The Verge
The best mechanical keyboards to buy right now
Image: Hugo Herrera / The Verge
Whether wired, wireless, or low profile, here are our picks for the best readily available boards.
The VergeThe VergeMeta Oversight Board supports leaving up manipulated Joe Biden video but questions existing policies
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge
Meta’s manipulated media policy is “incoherent” and focuses too much on whether a video was altered through artificial intelligence, rather than the harm it could cause, the company’s own Oversight Board said in a decision issued Monday.
The policy recommendation came even as the Oversight Board upheld the company’s decision to let an altered video of President Joe Biden continue to circulate on the platform. The video in question uses real footage of Biden from October 2022 placing an “I Voted” sticker above his adult granddaughter’s chest, per her instruction. But the edited video, posted as early as January 2023, loops the moment his hand reaches her chest to make it seem like he inappropriately touched her. One version posted in May...
The VergeHertz will stop buying EVs from Polestar, too
This Polestar will probably be for sale soon. | Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.
Hertz continues to backtrack on its commitment to purchase more electric vehicles for its rental car fleet, as the Financial Times reports that the company has paused plans to acquire more EVs from Swedish automaker Polestar.
In 2022, Hertz said it planned on purchasing 65,000 battery-powered Polestars in a bid to become a global leader in EVs. This was on top of 100,000 Teslas that the company already said it would acquire. Tesla’s valuation topped $1 trillion for the first time after the news.
But a little more than a year later, Hertz had a change of heart, mostly because its acquired EVs had lost most of their value. Price cuts (mostly from Tesla), higher depreciation than expected, and spiraling repair costs have made EVs a bad...
The VergeTwitter alternative spouts a massive leak
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Security consultant and Have I Been Pwned creator Troy Hunt has detailed a vulnerability in the API of Spoutible, a social platform that emerged following Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, that could allow hackers to take full control of users’ accounts.
After someone alerted Hunt to the vulnerability, he discovered that hackers could exploit Spoutible’s API to obtain a user’s name, username, and bio, along with their email, IP address, and phone number. Spoutible has since addressed the vulnerability, writing in a post on its site that it didn’t leak decrypted passwords or direct messages, while confirming the “information scraped included email addresses and some cell phone numbers.” It invited anyone who still wants to use the service...
The VergePlatformer’s Casey Newton on surviving the great media collapse and what comes next
Photo illustration: The Verge
The editor of the popular tech newsletter talks about leaving Substack and where he’s seeing successful business models in media.
The VergeSnap is cutting 10 percent of its staff
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Snap plans to lay off around 10 percent of its employees as the company continues to struggle with declines in the digital advertising market. The company had around 5,300 employees at the start of 2023. Snap previously cut 20 percent of its staff in 2022 and had a smaller cut of 3 percent in 2023.
Snap has struggled to expand beyond its core social networking product. Its augmented reality glasses were never made widely available, and other hardware projects like a selfie drone were scrapped shortly after launch. Even products launched within Snapchat, like the TikTok-esque Spotlight and the Snapchat Plus subscription service, have failed to grow at the pace the company hoped for.
Meanwhile, the company has faced the same challenges as...
The VergeParis votes to crack down on SUVs
“More or less SUVs in Paris?” reads the above poster, which encouraged Parisians to vote on the matter on Sunday, February 4th. | Photo by THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images
Parisians have voted to triple parking charges for out-of-town SUV drivers as part of the city’s efforts to address road safety, air pollution, and climate change. The proposals were narrowly approved in a referendum vote on Sunday, with _The Washington Pos_t reporting that 54.6 percent of participants voted in favor of measures aiming to reduce the presence of “heavy, bulky, and polluting” vehicles in the city center.
Starting September 1st, gas or hybrid SUVs, and other larger vehicles weighing over 1.6 tonnes (1.76 tons), will be charged €18 (around $19.40) per hour to park in the center of Paris, and €12 (around $12.90) per hour in the rest of the city. The charging prices also apply to electric vehicles weighing over two tonnes (2.20...
The VergeThe ransomware business is booming, even as enforcers shut down some major players
Illustration: Beatrice Sala
2023 was a big year for ransomware groups, even as law enforcement around the world continued to crack down on attackers.
Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42, the threat intelligence firm, found a 49 percent bump in victims reported by ransomware leak sites, totaling nearly 4,000 posts to those sites from different ransomware groups. Unit 42 said the uptick was due to the massive impact of attacks that exploited zero-day vulnerabilities, which are security flaws that developers have yet to identify. They pointed to the MOVEit Transfer software hack that the US government has connected to the CL0P Ransomware Gang, as one example. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency estimated that hack compromised more than 3,000 US-based...
