This is what Instagram’s upcoming Twitter competitor looks like

Today, Meta employees were shown these screenshots of Instagram’s upcoming app to compete with Twitter. | Image: The Verge

One of Meta’s top executives showed employees a preview of the company’s upcoming Twitter competitor during a companywide meeting today that was watched by The Verge. You can see some of the screenshots above.

The new standalone app will be based on Instagram and integrate with ActivityPub, the decentralized social media protocol. That will theoretically allow users of the new app to take their accounts and followers with them to other apps that support ActivityPub, including Mastodon.

The forthcoming app, which, in the meeting today, Meta chief product officer Chris Cox called “our response to Twitter,” will use Instagram’s account system to automatically populate a user’s information. The internal codename for the app is “Project 92,”...

Continue reading…

The Witcher season 3’s new trailer has portals, parties, and plenty of bloodshed

Image: Susan Allnutt / Netflix

Despite the name, Summer Game Fest isn’t entirely about games — case in point, we got a brand-new trailer for The Witcher’s third season. The clip shows off just about everything the series is known for: bloody battles, terrifying monsters, fiery magic, and Geralt looking very awkward at a social affair. And, of course, he spends lots of time talking about how neutral he is.

Season 3 of The Witcher starts streaming on Netflix on June 29th — or at least, some of it does. Just like Stranger Things before it, the latest season of the fantasy show will be split into two parts. Volume one will debut in June, while the second volume will premiere in July.

Netflix has steadily been expanding its Witcher universe since the first season debuted...

Continue reading…

I need this display in my house immediately

If I made a GoFundMe to buy this, would you all donate? (Don’t answer that.) | Photo by Monica Chin / The Verge

So, look. I understand that Apple just put out some fancy ski goggles, and now everybody and their mother is proclaiming the end of the physical screen as we know it. But like that one guy at the back of your college seminar, I would like to offer a quick counterpoint. It’s called MicroLED. Specifically, I would like to discuss the Asus ProArt Cinema PQ07, a gadget that I spent far too long staring at in Asus’ show floor booth at Computex 2023.

What is the ProArt Cinema PQ07, you may ask? Thank you for asking. It’s a 135-inch MicroLED display. MicroLED is not to be confused with Mini LED — wherein LEDs are arranged into local dimming zones — which is very common on modern televisions. MicroLEDs, by contrast, try to beat OLED at its own...

Continue reading…

Ubisoft is making a new side-scrolling Prince of Persia game

Image: Ubisoft

Ubisoft just revealed new details about a Prince of Persia game — and no, it wasn’t the long-delayed Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake. At Summer Game Fest 2023, Ubisoft kicked off the show with a new side-scrolling action platformer, called Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.

“Dash into a stylish and thrilling action-adventure platformer game set in a mythological Persian world where the boundaries of time and space are yours to manipulate,” according to the game’s website. You’ll be able to access “time powers” for fighting and platforming, and the game will have different biomes that have their own “identity, wonders, and dangers.”

Based on the game’s reveal trailer, it looks really fluid to play — my only experience with the...

Continue reading…

Here’s a first look at Mortal Kombat 1’s first gory gameplay trailer

Image: NetherRealm Studios

During Keigh3, we got our first gory glimpse of gameplay from the latest Mortal Kombat.

There was a lot of blood and a lot of gory fatalities so you’re gonna have to watch the trailer on YouTube. From the trailer, it also looks like the game’s story might touch on some of the themes that were featured in the recent movie. Series creator Ed Boon also made an appearance to talk more about the game’s new feature — Kameo fighters.

Kameo fighters essentially work kinda like assists in Marvel vs. Capcom or DragonBall Fighter Z. Kameo fighters pop in and out of the fight extending kombos (sorry) and are pulled from a different roster specially made for them. We didn’t get a full list of the Kameo fighters but at first blush it looks like Sonya...

Continue reading…

Here’s what Mark Zuckerberg thinks about Apple’s Vision Pro

Mark Zuckerberg wearing the Meta Quest 3. | Image: Meta

Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t seem fazed by Apple’s introduction of the Vision Pro.

In a companywide meeting with Meta employees today that The Verge watched, the CEO said Apple’s device didn’t present any major breakthroughs in technology that Meta hadn’t “already explored” and that its vision for how people will use the device is “not the one that I want.” He also pointed to the fact that Meta’s upcoming Quest 3 headset will be much cheaper, at $499 compared to the Vision Pro’s $3,499 price tag, giving Meta the opening to reach a wider user base.

