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What’s on your desk, Joanna Nelius?
Sometimes, our family’s past can inform our present — and our future.
The VergeThe VergeHow to stop Google’s Smart Compose text suggestions
Image: Samar Haddad / The Verge
When you’re composing a document or email in Google Docs or Gmail, you may have noticed that the application often tries to finish sentences for you. As I was writing this, Google suggested “when I started writing this” instead of my preferred “when I started to type.” That’s because of Google’s Smart Compose feature, which tries to anticipate your thought processes and add what it thinks you’re going to type next.
Once a suggestion appears (in slightly lighter type), you have two choices: if you like it, you can hit the tab on your keyboard (or, on a mobile device, swipe across the word), and it’s there. If you don’t like the suggestion, just keep typing, and it disappears.
Google tries to read my mind.
You may find...
The VergeWhat does the goo in Super Mario Bros. Wonder taste like? An investigation
I am also wondering this, little talking flower. | Image: Nintendo
Since last year’s release of Super Mario Bros. Wonder on the Nintendo Switch, one question has plagued me: just what does that goo taste like? In the game, it’s a jelly-like substance in a tempting shade of lime green, and at various points, you can swim through it like thick, goopy water. When you first encounter it, one of the many talking flowers asks, “How’s the goo taste?” But it turns out getting a definitive answer is much harder than I anticipated.
Initially, I thought I had it figured out. The goo looks remarkably like a previous Nintendo creation, the disturbing Gooigi from Luigi’s Mansion 3, and my culinary investigative instincts had already solved that one. In 2019, the game’s producer, Kensuke Tanabe, told me that Gooigi...
The VergeWhy the DOJ’s case against Apple has everything to do with Microsoft in the ’90s
The DOJ says it paved the way for Apple’s rise — now it wants to check the company’s power. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge
Inside the US Department of Justice’s 88-page antitrust complaint against Apple, there’s a cool reminder to the company: you’re here because we paved the way.
According to the DOJ, its antitrust case against Microsoft cleared the way for Apple — then teetering on bankruptcy — to launch its breakout success: the iPod. Decades and trillions of dollars later, Apple is in the hot seat. And because time is a flat circle, it’s facing an antitrust case built directly on that 1999 case against Microsoft.
To better understand the DOJ’s case against Apple, it helps to understand United States v. Microsoft. If you were a teen in the ’90s (or maybe not yet born — in which case, good for you), you may have missed this landmark antitrust case, but...
The VergeApple’s antitrust fight begins
Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge
Over the course of 88 pages of surprisingly readable legalese, the US Department of Justice attempted to make the case that Apple is a problem. Apple, the DOJ alleges in its sweeping antitrust complaint, has systematically crushed innovation in the smartphone world, robbing not only competitors but also iPhone users of the opportunity to get better software and use better hardware.
The argument is complicated, but it has an awful lot in common with another big antitrust trial, one the government won more than two decades ago: US v. Microsoft. That case was about a huge corporation ruthlessly working to neutralize any company that threatened to open up its walled gardens, make it easy for people to build and use cross-platform software,...
The VergeSmartwatches shouldn’t make you choose between Apple and Android
The Apple Watch-iPhone connection is well established. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
When people ask me what smartwatch they should buy, I always ask them the same question: what phone do you have?
Sadly, the phone you have largely dictates which smartwatches you can buy. They aren’t standalone devices. You need a phone to set them up, and as the US Department of Justice pointed out in its monopoly case against Apple, that makes them the perfect accessory for locking people into an ecosystem. If you spend $400 on an Apple Watch and absolutely love it, you’re less likely to give up on an iPhone you don’t like.
Apple’s well aware of this. In the DOJ lawsuit, an Apple executive is quoted as saying the Apple Watch “may help prevent iPhone customers from switching.” But for a long time, this wasn’t that serious of a problem....
The VergeGitLab confirms it’s removed Suyu, a fork of Nintendo Switch emulator Yuzu
Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images, The Verge
Nintendo might not need to individually sue emulators out of existence to drive them deeper underground. Today, GitLab cut off access to Nintendo Switch emulator Suyu, and disabled the accounts of its developers, after receiving what appears to be a scary email in the form of a DMCA takedown request.