The VergeBambu Lab is recalling every A1 3D printer — don’t use them until you read this
The Bambu Lab A1 3D Printer in question. | Image: Bambu Lab
Bambu Lab is officially recalling all A1 3D printers (not counting the A1 Mini). The company “strongly” urges owners to stop using it for safety reasons after it was alerted to “unstable temperature readings” that it first traced to a faulty heatbed cable last week, as reported by Tom’s Hardware. After further investigation, Bambu says “less than 0.1% of all the A1 printers sold” are affected by the problem, but it can’t say with 100 percent certainty what the cause is, so it’s offering a full refund to any A1 owner who wants it.
The company isn’t recalling any other printers in its lineup, so if you own an X1 series, P1 series, or the A1 Mini that our own Sean Hollister called “almost the easy button” of printers.
Here’s a TL;DR of...
The VergeMicrosoft weighs launching Indiana Jones on the PS5
Image: Bethesda
Bethesda’s upcoming Indiana Jones game is also tentatively set to launch on Sony’s PlayStation 5 console. We got our first glimpse of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle during Microsoft’s Xbox Developer Direct event last month, where it was announced for Xbox and PC. A source familiar with Microsoft’s plans tells The Verge that Bethesda is also considering bringing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to PS5.
A new multi-platform approach for certain Xbox games is emerging inside Microsoft, we’re told, with the company weighing up which titles will remain exclusive and others that will appear on Switch or PS5 in the future. Indiana Jones appears to be part of this new wave of multi-platform games.
While Bethesda will launch its Indiana...
The VergeThreads is a gripping, miserable experience
Sometimes you have to put yourself through something painful just to recognize how good you have it. There’s a lot to be gained from enduring the most disheartening shit possible: Want to hear depressing news? Want to feel anxious and unsettled? Want to walk away feeling hopeless and cynical about the world?
That’s the experience of watching Threads, the 1984 television film that is now streaming as a part of Criterion Channel’s new Postapocalyptic Sci-fi series. (Sorry, did you think I was talking about a different thing called Threads?) Directed by Mick Jackson and written by novelist Barry Hines, Threads was a cultural phenomenon in the UK when it aired on the BBC. Depicting the aftermath of nuclear fallout with unflinching clarity,...
The VergeHow we all get news now
Image: William Joel / The Verge
Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 24, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, so psyched you found us, and also, you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)
This week, I’ve been reading Kyle Chayka’s great book about algorithms, Filterworld, getting nostalgic about Tecmo Bowl, seeing if this show can get me into NASCAR like Drive to Survive got me into Formula 1, catching up on old Conan O’Brien Needs a Friendepisodes, spending too much time debating whether I want a Vision Pro, trying to make my basement look more like Peter McKinnon’s studio, and trying desperately to figure out why everyone’s so worked up about rice cookers.
I also have for you a new AI search...
The VergeiFixit pulls the Vision Pro apart, exposing its connectors, screens, and fans
Image: iFixit
We’ve already found out a few hidden tidbits of Apple’s Vision Pro over the last week, like the revelation that it has not one, but two different kinds of Lightning-esque connectors. But now you can see so much more in iFixit’s first teardown video, offering some answers to questions like what contributes to its weight, and which parts could be very expensive to replace.
Disconnecting those Buff Lightning connectors for the battery cable and strap arms is pretty easy, requiring only a SIM eject tool. After that, the disassembly is pretty standard for Apple hardware: heat gun, prying, screws everywhere, brackets, and connectors.
Image: iFixit
The details of the EyeSight feature that shows a rendered version of the...
The VergeThe first Reddit reviews of the Vision Pro are in
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
If you spend $3,500 on a laptop, it’s a near guarantee you know exactly what you’re getting and you’re probably going to be happy with it. But you have to... think different when you spend that kind of money on a new platform like the Vision Pro, Apple’s “spatial computer” that does a lot of rethinking about how face computers should work. The Vision Pro subreddit is naturally offering a taste of how Apple’s vision is landing with people who decide to take the plunge.
There’s plenty of what reviewers have already said on Reddit right now. Like our own Nilay Patel, user imatowell called out the “smaller than expected” field of view and reflections in the lenses themselves (Apple said this is normal when Nilay asked), among other things.
...
