This happened today
Spotify’s CFO is out days after mass layoffs .
Image: The Verge Of all the layoffs happening at Spotify this week, this has to be the biggest. Chief financial officer Paul Vogel, who since 2020 has managed the company’s balance sheet as it expanded into podcasting and audiobooks, is leaving the company at the end of March 2024. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said the decision was made because Vogel didn’t have the experience needed to help the company both expand and meet market expectations. ...
Here are the best deals on headphones and wireless earbuds we could find.
Sony’s WH-1000XM5 are our favorite pair of noise-canceling headphones and are currently on sale. When it comes to headphones and true wireless earbuds, there are a ton of brands and products to choose from. However, the sheer range of available models can also make them difficult to shop for, especially since many of them cater to different lifestyles, budgets, and priorities. ...
The Verge’s favorite holiday gifts under $25.
Photo Illustration by Amelia Holowaty Krales and Cath Virginia / The Verge Whether you need a stocking stuffer or a white elephant present, we’ve got an inexpensive gift idea for nearly every occasion. Continue reading…
Apple Releases Safari Technology Preview 184 With Bug Fixes and Performance Improvements.
Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced in March 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari. Safari Technology Preview 184 includes fixes and updates for Accessibility, CSS, HTMK, JavaScript, Media, Web Animations, Web API, Web Assembly, Web Inspector, and WebGL. ...
Former Apple Lawyer Gene Levoff Avoids Prison After Insider Trading Conviction.
Former Apple director of corporate law Gene Levoff was today sentenced to a fine and four years of probation for insider trading, according to Bloomberg. Levoff was facing up to two years in prison, but he will avoid time behind bars. Levoff's role at Apple was supposed to include ensuring that Apple employees were compliant with the company's insider trading policies, including enforcement of "blackout periods" around Apple's earnings reports, but he ended up committing the crime he was meant to police. ...
Now Android phones can automatically send medical data during 911 calls.
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google is pushing a new Android update to enable a potentially lifesaving feature that can relay critical medical data to first responders when a user dials 911. The technology works by sending important emergency information about the caller entered in the Personal Safety app, like age, weight, blood type, allergies, and more, to a platform called RapidSOS. ...
The best deals on MacBooks right now.
Apple’s pair of M2 MacBook Airs are some of our top choices among all laptops, and both are discounted. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Apple sells MacBooks equipped with its own M-series chips in a wide range of sizes and price points. The offerings start with the 13-inch MacBook Air from 2020 at $999 and go all the way up to the latest 16-inch MacBook Pro starting at $2,499. ...
Linux is getting its own Blue Screen of Death.
Image: Microsoft Linux is getting its own version of a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). Phoronix reports that the latest release of systemd for Linux systems comes with a systemd-bsod service that’s able to generate a full-screen error message on Linux distributions. Much like how the Blue Screen of Death originated in Windows, Linux’s version will be used as an emergency tool to log errors. ...
Review: Two Months With the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Apple's iPhone 15 lineup came out in September, and while most reviews are done shortly after a new device launches, we like to follow up with a longer term review that gives us an opportunity to provide a deeper dive into what it's like using these phones on a day to day basis for months.
One day, your EV might power your home’s A/C.
Ford and Resideo are testing an integration that could power your HVAC using a Honeywell Home smart thermostat and a Ford F-150 Lightning EV. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Smart homes can already help us charge our EVs more efficiently, but using an EV to power our smart homes is still largely sci-fi. ...
Developers Will Soon Get 25 Monthly Hours of Xcode Cloud With Apple Developer Program.
Apple today announced that starting in January 2024, all Apple Developer Program memberships will include 25 compute hours of Xcode Cloud at no additional cost on top of the Developer membership fee. Xcode Cloud is designed to provide cloud-based tools to developers for building apps, running automated tests, providing apps to testers, and managing user feedback. ...
Here's how to move your subscriptions off Google Podcasts before it shuts down.
Earlier this year, Google announced it would shut down its standalone podcast app in 2024. Since then, the company has started moving podcasts into YouTube and its companion app YouTube Music. As a way to ease the transition, Google will be rolling out a migration tool for its current podcast app users. ...
Apple Pay Outage Affecting Some Users.