“GitLab received a DMCA takedown notice from a representative of the rightsholder and followed our standard process outlined here,” spokesperson Kristen Butler tells The Verge.
Suyu was a fork of Yuzu, the emulator that Nintendo successfully sued, but this isn’t about Nintendo now having the rights to Yuzu’s code — or maybe even Nintendo at all? Nintendo didn’t necessarily win the rights to Yuzu’s code in its settlement, and GitLab didn’t...
The VergeQualcomm says most Windows games should ‘just work’ on its unannounced Arm laptops
Image: Qualcomm
Can Qualcomm replicate Apple’s feat and finally create Arm-based laptops worth buying, 15 years after its first attempts? Here’s one incredibly promising sign it might: Qualcomm is telling game developers their titles should already work on a wave of upcoming Snapdragon-powered Windows laptops — no porting required.
In a 2024 Game Developers Conference session titled “Windows on Snapdragon, a Platform Ready for your PC Games,” Qualcomm engineer Issam Khalil drove home that the unannounced laptops will use emulation to run x86/64 games at close to full speed.
Those laptops may be coming fast. Qualcomm has confirmed it will launch Snapdragon X Elite systems this summer, and unannounced consumer versions of the Surface Pro 10 and Surface...
The VergeBeetlejuice Beetlejuice brings the dead man home in its first trailer
Tim Burton spent the better part of the past decade talking about how ready he was to make a Beetlejuice sequel with Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton. And after all this time the perfectly named Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is finally seeing the light of day.
Set some years after the original movie, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice catches up with Lydia Deetz (Ryder) and her teenage daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) as the pair travel home to Winter River to be with Lydia’s mother Delia (Catherine O’Hara) in the wake of a sudden family loss. It’s not clear whose funeral the Deetzes are attending in the new trailer, or how any of them feel about the person who died.
But between Astrid’s discovery of the old miniature model of Winter River, and Lydia...
The VergeApple CarPlay is anticompetitive, too, US lawsuit alleges
Image: Ford
Buried in the 88-page antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice against Apple is a reference to everyone’s favorite phone-projection system, CarPlay.
The DOJ says that, like smartphones, vehicle infotainment systems have become a new way in which Apple exhibits anticompetitive behavior to harm consumers as well as its competitors.
Apple’s plans to introduce a more immersive version of CarPlay, in which the system controls key aspects of the vehicle’s functions like speed and HVAC, are further evidence of the company’s illegal monopoly over smartphones, prosecutors say.
Infotainment systems have become a new way in which Apple exhibits anticompetitive behavior
“By applying the same playbook of restrictions to CarPlay,...
The VergeCan brightening clouds buy us time to fight climate change?
Dark clouds gather over the Baltic Sea on November 8, 2023. | Photo by Stefan Sauer/picture alliance via Getty Images
Brightening Earth’s clouds so that they reflect more sunlight just might cool the planet — that is if we can figure out how to do it without causing any unintended harm. To test the theory out, a group of over 30 leading scientists have written up a research road map that was published in the journal Science Advances yesterday.
The paper focuses on how to approach attempts to artificially shade Earth’s surface with marine clouds by spraying saltwater into the air from ships, a strategy called marine cloud brightening (MCB). They’ll need to be really careful with any future experiments, which would fall into the controversial category of solar geoengineering. The idea is to counteract some of the effects of climate change by finding ways...
The VergeThe lock-in problem at the heart of the Apple monopoly lawsuit
Green bubbles are actually a big part of the DOJ’s case against Apple. | Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge
It’s no secret that Apple products work best if you stick with an iPhone. It turns out that’s a big reason why Apple landed in hot water today with the US Department of Justice, which alleges that the company went too far in locking down messaging, smartwatches, and digital wallets to intentionally hobble its rivals.
