I literally spoke with Nvidia’s AI-powered video game NPCs

Nvidia’s cyberpunk ramen shop is back. | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge

What if you could just... speak... to video game characters? Ask your own questions, with your own voice, instead of picking from preset phrases?

Last May, Nvidia and its partner Convai showed off a fairly unconvincing canned demo of such a system — but this January, I got to try a fully interactive version for myself at CES 2024. I walked away convinced we’ll inevitably see something like this in future games.

Let me be clear: the characters I spoke to were effectively generative AI chatbots. They didn’t feel like real people — we’ve got a ways to go before voices, facial expressions, and body language catch up to what’s expected of a real-life interaction. There was sometimes a little robotic stutter and often a short delay before...

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BMW’s South Carolina plant is testing humanoid robot workers

Figure unveiled its first prototype humanoid robot (pictured) in October 2023, just one year after the company was founded. | Image: Figure

Robotics startup Figure has signed a “commercial agreement” with BMW to introduce its “general purpose” humanoid robots to BMW’s manufacturing facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina, as it tries to identify use cases in automotive production. The robots are intended to automate “difficult, unsafe, or tedious” manufacturing tasks, and if they’re found to be viable, they’ll then be deployed in the BMW facility in stages.

“Single-purpose robotics have saturated the commercial market for decades, but the potential of general purpose robotics is completely untapped,” said Figure CEO Brett Adcock. “Figure’s robots will enable companies to increase productivity, reduce costs, and create a safer and more consistent environment.”

Just last...

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Here are the key differences between the Samsung Galaxy S24 phones

Like the rest of the S24 lineup, Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra comes in four color options. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

As expected, Samsung introduced the new Galaxy S24 phone lineup during its Galaxy Unpacked event on January 17th. The Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus start at $799.99 and $999.99, respectively, while the Galaxy S24 Ultra starts at $1,299.99. All of the phones are available starting on January 31st, 2024, though you can preorder them now.

We’ve yet to wrap up our testing, so we can’t comment on how well the phones perform in reality. However, in the limited time we’ve been able to try them out so far, it seems Samsung made mostly minor hardware updates. Along with brighter displays, the new lineup features larger S24 and S24 Plus models, while the S24 Ultra features what should be a more durable titanium frame.

It’s the new AI features...

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Xbox Developer Direct 2024: all the news and trailers

Image: Klobrille (Twitter / X)

Get your first look at the new Indiana Jones game and more.

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Microsoft Teams meeting reminders are coming to the Windows 11 Start menu

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft is getting ready to place Teams meeting reminders on the Start menu in Windows 11. The software giant has started testing a new build of Windows 11 with Dev Channel testers that includes a Teams meeting reminder in the recommended section of the Start menu. Microsoft is also testing an improved way to instantly access new photos and screenshots from Android devices.

“For people logged into Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise editions with a Microsoft Entra ID account, we are trying out the ability to view and join upcoming Microsoft Teams meetings directly from the Start menu,” explains Microsoft in a blog post. “The next online Teams meeting will show up as a Recommended item 5 minutes before it begins, clicking the meeting...

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This smartwatch has the tech that sparked the Apple Watch ban

Masimo showed up with the Freedom (right), a prototype for a smarter watch featuring its blood oxygen tech. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge

In the past few weeks, you’ve probably heard something about the Apple Watch getting banned. Something to do with a sensor, with some medical tech company accusing Apple of infringing on its patents. That medical tech company is Masimo, and it’s known within the medical community for its pulse oximetry technology, used for measuring blood oxygen levels.

The company would also like to be known for something else: its brand-new smartwatch, which features the tech that got the Apple Watch in trouble.

Masimo isn’t traditionally a gadget maker, but its new watch — the Freedom — is meant to be a true consumer device: something that looks stylish on the wrist, can relay your notifications, and will track your health while it’s at it. On paper,...

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New survey shows game developers are very worried about layoffs and AI

Game developers are overwhelmingly concerned about the ethics of using AI. The organizers of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) have released their annual State of the Game Industry survey, in which 84 percent of the 3,000-plus respondents said they were somewhat or very concerned about the ethics of using generative AI.

The survey’s results elaborated on why developers are concerned, citing reasons that include the potential for AI to replace workers and exacerbate layoffs or expose developers to possible copyright infringement complaints. Developers are also worried that AI programs could scrape data from their own games without their consent.

GDC’s survey also broke down developer sentiment regarding AI according to job type....

