The FTC’s ban against noncompete agreements may be under threat
Illustration by The Verge | Photo via Getty Images
A federal judge could block the Federal Trade Commission’s impending ban on noncompete agreements from going into effect. Noncompete agreements are intended to make it difficult for employees to switch to similar positions at other companies or start businesses of their own, and they’ve been a contentious issue within tech companies in particular.
The ban had been set to go into force on September 4th, but on Wednesday, Judge Ada Brown issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought against the FTC. For those plaintiffs, the FTC’s ban will no longer go into effect on September 4th. Brown says she plans to rule on their entire challenge to the FCC “on or before August 30, 2024,” potentially stopping the FTC from blocking noncompetes nationwide.
Tax firm Ryan LLC filed the lawsuit against the FTC the same day the ban was announced in April, arguing that the ban is “an unauthorized, unconstitutional attempt to eliminate a long-established private economic arrangement.” The US Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable are among those who have joined the suit since its filing.
Brown writes that she granted the preliminary injunction because the plaintiffs are “substantially likely to prevail on the merits of their challenge to the FTC’s Non-Compete Rule.”
“The FTC stands by our clear authority, supported by statute and precedent, to issue this rule,” reads a statement from FTC spokesperson Douglas Farrar. “We will keep fighting to free hardworking Americans from unlawful noncompetes, which reduce innovation, inhibit economic growth, trap workers, and undermine Americans’ economic liberty.”
The FTC voted 3-2 in support of the ban. At the time, the FTC argued that the ban would allow for more than 8,500 new businesses to be made each year.
Update, July 3rd: Added statement from the FTC, and clarified when the FTC’s ban may or may not go into effect.
The Verge’s guide to Amazon Prime Day 2024
Illustration by Hugo Herrera for The Verge
Amazon Prime Day 2024 is nearly here. The annual two-day super sale will start on July 16th and run through July 17th, bringing with it a treasure trove of discounts, promos, and exclusive deals for Amazon Prime subscribers. It may not be the only Prime Day event we see this year — Amazon has recently taken to hosting a second shopping event in the fall — but it will likely remain one of the best opportunities of the year to score discounts on a range of tech outside of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Like in previous years, we’re highlighting the best deals on a variety of Verge-approved gadgets and gizmos, from the latest laptops and OLED TVs to robot vacuums that can leave your hardwood floors as spotless as your living room carpet. We’re also rounding up anti-Prime Day deals from competing retailers, including Walmart and Target, as well as an array of useful tips and tricks for making the most of the 48-hour event.
The price cuts are sure to be fleeting, but if you’re quick enough, you may be able to knock a few items off your holiday wish list before the eggnog even begins to arrive.
Judge Backs Challenge to F.T.C.’s Noncompete Ban, at Least for Now Granting an injunction to several plaintiffs, a judge said the Federal Trade Commission’s pending ban on noncompete agreements was unlikely to prevail.
DJI expands into e-bikes and drive systems
An exploded view of the Amflow PL e-bike showing the Avinox drive system. | Image: DJI
DJI is expanding into electric bikes in a big way with its new Avinox drive system and Amflow e-bike brand. The company best known for its drones is launching its first e-bike — the carbon fiber Amflow PL electric mountain bike — before the end of the year, complete with the mid-drive Avinox motor and fast-charging battery. It has so many smart and powerful features packed into a relatively lightweight e-bike that it should catch the attention of competitors like Bosch and Specialized.
As a showcase for DJI’s new Avinox drive system, the Amflow PL e-bike features a very impressive 120Nm of max torque and 1000W of on-demand boost power to overcome even the steepest inclines. Otherwise, its “remarkably quiet” mid-drive motor is rated for 250W of nominal output with an 850W peak. Its removable 800Wh battery can fast-charge from zero to 75 percent in a speedy 1.5 hours when using Amflow’s 2A/508W GaN charger.
Despite all that power and battery capacity, the Amflow PL weighs just 19.2kg (just over 42 pounds), thanks in part to a 2.27kg carbon fiber frame and 2.52kg Avinox drive system.
The bike features a two-inch color OLED touchscreen display integrated into the frame and an Avinox app for wireless access to the bike and all the riding data. The bike will sound an alarm in case of trouble and alert you of its location in the app. It has four pedal-assist modes, including an auto mode that adapts power delivery based on riding resistance. Rounding out the highlights is a USB charging port for your phone or bike computer, a full suspension system from Fox, and a frame that can accommodate both 27.5-inch and 29-inch rear wheels.
