Here’s where you can preorder Apple’s latest iPad Air and iPad Pro

The new iPad Air comes in two sizes, while the Pro model picks up an M4 chip and a more vibrant OLED panel. | Image: Apple

At long last, Apple’s newest iPad Pro and iPad Air are finally, officially real. Preorders begin today, May 7th, with the former starting at $999 and the latter at $599. Both models come in 11- and 13-inch sizing and are set to arrive in stores on Wednesday, May 15th.

One of the most notable changes in the Pro models is the switch from LCD-based displays to OLED, which could be the killer feature for creatives. But there’s a lot more to like, such as a new M4 chip that is said to offer 50 percent faster CPU performance than Apple’s last-gen M2 chip, plus a new 10-core GPU that supports mesh shading and ray tracing. The new iPad Pro also features better rear cameras and a repositioned front-facing Face ID camera that now sits centered...

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TikTok sues the US government over ban

The Verge

TikTok is suing the US government over the new law that would force the short-form video app to be divested from its China-based parent company ByteDance or face a ban in the US. In a court filing submitted Tuesday, TikTok says Congress has “taken the unprecedented step of expressly singling out and banning TikTok” and calls the move “unconstitutional.”

The complaint argues that a sale from ByteDance isn’t possible and that the law would “force a shutdown” by January 19th, 2025.

“For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban, and bars every American from participating in a unique online community with more than 1 billion people worldwide,” the...

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Wordle now has a playable puzzle archive

Photo by Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto via Getty Images

Wordle players no longer have to worry about missing a daily puzzle. Today, The New York Times is launching a new feature for subscribers that will let them access an archive of past Wordle puzzles. The archive is rolling out now for those with a “Games” or “All Access” subscription and will include more than 1,000 past puzzles, though it sounds like not everyone will have it right away; the Times says that the rollout is expected to “take place over the next couple of months.” At launch, the feature will be available on both mobile and desktop, and the Times says it will be coming to its Games app in the “coming weeks.”

Image: The New York Times

“This expansion is not just about playing past puzzles; it’s about...

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Google’s Pixel 8A is a midrange phone that might actually go the distance

Aloe is the new coral. | Photo: Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

The Pixel 8A is officially here, with very little in the way of surprises since it leaked to all heck over the past few weeks — as Google hardware always does. The 8A gets Google’s latest processor, adds a bunch of new AI features, and still starts at $499 in the US. But the very best news is that the 8A adopts the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro’s seven years of software support, which is just unheard of in a midrange phone.

The 8A retains the same general shape and size as its predecessor. But its 6.1-inch screen gets a couple of significant updates: the top refresh rate is now 120Hz, up from 90Hz, and the panel gets up to 40 percent brighter, up to 2,000 nits in peak brightness mode. They’re important upgrades, especially since the 8A’s main...

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Apple quietly kills the old-school iPad and its headphone jack

Apple no longer sells the ninth-gen iPad, which was the last iPad with a headphone jack. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge

Along with introducing a new iPad Air and iPad Pro during its Let Loose event, Apple quietly killed its ninth-gen iPad — also known as the last iPad with a headphone jack. The 10th-gen iPad is now the sole entry-level iPad in Apple’s official lineup and, as such, has received a $100 price cut.

Released in late 2022, the 10th-generation iPad arrived starting at $449, or about $120 more than base entry-level iPads from previous years. Apple justified the price increase with new iPad Air-like features, like a 10.9-inch screen and USB-C support.

However, we never believed the price increase was warranted. After all, the now last-gen iPad Air was often on sale for around the same price, but with a faster processor, a nicer display, and...

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OpenAI strikes licensing deal with the magazine giant behind People

Image: Hugo Herrera / The Verge

Dotdash Meredith, publisher of People, Better Homes & Gardens, Investopedia, Food & Wine, and InStyle, signed a deal on Tuesday with OpenAI to use AI models for its ad-targeting product, D/Cipher. In turn, Dotdash Meredith will license its content to ChatGPT.

With the partnership, OpenAI will bring content from Dotdash Meredith publications to ChatGPT, link to the articles in the chatbot, and train AI models with its articles. (Presumably, this also includes an archive of all the previous sexiest men alive.)

Dotdash Meredith and the AI company will also collaborate on new AI features for the magazine’s readers.

Dotdash Meredith will use OpenAI’s models to upgrade D/Cipher, which helps advertisers find consumers through the content...

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Can drones help the National Weather Service better predict a devastating tornado?

An aerial view shows homes destroyed by a tornado on March 15th, 2024, in Winchester, Indiana. | Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images

Verizon’s first responder network inked a deal to share its drones with the National Weather Service in the hopes of “rapidly” deploying the drones to survey the aftermath of storms and tornadoes.

The US copes with more tornadoes than any other country, and millions of Americans have been under tornado watches this week as storms sweep across the Central US.