There is an Apple Pay and Wallet outage that is causing some users to experience issues with Apple Pay web payments and in-app payments using Apple Pay. According to Apple's System Status page, the outage began at 5:04 a.m. Eastern Time, and it is ongoing. Apple says that only "some users" are having problems, but there are multiple tweets about the payment issues. ...
Meta's Threads is getting searchable topics (just don't call them hashtags).
Meta’s latest update for Threads will address a long-running feature request for the company’s Twitter competitor: topic tags. The company is adding searchable tags to make it easier for people to find conversations that interest them. Mark Zuckeberg previewed the change last month, but the feature is now available to all Threads users, according to the company. ...
Watch The Game Awards 2023 here at 7:30PM ET.
The tenth edition of the Game Awards is upon us. The event unfolds Thursday evening, with host Geoff Keighley scheduled to take the stage at 7:30PM ET. In addition to the myriad trailers, announcements, gameplay clips and speeches, six titles will compete for the coveted Game of the Year award. Engadget will cover all the big news as it happens, and you can watch along below. ...
Notepad on Windows 11 is finally getting a character count.
It’s like Microsoft Word, but Notepad. | Image: Microsoft Microsoft has been gradually improving its built-in Notepad app on Windows 11 in recent years, and now, it’s finally getting a character count. In a new Canary channel test version of Windows 11, Microsoft has added the character count at the bottom much like Microsoft Word’s count of the number of words in a document. ...
Threads has hashtags now.
Illustration: The Verge Tags — basically hashtags with a twist — are now rolling out globally on Threads, Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced on Thursday. Tags work a little differently than hashtags do on platforms like Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). When composing a Threads post, you start a tag by tapping the # symbol and then typing out your topic. ...
iOS 17.2 Adds NameDrop-Like Feature for Sharing Boarding Passes, Movie Tickets, and More.
Starting with the upcoming iOS 17.2 software update, there is a new NameDrop-like feature that allows an iPhone user to quickly share boarding passes, movie tickets, and other Wallet app passes with another iPhone user. To use the feature, open the Wallet app and tap on the pass that you want to share. ...
Apple Seeds Second macOS Sonoma 14.2 Release Candidate to Developers.
Apple today seeded a second release candidate (RC) version of an upcoming macOS Sonoma 14.2 update to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming few days after Apple seeded the first RC. The second RC has a build number of 23C64, up from 23C63 for the first RC. Registered developers can opt-in to the beta through the Software Update section of the System Settings app. ...
Amazon ditches Venmo as a direct payment option after just 14 months.
Folks who have gotten used to using Venmo to pay for goods on Amazon will have to switch to another payment method to renew their Prime membership or order goods. Amazon is ditching Venmo as a direct payment option just 14 months after enabling it. It's no longer possible to add Venmo as an Amazon payment option. ...
Streamlabs is bringing livestreaming tools to X.
Content creation experts Streamlabs has partnered with beleaguered social media platform X to offer a “seamless go-live experience”. This is part of X’s long-promised integration of game streaming to the site. To that end, it’ll allow X users to initiate streams without having to manually input stream keys and it’ll let those same users sign into the Streamlabs desktop app or the mobile app using social media credentials. ...
The Verge’s 2023 home tech holiday gift guide .
Photo Illustration by Amelia Holowaty Krales and Cath Virginia / The Verge From color-changing lights to gadgets that’ll take care of dinner for you and your pets, here are some of our favorite smart home gifts. Continue reading…
Whatsapp adds disappearing voice messages to its roster of privacy features.
When Snapchat introduced the notion of “ephemeral data” to the masses a decade ago, self-destructive messaging really took off. There were tons of companies trying to cash in, from Meta-created Poke to Wickr, Confide, Hash and others. For the most part, all of those companies failed, but the idea has thrived. ...
THQ Nordic says it's avoiding holiday crunch by delaying Alone in the Dark reboot to March.
THQ Nordic has once again delayed its reboot of Alone in the Dark. The revival of the totemic survival horror series was originally supposed to debut in October before the publisher pushed back the release date to January. THQ Nordic now says that Alone in the Dark will arrive on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on March 20, 2024. ...
