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PS5 Pro review: how close is your TV?
Sony’s $700 PlayStation is here for people who don’t want to muck around.
The VergeThe VergeIf the Electoral College has invaded your phone screen, here’s how to get rid of it
Some iOS users with the Washington Post app installed may have looked down at their device tonight only to find an undismissable black toggle hovering on their screen, with electoral vote counts in the 2024 presidential race slowly ticking upwards. (On my own iPhone it appears as the dynamic island.) If you tap on it it merely expands to give you more information about the race, along with little drawn portraits of the candidates, which is decidedly not the content you want if you were just trying to find the button to make the whole thing go away.
The Washington Post app has put this little window at the top of my iPhone screen and I can't make it go away. I don't even know what it means. WHAT DO THE DASHES EVEN STAND FOR AT THIS...
The VergeNintendo says its Switch successor will be backward compatible with Switch games
Image: The Verge
Nintendo hasn’t announced its Switch successor yet, but we do know one thing for sure: it will be able to play current Switch games, and have carryover for your Nintendo Switch Online services and account. The news was announced during Nintendo’s mid-year Policy Briefing, with further information promised “at a later date.”
Nintendo also talked about numbers for the current Switch (PDF), noting that it sold 4.72 million units in the past three months, a drop of 31 percent compared to the same period last year, but well above previous consoles eight years after they launched.
That adds up to 146 million Switch units sold and a new record for software sales on a Nintendo platform, which reached 1.3 billion units as of September 30th,...
The VergeSuzuki teams up with Toyota on its first EV: the E Vitara
Suzuki is finally making an EV. | Image: Suzuki
Suzuki and Toyota have been working together on a new 4WD-capable electric SUV, and in Italy yesterday, Suzuki revealed the fruits of the collaboration: a new compact called the E Vitara. It’s the automaker’s first EV, and it’s scheduled for production at Suzuki Motor Gujarat in India starting next spring.
The E Vitara will launch in Europe, India, and Japan “around” the summer of next year, and there will be a Toyota-badged version, which will probably look a lot like the Urban SUV Concept Toyota revealed in 2023. Toyota similarly shares its mediocre bZ4X EV with Subaru, which is rebadged as the Solterra EV.
Image: Suzuki
Toyota and Suzuki have been slow to adopt EVs into their lineups, with Toyota refocusing on...
The VergeElon Musk is being sued over his $1 million giveaway to voters — again
Image: Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images
Arizona resident Jacqueline McAferty is suing Elon Musk and his pro-Trump America PAC in a Texas federal court, alleging that the PAC’s $1 million-a-day lottery to registered voters in swing states was fraud. The proposed class-action lawsuit was filed a day after a Philadelphia judge denied the city’s request to order Musk to end the lottery — and seems to have been spurred by Musk’s legal defense in the Philadelphia case.
The complaint, filed in a federal court in Austin, alleges that Musk falsely claimed the PAC would choose sweepstakes winners randomly when the selections were, in fact, predetermined. The complaint cites comments made yesterday by Chris Gober, a Republican lawyer CNBC identified as America PAC’s former treasurer.
“...
The VergeSteam’s built-in game recording is now available to all
Image: The Verge
Steam Game Recording is officially out of beta and available to all users, giving PC, Mac, and Steam Deck players a built-in way to record and share audio and video from their gaming sessions. It joins many other ways PC gamers have been able to record their highlights, including as a feature of tools like the Xbox Game Bar, Nvidia GeForce, and AMD’s Adrenalin.
This version of the Steam client is also the first to drop support for Windows 7 and 8 machines, as well as Macs running macOS 10.13 and 10.14 after Valve announced the move at the beginning of this year.
Image: Valve
After an automatic update, players can start recordings manually using a hotkey (Ctrl + F11 is the default) or set it to trigger automatically,...
The VergeGoogle CEO says the company should be a ‘trusted source’ in the election
Sundar Pichai. | Image: Laura Normand / The Verge
Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employees ahead of Election Day to “remember the role we play” and make sure “the products we build” are “a trusted source of information to people of every background and belief.”