Not only will the new partnership allow the National Weather Service (NWS) to quickly assess storm damage, but drone footage could also inform research into tornado behavior. There’s still a lot scientists don’t know about tornadoes. A better understanding of how they form could help the NWS issue earlier and more accurate warnings to people, which could ultimately help save lives.

...

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Apple launches Final Cut Camera app to support multicam productions

Image: Apple

Apple is releasing a new Final Cut Camera app for iPhone and iPad that can take video and stream it live back to an iPad for a Multicam shoot, as well as provide more controls for filmmakers. The company’s new pro-level app provides “precise manual controls” and can be used as a plain standalone camera app.

The new Final Cut Camera is launching alongside the updated Final Cut 2 app, a successor to last year’s debut Final Cut for iPad. Final Cut 2 has a multiscreen view that captures and controls each Final Cut Camera-running device connected to it. Final Cut 2 also lets you hop between production and editing, allowing you to live-cut your project.

Image: Apple

Final Cut Camera in action.

I...

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Apple puts more ‘Pro’ in Final Cut and Logic Pro for the iPad

Image: Apple

Apple is updating two of its biggest pro apps to complement the new iPad Pro models announced today. The updated Logic Pro will be available first, hitting the App Store starting on May 13th for both the iPad and Mac, while the next version of Final Cut Pro for both platforms comes later this spring. Both will be free updates for existing users of the macOS and iPadOS versions.

Final Cut Pro for the iPad finally supports external projects — that is, users can create and access products on external storage and won’t need to import the media to their iPad’s internal storage. That’s a big deal for anyone editing on the go, as even Apple’s higher tablet storage tiers can be limiting when working with massive video files (particularly now...

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Hands-on with the new iPad Pro: yeah, it’s really thin

The OLED screen looks nice, but the design is the iPad Pro’s real story.

Apple just announced a new iPad Pro, and at a watch party in New York City, a few reporters got to take a look at Apple’s new tablet firsthand. After holding and playing with the device for a few minutes, I can say pretty confidently that Apple’s not kidding about how much more svelte the new model is. At 5.3mm thick for the 11-inch model and 5.1mm for the 13-inch tablet, this new iPad is noticeably thinner and lighter than anything the company has made before.

It’s such a big difference that the larger model, which I’ve always felt was kind of preposterously huge, feels much more comfortable to hold and use. (And it’s technically even larger now, up to 13 inches from 12.9 before1) You can tell the difference between the Pro and the new...

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The 7 biggest announcements from Apple’s iPad event

Screenshot: Apple

Apple just wrapped up its “Let Loose” event, where it showed off the newest additions to its iPad lineup in nearly two years. But the event had more than just iPads — we also got a first look at some refreshed accessories and updated software.

If you want a quick rundown of everything Apple announced, check out our roundup below.

The iPad Air adds more screen real estate

Screenshot: Apple

Apple has added a new 13-inch iPad Air to its lineup, offering a cheaper and lighter alternative to the iPad Pro. In addition to the larger size, Apple added its M2 chip to the device — an upgrade from the M1 chip it included with its 2022 model.

The new iPad Air comes in blue, purple, starlight, and space gray. It costs $599 for...

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Tesla vehicles kept crashing even after the Autopilot software updates, NHTSA says

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

At least 20 Tesla vehicles with Autopilot engaged were involved in crashes since the company issued a voluntary recall for the advanced driver assist system last December, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed in a new filing this week.

Tesla recalled over 2 million vehicles with Autopilot in response to NHTSA’s investigation into dozens of crashes involving the company’s driver assist feature, including several which were fatal. The recall was meant to address issues around driver inattention and Tesla’s warning systems, which NHTSA said has contributed to hundreds of crashes and dozens of deaths. But last month, the agency opened a new investigation into Teslas fix, and now it’s requesting more information from...

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The new Apple Pencil Pro is harder to lose and better to draw with

Image: Apple

Apple announced its third-generation Apple Pencil today during its “Let Loose” iPad event, adding Find My support and new capabilities for adapting the stylus to different creative tasks. Available to order today for $129, the Apple Pencil Pro introduces features closer to what you’d find on pens for dedicated drawing tablets — like a “Barrel Roll” gyroscope feature and a squeeze gesture for switching between software functions.

This is the first real update to the Apple Pencil series since the second-generation model was announced in 2018. While the more affordable USB-C Apple Pencil that was released last year supported a wider range of iPad models than the Apple Pencil 2, it also ditched advanced second-gen features like pressure...

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Apple’s new Magic Keyboard makes the iPad Pro feel ‘just like’ a MacBook

Screenshot: Apple

Alongside the long-expected OLED iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air, Apple has also released a lightly updated Magic Keyboard with an aluminum palm rest and a larger trackpad with haptic feedback — and, finally, a function row.