Proton Drive for Android can back up your photos to a private cloud server (edited).
Cloud storage app Proton Drive is rolling out a new tool that automatically sends photos to a private cloud server, bringing the feature set closer to something like Google Drive. Not only does the software automatically sync and upload photos to its servers, but there’s a management tool that categorizes images based on when the photos were taken, which Proton calls “snapshots of your life. ...
Dragonyhm is the latest in a wave of new Game Boy RPGs.
The Game Boy might be over 30 years old, but it remains one of the most beloved retro systems. Despite its age, there’s been a steady increase in indie releases, thanks in part to GB Studio — a drop-and-drag tool for making games and an influx of new retro-focused handhelds. But 2023 has been a particularly strong year for the console. ...
Apple Promotes iCloud's Advanced End-to-End Encryption Feature as Data Breaches Increase.
Apple today shared a study conducted by MIT professor Dr. Stuart Madnick that found 2.6 billion personal records were compromised by data breaches in the past two years. The study was commissioned by Apple, but the cover page says that the "conclusions and opinions expressed are exclusively those of the author. ...
Anker Begins Countdown to Christmas Sale With Up to 50% Off Popular Charging Accessories.
Anker has launched its newest holiday sale, this one offering a special deal every day in the lead-up to Christmas. These sales offer up to 50 percent off select products, and include discounts on USB-C chargers, portable batteries, and much more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. ...
Google's Pixel Tablet falls back to an all-time low of $399.
Truly great Android tablets are uncommon, but the Google Pixel Tablet stands out among them for its ability to function like a smart display. If you've been interested in picking one up, the 11-inch slate is back on sale for $399 at several retailers, including Amazon, Target, Wellbots, and Google's online store. ...
Disney+ adds a Hulu tab as the streaming services start integrating.
Disney Bundle subscribers in the US should now be seeing some more general entertainment fare popping up on Disney+. The long-awaited integration of Hulu into the company's namesake streaming platform is underway. Disney has added a Hulu tab to the platform for those with a bundle subscription. The company is calling this a limited beta of Hulu on Disney+ ahead of a broader rollout in the spring. ...
Fortnite aims at the survival-builder crown with its new Lego mode.
Remember when Fortnite was just a battle royale game? After six years of storylines, concerts and even Olympic events, Fortnite has grown beyond its roots into a general catch-all social space. And Epic Games isn’t going back, expanding the Fortnite experience even further with three new modes announced at its Big Bang Event this weekend: a racing game, a social music experience and, most importantly to kids, a Lego-themed survival builder that launches today. ...
Apple Executive Behind Breakthrough Hardware Technologies Retires.
The Apple executive responsible for the company's multitouch technology, health sensors, Touch ID, and Face ID is set to retire from the company, Bloomberg reports. Steve Hotelling currently works as a vice president reporting to senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji. During his tenure, Hotelling significantly contributed to the development of some of Apple's most innovative and complex technologies used in the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro headset. ...
Tidal is laying off 10 percent of its staff.
Music streamer Tidal has announced that it will lay off 10 percent of its staff as part of a cost-cutting strategy detailed last month by Jack Dorsey, CEO of parent company Block Inc. The move affects approximately 40 people from multiple departments, including Tidal's playlist curation team. "We do not take these decisions lightly, and we are sincerely grateful for the contributions of our impacted teammates,” a Tidal spokesperson said in an email seen by Bloomberg. ...
Spotify on iOS to Bring Back In-App Purchases, Beta Code Suggests [Updated].
Spotify appears to be bringing in-app payments back to its iOS app, based on code strings unearthed in the latest beta. MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris discovered the new code references to an in-app payment system, including an IAP checkout screen and purchase retry panels for failed purchases. It's not clear what the IAP references relate to, but the fact that they are included is curious in itself. ...
The best password managers for 2024.
Password managers securely store all of the credentials you need on a regular basis. From streaming service logins to banking information and everything in between, these managers keep track of unique, strong online passwords. Your login credentials are not secure if they're all written down on a sticky note near your computer, and if you lose that physical record, you'll have a hard time logging into your most used accounts. ...
The Morning After: Google’s Gemini is the company’s answer to ChatGPT.