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Mark Zuckerberg’s new goal is creating artificial general intelligence

Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos by Getty Images

And he wants Meta to open source it. Eventually. Maybe.

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Apple’s biggest critics are big mad about the new 27 percent App Store tax

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Apple’s most outspoken critics aren’t thrilled with the company’s recent App Store changes. In a statement to The Verge, Spotify spokesperson Jeanne Moran says that the new 27 percent tax on alternative payment methods shows that Apple “will stop at nothing to protect the profits they exact on the backs of developers and consumers under their app store monopoly.”

The company updated its App Store policies to comply with a court order handed down as part of the Epic v. Apple ruling. The change lets developers in the US link to alternative payment methods, but only if they shell out a 27 percent commission for each purchase made outside the App Store.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney was one of the first to call out Apple’s changes as...

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The scariest sound on TikTok

Collage by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo by Getty Images

How one cover of one mostly unknown song became the soundtrack of terrifying vertical videos.

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Iowa sues TikTok for setting its App Store age rating too low

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

TikTok is getting sued by the state of Iowa over claims that it’s lying to parents about the presence of sexual content, drugs, alcohol, profanity, and other inappropriate material in the app. In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird claimed TikTok is making this kind of content “easily accessible” to young users while maintaining an inaccurate “12+” age rating on the Apple App Store.

As noted in the lawsuit, a 12-plus rating on the App Store means an app has “infrequent/mild” sexual content, profanity, crude humor, suggestive themes, and references to alcohol, tobacco, or drug use. However, the state of Iowa claims the content on TikTok’s app doesn’t fit this description, adding that it would receive a 17-plus...

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Bose’s wild-looking Ultra Open Earbuds are here — kind of

Image: Bose / Kith

Well, this is certainly an unconventional way to introduce what looks like a very unconventional product. Bose just announced the Ultra Open Earbuds, an open-style pair of buds with a very unique design that leaked earlier this month. They’re meant to clip onto your ears to preserve total environmental awareness whenever you’re listening to them. And they’re priced at a hefty $300.

But here’s the catch: this initial offering is an exclusive set designed in collaboration with fashion / lifestyle brand Kith. Kith’s brand is etched onto the earbuds and case in Bose’s signature typeface. You’ll only be able to get the “Kith for Bose Ultra Open Earbuds” from Kith’s online and physical stores beginning January 22nd. And they’ll supposedly only...

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How to watch the Xbox Developer Direct 2024

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

We’re only a few weeks into 2024, and it’s already time for a gaming event. Kicking things off this year is the Xbox Developer Direct 2024, which is described as “a deep-dive into some of the biggest games coming to Xbox platforms.”

Right now, we know that includes at least a few previously announced titles: an Indiana Jones game from the studio behind Wolfenstein, the very intense-looking sequel to Hellblade, the upcoming Obsidian RPG Avowed, and Ara: History Untold, a turn-based strategy game from a new studio founded by Firaxis Games developers.

Other than that, there will likely be at least a few surprises. Rumors have been swirling about games like Sea of Thieves and Hi-Fi Rush expanding to new platforms, and Starfield is getting a...

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Why Microsoft might be considering Xbox exclusives on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Rumors are swirling that Microsoft has been considering bringing some Xbox exclusives to rival PlayStation and Nintendo Switch platforms. Sea of Thieves and Hi-Fi Rush have both reportedly been under cross-platform consideration, and when you combine the rumors with recent comments from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Xbox CFO Tim Stuart, it’s clear Microsoft is weighing its Xbox strategy now that the Activision Blizzard deal is complete.

At a Wells Fargo summit in late November, Stuart detailed what he described as “a bit of a change of strategy” for Microsoft Gaming, the division that houses Xbox and Microsoft’s overall gaming efforts. “Not announcing anything broadly here, but our mission is to bring our first-party experiences [and]...

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The Rabbit R1: all the latest news about this hare-raising AI gadget

Images: Rabbit CES 2024 presentation (YouTube)

With artificial intelligence being so prevalent across, well, just about everything these days, it’s no small feat for AI developers to make their products stand out among the deluge. Very few have managed to capture as much attention as Rabbit, the AI startup that’s managed to sell 40,000 units of its standalone $199 R1 gadget within eight days of launching the device at CES in January this year.

The AI-powered Rabbit OS behind the Rabbit R1 is essentially a dedicated virtual assistant that’s designed to interact with your favorite apps like a kind of universal controller. The OS is built upon a “Large Action Model” trained to interact with common apps like Spotify and Uber to get things done; from sending messages, controlling music,...