The new Magic Keyboard comes in two sizes — one for the 11-inch Pro and one for the 13-inch model and in two colors: black and silver. They cost $299 and $349, respectively, and like the new iPads, they are available for preorder today, shipping next week.

This is the first major revision of the iPad Pro’s Magic Keyboard since its launch in 2020. Unlike the original, it finally has a function row — a feature Apple granted the base-model iPad back in 2022 with the Magic Keyboard Folio.

Screenshot:...

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Apple announces new M4 chip

Apple

At its “Let Loose” event on Tuesday, Apple announced its M4 chip will be coming to its next generation of devices, starting with the iPad Pro. After rumors of a “true AI-powered device,” the new OLED iPad Pro will include an upgraded M4 chip that’s focused on improving performance for AI-related tasks in iPadOS.

Apple focused heavily on the M4’s AI capabilities, thanks to a new neural engine making it “an outrageously powerful chip for AI,” capable of 38 trillion operators per second (TOPS). It’s supposedly 60 times faster than the A11’s NPU, but that number falls short of the Snapdragon X Elite’s 45 TOPS. However, Apple still claims the M4 can deliver the same performance as the latest PC chips with only a quarter of the power.

...

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Apple announces new iPad Pros with OLED displays and thinnest design ever

Image: Apple

At its “Let Loose” virtual event this morning, Apple introduced its long-awaited iPad Pro updates. The new 13-inch and 11-inch tablets have a fresh design, more powerful internals, and a thinner profile than ever before, and they come with a major display upgrade. As rumored, Apple has switched to OLED screens on both sizes, bringing perfect blacks, richer color saturation, and enhanced contrast to its flagship iPads. Oh, and the front-facing camera is now in the correct (landscape) position for video calls.

The iPad Pros use a tandem OLED structure that allows the display to reach 1,000 nits of peak full-screen brightness — just like the Mini LED model before it — and 1,600 nits for HDR content. The 13-inch model measures just 5.1...

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Apple adds a 13-inch iPad Air to the mix

Image: Apple

Apple has unveiled its 2024 iPad Air, now in two sizes for the first time thanks to a new 13-inch option. The company also updated the 11-inch iPad Air. Both tablets are outfitted with Apple’s M2 chip and will be in blue, purple, starlight, and space gray colors. The tablet will start at $599 for the 11-inch and $799 for the 13-inch model, and they’re available today on Apple’s site.

The new iPad Air has a single rear 12MP camera lens and a front-facing 12MP camera, as before — now centered on the long edge, or what I’m now calling the One True Placement. It’s also got support for the Apple Pencil Hover feature, which was previously exclusive to the iPad Pro.

Image: Apple

With 128GB of storage for the base model,...

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Apple iPad event: all the news from Apple’s ‘Let Loose’ reveal

Image: Apple

New OLED iPad Pros, bigger iPad Airs, and new accessories are expected.

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ESPN is coming to the Disney Plus app

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

The Disney Plus app will soon have a tile dedicated to ESPN Plus. Disney announced the news as part of its earnings results released on Tuesday and says the integration will become available by the end of this year.

During the company’s earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger said the ESPN tile will give all subscribers in the US access to “select” live games and studio programming. “I see this as a first step to bringing ESPN to Disney Plus viewers as we ready the launch of our enhanced standalone ESPN streaming service in the fall of 2025,” Iger said.

A first step to bringing ESPN to @DisneyPlus viewers ahead of the launch of a standalone ESPN streaming service in fall 2025

By the end of this calendar year, an ESPN tile will be added to...

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Microsoft shuts down Bethesda studios behind Redfall and Hi-Fi Rush

Image: The Verge

In an email to staff sent this morning, head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty announced the closure of several game studios, including Redfall developer Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog Studios, and more. According to the email, as first reported by IGN, Booty wrote the reason for the closures was due to a “reprioritization of titles and resources.” Some staff at the affected studios will be relocated while other studios will completely shut down.

Redfall developer Arkane “will close with some members of the team joining other studios to work on projects across Bethesda,” says Booty. Redfall’s previous update will be its last as Microsoft is ending all development on the game. Servers “will remain online for...

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Apple’s ‘Let Loose’ event live blog: iPads all the way down

Image: Apple

We’re expecting a new iPad Pro, iPad Air, and a few new accessories.

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Sonos Ace headphones will have magnetic ear cushions and 30-hour battery life

Illustration: The Verge

One day after an authorized Sonos partner accidentally pulled back the veil on the company’s long-in-the-works headphones, The Verge has learned comprehensive details about the hardware capabilities and software features that will be offered by the Sonos Ace.

As their rumored price of around $450 suggests, Sonos plans to market its first wireless headphones as a premium product that can go toe to toe with the Sony WH-1000XM5, Apple AirPods Max, and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones. The company believes it has developed active noise cancellation and transparency modes that can rival the best of the best.

