The Verge
Honor Magic V2 review: fabulous foldable running so-so software
It’s thin and light enough to feel like a regular smartphone when folded. That’s impressive. I just wish Honor’s software were as svelte.
The VergeThe VergeSamsung’s new phones replace Google AI with Baidu in China
Samsung’s S24 Ultra as announced in the US earlier this month. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge
Samsung’s Galaxy S24 lineup has launched in China, and the company is tapping Chinese tech giant Baidu to power its Galaxy AI features, CNBC reports. There’s no mention of Google, whose Gemini foundational models are powering Samsung’s Galaxy AI features in Western markets. Instead, the Chinese launch focused on Baidu’s Ernie, the chatbot that launched last August.
The list of AI translation, summarization, and text formatting features on the Chinese version of the Galaxy S24 will be familiar to anyone who kept up with its US-based launch. There’s also real-time call translation like we saw earlier this month, and the phones are even getting a version of Google’s Circle to Search feature.
“Now featuring Ernie’s understanding and...
The VergeSurprise! Google Chrome goes native for Windows on Arm
Illustration: The Verge
Google appears to be readying a version of its popular Chrome browser for Windows on Arm. X (formerly Twitter) user Pedro Justo spotted a native version of the browser for Windows 11 Arm-powered devices in the latest nightly builds of Chrome in the Canary channel.
Google’s release of a Chrome Canary version for Windows on Arm is a surprise, and we’ve reached out to the company to clarify when it plans to bring this to the stable channel. I have installed and tested the Canary version to verify it’s an ARM64 version.
Screenshot by Tom Warren / The Verge
An ARM64 native version of Chrome on Windows 11.
While Microsoft has long supported an Arm version of its Edge browser, also based on Chromium, Google has...
The VergeCreators of AI-generated George Carlin special sued by late comedian’s estate
Beloved US comedian George Carlin (pictured) passed away in 2008 at the age of 72. His estate is now fighting to protect his legacy from AI mimics. | Photo by Mark Junge/Getty Images
George Carlin’s estate has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Dudesy, the media company that used generative artificial intelligence to produce a fake hour-long comedy special that imitates the deceased star’s voice and comedic style. The complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court on Thursday alleges that Carlin’s copyrighted materials and likeness were used without permission or appropriate licenses, calling the special a “piece of computer-generated click-bait which detracts from the value of Carlin’s comedic works and harms his reputation.”
The AI-generated special, titled George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead, was released on the Dudesy podcast’s YouTube channel on January 9th, where it remains live and has since racked up...
The VergeMicrosoft’s Xbox mobile apps will soon let you remote play with just touch controls
Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge
Microsoft is adding touch controls to its Xbox apps for iOS and Android devices. The software maker started testing the touch controls in beta versions of the Xbox mobile apps this week, allowing Xbox owners to remotely control their consoles and play games on phones and tablets without a Bluetooth controller.
The touch controls are identical to the ones found on Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming service, providing an on-screen overlay to let you remotely navigate around the Xbox UI and open up games and stream them all from your own console without needing to use a controller.
Screenshot by Tom Warren / The Verge
The Xbox touch controls work on any game.
The touch controls are surprisingly good in a pinch,...
The VergeApple Podcasts is getting auto-generated transcripts with iOS 17.4
Words in a transcript will light up as the episode progresses. | Image: Apple
Apple’s first-party Podcasts app is getting support for transcripts in the forthcoming iOS 17.4 update. The company says transcripts will be automatically generated by Apple’s software, will appear for English, French, German, and Spanish-language podcasts shortly after they’re uploaded, and will be viewable across “over 170 countries and regions.”
The feature should make it far easier to find and skip to the point in a podcast you’re most interested in. Transcripts can be searched for specific words and phrases which can be tapped to go directly to the corresponding point in the episode. You can also read along with a transcript as an episode plays, and watch each word be highlighted as it’s said out loud. Per 9to5Mac, the feature is...