“I think that their announcement really showcases the difference in the values and the vision that our companies bring to this in a way that I think is really important,” Zuckerberg told employees,...

Continue reading…

Louisiana passes bill banning kids from the internet without parental consent

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge

State lawmakers in Louisiana passed a new bill Tuesday banning minors from creating their own social media accounts.

The bill, HB61, would ban “interactive computer services” from allowing people under 18 to sign up for their own accounts without parental consent. The bill’s definition of online services is extremely broad, seemingly barring minors from creating social media accounts on sites like Instagram, accessing popular online games like Roblox and Fortnite, or even registering for an email address. The bill also goes as far as allowing parents to cancel the terms of service contracts their children entered into when signing up for existing accounts.

As of publication, it’s unclear how the state plans to enforce these new rules,...

Continue reading…

Mercedes-Benz is first to get approval to sell partially autonomous vehicles in California

Image: Mercedes-Benz AG

Mercedes-Benz is the first company to receive approval from the California Department of Motor Vehicles to sell or lease vehicles with an automated driving system to the public, according to the agency.

The DMV issued an autonomous vehicle permit to the company, authorizing Mercedes-Benz to sell vehicles with its Drive Pilot highway driving feature for use on public roads. Drive Pilot is described as a Level 3 system, in which the car does all the driving but the human driver needs to stand by to take control at a moment’s notice.

Drive Pilot is similar to “hands-free” highway driving systems like GM’s Super Cruise, Ford’s BlueCruise, and Tesla’s Autopilot, in so far as it allows drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel and...

Continue reading…

Apollo for Reddit is shutting down

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge

Apollo, one of the most beloved iOS apps used to browse Reddit, will be shutting down due to the company’s new API pricing that will make the app much more expensive to operate.

The app will shut down on June 30th, according to developer Christian Selig. “Reddit’s recent decisions and actions have unfortunately made it impossible for Apollo to continue,” Selig wrote on Twitter.

Apollo will close down on June 30th. Reddit’s recent decisions and actions have unfortunately made it impossible for Apollo to continue. Thank you so, so much for all the support over the years. ❤️ https://t.co/HOJaLMW8fx

— Christian Selig (@ChristianSelig) June 8, 2023

Selig went into further detail in an extensive post on Reddit. He reiterated that based on...

Continue reading…

Ford F-150 Lighting production accelerating to 150,000 annually by year-end

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Ford is making more F-150 Lighting trucks to reduce wait times between order and delivery. To achieve faster fulfillment, the automaker will be increasing its previous target goal of building 130,000 electric trucks annually to 150,000.

Ford is specifically increasing production of its mainline Lightning XLT versions, which will be deliverable by early September if ordered today. The automaker states that XLT is its highest-demand model.

Some customers have waited a year to get their preorders fulfilled, and reservations were closed throughout most of 2022 as Ford took a breather to catch up on 200,000 preorders. It had also halted production for a month earlier this year to investigate battery pack fires. Ford says the Lighting XLT is...

Continue reading…

Apple’s Vision Pro displays run at 90Hz with HDR support

Not this display, the ones for your eyes. | Image: Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Apple’s revealing that its new Vision Pro mixed reality headset is outfitted with displays that have a 90Hz refresh rate. The new detail comes in an online WWDC session for developers where Apple shares how 2D video and stereoscopic 3D video work in the headset.

It’s common to see 90 to 120Hz screens on tech from smartphones to PC gaming monitors, as it provides quicker responsiveness and smoother motion than slower displays. Apple has generally used 60Hz displays on everything it makes other than some of its “pro” devices like the iPad Pro and MacBook Pro that have 120Hz ProMotion displays. For a screen directly in front of your eyes, that added speed will make a big difference.

The Vision Pro screens can also automatically switch to...

Continue reading…

Google promises more money and more exposure for local news

Illustration: The Verge

Google says it will start doing more to help local media outlets on its News app. On Thursday, the search giant announced it would provide more funding to local publications, as well as roll out new features to help users discover local stories.