“As with other elections, the outcome will be a major topic of conversation in living rooms and other places around the world,” Pichai said in an internal memo on November 4th obtained by The Verge. “And of course, the outcome will have important consequences.”
“Whomever the voters entrust, let’s remember the role we play at work, through the products we build and as a business: to be a trusted source of information to people of every background and belief. We will and must maintain that.”
You can read Pichai’s full memo to Google...
The VergeAmazon’s CEO defends return-to-office policy
Illustration by Laura Normand / The Verge
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is pushing back on claims that his return-to-office mandate was a “backdoor layoff.” In a transcript of an all-hands staff meeting seen by Reuters and CNBC, Jassy said the move “is very much about our culture and strengthening our culture.”
In September, Amazon announced that it would start making employees return to the office five days per week starting January 2nd, 2025. The e-commerce giant previously required employees to work in the office three days per week. Some speculated that the five-day-per-week mandate is a “layoff in disguise,” intended to push out employees who couldn’t or wouldn’t make the full return.
“A number of people I’ve seen theorized that the reason we were doing this is, it’s a backdoor...
The VergeMozilla is eliminating its advocacy division, which fought for a free and open web
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
The Mozilla Foundation laid off 30 percent of its workforce and completely eliminated its advocacy and global programs divisions, TechCrunch reports.
While Mozilla is best known for its Firefox web browser, the Mozilla Foundation — the parent of the Mozilla Corporation — describes itself as standing up “for the health of the internet.” With its advocacy and global programs divisions gone, its impact may be lessened going forward.
“The Mozilla Foundation is reorganizing teams to increase agility and impact as we accelerate our work to ensure a more open and equitable technical future for us all. That unfortunately means ending some of the work we have historically pursued and eliminating associated roles to bring more focus going...
The VergeApple reportedly facing first-ever EU fine over App Store rules
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge
Apple will soon become the first company to incur a fine for violating the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), reports Bloomberg. Sources tell the outlet that the Commission is getting ready to levy the penalty after it found that Apple’s “anti-steering” practices harmed competition on the App Store.
This follows the EU’s €1.84 billion (around $2 billion) fine imposed on Apple in March. After investigating a complaint from Spotify, the EU Commission ruled that Apple restricted developers’ ability to point users to cheaper purchases outside the App Store in March — a practice that’s illegal under the DMA.
We still don’t know how much the EU will fine Apple, but the DMA rules say companies can be charged up to 10 percent of annual...
The VergeSony is discontinuing its $9,000 Airpeak S1 pro photography drone
Sony will stop selling its Airpeak S1 drone on March 31st, 2025. | Image: Sony
Almost four years after teasing it at CES 2021, Sony is discontinuing the Airpeak S1 drone that was designed to work with Sony’s mirrorless cameras. According to a notice posted to Sony Japan’s website on November 1st, sales of the $9,000 drone will end on March 31st, 2025, while all support will end five years later, as reported previously by PetaPixel.
Sony will also stop selling Airpeak S1 accessories like the drone’s gimbal, battery charger, and remote control next year. However, it will continue to sell replacement batteries and propellers until March 31st, 2026, and will offer inspections, repairs, and software maintenance until March 31st, 2030.
The AirPeak S1 promised capabilities including a top speed of 55.9mph, flight times up...
The VergeiOS 18.2 could finally estimate your iPhone’s charging time
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
The iPhone could finally show you how long it’ll take to finish charging. Code spotted in the second iOS 18.2 beta by 9to5Mac shows a new “BatteryIntelligence” feature that will let you receive a notification with the iPhone’s estimated charging time.
Some Android phones already show how long it takes to charge — a feature that has become increasingly helpful considering the many different types of chargers, cables, and charging protocols that are available. The iPhone’s “BatteryIntelligence” feature still appears to be a work in progress, though, which means might have to wait a little longer until its official release, according to 9to5Mac.
