Meta’s smart glasses can take calls, play music, and livestream from your face

They’re still camera glasses, but they’re also decent headphones, and they don’t look half bad. | Image: Meta

Meta’s smart glasses are not called “Stories” anymore. They’re just called smart glasses now. Technically, the new model Meta just announced is called the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, and the company will happily correct you anytime you call them something else, but these are simply smart glasses. No ifs, ands, or weird names about it.

The new glasses, which Meta just announced at its Connect launch event and which are up for preorder now and will be on sale October 17th starting at $299, have two primary purposes. The first is to replace your headphones: the smart glasses have a similar personal audio system like Amazon’s Echo Frames and the Bose Tempo series, all of which play music but endeavor to make sure only you can hear it. With...

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Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses hands-on: in pursuit of content

The Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses. | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

Unlike the original, I kind of see where Meta’s going with its second-gen smart glasses.

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Mark Zuckerberg on Threads, the future of AI, and Quest 3

Photo illustration by Alex Parkin / The Verge

In a rare interview, Meta’s CEO dives into where AI is going next, the new Quest 3 headset, and his ongoing rivalry with Elon Musk.

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The Meta Quest 3 lets you play with virtual Legos in your real living room

Lego Bricktales. | Image: Meta

Mark Zuckerberg teased augmented reality Lego yesterday — and sure enough, the Meta Quest 3 headset will offer a Lego AR game.

Not a new one, and not a build-anything-you-want Lego metaverse like the one Epic might be building — instead, it’s an existing game called Lego Bricktales that’s already available on practically every other platform including your phone, console, PC, and the Nintendo Switch.

But that may not be a bad thing, because Lego Bricktales has some pretty decent reviews — Eurogamer called the simple puzzle adventure game “the most Lego-like experience in video games since the fully sandbox Lego Worlds” even while pining for a bit more creativity and some easier mechanics.

Here’s a trailer for the original:

Meta’s...

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eBay accused of selling hundreds of thousands of harmful polluting products

Image: Getty

Online auction site eBay was accused of selling “hundreds of thousands” of dangerous polluting products, in a lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice on Wednesday.

The complaint alleges that eBay sold 343,000 aftermarket defeat devices, which illegally subvert motor vehicle emission controls in violation of the Clean Air Act. These devices allow gas-powered vehicles to pass emissions tests while continuing to emit noxious chemicals, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and nonmethane hydrocarbons.

The complaint alleges that eBay sold 343,000 aftermarket defeat devices, which illegally subvert motor vehicle emission controls in violation of the Clean Air Act

The company is also accused of selling or...

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The Meta Quest 3 is sharper, more powerful, and still trying to make mixed reality happen

Charging dock sold separately.

An upgraded VR game console with an extra feature.

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Meta’s $499.99 Quest 3 headset is all about mixed reality and video games

The Quest 3 still covers your whole face — but you can see through it better now. | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

Meta just announced its new headset, the Quest 3, which it is billing as a huge leap forward — not just for the Quest lineup, but for Meta’s whole vision of the future. The Quest 3 isn’t just a virtual reality headset like the Quest 2 but, rather, a mixed reality device like Apple’s Vision Pro. That means you can see what’s happening in the real world and interact with things around you, all while wearing your headset. The Quest 3 starts at $499.99, is open for preorders now, and will start shipping on October 10th.

Meta pretty much already announced the Quest 3 back in June when it was trying to get out ahead of the Vision Pro launch. Even now, Meta is clearly trying to position itself as the more mainstream mixed reality headset — “you...

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Here’s your first look at Netflix’s Tomb Raider animated series

Image: Netflix

Netflix’s latest video game adaptation has its first trailer. At its Drop 01 animation event, the company revealed the first look at Tomb Raider: The Legend Of Lara Croft, an upcoming animated series starring the iconic archaeologist. It doesn’t show much, but it definitely feels like the series will be adopting the grittier tone of the most recent games.

Netflix first announced that it was partnering with Legendary on a Tomb Raider series in 2021; it announced the Skull Island show at the same time, which started streaming earlier this year. The Legend Of Lara Croft doesn’t have a specific date yet, but Netflix says it will premiere sometime in 2024.

The news comes as part of a resurgence of sorts for the Tomb Raider franchise. Amazon...