This won’t be a surprise to most consumers. We’ve all known for years about green bubbles and that you can’t bring your Apple Watch to an Android phone. What the DOJ is saying is that, altogether, this series of protective policies makes it extremely difficult for an iPhone user to leave its walled garden, limiting competition so much that it breaks the law.
Messaging
Green bubbles make a key appearance in the lawsuit. It’s...
The VergeYou can get $50 in Samsung credit when you preorder the Music Frame
The Music Frame comes with room to hold a physical art print or photo while integrating with voice assistants like Amazon Alexa. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
Samsung’s just opened up preorders for its 2024 TV and audio lineup, which includes everything from the latest version of The Frame TV to Samsung’s glare-free OLED TV. However, the real star of the show here is the Music Frame smart speaker, which was one of our favorite audio products from this year’s CES and now comes with $50 in Samsung credit when you preorder it for $399.99 for arrival on April 1st.
There are a few caveats to keep in mind, though. First, you won’t be able to use the $50 to offset the cost of the smart speaker itself, but you can spend it on other Samsung devices. Second, you won’t see the credit for a while. Samsung will only email details about how to redeem it after the speaker is delivered, and it may take up to...
The VergeThreads’ fediverse beta opens to share your posts on Mastodon, too
Image: The Verge
Threads is rolling out a beta of its fediverse integration in the US, Canada, and Japan. In a post on Thursday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that toggling on the feature will let you cross-post and view likes from other federated platforms, like Mastodon.
Threads previewed its fediverse integration earlier this week during the FediForum. As outlined on its support page, Meta says that you must have a public account to turn on fediverse sharing, which will allow users on other servers to “search for and follow your profile, view your posts, interact with your content, and share your content to anyone on or off their server.”
Image: Meta
There are still a few limitations, though. The beta currently doesn’t let...
The VergePlayStation Network is partially down
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Your PS5, PS4, PS3, and Vita might look normal — but if you’re having issues, it’s because Sony’s PlayStation Network is not completely healthy right now. Sony’s Network Service Status page is all red, and a spike at Downdetector suggests the partial outage began roughly two hours ago at around 12PM ET.
Personally, we’re still seeing our friends online, can play games that require network authentication, download updates, and access the PlayStation Store, but there are a lot of “Can’t load data” error messages under player profiles, and the web version of the PlayStation Store isn’t loading.
And when I tried to fire up multiplayer in Hot Wheels Unleashed, I got this communication error:
Photo by Sean Hollister / The...
The VergeGoogle is bringing satellite messaging to Android 15
Image: The Verge / Android
Google’s second developer preview for Android 15 has arrived, bringing long-awaited support for satellite connectivity alongside several improvements to contactless payments, multi-language recognition, volume consistency, and interaction with PDFs via apps.
These developer-focused betas are a proving ground for features that will likelymake it into the final public release scheduled for later this year. According to Google, public beta releases should be available to test between April and July.
Image: Google
Here’s Google’s release timeline for Android 15, which may see a full release between August and October this year.
The latest developer preview addresses some nuisances and security concerns...
The VergeNotepad in Windows 11 is finally getting a spellcheck feature
Incorrect spelling will be a thing of the past in Notepad soon. | Image: Microsoft
Microsoft is bringing the spellcheck feature to its Notepad app on Windows 11. Testers can now access the new spellcheck support in Notepad, which will be available to all Windows 11 users later this year.
Spellcheck in Notepad works much like it does in Microsoft Word or inside the Microsoft Edge browser. Misspelled words are automatically underlined in red, and you can fix mistakes with a right-click to see suggestions for spellings. Microsoft has even added autocorrect, so mistakes are fixed as you continue typing. Spellcheck in Notepad will also support multiple languages, and you can ignore words in documents and add them to a dictionary.
“This feature is enabled by default for some file types but is off by default in log files and...
The VergeHow Apple’s war on super apps became the center of its antitrust fight
Cath Virginia / The Verge
Apple is facing a monumental antitrust lawsuit from the Department of Justice, and a large part of the agency’s argument centers around Apple’s alleged attempts to suppress cloud gaming services and so-called “super” apps. Namely, the DOJ claims Apple stifled the development of both types of services to maintain its monopoly on the mobile market.