“Our expertise in battery and motor technology accumulated in drones and camera stabilization systems, have led us to the creation of Avinox,” says Christina Zhang, senior director of corporate strategy at DJI. “It is a natural move for DJI to expand into this field as we have been mastering the technologies essential to an electric bike system, in terms of reliable motor development, battery management, mechanical design and engineering.”
The company has also been developing intelligent driving solutions for automobiles in China over the last few years, some of which can already be found in several car models. More recently, the company expanded into the large consumer battery market with the launch of its first power stations.
The Amflow PL is expected to ship in Q4. DJI tells me to expect a pricing somewhere between €7,000 and €12,000 ($7,500 and $12,850), which puts it into direct competition with premium electric sport bikes like Specialized’s Turbo series. DJI says the Amflow PL will be available from authorized dealers in Germany, the UK, and Australia “amongst others.”
Investors Pour $27.1 Billion Into A.I. Start-Ups, Defying a Downturn Funding for A.I. firms made up nearly half the $56 billion in U.S. start-up financing from April to June, according to PitchBook.
This dual-screen laptop swings horizontally — and quotes the Whole Earth Catalog
The Acemagic X1, a laptop with a side-folding second screen for multi-monitor use. | Image: Acemagic
Unlike the Asus Zenbook Duo and Lenovo Yoga Book 9i we reviewed earlier this year, it’s not a twin-screen tablet with a detachable keyboard; this one’s most definitely a laptop with an extra screen on a hinge that swings all the way around. And unlike the upcoming GPD Duo, it swings horizontally instead of vertically. The company is calling it the “world’s first horizontally foldable 360 degree laptop.”
Image: Acemagic Image: Acemagic
While we don’t have a price, release date, or full spec sheet yet, it seems this laptop isn’t shooting for gaming or high-end productivity; it’ll be equipped with a two-year-old 12th Gen Intel Core i7-1255U processor (we’re expecting 15th Gen this fall), 16GB of DDR4 memory, and a 1TB PCIe 3.0 SSD.
It also only supports 5Gbps transfer speeds from its USB-A and USB-C ports and HDMI 2.0 rather than HDMI 2.1 for its video output. And one of its two USB-C ports is only for charging.
Image: Acemagic
In addition to the ports, you can see Acemagic’s geared hinge mechanism;Tom’s Hardwaresaw a unit and says the hinge seems to work well.
Still, there are lots of tasks that don’t necessarily need lots of horsepower but could benefit from more visual real estate — and the second screen isn’t the only unique thing about this machine!
The Acemagic X1 also includes, and I quote:
Adding to its distinctive appeal, ACEMAGIC has engraved Steve Jobs’s iconic quote, “Stay hungry, Stay foolish,” in real gold on the left side of the keyboard. This touch symbolizes the device’s premium quality and innovative spirit.
I am assuming Acemagic doesn’t realize that Steve Jobs was actually quoting the Whole Earth Catalog in his 2005 commencement speech, but hey, bonus points for countercultural message written in gold?
(No, we don’t have a picture of the gold lettering to see if Steve Jobs’ name is also on the side of this laptop.)
In Ukraine War, A.I. Begins Ushering In an Age of Killer Robots Driven by the war with Russia, many Ukrainian companies are working on a major leap forward in the weaponization of consumer technology.
Here are the best AirPods deals you can get right now
Apple’s second-gen AirPods Pro are down to $199 ($50 off) at Amazon ahead of Prime Day. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
If you know where to look, you can often score discounts on Apple’s ever-popular AirPods. Since Apple launched the third-gen AirPods at the end of 2021, we’ve seen the starting price of the second-gen, entry-level model consistently dip below $100. And now that the second-gen AirPods Pro have been on the market for nearly two years, we’re also seeing their price fall more often, too. We’re even seeing great deals land on the updated AirPods Pro with USB-C.
Before we dive into the deals, though, we wanted to remind you that Prime Day will be taking place this year from July 16th through 17th. In the past, we’ve seen some excellent deals on AirPods, so if you’re looking to purchase a pair it may be worth it to wait. If you can’t, though, here are the best deals currently available on each model, including the entry-level AirPods, the AirPods Pro, the third-gen AirPods, and the AirPods Max.
The best AirPods (second-gen) deals
In 2021, Apple lowered the list price of the second-gen AirPods — now the entry-level model — from $159 to $129. It now only sells the model with a wired charging case, however, which charges via a standard Lightning cable. Despite their age, we found that the easy-to-use, second-gen AirPods still offer great wireless performance and reliable battery life, making them a great pick if you can live without a wireless charging case.