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Netflix is making a Devil May Cry anime

Image: Netflix

Dante is coming back — in animated form. At its Drop 01 animation event, Netflix announced that it is teaming up with Capcom for a new animated series based on the action series Devil May Cry. Adi Shankar — who previously worked on Netflix’s adaptation of Castlevania — will serve as showrunner, while Studio Mir will be handling the animation. There’s no premiere date yet, but Netflix lists the show as “coming soon.” You can get a very brief taste in the teaser trailer above.

Not much else is known about the series, but in a statement, Shankar said, “I’m honored that Netflix and Capcom have entrusted me to shepherd the Devil May Cry franchise. [Writer] Alex Larsen and I love these characters, we are part of the fandom, and vow to surpass...

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All the news from Meta Connect 2023

Meta’s first look at the Quest 3 came back in June. | Image: Meta

Meta Connect, the company’s annual conference, is back for 2023. It’s bringing a lot more details about the Meta Quest 3, the successor to Quest 2.

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How to watch Meta Connect — and Quest 3 — at 10AM PT / 1PM ET

Meta Connect’s shifting logo. | Image: Meta

Meta Connect, the annual product summit from the company behind Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and the headsets formerly known as Oculus, will reveal its latest announcements in less than an hour.

Meta Connect 2023 kicks off at 10AM PT / 1PM ET, and the company’s pitching it as “a two-day virtual event focused on AI and virtual, mixed and augmented realities.” Which, we all know, means the company will fully reveal its Quest 3 headset, appeal to gamers, and attempt to wash the stink of Quest Pro away.

If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering — how exactly do I watch it? Because Meta hasn’t been 100 percent clear on that point.

If you click the big “Watch” button on the company’s Meta Connect website right now, it’ll simply take...

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Young people are suing Europe’s governments over climate change

Young Portuguese citizens (C) arrive at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, France, for a hearing in a climate change case against 32 countries, on September 27th, 2023. | Photo by FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP via Getty Images

A groundbreaking climate hearing went down today in the European Court of Human Rights. The youngest plaintiff in the case is 11 years old; the oldest is 24. They all survived wildfires that raged through Portugal in 2017. And they’ve filed suit against 33 governments in Europe, saying their planet-heating pollution violates their human rights.

The case, Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and 32 Other States, was brought by a group of six young people from Portugal in 2020. If successful, they could get a legally binding decision that pushes countries — including the 27 EU member states — to act faster on climate change.

“As in many other places young people are leading the way and demonstrating that there are legal avenues through...

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Netflix Drop 01: all the news and trailers from Netflix’s animation event

Castlevania: Nocturne. | Image: Netflix

Stay up to date on everything from Castlevania to Scott Pilgrim.

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MOVEit cyberattacks: keeping tabs on the biggest data theft of 2023

Illustration: Beatrice Sala

A ransomware gang used a zero-day exploit in Progress Software’s MOVEit Transfer to steal thousands of companies’ data, affecting over 60 million people.

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LG Gram Pro 17 review: a Gram with more gusto

LG’s new Gram Pro is a three-pound laptop with an RTX GPU inside — a great achievement for LG and a fairly niche product for the rest of us.

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Panos Panay is leaving Microsoft for Amazon

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

It’s official: Panos Panay, Microsoft’s former product lead, is headed to Amazon. In an update on Wednesday, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced that Panay will take the place of outgoing hardware boss Dave Limp, confirming the rumors reported by Bloomberg after Microsoft announced Panay’s departure.

“As a strong product builder and inventor who has deep experience in both hardware and integrated services, Panos will be a great addition to our devices and services organization moving forward,” Jassy writes in a note to employees.

Panay will start at Amazon at the end of October, with Limp working with him for the next couple of months to help transition him into the role. Panay had worked at Microsoft for almost 20 years, heading up major...

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How to watch the second Republican presidential debate

Image: Getty

The Republican debate kicks off at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, tonight, where the potential candidates for the 2024 presidential election (with one predictable exception) will take the stage for a second time.

Only seven of the Republican Party’s candidates will appear onstage this time around, as not everyone we saw during the last debate made the cut. If you’re interested in tuning in, here’s what you need to know.

What time does the Republican debate start?

The second Republican debate takes place on Wednesday, September 27th, at 9PM ET / 6PM PT.

How do I watch the second Republican debate?

The two-hour debate will air live on the Fox News Channel and Fox Business, while a Spanish-language...

