Image: Bigmode Games
Talk to someone who is fully immersed in the indie game Animal Well, and you’re bound to hear some strange things. They might get excited about a new way to use a Frisbee or be frustrated about playing music for a caged cat. They’ll probably chat your ear off about the dozens of different-colored eggs they’ve collected, and all of the ones that seem just out of reach. Mostly, though, what they’re saying will sound like gibberish. That’s because the world of Animal Well is so odd and cryptic it almost requires its own language to discuss — but once you speak it, it’s hard to think about anything else.
Animal Well is the first release from solo developer Billy Basso, and it’s probably best described as a Metroidvania. You play as a little...
I hope other phone makers are taking notes on how to do a fun color. | Photo: Motorola
Motorola’s Moto G Stylus 5G is back this year with some notable spec bumps and an eye-catching new design. This year’s version gains wireless charging and an upgraded screen, while still holding onto vintage features like a headphone jack and microSD card slot — all for $399.
The G Stylus 5G is still a Big Phone with a capital B: it comes with a 6.7-inch screen. That’s a 1080p panel with up to 120Hz refresh rate, updating last year’s 6.6-inch LCD. There’s a generous 5,000mAh battery, compatible with 30W fast wired charging and 15W wireless charging. The 2024 Stylus 5G uses the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset — interestingly, that’s the same as in last year’s model. We don’t often see phone makers going back to the same chipset two years in a...
Image: Nick Barclay / The Verge
Over the past couple of months, Spotify has been submitting update after update to Apple, changing the interface of its music streaming service to display pricing information in-app for users in the European Union. For users, this is barely worth noticing. But for Spotify, each submission has been yet another skirmish in its yearslong legal struggle with Apple in the EU. And right now, Spotify is the closest it’s ever been to getting Apple to finally cave.
In March, the European Commission ruled against Apple in an antitrust action over App Store restrictions on music streaming services. In 2019, Spotify filed an antitrust complaint against Apple, claiming that the App Store’s cut of subscription fees — which can be up to 30 percent —...
An updated version of the iOS app is available that should resolve the issue for impacted Tandem Diabetes Care customers. | Photo Illustration by Matt Harbicht/Getty Images for Tandem Diabetes Care
At least 224 people with diabetes have reported injuries linked to a defective iOS app that caused their insulin pumps to shut down prematurely, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
On Wednesday, the agency announced that California-based medical device manufacturer Tandem Diabetes Care has issued a recall for version 2.7 of the iOS t:connect mobile app, which is used in conjunction with the company’s t:slim X2 insulin pump. Specifically, the recall relates to a software issue that can cause the app to repeatedly crash and relaunch, resulting in the pump’s battery being drained by excessive Bluetooth communication.
This battery drain can cause the pump to shut down “earlier than typically expected” according to Tandem,...
WiiM has announced two new audiophile streaming devices for the high end of its wireless audio streaming devices. Called the WiiM Ultra and the WiiM Amp Pro, both support AirPlay 2, Chromecast, DLNA, and several other streaming protocols and will be available this summer.
Both devices are equipped with a 32-bit / 384kHz ES9038 Q2M Sabre DAC. (Last year’s Wiim Amp used an ES9018 Sabre DAC instead). They also use Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 for wireless connectivity, and they each sport the same shrunken-down Mac Studio look. WiiM says the two devices also automatically tune audio output to the room they’re in.
Image: Courtesy of WiiM
The WiiM Ultra, front and back.
But the WiiM Ultra has a 3.5mm touchscreen on...
Image: Tango Gameworks
Today, one day after Microsoft announced that it would shut down four of its games studios, Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, held a town hall to discuss the division’s future goals. “We need smaller games that give us prestige and awards,” Booty told employees, according to internal remarks shared with The Verge.
For some listeners on the call, it was a surprising goal: Microsoft had just shut down the Japanese developer Tango Gameworks, which was coming off the small, prestigious hit title Hi-Fi Rush.
Hi-Fi Rush, which was a surprise release last year, was praised for its innovation and charm. The rhythm action game featured music by The Black Keys and Nine Inch Nails, with an art style that evoked the hyper-stylized games of the...
Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge
Recently, motherboard makers have issued BIOS updates to improve the stability of Intel 13th and 14th Gen i9 chips in crashing games. But Intel, which announced last month that it was investigating these issues, is now asking gamers not to implement those settings.
The companies now seem to be at odds on how to adjust your CPU. Motherboard makers like Asus are recommending an “Intel Baseline Profile” with “basic functionality” and “lower power limits,” while Intel says you should go with a higher power profile depending on your motherboard and chip.
Here’s Intel’s full statement, from Anandtech:
Several motherboard manufacturers have released BIOS profiles labeled ‘Intel Baseline Profile’. However, these BIOS profiles are not the same...
Image: The Verge
Microsoft Strategic Missions and Technology CTO William Chappell announced that it’s deployed a GPT-4 large language model in an isolated, air-gapped environment on a government-only network. Bloomberg first reported the setup, citing an unnamed executive who claimed that the Azure Government Top Secret cloud-hosted model represents the first time a “major” LLM has operated separated from the internet.
Chappell announced the AI supercomputer on Tuesday afternoon at the “first-ever AI Expo for National Competitiveness” in Washington D.C. Unlike the models behind ChatGPT or other tools, Microsoft says this server is “static,” operating without learning from the files it processes or the wider internet.
Chappell told Bloomberg, “It is now...
The Apple Watch Series 9 doesn’t shake things up too much, but it does pack a handful of iterative updates. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
In September, Apple launched its latest batch of smartwatches, introducing the Apple Watch Ultra 2 ($799) alongside the Apple Watch Series 9 ($399). Each wearable has its own pros and cons, as does the second-gen Apple Watch SE ($249), but the introduction of the new wearables also means there are now more Apple Watch models on the market than ever before — and a lot more deals to be had.
But with all of those options, which one should you pick? Generally speaking, you want to buy the newest watch you can afford so that it continues to receive software updates from Apple. The latest update, watchOS 10, launched in September on the Apple Watch Series 4 and newer, though no one can say with certainty whether the Series 4 will get the next...
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge
There’s a new streaming bundle coming to town. Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are teaming up to offer Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max in a bundle that will become available in the US this summer.
The new bundle will include both ad-supported and ad-free options, but there’s still no word on how much it will cost. Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery say they will share “additional details” about the bundle in the “coming months.” Once available, you’ll be able to purchase the bundle from Disney Plus, Hulu, or Max’s website.
This fall, the Disney-owned ESPN will also offer a live sports streaming service with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox.
The bundle comes at a pivotal point for the streaming industry, where companies are now turning their...