One change is in the Google News mobile feed, on both Android and iPhone, where it’s tweaking the Following tab to ensure that stories from local outlets appear more frequently. This will let users get updates from specific topics, sources, and locations. The revamped tab will become available on Android “soon” and on iOS later this year.

Image: Google

Here’s how Google’s new Following tab might look.

Additionally, Google is bringing its News Showcase to the US, which...

Continue reading…

Summer Game Fest 2023: all the news and announcements

Image: Summer Game Fest

Everything you need to know from the next Geoff Keighley show.

Continue reading…

El Niño is here, and that usually means more wacky weather

A dried-up corn field on April 10th, 2016, in Cotabato, Mindanao, Philippines. The heatwave brought on by the El Nino weather phenomenon severely affected food and water supplies in many countries. | Photo by Jes Aznar / Getty Images

The notorious climate pattern known as El Niño has arrived, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced today. El Niño often triggers more extreme weather around the world, although we’ll have to wait and see how things shake out this year.

Heat is one of its trademarks. A warning from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in May said that this year’s El Niño, combined with climate change, might “push global temperatures into uncharted territory.” The world’s hottest year on record was 2016, the last time a strong El Niño developed (there was a weak one from 2018-2019).

Heat is one of its trademarks

There’s an 84 percent chance of a “greater than a moderate strength El Niño” developing by the winter,...

Continue reading…

The US just had its worst day for wildfire smoke in its history

Smoke from wildfires in Canada spread badly at Times Square in New York City on June 7th, 2023. | Photo by Eren Abdullahogullari / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

When it comes to pollution from wildfire smoke, Wednesday, June 7th, 2023, was by far the worst day on record for the average American. A thick haze of smoke swept in from wildfires in Canada, blanketing much of the Northeast with record-shattering levels of harmful particulate pollution.

The Verge was on the phone with Stanford associate professor Marshall Burke when he got the results of his team’s analysis via Slack. “Jesus,” he says — audibly surprised, even though he expected the numbers to be bad. “It’s really remarkable. The number is honestly pretty shocking.”

According to the initial analysis by his team at Stanford’s Environmental Change and Human Outcomes Lab, the average person in the US was exposed to 27.5 micrograms of...

Continue reading…

Apple’s biggest iPad Pro with a fast M2 processor is $99 off

That Mini LED screen is a stunner. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge

Apple may have had mostly small software updates for the iPad at WWDC, but today, you can get a sizable deal on the biggest iPad. Amazon is selling the 12.9-inch iPad Pro with M2 processor for $999.99 ($99 off) at checkout. It’s the lowest price to date for the iPad with a brilliant Mini LED screen that gets very bright and vibrantly colorful. While that low price is on the base 128GB configuration, Amazon also has the 256GB for $1,099.99 and the 512GB for $1,299.99 (both $99 off). All of these discounted prices are reflected when you add the iPad to your cart on Amazon.

While the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is mostly a spec-bumped model from the previous gen (and is far from a cheap tablet), it’s the iPad most equipped to be a full laptop...

Continue reading…

It’s time to start paying attention to 15-inch laptops

This thing could cause PC manufacturers some real problems.

Apple’s M1 and M2 devices have become many reviewers’ default recommendations for popular classes of laptops. Slim and light? Try the 13-inch MacBook Air. Big and powerful? Get the 16-inch MacBook Pro. But in between those two is one of few form factors still firmly dominated by the Windows PC: the 15-inch ultralight.

Until, perhaps, next week. Apple has announced that a 15-inch MacBook Air, powered by its M2 chip, will hit shelves on June 13th. I’m excited to try it out because I’m madly curious to know what a 15-inch MacBook Air feels like. But more importantly, I’m excited to see the impact it has on the 15-inch lightweight space. Because I think it could be huge.

Since the advent of the M1 chip in 2020, Apple has gone on to dominate...

Continue reading…

Google Drive is ending app support for Windows 8 and 8.1

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Google Drive’s desktop app will soon no longer support Windows 8 and 8.1. In a support page spotted by Android Police, Google says it’s ending support for both versions in August of this year, along with the 32-bit version of Windows 10.

The desktop app for Google Drive allows you to sync the files and folders on your computer with the cloud storage service as well as back up any photos and videos to Google Photos. From August on, users on Windows 8 / 8.1 or those who run the 32-bit version of Windows 10 won’t be able to use the app to sync or back up their files through the app.