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The Google antitrust trial is opening back up... a little

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge

The Justice Department can post exhibits from the US v. Google antitrust trial online once they’ve been shown in court, Judge Amit Mehta ruled late yesterday. Bloomberg reports that after a week of discussion between Google and the Justice Department, the department agreed to notify Google of documents it plans to post; Google will have until 9PM ET each day to dispute their release, and the department should address their objections by the next business day. “I would like both sides to be in a position to post as soon as it is reasonable to do so,” Mehta said.

The decision should see the return of files that were pulled down last week after Google complained about the Justice Department hosting them online. The two parties have argued...

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Jabra’s rugged Elite 8 Active earbuds are on sale for the first time

Jabra’s latest flagships are also some of its toughest thanks to their IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. | Image: Jabra

At this point, it would be an understatement to say there are a lot of wireless earbuds to choose from. There is something to be said about a competent platform-agnostic pair that takes a more targeted approach to features instead of relying on ecosystem tricks, which is precisely what Jabra aims to do with the Elite 8 Active.

Right now, Jabra’s latest pair of premium earbuds are on sale for the first time at Amazon, Best Buy, and Jabra’s online storefront for $179.99 ($20 off).

Like their lauded predecessor, Jabra’s Elite 8 Active are designed with fitness buffs in mind. They boast adaptive ANC and eight hours of playback per charge, along with Jabra’s ShakeGrip coating, which helps secure them during rigorous exercise without the...

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iPhone 15 Pro users will pay full console price for Resident Evil 4 remake

Don’t expect to pay mobile game prices for a console title — even if it’s running on iPhone. | Image: Capcom

If you’re looking to grab the recently announced iPhone 15 Pro version of the Resident Evil 4 remake, you’ll be paying full console game prices. According to information nestled away in the Resident Evil 4 App Store listing, the base game will cost $59.99 when it’s released later this year — the same launch price as its PS5 and Xbox series S / X debut in March.

An extra DLC pack is available for $19.99, alongside additional in-app purchases for weapon upgrades that range between $2.99 and $9.99. Capcom hasn’t announced a release date for the game yet (the App Store date of December 31st is a placeholder), but preorders are currently live, and it’s expected to launch before the end of 2023.

Resident Evil Village — a slightly older title...

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Horizon Forbidden West is coming to PC early next year

Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Sony is bringing Horizon Forbidden West to PC in early 2024 with help from in-house port developer Nixxes Software, which it acquired in 2021. It’s the latest PlayStation PC port after Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart arrived on PC in July. The news comes as Sony announces the “complete edition” of Horizon Forbidden West, which will also be available on the PS5 on October 5th. This edition includes the base game, its Burning Shores expansion, and other add-ons like a digital art book and soundtrack. The PC version will be available on both Steam and the Epic Games Store.

Horizon Forbidden West picks up six months after the end of Horizon Zero Dawn, with an impressive world full of snowy mountains and jungle marshes to explore.

Sony wants to...

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Yale’s new smart locks work with your fingerprint or HomeKey, but not both

The Yale Assure Lock 2 Plus works with HomeKey, so you can open it with your wrist instead of your hand if you have an Apple Watch. | Image: Yale

Yale has expanded its Assure 2 lineup with two new smart locks: one with support for Apple’s HomeKey and one with a fingerprint reader. Both are firsts for the company, but unfortunately, you have to pick one or the other — there’s no model with a fingerprint reader and HomeKey. While the locks can work with all the major smart home platforms, neither works with Matter, and there’s no ETA on its arrival. But it's not for lack of trying.

The Yale Assure Lock 2 Touch ($199) adds a fingerprint reader but is otherwise identical to the existing Yale Assure Lock 2 — one of our favorite smart locks. It comes in keyed or key-free versions but is touchscreen only (the standard Assure 2 has the option of a physical keypad).

Like the other Assure...

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We put our faith in Mercedes-Benz’s first-of-its-kind autonomous Drive Pilot feature

Why watch the road when you can watch Kylie’s new video instead? | Image: Daniel Golson

Drive Pilot is a Level 3 autonomous system, meaning you can take your hands off the wheel and — more notably — eyes off the road during certain conditions. But are we ready to give up this much control?