The VergeThe Xbox Series S is down to $229
Even if you already own an Xbox, it wouldn’t be the worst idea to buy one as a backup. | Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge
We’ve seen the original Xbox Series S in white dip below the $249.99 mark over the past several months. But if you missed out on those opportunities, Dell presents another with a sale that brings Microsoft’s entry-level gaming console down to $229.99. That’s a $70 discount compared to its retail price. We’ve seen it as low as $199.99, but it’s possible we won’t see it that low again until the refresh becomes available, so you might consider just spending the extra $30 now.
The Xbox Series S gets you most of the way as far as current-gen gaming consoles are concerned. It plays the same games as the Series X, but you’re losing a disc drive, 4K resolution (it tops out at QHD but retains up to 120Hz variable refresh rates), and you’re only...
The VergeOpenAI cures GPT-4 ‘laziness’ with new updates
Illustration: The Verge
In a blog post, OpenAI said the updated GPT-4 Turbo “completes tasks like code generation more thoroughly than the previous preview model and is intended to reduce cases of ‘laziness’ where the model doesn’t complete a task.”
The company, however, did not explain what it updated.
Some ChatGPT users recently complained about the chatbot frequently refusing to complete prompted tasks and blamed the lack of updates to GPT-4. However, OpenAI’s update is for GPT-4 Turbo, a version of the more widely available GPT-4 that was trained on information as recent as April 2023 and is only available in a preview. Those using GPT-4, which learned from data available prior to September 2021, may still experience the same laziness issues.
OpenAI said...
The VergeCruise wasn’t hiding the pedestrian-dragging video from regulators — it just had bad internet
Photo by Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu via Getty Images
Cruise, the self-driving car subsidiary of General Motors, tried to send a 90-second video to regulators of an incident in which one of its driverless cars dragged a pedestrian 20 feet but was hampered by “internet connectivity issues,” according to a report compiled by a law firm investigating the incident.
The law firm, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, was hired by Cruise to determine whether its executives misled regulators in the aftermath of the October 2nd incident in which a hit-and-run driver struck a pedestrian, knocking her into the path of a driverless Cruise vehicle. Its conclusions were detailed in a nearly 200-page report that was released today.
In response to the crash, the California Department of Motor Vehicles s...
The VergeEpic intends to launch its game store — and Fortnite — on iOS
Fortnite in 2020, when it was banned on the App Store. | Screenshot: Fortnite
Epic plans to launch the Epic Games Store on the iPhone this year in the European Union — and it’s bringing Fortnite back to the platform along with it.
The announcement comes after Apple shared how it will open up iOS in response to the EU’s crackdown on Big Tech. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney described Apple’s rules as “hot garbage,” but they are clearly not so hot as to keep Epic away altogether.
Epic doesn’t have a lot to share about its plans just yet. It says the store will launch “later this year,” and Fortnite will be available through it. Both will only be available in parts of Europe covered by the Digital Markets Act. “Stay tuned for details as we figure out the regulatory timeline,” it said in a post on X (formerly Twitter), adding...
The VergeThe Pokémon Company says it will ‘investigate’ Palworld
Image: Pocketpair
You can all stop calling now — The Pokémon Company’s lawyers are on the case. In a statement posted on the company’s website, The Pokémon Company says it’s aware of a “game released in January 2024” and plans to “take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokémon.”
It’s no secret that the game referred to is Palworld, a surprise hit juggernaut that’s slowly climbing up the Steam charts, well on its way to beating PUBG’s all-time peak player count of 3.2 million. It’s sold 8 million copies on Steam as of today, and its developer, Pocketpair, just released a roadmap laying out plans for the game’s future.
#Palworld has sold over 8 million copies in less than 6 days!
Thank you...
The VergeEpic’s Tim Sweeney calls Apple App Store changes ‘hot garbage’
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, has a lot to say about the changes Apple made to its App Store in the European Union. In a lengthy post on X (formerly Twitter), Sweeney calls the update “a new instance of Malicious Compliance” — or, in layman’s terms, “hot garbage.”