This update doesn’t mean affected users can’t use Drive through their browsers, though — given that they use one that actually supports their operating systems...

Continue reading…

I ate fake chicken breast that the maker of Nuggs squeezed through a showerhead

Simulate’s new plant-based chicken breast. | Image: Simulate

A new microwavable fake chicken breast is on its way from the makers of meme-famous Nuggs. The alternative meat startup Simulate plans to launch the new product in some two dozen New York grocery stores on July 7th. Curious consumers outside of the Big Apple will also be able to buy the stuff online on Simulate’s website at $2.99 a piece.

Simulate similarly launched its plant-based chicken nuggets, Nuggs, online in 2018 before offering it in stores in 2021. (The Verge was there for the ride.) Since then, the market for plant-based meat alternatives has slumped. Now, Simulate’s trying to beat the odds with an easy-to-prepare product and seemingly more serious branding than it came to be known for with Nuggs.

The memes are gone

You can...

Continue reading…

Oura Ring users can now share sleep scores with friends

The Oura Ring is still a fairly niche device, so it makes sense that the company is trying to bolster community. | Image: Victoria Song / The Verge

Oura is adding a new community feature to its smart sleep tracking ring. Starting today, you’ll now be able to create or join “Circles,” which are private groups where you can share readiness, sleep, and activity scores from the past two weeks. The company is also finally moving its new sleep staging algorithm out of beta for both iOS and Android users — though you may or may not like what it has to tell you.

Any user can create an Oura Circle and invite others to join via a shared link, provided the person you’re inviting is also an Oura member. When creating or joining a Circle, you can also customize what data gets shared. For example, if you’d rather that Judgy John from Accounting didn’t see your activity score, you don’t have to...

Continue reading…

Apple’s Journal app needs to read the room

I would love to replace my six journals and multiple journaling apps with a single app. But without greater user controls, I’m stuck with this clunky but effective system. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge

Ever since I learned how to write, I’ve never been without a journal. There are currently six I use regularly on my desk, plus the Day One and Daylio apps on my phone. Each has its purpose, but I often wish for a single app or notebook to replace the rest. On paper, I’m the type of person Apple was appealing to when it announced the Journal app during this year’s WWDC keynote.

Instead, my reaction while watching the keynote was a knee-jerk Hell to the No. My hands were sweaty, my heart was racing, and I ended up walking away from my desk to take five deep breaths. The fact that Apple is Sherlocking Day One isn’t what set me off. It was the fact that Apple said it’ll use “on-device machine learning” to create customized journaling...

Continue reading…

DeSantis attack ad uses fake AI images of Trump embracing Fauci

The attack ad features three images showing Trump embracing Fauci. | Image: The Verge

The campaign backing Ron DeSantis as Republican presidential nominee in 2024 has used what experts identify as AI-generated deepfakes in attack ad against rival Donald Trump.

On June 5th, the “DeSantis War Room” Twitter account shared a video emphasizing Trump’s support for Anthony Fauci, a former White House chief medical advisor and key figure in developing the US response to COVID-19. Fauci has become a hated figure in right-wing politics, particularly among the anti-vax movement, and the attack ad seeks to grow this base of support for DeSantis by portraying Trump and Fauci as close collaborators.

The video includes real clips of Trump discussing Fauci and a collage of six pictures of the two men together. Of the six images, three...

Continue reading…

How to watch Summer Game Fest 2023

We’ll likely see more of Idris Elba’s character in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty_._ | Image: CD Projekt Red

Summer Game Fest 2023 is nearly here. Geoff Keighley’s major summer gaming event takes place on Thursday, and this year, it might have some special significance. With E3 canceled, gaming companies wanting to show off their latest projects may turn to Summer Game Fest instead, which hopefully means that we’ll see some major news from the show.

There are already a few notable things to look forward to. CD Projekt Red has already said that Cyberpunk 2077’s upcoming expansion starring Idris Elba, titled Phantom Liberty, will be playable at the in-person Play Days portion of Summer Game Fest, so I’m guessing it will make an appearance during the live event. Keighley said on Twitter that we’ll see a “world premiere first look” of the new F...