As cloud streaming services started becoming more popular in 2020, Apple introduced new rules that seemed designed to give services like Xbox Cloud Gaming, Facebook Gaming, and GeForce Now a place on the App Store. But in reality, it did the opposite. The rules severely limited the presence of cloud gaming services on the App Store, as Apple required developers to submit their games to the App...
The VergeFive takeaways from the huge US antitrust lawsuit against Apple
Apple CEO Tim Cook. | Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo by Bloomberg, Getty Images
The US Department of Justice is suing Apple for “monopolizing smartphone markets” to help guarantee the iPhone’s continued success — to the detriment of consumers and third-party developers. The suit was filed on March 21st and will take a long time to play out. It touches on everything from iMessage lock-in and App Store developer fees to “super apps” and cloud gaming. If the government is successful, we could witness a sea change moment for the iPhone and Apple’s ecosystem at large.
Apple, as expected, is deeply critical of the DOJ’s antitrust filing. “This lawsuit threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets,” said Apple spokesperson Fred Sainz. The company also said the legal...
The VergeThe BMW Vision Neue Klasse X has round battery cells, four super-brains, and a 3D grille
Image: BMW
BMW announced a new concept car, the Vision Neue Klasse X, that the automaker says will inform the direction of its future lineup of electric vehicles. The vehicle is a crossover SUV with BMW’s distinctive kidney-shaped grilled (extremely distinctive, but we’ll get to that in the second) and a bunch of innovative features, especially around its battery and electric architecture, that suggest there’s a lot of exciting stuff to come in BMW’s future.
For years, the automaker has been planning for the next stage in its EV evolution. The third phase is called the Neue Klasse, the first vehicle of which should arrive in 2025. Ahead of that, the automaker has been releasing new EV models at a steady clip, including EV versions of the 4, 5, and 7...
The VergeThe second-gen AirPods Pro with USB-C are down to $180, a new all-time low
Apple’s best AirPods are getting better and cheaper with time. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
We’re still soaking in savings from Amazon’s Big Spring sale event that started yesterday, and through March 25th, you can still shop all of the best deals we’ve found. Today, however, we’re digging for stragglers that got lost in the mix and new deals that have popped up overnight. For example, Amazon and Best Buy are now discounting the second-generation AirPods Pro with USB-C to a new all-time low price of $179.99 ($70 off).
Apple hasn’t rushed to push the AirPods Pro beyond the second generation, which is quite alright considering they’re aging like a fine oak-barreled wine. Case in point, the recent USB-C refresh added tighter dust resistance and came alongside an iOS 17 update that brought new software features, including adaptive...
The VergeConverse’s upcoming D&D collection rolls with retro roleplayers
This is for you, old-school nerd dads. | Image: Converse / Wizards of the Coast
Dungeons & Dragons has a bunch of brand collaborations lined up to celebrate the game’s 50th anniversary, but its partnership with Converse is especially neat for old-school players. Converse is releasing a limited edition collection of D&D-themed shoes and apparel next month, most of which has been designed around elements from the earliest versions of the game.
The collection includes several Chuck Taylor All Stars and Chuck 70 iterations that feature illustrations and other assets from D&D’s very first edition, back when it was just called Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Characters like Kelek, Warduke, and Zarak, who appeared in the D&D action figure line and the 1983 supplement “The Shady Dragon Inn,” can be seen on a pair of All Stars,...
The VergeState legislator makes deepfake of colleague to prove deepfakes are bad
Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images
George state Senator Colton Moore, a vocal opponent of legislation that would ban deepfakes of politicians, recently spoke out in support of a bill that would do just that. “The overwhelming number of Georgians believe the use of my personal characteristics against my will is fraud, but our laws don’t currently reflect that,” Moore said in a recent video. Except Moore never said that. The video was a deepfake — the exact kind of thing Moore’s colleagues want to ban. The clip was created by state Representative Brad Thomas, a Republican who co-sponsored the bill, The Guardian reports.