This afternoon, Apple announced it would allow sideloading, alternative app stores, and third-party browser engines on the iPhone with the rollout of iOS 17.4 this March. The company will also open up the App Store to game streaming services, and will finally allow developers to use alternative in-app payment options. Apple made the changes to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which requires large tech companies to follow a strict set of rules aimed at...
The VergeFTC investigating Microsoft, Amazon, and Google investments into OpenAI and Anthropic
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) opened an inquiry into the investments of Big Tech companies that provide cloud services to smaller AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic.
The FTC sent letters to Alphabet, Amazon, Anthropic, Microsoft, and OpenAI, requiring the companies to explain the impact these investments have on the competitive landscape of generative AI. The commission wants to “scrutinize corporate partnerships and investments with AI providers to build a better internal understanding of these relationships and their impact on the competitive landscape.”
Google and Amazon invested in Anthropic, while Microsoft has a close financial relationship with OpenAI.
The FTC wants information on the specific investment agreements...
The VergeThe most powerful Ryzen Zen 3 processor receives its biggest discount yet
This is the fastest AM4 processor you can upgrade to if you’re not ready to buy into AM5.
AMD made bank on its Ryzen chipsets on the strength of bored pandemic-era gamers who spent their stimulus checks on new PC builds. Ryzen CPUs offered arguably the best price-to-performance value back then, causing many to go all in on AM4-based systems. AMD has since switched to the next-generation AM5 platform, but there’s still plenty of room on the upgrade path for those not interested in shelling out hundreds or thousands on newer hardware. Take the top-line Ryzen 9 5950X, for instance, which has never been cheaper than the $364.99 price currently showing at Amazon (18 percent off).
The Ryzen 9 5950X is admittedly overkill for most people. It has 16 physical cores with 32 threads, 3.4GHz base and 4.9GHz boost clock speeds, a very...
The VergeGoogle’s Hugging Face deal puts ‘supercomputer’ power behind open-source AI
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Google Cloud’s new partnership with AI model repository Hugging Face is letting developers build, train, and deploy AI models without needing to pay for a Google Cloud subscription. Now, outside developers using Hugging Face’s platform will have “cost-effective” access to Google’s tensor processing units (TPU) and GPU supercomputers, which will include thousands of Nvidia’s in-demand and export-restricted H100s.
Hugging Face is one of the more popular AI model repositories, storing open-sourced foundation models like Meta’s Llama 2 and Stability AI’s Stable Diffusion. It also has many databases for model training.
There are over 350,000 models hosted on the platform for developers to work with or upload their own models to Hugging...
The VergeApple is bringing sideloading and alternate app stores to the iPhone
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge
The iPhone’s app ecosystem is about to go through its biggest shake-up since the App Store launched in 2008. Today, Apple announced how it plans to change the rules for developers releasing iOS software in the European Union in response to the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) coming into force in March. The big news is that third-party app stores will be allowed on iOS for the first time, breaking the Apple App Store’s position as the sole distributor of iPhone apps. The changes will arrive with iOS 17.4 in March.
Here’s how the new “alternative app marketplaces,” as Apple called them, will work. Users in the EU and on iOS 17.4 will be able to download a marketplace from that marketplace’s website. In order to be used on an iPhone, those...
The VergeApple is finally allowing full versions of Chrome and Firefox to run on the iPhone
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
With iOS 17.4, Apple is making a number of huge changes to the way its mobile operating system works in order to comply with new regulations in the EU. One of them is an important product shift: for the first time, Apple is going to allow alternative browser engines to run on iOS — but only for users in the EU.
Since the beginning of the App Store, Apple has allowed lots of browsers but only one browser engine: WebKit. WebKit is the technology that underpins Safari, but it’s far from the only engine on the market. Google’s Chrome is powered by an engine called Chromium, which is the dominant engine by a wide margin — Edge, Brave, Arc, Opera, and many other browsers also run on Chromium. Mozilla’s Firefox runs on its own engine, called...
The VergeApple opens App Store to game streaming services
Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge
Starting today Apple is opening up its App Store to allow game streaming apps and services. This means that services like Xbox Cloud Streaming and GeForce Now, which previously were only accessible on iOS via a web browser, will be able to offer full-featured apps. “Developers can now submit a single app with the capability to stream all of the games offered in their catalog,” Apple wrote in a blog post. These changes apply “worldwide,” according to the company.