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How to turn regular photos into Portrait mode photos on an iPhone 15

Add background blur or change the focus point on pictures of your furry friend. | Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

Anyone with an iPhone who’s taken a picture of their child or pet knows the Portrait mode dilemma. Portrait mode adds that lovely, soft bokeh effect to the background of your image and calls attention to your subject — ideal when your toddler or cat is doing something adorable. But taking the extra second to switch from the standard camera app to Portrait mode sometimes means missing the moment entirely.

Now, there’s good news for iPhone 15 owners: all of the most recent iPhones — the iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max — will allow you to apply Portrait mode after capture to pictures taken in the standard camera mode. You can even shift focus to a different subject or part of the frame if you want. Here’s how it all works. (I...

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EU criticizes X over levels of disinformation found on platform

Photo by Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

European Union regulators have reprimanded Elon Musk after X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, was found to contain a higher ratio of misinformation and disinformation in a new report. “X, formerly Twitter … is the platform with the largest ratio of mis/disinformation followed by Facebook,” the European commissioner for values and transparency, Věra Jourová, said in comments reported by The Guardian.

The comments coincided with the publication of a new series of reports as part of the EU’s Code of Practice on Disinformation. These included a third-party analysis from TrustLab, which says that discoverability of posts containing misinformation and disinformation was highest on X, meaning that for a given search containing...

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Jony Ive is reportedly developing an AI gadget with OpenAI’s Sam Altman

Altman recently called on former Apple designer Thomas Meyerhoffer — a Jony Ive hire — to create the retina-scanning Orb (pictured) for Altman’s Worldcoin crypto project. | Image: Worldcoin

Apple’s former chief design officer, Jony Ive, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are allegedly exploring opportunities to collaborate on building an unspecified artificial intelligence “hardware device,” according to two sources speaking to The Information.

This wouldn’t be the first time that Altman has partnered with a former Apple designer on new hardware. Thomas Meyerhoffer — who was Ive’s first hire at Apple and worked alongside him on projects like the iMac — designed the spherical retina-scanning Orb for Altman’s Worldcoin crypto project. Orb was developed by Tools for Humanity, a company that Altman co-founded in 2019 and serves as the company’s chairman.

There’s currently no word on what the device will be, or what purpose it serves.

T...

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The new WGA contract will change how Hollywood works

As of midnight, the Writers Guild of America will no longer be picketing. Instead, members of the union will be poring over new details on the contract negotiated with the AMPTP and deciding whether they will vote to ratify this new contract.

(Disclosure: The Verge's editorial staff is also unionized with the Writers Guild of America, East.)

The WGA dropped a summary of the contract tonight and it's historic. The flashiest wins for the WGA are around pay increases and artificial intelligence. The pay increases are significant across the board, with notable increases for "high budget subscription video on demand" (think Netflix) and streaming films.

“AI is the flashy thing... The data is the game changer.”

The WGA says writers of...

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The Writers Guild of America’s strike is over

Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images

After a nearly five-month-long strike, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) is telling its members to lower their picket signs. In a post, the WGA said its Negotiating Committee, WGAW Board, and WGAE Council all voted unanimously to recommend the three-year agreement reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. They will end their strike at 12:01AM PM on Wednesday, sending writers back to work, with a ratification vote scheduled for between October 2nd and October 9th.

A summary explaining terms of the deal has been posted so that we can see details of their agreement for the first time, as well as the 94-page deal (embedded below) which is scheduled to remain in effect from September 25th, 2023 through May 1st,...

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Hollywood’s actors are still on strike

Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld / Getty Images

Hollywood productions are in limbo, even with a new deal between writers and producers, as actors remain on strike over many of the same issues with AI and streaming.

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Eufy’s new X8 Pro robot vacuum can detangle hair automatically

Eufy Clean X8 Pro with its self-emptying station and app. | Image: Eufy

Anker’s Eufy division has a new robot vacuum cleaner with more powerful suction than its other offerings, and which can automatically detangle hair and pet fur from its bottom roller brush.

The new $649.99 Eufy Clean X8 Pro vacuum is available to purchase today on Amazon and includes many advanced features available in other vacuums, like infrared laser navigation and AI home mapping to both avoid and remember walls and other obstacles. The X8 Pro also features self-emptying abilities, and basic mopping.

Anker’s press release states that the Eufy X8 Pro is an “upgraded version” of the 2021 X8 Hybrid, which sold for the same price. The new X8 Pro’s “Twin-Turbine 2.0” motors deliver 4,000 Pa of suction each, more than the X8 Hybrid’s...

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