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Another Code: Recollection brings cult classic mystery games to the Switch

Image: Nintendo

For a while there, the Nintendo DS was the place to go for mystery games. Leading the way were the courtroom antics of the Ace Attorney series and the puzzle book detective stories in Professor Layton. But helping round out the space was a small studio called Cing that has since shut down, which released a pair of excellent mysteries for the DS with Hotel Dusk: Room 215 and Trace Memory (known outside of North America as Another Code). They’ve since become cult classics, and now the latter is getting a second chance with a remastered edition for the Switch that keeps all the good parts (namely the story), while sprucing things up for modern players.

The new release — called Another Code: Recollection — is actually a bundle of two...

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Samsung’s Galaxy S24 is first to be able to upload HDR photos to Instagram

Instagram will be able to display HDR photographs taken with Samsung’s new Galaxy S24 phones, the two companies have announced. “Every photo and video you take, or view, will be shown in its full range of color and contrast, from the moment you snap the content, to the moment you post,” said Samsung’s VP of Intelligent Imaging, Dr. Hamid Sheikh, onstage at the S24 launch event. “In fact the Galaxy S24 series will be the first ever to have HDR enabled for photos on Instagram.” The app already supports HDR videos.

HDR support was one of a handful of social media photography-focused features Samsung announced for its new phones, the Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra. The smartphone manufacturer also announced that Instagram, as well as...

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Google CEO tells employees to expect more job cuts this year

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. | Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge

Google has laid off over a thousand employees across various departments since January 10th. CEO Sundar Pichai’s message is to brace for more cuts.

“We have ambitious goals and will be investing in our big priorities this year,” Pichai told all Google employees on Wednesday in an internal memo, part of which was shared with me. “The reality is that to create the capacity for this investment, we have to make tough choices.”

So far, those “tough choices” have included layoffs and reorganizations in Google’s hardware, ad sales, trust and safety, shopping, maps, policy core engineering, and YouTube teams.

“These role eliminations are not at the scale of last year’s reductions, and will not touch every team,” Pichai wrote in his memo — a...

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Apple Watch ban: everything you need to know

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Apple’s ability to sell the Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in the US is in trouble due to a patent dispute — here’s all the latest news.

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Apple Watches without banned blood oxygen features will go on sale Thursday morning

Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge

Following a lost bid to halt a ban on selling its newest Apple Watches, Apple says it’s going to sell the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 without their blood oxygen features beginning tomorrow, January 18th.

The revised watches will be available from Apple’s website beginning at 9AM ET, and they’ll be available in Apple’s retail stores as well. If you currently have an Apple Watch with blood oxygen features, Apple says there will be “no impact” to those devices.

A court filing earlier this week confirmed that US Customs approved versions of the Apple Watches with the blood oxygen features removed. According to Bloomberg, Apple has developed a software workaround.

Here is Apple’s full statement from Apple spokesperson Nikki...

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48,000 companies sent Facebook data on a single person

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

Facebook gets data on individual users from many thousands of companies, and a new study (PDF) from Consumer Reports tried to put more exact numbers on it.

Researchers found that, on average, Facebook received data from 2,230 different companies for each of the 709 volunteers. One extreme example showed that “nearly 48,000 different companies were found in the data of a single volunteer.” In total, Facebook data archives showed that 186,892 companies had provided data on all of the study’s participants.

Volunteers recruited with help from The Markup pulled their personal data from Facebook using its Download Your Information tool and shared it with the researchers.

Image: Consumer Reports

Companies using Meta’s...

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Pitchfork to be absorbed into GQ

The Verge

Pitchfork, the acerbic music site that defined album reviews in the early blogging era, is being hollowed out. Owner Condé Nast has decided to merge the music magazine with GQ, the men’s interest publication, according to a staff memo circulated by Max Tani of Semafor. Launched back when CDs were a thing, Pitchfork outlasted the age of music piracy and mp3s and through the rise of digital streaming. Its future as a brand post-merge is now uncertain.

Multiple employees were also laid off on Wednesday, including editor-in-chief Puja Patel. One laid off writer, Matthew Ismael Ruiz, estimated that “half the staff” was laid off.

“Today we are evolving our Pitchfork team structure by bringing the team into the GQ organization. This decision...

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EA is finally launching Plants vs. Zombies 3

Image: EA

It’s been almost five years since EA announced the third installment of the popular Plants vs. Zombie mobile game, and now it’s nearly here. EA has revealed that Plants vs. Zombies 3: Welcome to Zomburbia (PvZ3) has soft-launched in select countries, including the UK, Netherlands, Australia, Philippines, and Ireland.