Continue reading…

Google Meet’s latest update offers a more capable picture-in-picture mode

Google Meet’s new picture-in-picture mode in action. | Image: Google

Google’s latest update for its Meet video conferencing software is designed to make its picture-in-picture mode more useful, allowing you to work (or, perhaps, slack off) in other windows on your desktop without giving up crucial Meet controls. According to Google’s announcement, the features will be available when using Google Meet via its Chrome browser, and will be rolling out to everyone over the next couple of weeks.

Specifically, you’ll now be able to raise your hand, contribute to text chat, and turn captions on or off from the picture-in-picture view, which is designed to sit above your other desktop windows while you use them. There’s also better support for resizing the window, and more flexible layouts. In a GIF, Google shows...

Continue reading…

The Kia Boys will steal your car for clout

Illustration by Sean Dong for The Verge

A loose collective of teenage car thieves calling themselves Kia Boys have stolen tens of thousands of Hyundai and Kia vehicles, often posting the results on YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok. But the chaos and destruction left in their wake rarely goes noticed.

Continue reading…

A closer look at Apple’s Vision Pro keyboard and other controls

An Apple developer session has offered an in-depth look at the many ways users will (eventually) control its new Vision Pro headset, including a virtual keyboard that you’ll be able to type on in mid-air. It comes to us thanks to the “Design for spatial input” session, in which two members of Apple’s design team walk prospective developers through best practices for designing apps for the new platform.

Apple seems keen for users to mainly interact with the headset by simply looking at UI elements and making small hand gestures with their arms relaxed on their lap. But in its developer session, Apple designer Israel Pastrana Vicente admits that “some tasks are better suited to interact directly,” which can involve reaching out and...

Continue reading…

Blackmailers are using deepfaked nudes to bully and extort victims, warns FBI

The FBI has issued an advisory warning of an “uptick” in extortion schemes involving fake nudes created with the help of AI editing tools.

The agency says that as of April this year, it’s received an increasing number of reports of such “sextortion” schemes. Malicious actors find benign images of a victim on social media then edit them using AI to create realistic and sexually-explicit content.

“The photos are then sent directly to the victims by malicious actors for sextortion or harassment,” writes the agency. “Once circulated, victims can face significant challenges in preventing the continual sharing of the manipulated content or removal from the internet.”

“The key motivators for this are a desire for more illicit content,...

Continue reading…

Adobe opens up its Firefly generative AI model to businesses

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Adobe has unveiled a new platform for its Firefly generative AI model that’s designed to help organizations address the growing demand for content creation across their workplace. Announced during today’s Adobe Summit event, Adobe Firefly for Enterprise allows every employee within a company — regardless of their creative skills — to instantly generate images or copy from text-based descriptions, which can then be used in marketing campaigns, social media promotions, corporate presentations, and more.

Enterprise users will be able to access Firefly through the standalone Firefly application, Creative Cloud, or Adobe Express — Adobe’s cloud-based design platform. Businesses can also build Firefly into their own ecosystem by training the...

Continue reading…

Uber needs you to make greener choices so it can go carbon neutral by 2030

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Uber is introducing a host of new product features aimed at steering its customers toward greener choices. The product features, which were unveiled at an event in London today, are also intended to boost the company’s chances of reaching its sustainability goals, which have it going completely carbon neutral in North America and Europe by 2030 and in all global markets by 2040.

Some of the new products are not ready for a global rollout, but the overall aim is to use its platform to encourage riders and drivers to make more environmentally friendly decisions — even if the vast majority of Uber’s business relies on gas-guzzling vehicles. Some of that involves subtle nudges, like new emissions notifications or improved routing, while...

Continue reading…

ChatGPT on iOS gets improved iPad support and Shortcuts integration

Image: OpenAI

OpenAI is improving ChatGPT on iPad today with a new update designed to take advantage of the entire iPad screen. The updated ChatGPT app for iOS and iPadOS also includes drag and drop, Siri support, and Shortcuts integration.

iPad support means ChatGPT will now run full-screen on Apple’s tablets, instead of as an iPhone sized app running on a bigger display. Little else has changed for the iPad version though, as you’re still presented with a chat interface and options to switch between GPT-3.5 or GPT-4. OpenAI has also added drag and drop support here, so any messages can now be dragged out of the chat interface and into other apps.

The update also lets you summon ChatGPT from Siri and use the chatbot with Apple’s Shortcuts feature....

Continue reading…