Newer iPhones already have some helpful battery health features. Last year, Apple added a new...
The VergeVoting tech isn’t perfect, but so far it’s holding up
Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo by Stephen Morton, Getty Images
The technology that powers Election Day has hit some expected hiccups, but as of early afternoon on Tuesday, nonpartisan groups say that the voting system is mostly holding up. Where it has faltered, they stress, there are robust backup plans that will ensure voters can still cast their ballotsand that their votes will be counted.
Members of the nonpartisan Election Protection coalition, which runs a hotline for voters seeking information or help at the polls, said they’re so far seeing reports of pretty standard tech issues. That includes spotty Wi-Fi connections impacting electronic poll books used to check voters in more efficiently, imprecise calibration on voting machine touchscreens, and ballot scanners that are down. These...
The VergeThis Google election conspiracy theory doesn’t add up
Illustration: The Verge
There’s no evidence Google is hiding a map of polling places from Trump voters, despite the suggestions of a video reposted by Elon Musk.
In the video, originally shared by X user DogeDesigner, a user searches Google for “where can I vote for Harris” and “where can I vote for Trump.” The Harris search shows Google’s 2024 US elections panel, which includes a map you can use to find where to vote. The Trump search does not.
Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge
A screenshot of Elon Musk’s post.
But there’s a complicating factor here: Harris is also the name of a county in Texas. And the polling map pops up when people search terms like “where can I vote” and a location — try searches like “where can I vote for...
The VergeThe fever dream of TikTok Live election results
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge
It takes me a minute to figure out what’s going on in this TikTok livestream happening on the morning of the US presidential election.
The screen is split in two. On the top, a man is streaming himself from the chest up, shouting at viewers. On the bottom is an electoral map of the US, with each state colored red (Republican), blue (Democrat), yellow (third-party), or tan (unclaimed). The man appears to be auctioning off the Electoral College.
“Uh oh! Two Texas blues just came in, ladies and gentlemen!” he shouts, clicking to change the state of Texas from red to blue. A few seconds later, Texas goes red again. “It’s a neck and neck game right here!” he says. “It’s anybody’s game right here! Oh! I just got an Arizona blue!”
...
The VergeThe FBI says Russian emails are sending fake bomb threats to polling stations
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a warning that fake bomb threats are being emailed to US polling locations in multiple states that “appear to originate from Russian email domains.”
“None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far,” the FBI says. The agency says it is working closely with state and local law enforcement to respond to any election threats and urges the public to “remain vigilant” and report suspicious activity to state and local authorities.
The threats appear to be part of a larger campaign to sow doubt and chaos in the US election. On Friday, a joint statement issued by the FBI, the Director of National Intelligence’s Office, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warned...
The VergeThe hyperloop lives on as a 1/12th scale model in Switzerland
Image: Swisspod
About a year ago, I wrote a story with the headline “The hyperloop is dead for real this time,” based on the news that Hyperloop One, one of the biggest companies pursuing Elon Musk’s dream of tube-based, 700mph travel, had shut down.
Well, I stand corrected. The hyperloop, in fact, lives on — as a 1/12th scale model in Switzerland.
Sure, this isn’t exactly the full realization of Musk’s 2013 white paper, in which he theorized that aerodynamic aluminum capsules filled with passengers or cargo could be propelled through a nearly airless tube at speeds of up to 760mph. These tubes, either raised on pylons or sunk beneath the earth, could be built either within or between cities. Musk called it a “fifth mode of transportation” and argued...
The VergeToyota mounted five big-screen TVs to this Tundra truck
Watch the game, set up a Halo 2 LAN party, or look at footage of other trucks. | Image: Toyota
Toyota revealed a custom Tundra pickup truck that can pop out five big-screen TVs from its bed for a wild tailgating experience designed to let you watch football from “any angle.” The one-off vehicle is a prototype built for the 2024 SEMA show in Las Vegas, where it’s on display alongside many other cool concepts, including Toyota’s Jeepy open-air Land Cruiser.