The VergeAI afterlife, robot romance, and slow-burn slashers: the best of Sundance 2024
In A Violent Nature. | Image: Sundance Institute
A look at some of our favorite films from this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
The VergeThe Surface Pro 9 is more than $500 off, matching its all-time low
If only I hadn’t already dived headfirst into Apple’s lovely computing world. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Once upon a time, I bought a Surface Pro only to return it less than a month later. At the time, I felt it was a niche device lacking the foundational integrity of an iPad or a MacBook. I’ve grown a newfound respect for the Surface Pro line with the maturing of Windows, however, and now find the 2-in-1 nicely occupies the middle ground between a tablet and laptop. If I needed one today, Best Buy’s deal on the Surface Pro 9 with a 12th-gen Intel Core i5 chipset, 16GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a Surface Pro Keyboard might win me over. It’s going for $999.99 ($540 off), after all, which matches its all-time low.
My favorite thing about the Surface Pro 9 compared to traditional 2-in-1s is that you can use it as a tablet without the heft...
The VergeHow to use the new Circle to Search tool
Image: Samsung
Seeing something on my phone screen that I want to know more about is a regular occurrence, and Google always wants to make it easier to get to, well, Google. And so we have Circle to Search, a new way of looking up information on mobile devices.
The idea is pretty simple — and in fact, simplicity is its main selling point. In a video, Samsung (which makes one of the phones that has this feature) gives the example of someone who sees an orange dog lamp in an image, and instead of running a text search describing what they’re looking at, they find out they can just circle the lamp with their finger to get matches from the web.
Shopping is the obvious use case here, but you can also identify plants and animals, look up words, and get...
The VergeHow bad is Tesla’s hazardous waste problem in California?
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Allegations that Tesla mishandled hazardous waste point to a systemic failure at the company’s California facilities. This was no simple accident or one-off event.
No less than 25 counties sued Tesla this week for allegedly illegally disposing of hazardous waste. Within a couple days, the Elon Musk-led company agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle the suit that says the company “intentionally” and “negligently” disposed of materials that should have been handled with care.
Waste management experts tell The Verge that a large company like Tesla should have known better. On top of the trouble it’s facing in California, the company might even have run afoul of federal regulations for handling hazardous waste.
“That’s pretty egregious in my...
The VergeNeck lamps are a bookworm’s best friend
Callum at home NOT annoying his partner. | Photo by Callum Booth / The Verge
As convenient as e-readers are, I can’t quit actual books. Maybe it’s their reassuring weight, the satisfying crinkle of their pages, their beguiling musk; but there’s something addictive about that combination of paper, ink, and glue.
Despite this — and as much as it pains me to say it — physical books aren’t perfect. One issue that’s been a particularly large albatross around my neck is reading in low-light environments. When I do so, I’m either keeping my partner awake with a blazing bedside lamp, twisting my body into awkward positions to illuminate the pages, or — worst of all — having to turn on the dreaded Big Light.
But you know what? That’s all history. I’ve seen the light! More specifically, a neck light. And the longer I use...
The Verge‘There is no such thing as a real picture,’ says Samsung exec
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, showing off its cameras. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge
How does Samsung defend itself against the notion that its phone cameras are spitting out fake AI photos of not only the Moon, but most anything else you’d care to aim them at these days? For starters, the company’s head of product is saying that every photo is fake.
Samsung EVP Patrick Chomet told TechRadar recently:
There was a very nice video by Marques Brownlee last year on the moon picture. Everyone was like, ‘Is it fake? Is it not fake?’ There was a debate around what constitutes a real picture. And actually, there is no such thing as a real picture. As soon as you have sensors to capture something, you reproduce [what you’re seeing], and it doesn’t mean anything. There is no real picture. You can try to define a real picture by...
The VergeThe best ebook reader to buy right now
Image: Will Joel / The Verge
From reading in the bath to scribbling notes in the margins, from diving into the Amazon ecosystem to avoiding it outright, there’s an e-reader for everyone.
The VergeApple’s Vision Pro headset is hiding yet another XL Lightning plug
Image: iFixit
We thought the 12-pin plug connecting the Vision Pro to its battery pack was the final boss of Lightning cables — but there’s one that’s even bigger. Hiding within the strap on the Vision Pro headset is what I can only call a Mega Lightning plug.
You can see the beefy 10-pin connector in this photo posted by iFixit, which is currently in the process of tearing down the Vision Pro. iFixit has already managed to get the front display off, and I’m looking forward to seeing what else the team might uncover when they post the full teardown over the weekend.
Looks like someone stuck to their New Year’s resolution. This Lightning connector's been hitting the weights. ️
— #iFixit #AppleVisionPro pic.twitter.com/zvmgj0wi6w— iFixit (@iFixit) F...