In 2020, Apple appeared to have carved out a space for these cloud gaming services in the App Store. But that turned out not to be the case, as all games available through each service had to be submitted and reviewed as a standalone app. So the shift to allow one app with a...
The VergeTrolls have flooded X with graphic Taylor Swift AI fakes
Many of the posts circulating the offending images are still live. | Illustration: The Verge
Sexually explicit AI-generated images of Taylor Swift have been circulating on X (formerly Twitter) over the last day in the latest example of the proliferation of AI-generated fake pornography and the challenge of stopping it from spreading.
One of the most prominent examples on X attracted more than 45 million views, 24,000 reposts, and hundreds of thousands of likes and bookmarks before the verified user who shared the images had their account suspended for violating platform policy. The post was live on the platform for around 17 hours prior to its removal.
But as users began to discuss the viral post, the images began to spread and were reposted across other accounts. Many still remain up, anda deluge of new graphic fakes have...
The VergeI love my GPT, but I can’t find a use for anybody else’s
Image: OpenAI
When OpenAI announced other people could build their own custom versions of ChatGPT-style chatbots, I was initially only interested in a journalistic way. I knew this was an interesting commercial step for OpenAI, but the value of the store is still an open question. Why should I use most GPTs (as the bots are called), when I can usually call up an app that does the same thing? But I can’t deny there’s one incredibly useful bot that’s changed a (small) part of my work life for the better. It’s called “What’s Another Word For,” and I made it myself.
“What’s Another Word For” is a tool to help me find exactly that: another word for terms I overuse. Writing is about 60 percent looking for a synonym to avoid repeating phrases, and it’s not...
The VergeIt’s important that this camera exists
Hasselblad’s latest digital camera is the 100-megapixel 907X & CFV 100C.
The resurgence of film photography has shown me that casual photographers are looking for a different experience and a different photographic look from what our phones or traditional mirrorless cameras are offering. And no company can provide as different a camera experience as Hasselblad.
Yesterday, the company announced its latest digital camera, the 907X & CFV 100C. It’s a mirrorless, medium format camera with a 100-megapixel sensor, phase detection autofocus, and 1TB of internal storage. And although there isn’t much new within it — it has the sensor of the Hasselblad X2D 100C put into the 907X body — it signals Hasselblad’s continued commitment to a historically elegant way of capturing the world, one that is slow and thoughtful.
S...
The VergeBlizzard cancels survival game following layoffs
Image: Blizzard Entertainment
In 2022, Blizzard announced that it was making a survival game, which would’ve marked its first new property since Overwatch debuted in 2016. Now, as part of a recent round of layoffs at Microsoft, the game has been canceled.
This morning, Microsoft laid off 1,900 employees in its gaming divisions. The cuts primarily hit staff at Activision Blizzard — which Microsoft acquired in October for $68.7 billion — though some workers at its ZeniMax and Xbox divisions were impacted as well. (The announcement followed similar cuts at League of Legends developer Riot Games, which cut more than 500 jobs earlier this week, part of an ongoing trend of layoffs in the gaming industry.)
“Today’s actions affect multiple teams within Blizzard, including...
The VergeMicrosoft lays off 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees
Photo by Hakan Nural / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Microsoft is laying off 1,900 employees at Activision Blizzard and Xbox this week. While Microsoft is primarily laying off roles at Activision Blizzard, some Xbox and ZeniMax employees will also be impacted by the cuts.
The cuts work out to roughly 8 percent of the overall Microsoft Gaming division that stands at around 22,000 employees in total. The Verge has obtained an internal memo from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer that confirms the layoffs:
It’s been a little over three months since the Activision, Blizzard, and King teams joined Microsoft. As we move forward in 2024, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is committed to aligning on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that...