“If AI can be used to make Colton Moore speak in favor of a popular piece of legislation,” the deepfake video continued, “it can be used to make any of you...
The VergeNew House of the Dragon season 2 trailers — plural — are a call to pick sides
House of the Dragon’s first season closed out with House Targaryen divided into two factions readying themselves for an all-out war to claim the Iron Throne, and in the show’s new season 2 trailer(s), both sides seem ready to burn the entire world down in order to win.
Keeping in theme with this season’s further exploration of George R.R. Martin’s novella The Princess and the Queen, or, the Blacks and the Greens, HBO has debuted two new House of the Dragon trailers — one “Black” and the other “Green” — highlighting Princess Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) and Queen Alicent’s plans to destroy one another. In both trailers, it’s clear that Rhaenyra and Alicent are torn between their respective desires for revenge and fear of what unleashing their...
The VergeMicrosoft’s new Surface devices are easier to repair than ever before
The new Surface Pro 10 for Business is easier to repair. | Image: Microsoft
Microsoft is making it easier to service and repair its new Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 devices. The software giant is adding QR codes on the internal components of both new Surface devices, alongside internal markings on the Surface Pro 10 for Business, to make it easier to identify the screws and driver types for certain components.
“They have easy serviceability with clear visual icons and built-in repair instructions,” explains Nancie Gaskill, general manager of the Surface business, in an interview with The Verge. These changes make the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 the “most easily serviceable Surface devices ever,” according to Gaskill.
On the Surface Pro 10, you’ll be able to replace the following components:
- D...
The VergeMicrosoft’s first AI PCs are the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 for businesses
Microsoft’s new Surface hardware is designed exclusively for businesses. | Image: Microsoft
Microsoft is gearing up for its “year of the AI PC” with two new Surface devices that won’t be sold directly to consumers. The Surface Pro 10 for Business and Surface Laptop 6 for Business both feature Intel’s latest Core Ultra processors, Microsoft’s new Copilot key, and a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) to accelerate some existing and upcoming AI-powered features in Windows 11. Microsoft is calling them “the first Surface AI PCs built exclusively for business.”
Both of these new Surface devices haven’t been redesigned on the outside, so the Surface Pro 10 for Business will look largely like the Intel version of the Surface Pro 9. The Surface Laptop 6 for Business has an additional USB-C Thunderbolt 4 port and an optional smart card...
The VergeDive into the world of Netflix’s 3 Body Problem
ED MILLER/NETFLIX
Check out all of The Verge’s coverage of Netflix’s upcoming 3 Body Problem series based on Cixin Liu’s epic sci-fi novel.
The VergeRead the lawsuit: United States v. Apple
Cath Virginia / The Verge
The US Department of Justice announced today that it’s suing Apple for illegally monopolizing the smartphone market and using its position “to extract more money from consumers, developers, content creators, artists, publishers, small businesses, and merchants.”
In the 88-page suit, which was filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, the Justice Department alleges that Apple is using a variety of unfair tactics to entrench its market position and restrict innovation. These include blocking so-called “Super Apps,” which would make it easier for customers to switch between smartphone platforms, imposing an effective ban on cloud streaming services for content like games, degrading the experience for...
The VergeDOJ v. Apple: everything you need to know
This is the DOJ’s third antitrust case against Apple in 14 years. | Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge
It’s all about Apple’s vise grip over the smartphone market and its locked-down ecosystem.
The VergeUNITED STATES SUES APPLE
Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo by Getty Images
The US Department of Justice accused Apple of operating an illegal monopoly in the smartphone market in an expansive new antitrust lawsuit that seeks to upend many of the ways Apple locks down its phone.
The DOJ, along with 16 state and district attorneys general, accuses Apple of driving up prices for consumers and developers at the expense of making users more reliant on its phones. The parties allege that Apple “selectively” imposes contractual restrictions on developers and withholds critical ways of accessing the phone as a way to prevent competition from arising, according to a release.
“Apple exercises its monopoly power to extract more money from consumers, developers, content creators, artists, publishers, small businesses, and...