Just like previous installments, PvZ3 is a tower defense game that tasks you with using animated plants to fend off a horde of zombies. EA says the game features “new and returning characters,” along with gameplay that reflects the “classic combat of the first game.” PvZ3 will be free to play, but it will still have microtransactions.

The original Plants vs. Zombies was released on PC and Mac in 2009 before making its way...

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Netflix’s app won’t work on the Vision Pro

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Apple’s Vision Pro headset won’t have a dedicated Netflix app at launch_,_ according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The streaming giant reportedly doesn’t plan to launch an app specifically for Apple’s headset, nor does it want to make its iPad app compatible with the platform.

The move means users won’t be able to watch Netflix in a dedicated app — like the other streaming services that have announced support for the headset, including Disney Plus, Max, Amazon Prime Video, and Paramount Plus. Instead, users will have to watch content from Netflix in a web browser, which will make the movies or TV shows wearers are watching far less immersive. It also will prevent users from watching content offline and could put limitations on...

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Where to preorder Samsung’s new Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra

The Galaxy S24 family arrives with new AI features to enhance photography, communication, and search. Here’s where you can preorder one. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

Following a spat of leaks, Samsung has unveiled its forthcoming set of flagship phones, detailing the new Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra at its latest Unpacked event. The new smartphones officially launch on January 31st and are available for preorder beginning today, with the base model starting at $799.99, the Plus model starting at $999.99, and the high-end Ultra handset going for $1,299.99.

In our early hands-on time with them, we haven’t noticed anything groundbreaking about the Galaxy S24 family’s hardware, though each phone boasts a slightly bigger battery and display than its predecessor. The Ultra now further justifies its premium price tag with a titanium build, and all of the displays are noticeably brighter. Instead of...

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Netflix’s Marvel shows are part of the MCU canon, and they always have been

Marvel Studios

Echo star and Daredevil alum Vincent D’Onofrio says Netflix’s Marvel series are part of the MCU’s canon, which was obvious if you watched shows or listened to Kevin Feige.

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Ford’s F-150 Lightning performance one-off is for extreme off-roading

Image: Ford

Most electric vehicles are built for the prim streets and highways of cities, never to sully their tires in anything dirtier than a mud puddle. And then there are the EVs that like to gobble gravel, take flight over a dirt ramp, or generally wallow in the mud. Ford’s new one-off electric truck, the F-150 Lightning Switchgear, falls firmly in that latter category of plug-in vehicle.

A year ago, Ford teased a high-performance demonstrator based on its F-150 Lightning, with the company’s CEO Jim Farley tweeting a photo of himself pulling back the cover to show a portion of the truck’s front end.

Now the company is finally ready to pull back the entire cover. The F-150 Lightning Switchgear is a high-riding, high-performance, all-electric...

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After eight years and almost 3,000 songs, Rock Band 4’s DLC drops are ending

Image: Harmonix

Harmonix is going to stop releasing DLC songs for Rock Band 4 this month, the Epic Games-owned studio announced today. The developer has added nearly 3,000 songs to the game as downloadable content over the course of eight years, but that remarkable run is coming to an end on January 25th.

If you’ve already purchased songs, don’t worry: Harmonix says you’ll still have access to those even after it stops releasing new DLC. “Many of you reading this own a good chunk of this content and we remain committed to protecting that investment - to be very clear, you can play the songs you own within Rock Band 4 for as long as you like,” Harmonix’s Daniel Sussman says in a blog post about the news.

Sussman also brought up Fortnite Festival, the...

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Amazon’s new AI feature will write you a bedtime story about hard drives

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Amazon is testing a new AI feature on its app that lets customers ask specific questions about products. The AI tool can help figure out exactly how big a new shelf is, determine how long a battery will last, or even... write you a Christmas carol about snow boots.

Yep, the new feature is meant for more practical applications, but it seems the tool will happily respond to more colorful queries, too, answering the same questions people occasionally ask AI chatbots when they’re bored.

Using the questions box on the product page (the box right before customer reviews), you can query Amazon’s AI tool about the product. Only some people have access to the feature right now, but some Verge staffers saw it on their apps and found it will...

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Samsung’s Galaxy S24 and AI event: all the news

Image: Samsung

On top of the latest generation of its flagship phones, Samsung revealed a bevy of new AI features at its Unpacked event in San Jose.

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