The VergeApple’s $3,499 Vision Pro lacks Find My location tracking, so don’t lose it
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Apple’s newly released Vision Pro may be packed with new technology, but it lacks a pretty basic feature we associate with recent Apple products: Find My location tracking. According to Apple’s support page for the $3,500 headset, turning on the “Find My” feature on the Vision Pro will activate a feature called Activation Lock.
When a user has Activation Lock turned on, their Vision Pro will require their Apple ID and password before they can either turn off “Find My” or erase the device and try to set it up with a new account. The Vision Pro already is locked down by only working with one account, verified by signing in to the account which can be done with a nearby iPhone (unless the owner puts it in Guest Mode).
Unlike other Find...
The VergePodcasting’s all-stars are here to stay
Image: The Verge
It’s been a big week for podcast deals! I look forward to sleeping it off this weekend.
Why did SiriusXM give SmartLess a $100 million deal? Look at its subscriber losses.
It’s been a massive week for podcast deals, including SiriusXM signing SmartLess away from Amazon’s Wondery for more than $100 million. The news broke soon before SiriusXM released its annual earnings for 2023 in which the company reported a drop of 430,000 subscribers over the course of 2023 (despite how allegedly difficult it is to cancel a subscription).
As audiences drift away from satellite radio, SiriusXM is under pressure to keep younger audiences engaged. Last year, it debuted its new integrated app and a $9.99 per month streaming-only tier. And while the...
The VergeLet me tell you about this very excellent USB-C wall charger
Finding the one true “perfect” wall charger seems like an impossible task. We’re all carrying different gadgets around. Our laptops have power needs that can vary widely from one to the next. Some people make an effort to lighten the load of tech in their bag when possible; others don’t mind lugging an arsenal of accessories around as long as they’re prepared for any situation. (I’ve used the Mini USB-to-USB-C cable in my backpack maybe twice over the course of four years, but it’s still got a permanent spot in there just in case.)
If you’re traveling light with only a phone and / or tablet, I’m not sure Anker’s 30-watt charger can be beaten. Where it gets complicated is when you start needing more power than that — or more ports to work...
The VergeIndie labels cry foul over Apple Music’s enhanced spatial audio royalties
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
As first reported by the Financial Times, independent labels Beggars Group, Secretly Group, and Partisan Records are pushing back against Apple’s preferential payouts for spatial audio. They say independent artists who can’t afford to record in spatial audio would make less because of how streaming music payouts work.
Apple said artists on Apple Music can get bonuses of up to 10 percent for creating music with spatial audio. The company will pay out artists with pro rata shares from a pool of subscription money, calculated using a factor of 1.1, instead of just 1 for non-spatial audio tracks, which will be left to split a smaller remaining portion of the money.
Unnamed music executives told the Financial Times that producing songs in...
The VergeGoogle’s Pixel Tablet and first-gen Pixel Watch are both on sale for Verge readers
Google’s newer slate is part tablet, part smart home hub. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge
Apple may not have released new iPads last year, but you know who didn’t rest on its laurels in 2023? Every other company, including OnePlus, Samsung, and Amazon. For the first time in what feels like ages, there are several solid Android tablets to choose from — including the Google Pixel Tablet, which is on sale for Verge readers at Wellbots starting at $416 ($83 off) when you use offer code THEVERGE52.
Despite its simple-looking appearance, Google’s 11-inch slate doesn’t feel cheap. It features a well-built aluminum body and a punchy LCD display with 2560 x 1600 resolution, along with good speakers and the same Google-made Tensor G2 chip found in the Pixel 7. It can easily handle all your standard tablet fare — it’s great for...
The VergeVision Pro launch: all the news about Apple’s pricey new headset
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
The $3,499 Vision Pro arrived on February 2nd, ushering in a new spatial computing era at Apple.
The VergeJoe Rogan renews deal with Spotify
Photo by Chris Unger / Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Joe Rogan, podcasting’s biggest star, has renewed his deal with Spotify. The new multiyear deal will allow his show, which is currently exclusive to the streamer, to be distributed to YouTube, Apple, and other podcasting platforms.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by Spotify, but The Wall Street Journal reports that the deal is estimated to be worth $250 million, including revenue share. His previous deal was estimated to be worth between $100 million and $200 million.
The news confirms what insiders told The Verge last year, which is that Rogan would be likely to stay, but with greater flexibility. Even while being exclusive to Spotify, Rogan managed to have the No. 1 podcast in the world. With the new arrangement, during...
The VergeSamsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus review: smart choices
With its newest devices, Samsung cleverly mixes original AI features with some familiar concepts.