The Ace headphones will offer lossless audio playback over Bluetooth (presumably via AptX Lossless), and they’ll be capable of...

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Delta’s 10-year journey to the top of the App Store

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge

Apparently only donuts could dethrone Delta from the top of Apple’s App Store. Before that, the game emulator had been the most popular app on iOS for two full weeks, after it launched in the wake of an unexpected Apple policy change that finally gave emulators the green light. But the Delta story actually goes back much further. Riley Testut, the developer behind the app, has been working on emulators for a decade, and he’s seen firsthand exactly how the App Store works — and how it’s changing.

On this episode of The Vergecast, Testut joins the show to tell us the full Delta story. He describes his early attempts at building emulators, the first time he almost made it onto the App Store, the process of building the alternative app store...

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Disney’s streaming business gets closer to becoming profitable

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Disney Plus and Hulu posted a profit for the first time today. In Disney’s earnings report released on Tuesday, the company revealed that both streaming services made $47 million combined this past quarter — a huge turnaround from the $587 million loss reported at the same time last year.

But Disney’s streaming business wasn’t entirely profitable. ESPN Plus still lost $65 million, dragging its combined streaming earnings $18 million in the red. Despite this, the narrowing losses mark a huge milestone for Disney as it continues to invest more in streaming. The entertainment company says it expects its streaming business to become profitable in the fourth quarter of this year.

“Our results were driven in large part by our experiences,...

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Tubi is launching a new ‘fan-fueled’ studio to cultivate the next generation of filmmakers

Image: Tubi

Tubi is partnering with Issa Rae’s Color Creative initiative to launch an incubation platform for up-and-coming filmmakers looking to break into the business.

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Amazon’s latest Echo Show 5 and Show 8 are nearly matching their all-time lows

It’s all about the widgets. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

It feels like everywhere you look, there’s a Mother’s Day sale going on. Many of these promos are pretty meh, but Amazon’s latest sale on Echo devices is worth a look if you’re looking for some relatively inexpensive picks. Right now, for instance, Amazon is throwing in a free smart bulb when you buy the latest Echo Show 8 for $99.99 (about $63 off), which is just $10 shy of its all-time low. Best Buy and Amazon are also selling the display by itself for the same price, along with the third-gen Echo Show 5, which is on sale at Amazon and Best Buy for $64.99 ($25 off).

Like previous models, Amazon’s latest smart displays are versatile gadgets that can pass as digital photo frames, smart home controllers, and alarm clocks. The Show 8 is...

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Switch 2: all the news and rumors on Nintendo’s next console

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Whatever it’s called, it sounds like it’s coming soon.

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Instacart is getting restaurant delivery — thanks to Uber Eats

Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images

Grocery delivery service Instacart is expanding into restaurant takeout thanks to a new partnership with Uber Eats.

In the coming weeks, Instacart will add a new feature for restaurant delivery, with the back-end mechanics powered by Uber. The listing of restaurants will be provided by Uber, the transaction will be overseen by Uber’s software, and the food will be picked up and delivered by Uber Eats couriers. The only difference is that everything will take place within Instacart’s app or website.

Image: Uber

Neither company would share the financial details of the deal, so we don’t have any insight into how much Instacart is paying to use Uber’s food delivery software. Uber spokesperson Noah Edwardsen said that...

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Yubico bolsters authentication security with updated YubiKey 5 series devices

Users will need to buy new versions of products like the YubiKey 5 NFC (pictured) to benefit from the firmware update. | Image: Yubico

Yubico is getting ready to launch refreshed versions of its YubiKey 5, Security Key, and Security Key Enterprise Edition series authentication hardware that aim to help organizations move away from password-based protections. On Monday, the company announced the new security keys with updated 5.7 firmware will be available in late May, providing enhanced security features like expanded passkey storage and the ability to enforce setting more complex PINs.

Existing YubiKey hardware cannot be updated with the new 5.7 firmware for security reasons, so users will need to purchase new keys (which currently start from $25 for the Security Key NFC) to benefit from the upgraded protections. These include enterprise attestation, current FIDO2...

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Switch 2 will be revealed before April 2025, promises Nintendo

Nintendo throws a bone to Switch fans. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Nintendo has thrown Switch players a long-awaited bone alongside announcing its end-of-year financials results, confirming the console’s successor will be unveiled before April, 2025. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said that a next-generation Nintendo Switch console will be announced “within this fiscal year” — giving the Japanese gaming giant a deadline of March 31st, 2025. That aligns nicely with its current Q1 2025 rumored launch.

Regarding the Switch 2 console announcement, Furukawa said:

We will make an announcement about the successor to Nintendo Switch within this fiscal year. It will have been over nine years since we announced the existence of Nintendo Switch back in March 2015. We will be holding a Nintendo Direct this...

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