern File Explorer UI and RGB lighting controls head to testers

The new File Explorer home UI has a carousel for recent files. | Image: Microsoft

Microsoft has started testing its new modern File Explorer UI for Windows 11 alongside built-in RGB lighting controls. The updated File Explorer UI includes a modern home interface with large file thumbnails and a carousel interface that can surface recent files and favorited ones.

The subtle changes to the File Explorer UI here make it blend more closely to the overall Windows 11 design language, with a refreshed address bar and search box. “The new address bar intelligently recognizes local vs. cloud folders with built-in status,” says Brandon LeBlanc, senior program manager at Microsoft. “For OneDrive users, you’ll notice the address bar now contains your OneDrive sync status and quota flyout.”

Image: Microsoft ...

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Minecraft officially launches for Chromebooks

Image: Microsoft

Minecraft: Bedrock Edition is now available for Chromebooks, Google announced on Wednesday, following the launch of an early access version in March. The official Chromebook release makes the game even more widely available — and thanks to included crossplay functionality, you can play with your friends on other platforms.

You can get the game now on the Play Store for ChromeOS. It costs $19.99 in a bundle that comes with the Android version, but if you already have the Android version, you can upgrade to the Chromebook version for $13. Google says Minecraft on Chromebooks will work with all Chromebooks released “in the last three years,” and you can see minimum and recommended specs on a Minecraft support site.

The Chromebook-compatible...

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The Mac Pro ends the Apple Silicon transition, but it’s just one step in a much bigger journey

The new Mac Pro next to a Pro Display XDR. | Image: Apple

Apple has completed the Mac’s move away from Intel. Now it needs to prove Mac Pro upgrades can keep up with pro users.

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Apple’s third-gen AirPods have returned to their best price to date

The latest AirPods tout great sound quality, not to mention some of the best voice call quality you can get in a pair of earbuds. | Image: Chris Welch / The Verge

As expected, Apple’s WWDC keynote came and went without Tim Cook & Co. announcing a new set of AirPods (though, we did get a few new Macs). This means we’re not likely to see a new pair of wireless earbuds from Apple this year until at least the fall, if at all, making now as good a time as any to pick up Apple’s third-gen AirPods — which are on sale right now at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy for around $149 ($20 off).

Despite being situated in an odd spot in Apple’s lineup, the latest entry-level pair of AirPods still offer plenty of appeal. They don a more subtle design than the prior model thanks to their shorter stems and IPX4 sweat and water resistance, which makes them a more suitable gym companion and puts them in line with many...

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Apple Maps is finally getting offline navigation

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Apple Maps is getting a feature that users have been wanting for years: offline maps. With the launch of iOS 17 later this year, you’ll be able to download portions of a map for offline access to turn-by-turn navigation.

Just like when you’re using Apple Maps online, the offline map will be able to show nearby places and your estimated time of arrival, along with directions for driving, walking, cycling, and public transit.

This especially comes in handy if you’re traveling through an unfamiliar area where service might be spotty and need a set of backup directions in case you lose signal. It doesn’t cover the areas that you don’t download, however, so you might not want to take too much of a detour from your route if you don’t know...

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Ahsoka has an official premiere date

Image: Disney

Ahsoka, the upcoming Star Wars Disney Plus series starring Rosario Dawson, premieres on August 23rd, Disney announced on Wednesday. Previously, we only knew that the show was set to launch sometime that month.

“Set after the fall of the Empire, Ahsoka follows the former Jedi knight Ahsoka Tano as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy,” according to Disney’s official description for the show. Ahsoka first appeared in the 2008 Clone Wars film and starred in The Clone Wars animated series. She also appeared in both The Mandalorian’s second season and in The Book of Boba Fett, where she was played by Dawson.

Ahsoka’s cast also includes Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Lars Mikkelsen, Ray Stevenson, Ivanna...

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How Google Earth Engine revolutionized the way we monitor deforestation

Global forest change over the last 22 years | Image: University of Maryland

What started as an engineer’s curiosity about a logging project in California became a groundbreaking platform that allows for fast and global monitoring of forest loss.

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How social networks gave up on 2020 election lies

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

On tech platforms these days you can get away with just about anything, as long as you’re running for president.

Take Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. A leading anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist, Kennedy lost his Instagram account in January 2021 when he tried to scare people away from getting the covid-19 vaccine. His nonprofit organization, Children’s Health Defense, lost its account the following year for falsely warning that the covid vaccine harmed people’s organs and was dangerous to pregnant women.

Platforms establish policies against spreading medical misinformation because they can spread information at a high speed and with few checks on its accuracy. It’s particularly important to enforce those policies on large accounts, like Kennedy’s,...

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Here’s how many lives would be saved by switching to EV-only sales

Traffic on a Los Angeles freeway during the evening rush hour commute on April 12th, 2023. | Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP via Getty Images

A new report from the American Lung Association lays out the enormous health benefits of a nationwide shift to electric vehicles and clean energy. Alas, the potential payoff depends on the slim chance that lawmakers, automakers, and utilities can rise to the occasion to save tens of thousands of lives.

That optimistic scenario would cut enough pollution to prevent up to 89,300 premature deaths through 2050, the report finds. There would also be 2.2 million fewer asthma attacks over the same period of time. And since money talks, the health benefits add up to $978 billion and 10.7 million fewer lost workdays over the next few decades.

Those wonderful things only happen if the US sells only emissions-free passenger vehicles by 2035, even...

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The best Xbox controller to buy right now

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

From basic and affordable to premium and ultra-customizable, these are the best controllers for Xbox. And they work with PCs, too.

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Apple made a VR headset, but it’ll never admit it

I’m supposed to believe this isn’t a VR headset? | Image: Apple

As Apple CEO Tim Cook was winding up to reveal the company’s new Vision Pro headset on Monday, I was struck by his very particular choice of words: “So today, I’m excited to announce an entirely new AR platform with a revolutionary new product.”

Catch that? He didn’t say “VR” or “virtual reality,” which might have positioned the headset and its new software more directly against Meta’s headsets. Before we knew anything about the Vision Pro — what it looked like, what it could do, what it cost — Cook said that Apple was announcing a new augmented reality platform, setting us up for a device that would enhance and not obscure the world around us.

Though Apple made its Vision Pro and visionOS pitch all about augmented reality, the device...

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The best magnetic chargers for your MagSafe iPhone

Image: The Verge

Making sense of Apple’s messy MagSafe charging ecosystem, where the first-party options are far from the best ones.

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WordPress has a new AI tool that will write blog posts for you

The tool can generate whole blog posts from a single prompt. | Image: Automattic

WordPress is getting a sleek new AI plug-in that can generate and edit text. The tool is called the Jetpack AI Assistant and is available free to WordPress.com users “for a limited time,” with 20 free requests and a monthly $10 fee after that. It’s the latest example of AI text-generation software, but its availability on one of the world’s biggest blogging and content management platforms will spread this technology further still across the web.

The assistant is the work of Automattic, the company that owns WordPress.com and contributes to the development of the open-source WordPress platform. Automattic describes the tool as a “creative writing partner” that lets users “generate diverse content at your command, significantly reducing...

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