Google officially introduced its most capable large language model to date, Gemini. CEO Sundar Pichai said it’s the first of “a new generation of AI models, inspired by the way people understand and interact with the world.” Of course, it’s all very complex, but Google’s multimillion-dollar investment in AI has created a model more flexible than anything before it. ...
Facebook Messenger Rolls Out End-to-End Encryption by Default.
Meta is rolling out end-to-end encryption for personal messages and calls on Messenger and Facebook, finally delivering on a pledge it committed to some time ago. Messenger encryption originally arrived in 2016 in the form of "secret conversations," and plans to extend the platform's cryptographic features have been floated ever since. ...
Xbox gift cards are 10 percent off at Amazon right now.
If you want to surprise your favorite gamer with a gift but aren't sure exactly what to get, why not let them decide themselves? Amazon is offering Xbox Gift Cards at 10 percent off, giving you some nice savings on $50, $25 and $15 denominations. letting you grab them for $45, $22.50 and $13.50 respectively — some nice savings for the holidays. ...
Meta’s Oversight Board is fast-tracking two cases about Israel-Hamas war content.
Meta’s Oversight Board says it will fast-track two cases dealing with content takedowns on Facebook and Instagram related to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The cases mark the first time the independent board has opted to expedite a review, which allows it to make a decision in as little as 48 hours instead of the typical weeks or months-long process. ...
A24 movies will stream first on HBO and Max as part of a new multiyear deal.
Warner Bros Discover (WBD) has scored a coup by inking a "Pay-1" deal with indie darling A24 for priority streaming rights, the company announced. That means new releases from A24 like Iron Claw (above) will appear first on HBO, Max and Cinemax before streaming on any other platform. The deal also extends WBD's licensing for A24's film catalog, giving it access to titles like Uncut Gems, Everything Everywhere All At Once and others. ...
Apple Adds Push Notification Data to Law Enforcement Guidelines.
Apple has updated its Legal Process Guidelines to reflect the company's legal obligation to comply with law enforcement requests for Apple ID information associated with its push notification service. The change follows yesterday's revelation that governments are actively using smartphone notification data as a user surveillance tool. ...
Realme's GT5 Pro phone can unlock itself by reading your palm.
When LG still made phones (sigh), at one point it tried to implement a "Hand ID" unlock gimmick on the G8 ThinQ, though in our experience, there was much room for improvement. For one, you'd have to turn on the screen first to toggle hand tracking. That was dumb. Fast forward to today, Realme is bringing a similar feature back to a new phone, the GT5 Pro, with support for some seemingly practical hand gestures. ...
Kuo: Apple Upgrading iPhone 16 Microphone to Boost Siri AI Experience.
Apple plans a significant upgrade to the iPhone 16 microphone to improve the new AI-enhanced Siri experience, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Writing in his latest Medium post, Kuo says that "strengthening Siri's hardware and software features and specifications is the key to promoting AI-generated content," adding that Apple's generative AI ambitions and integration of large-language models (LLMs) into Siri will heavily rely on improved voice input processing. ...
Google attempts to fix the Drive bug that is causing people's files to go missing.
It was reported in late November that Google Drive for desktop (v84.0.0.0-84.0.4.0) had a sync issue, which caused months or even years of files to disappear. If you were unfortunate enough to be part of this "small subset" of users, there's finally some good news. In the latest version of Drive for desktop app (version 85. ...
Facebook Messenger update sets default end-to-end encryption for chats and calls.
Today, Meta has unveiled what it calls "the biggest set of improvements to Messenger since it was first launched in 2011." First and foremost, end-to-end encryption is now a default for private chats and calls on Messenger and Facebook, meaning your secured communication can't be spied on by others — not even by Meta itself, apparently. ...
Anker's Qi2 Chargers Will Charge iPhones at 15W.
Next-generation Qi2 chargers from Anker will charge the iPhone 13, iPhone 14, and iPhone 15 at faster 15W speeds, Anker told The Verge. Current Qi-based chargers from companies like Anker are limited to 7.5W when used with Apple's iPhones, while MagSafe chargers support 15W charging. While Qi2 has the same magnetic alignment that MagSafe offers, Apple has not provided details on the Qi2 charging speeds that the iPhone will support. ...