This “Ultimate Tailgate Tundra,” however, is unlike anything else at the show in terms of gadgety engineering:
With the push of a button, a custom-built staging shell rises from the bed of the truck on four electric actuators, revealing five 55-inch weatherproof outdoor screens.
Image: Toyota
I guess the cooler goes in the cab.
Image:...
The VergeElon Musk’s ‘top 20’ Diablo IV claim is as real as his self-driving cars
Illustration: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Photo: Getty Images
Elon Musk is a busy man right now. He’s supposedly running X, SpaceX, Tesla, and Neuralink, all while actively campaigning for Trump. But despite those myriad concerns, Musk still finds the time to play Diablo 4. He’s even said he’s pretty good at it, claiming in a recent interview with Joe Rogan that he’s in the top 20 of Diablo 4 players — a feat that apparently only two Americans can claim. If this sounds like the unearned boasting from the same guy who claimed his Cybertrucks are bulletproof... it is.
The Pit is a timed dungeon in Diablo 4. Players are given 15 minutes to clear out monsters and the final boss, with each death shaving an increasing amount of time off the overall timer. Players who can complete The Pit earn endgame...
The VergeMisleading ‘pro-Harris’ texts are bombarding swing state voters
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images
Swing state voters are being inundated with text messages seemingly designed to look like they’re coming from supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris or even from her campaign itself. Some of the messages imply that Harris is misleading the public about her efforts to secure a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, while others say she has “pledged to support Israel as they wage their war in Gaza.” Although the texts are written to sound like standard campaign mass messaging, they contain no call to action or URL to a campaign site. But most bizarrely, the sender will reiterate and emphasize that Harris “will always stand with Israel” if the recipient replies identifying themselves as pro-Palestinian.
“I want to make sure we set...
The VergeAmazon says it’s fixing the Kindle Colorsoft’s yellow screen
A mild yellow band appears on The Verge_’s Colorsoft review unit._ | Image: Andrew Liszewski / The Verge
Amazon says it’s working to fix issues with the Kindle Colorsoft, its first color e-reader, following complaints from early buyers that a yellow band of discoloration appears on the bottom of the display. The company is making “adjustments” so that “new devices” will not have the yellow band; people who already own a unit can contact Amazon for a refund or replacement.
_“_We take the quality of our products seriously,” Amazon spokesperson Jill Tornifoglio wrote in an email to _The Verge. “_Customers who notice this [yellow band] can reach out to our customer service team for a replacement or refund, and we’re making the appropriate adjustments to ensure that new devices will not experience this issue moving forward.”
Existing customers can...
The VergeThe best smart locks you can buy right now
Illustration: The Verge
Never get locked out again with a smart lock you can control from your phone, with your voice, or with just a touch of your finger.
The VergeReddit sleuths track down the band behind the internet’s most mysterious song
Image: The Verge
Members of Reddit’s r/ThatMysteriousSong community have finally identified what they call “The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet,” a new wave tune that a teenager recorded to cassette sometime around 1984, as reported yesterday by 404 Media.
The mysterious song’s digital trail goes back to 2004, when Darius S., the teenager who recorded it from a radio broadcast in Germany, posted it on a website along with other unknown songs, hoping others could help identify them. The search for its origins went viral back in 2019 when a Brazilian teen uploaded the song to YouTube.
Now we know that the song is called “Subways Of the Mind” by a band named FEX. Here’s a recording provided by Michael Hädrich, a 68-year-old former band member.
H...
The VergeHisense’s new U6N TV is an even better value now that it’s hit an all-time low
The budget-friendly TV delivers good color and contrast for the price, with support for full-array local dimming and Dolby Vision HDR. | Image: Hisense
To say the news is a lot right now might be the understatement of the year. Luckily, if you’re looking for ways to distract yourself from the 2024 election in the days — or, god forbid, weeks — ahead, Hisene’s 55-inch U6N Series TV is on sale at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy starting at $347.99 ($200 off), which is a new all-time low.