The VergeGM and Honda join forces to make hydrogen fuel cells for ‘various products’
An employee assembles a fuel cell system in the module final assembly at GM and Honda’s fuel cell joint venture in Brownstown, Michigan. | Image: Santa Fabio for General Motors
General Motors and Honda announced that their joint venture company, FCSM, has begun production of hydrogen fuel cells that will eventually make their way into “various product applications.”
Hydrogen fuel cells use compressed hydrogen as their fuel, releasing water vapor as its only emission. A number of automakers have recently seized on the technology for its advantages in the development of heavy-duty vehicles and mobile power generators — and as a way to further transition away from polluting gas-powered vehicles.
Hydrogen fuel cells use compressed hydrogen as their fuel, releasing water vapor as its only emission
FCSM, which stands for “Fuel Cell System Manufacturing,” was established in 2017 as a joint venture between GM and...
The VergeHow supernovae are helping uncover the mysteries of dark energy
A deep image from the Dark Energy Survey. | Image: DES Collaboration / NOIRLab / NSF / AU
Dark energy, a force responsible for the expansion of the universe, is mostly unknown. But this month, researchers released a new survey meant to unpack its mysteries.
The VergePorsche’s second-ever EV will be an electric Macan SUV, starting at $80,450
Macan you dig it? | Image: Porsche
The Macan is expected to go into production in the latter half of 2024.
The VergeInstagram and Facebook will now prevent strangers from messaging minors by default
Teens using supervised accounts will need parental permission to revert the changes. | Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge
Meta is introducing changes to Instagram and Facebook Messenger that aim to better protect minors from unwanted contact online, placing greater restrictions on who can message teens while giving parents more control over their children’s security settings. Notably, the company announced that by default, teens under the age of 16 (or under 18 in some countries) will no longer be able to receive messages, or be added to group chats, by users they don’t follow or aren’t connected with on Instagram and Messenger.
These new updates build upon a series of safeguards that Meta has introduced over the last year as it battles accusations that its algorithms helped turn Facebook and Instagram into a “marketplace for predators in search of children....
The VergeThe best deals on MacBooks right now
Some of the latest M3 MacBooks have returned to their Black Friday pricing, while some have fallen to new lows. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Apple sells MacBooks equipped with its own M-series chips in a wide range of sizes and price points. The offerings start with the 13-inch MacBook Air from 2020 at $999 and go all the way up to the latest 16-inch MacBook Pro starting at $2,499. But finding a deal on a current Mac with an M1, M2, or even the new M3 chip — as well as the higher-end M3 Pro and M3 Max — is actually not that difficult.
While Macs may not experience perpetual discounts, it’s not uncommon to see various current models discounted by as much as $400. Alternatively, purchasing refurbished options directly from Apple is another way to save money without as much waiting for the changing winds of deals to blow your way. Apple’s refurbished store provides a...
The VergeGoogle’s latest Pixel feature drop adds Circle to Search, Magic Compose, and more
Image: Google
A “fresh” new color for the Pixel 8 series isn’t the only thing Google is announcing today. The company is also detailing its latest feature drop, which brings the brand-new Circle to Search feature — first seen on Samsung’s Galaxy S24 — to both the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. Google says Circle to Search will go live on January 31st, which just so happens to be the release date for Samsung’s S24 lineup. With a long press of the home button or navigation bar, you’ll be able to circle anything on your phone screen, and Google will serve up more information about the highlighted content.
This feature drop also makes the built-in thermometer on the Pixel 8 Pro at least a little more useful: you can now use it to take your own (or someone else’s)...
The VergeGoogle’s Pixel 8 phones now come in a new mint color
Google wasn’t exactly subtle with its teases earlier this week, and now the company has confirmed that it’s launching both the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro in a new mint green color. The latest color option is a bit muted compared to the “bay” blue 8 Pro. But if you’re a fan of the smaller regular Pixel 8, this is your first chance at a color beyond the very safe black, hazel, and rose gold options that have been available since the phone shipped back in October.
For both phones, mint is only available with the base 128GB of storage. If you need more than that, you’ve gotta stick with the original colors. Google sent a sample of the 8 Pro over to me, and a pamphlet included in the package describes mint as “inspired by the vibrant hue you’d find...