The 4K-ready TV’s got everything you need to unplug and comfortably stream your stress away, all without spending a fortune. Notably, it comes with Google’s TV software built-in, so you can quickly find the perfect show and peruse content recommendations across a multitude of streaming services. The 55U6N also offers a slew of Gemini-powered AI features thanks to a recent software update — allowing you to...
The VergeKia’s rugged EV concepts are standouts at 2024’s SEMA conference
Image: Kia
The Specialty Equipment Market Association, or SEMA, held its annual conference in Las Vegas this week. Billed as one of the biggest car shows in the world, the event typically brings together more than 135,000 attendees in the automotive aftermarket industry to see the newest trends in vehicle repairs and modifications.
And while there weren’t as many electric vehicle concepts and one-offs as years past — after all, we’re in the midst of a historic transition in the auto industry that is equal parts momentous and slower going than we expected — there were still a handful of interesting plug-in models worth highlighting.
Mopar
The Stellantis-owned parts and accessories division brought a number of compelling concepts to this year’s...
The VergeAnova’s new steam oven can recognize your food and tell you how to cook it
Anova has upgraded its multi-function countertop oven with an interior camera that can recognize food and making cooking suggestions. | Image: Anova
Knowing what you’re trying to cook, thanks to an interior high-def camera, allows the Anova Precision Oven 2.0 to suggest which modes and temperatures will produce the best results. The original Anova Precision Oven debuted at $599, but the 2.0 version launching today for $1,199 adds a welcome upgrade to the countertop convection and steam combi oven that can prep food using a unique combination of both wet and dry heat. Anova says it will be available directly, but it currently lists only a placeholder registration page.
Combi ovens like the Anova Precision Oven 2.0 are more commonly used in restaurants by professional chefs, so giving home cooks suggestions on how to use it most effectively will potentially help reduce its learning...
The VergeHori’s officially licensed Steam controller is coming to the US
Image: Hori
Hori is bringing its officially licensed Steam controller to the US. The company quietly listed the $60 gamepad for preorder on Amazon, with availability starting December 16th.
Hori originally released its Wireless Horipad for Steam in October — but only in Japan. The controller features dedicated buttons you can use to pull up menus in Steam, whether you’re playing in Big Picture Mode, or on the company’s handheld. Just like on the Steam Deck, the gamepad comes with touch sensors on its joysticks for motion controls and mappable back buttons.
The controller can connect to your computer or Steam Deck with Bluetooth or the included USB-A Bluetooth receiver. Hori says the wireless gamepad will last up to 12 hours on a full charge, but...
The VergeAmazon starts drone deliveries in Arizona
Amazon’s MK30 drone. | Image: Amazon
Amazon is starting up drone delivery operations at its Tolleson, AZ, same-day delivery site. Customers who live in the West Valley Phoenix Metro Area are eligible to receive packages via Prime Air and will have “access to the over 50,000 everyday essentials” that include household, beauty, and office/tech supplies — which Amazon claims is its largest selection yet for fast drone deliveries.
The news came after Amazon announced it was shutting down its testing zone location in Lockeford, California. The new Tolleson location integrates drone deliveries into Amazon’s delivery network for the first time, and the drones will deploy right next to the fulfillment center.
Amazon is using its latest MK30 drones that can carry up to 5 pounds...
The VergeApple News will let you watch election results from your lockscreen
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge
For anyone obsessively watching election results in the US, Apple News will bring live updates to iPhone and iPad users’ lockscreens. And if you’ve got a recent iPhone, you can keep tabs on the electoral count right in the Dynamic Island while doing other things on your phone.
To get the updates on your lockscreen, you’ll have to register first. Open up Apple News and tap on the “Follow the 2024 election live” banner. If you don’t see the option right away, look for “Election 2024” under the “Special Coverage” section of the menu. You should get a notification that the Live Activity has been enabled.
The widget will be available on iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches starting tonight as votes in the US presidential and congressional...
The VergeElection Day 2024: all the news
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images
A shorter-than-usual US presidential election season comes to a head.