For Black Friday, Apple’s most affordable pair of earbuds dropped to an all-time low of $69 ($60 off) at numerous retailers. Right now, however, the second-gen earbuds are only on sale at Amazon and Walmart with a Lightning charging case for $89 ($40 off), which matches their second-best price to date.
With support for the company’s MagSafe technology and an asking price of $179, Apple’s third-gen AirPods are often considered the middle child in Apple’s current AirPods lineup. The shorter stems make for a more subtle design, too, while improved sound and features like sweat and water resistance, support for spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, and improved battery life render them a nice improvement over the last-gen model.
In 2022, Apple quietly introduced a new, slightly cheaper option of the third-gen AirPods that comes with a Lightning-only charging case. Unfortunately, they’re only on sale at B&H Photo right now for $159.99 ($10 off), with neither Amazon nor Walmart offering their usual discount of $30 off. That being said, the MagSafe option is available to Costco members for $149.99 ($30 off) or at B&H Photo for $169.99 ($10 off).
In 2022, Apple announced the second-gen AirPods Pro, which feature a similar build to the first-gen model but offer better noise cancellation, swipe-based controls, and an extra-small pair of swappable silicone ear tips for smaller ears. Apple followed them up last year with a minor refresh, one that features a USB-C charging case and an upgraded IP54 rating for water and dust resistance. The newest model also supports lossless audio when used with Apple’s new Vision Pro headset.
Apple’s updated AirPods Pro are currently on sale at Amazon for $199 ($50 off), which is about $20 shy of the all-time low we saw at the end of April. They’re also available at Best Buy, Walmart, and Target, though only for their full retail price of $249 or so.
The AirPods Max aren’t the iconic in-ears that have become synonymous with the AirPods name. They’re large and luxurious, comprised of aluminum, steel, and mesh fabric that remains comfortable during extended listening sessions. They also sport excellent noise cancellation, Apple’s spatial audio feature, and expansive, balanced sound, even if they lag behind some of their peers when it comes to bass response and features. They’re not the best noise-canceling headphones for most people — blame the sticker price — but it’s hard to find a better pair of Bluetooth headphones if you’re an iPhone user.
Woot and other retailers have previously discounted the AirPods Max as low as $409. Right now, though, the best you can do is $479.95 (about $69 off) at Amazon and B&H Photo — which is still one of the best prices we’ve seen so far this year.
A major SmartThings update brings support for appliances, robot vacuums, and more through Matter
Samsung is bringing Matter 1.2 to its SmartThings smart home platform. | Image: Samsung SmartThings
Samsung SmartThings looks set to become the first major smart home platform to fully support Matter 1.2. According to a press release, the SmartThings platform now works with Matter 1.2, so manufacturers and developers can start integrating their compatible devices with the platform. The SmartThings app won’t be updated to support Matter until later this summer — so you won’t be able to control your Matter-compatible Roborock robot vacuum or Midea dishwasher through SmartThings until then.
Samsung also announced several other updates to its smart home platform, including app design improvements, new device control options, a hub backup option, shareable routines, and the gamification of its SmartThings Energy feature.
Support for Matter 1.2 in SmartThings means the appliances added to the new smart home standard — developed jointly by Apple, Amazon, Google, Samsung, and others — will now work with Samsung’s smart home platform.
This includes refrigerators, room air conditioners, dishwashers, washing machines, robot vacuums, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, air quality sensors, air purifiers, and fans. You’ll be able to add the devices directly to the SmartThings app via Matter, control them, and receive notifications and alerts through the app.
The SmartThings platform already supports many of these appliances, both its own Samsung brand as well as those from other manufacturers (including Thermador, Bosch, and Dacor). But those are generally through cloud integrations.
Matter will bring these integrations local, which should mean faster response times and the ability to control devices even if your internet is down. While Samsung’s connected appliances work with the SmartThings app, they are not Matter certified. This means they only work with the SmartThings app, whereas Matter appliances can work with any smart home platform that supports Matter.
However, the other major platforms, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Apple Home, have yet to add support for Matter 1.2. Apple announced it will support robot vacuums later this year, but there’s no word on any of the other device types. Home Assistant supports Matter 1.2, but its Matter integration is still in beta. While Matter 1.3 was announced in May, bringing support for energy management, microwave ovens, ovens, electric cooktops, extractor hoods, and electric dryers, it’s unclear when we’ll see widespread platform support.
There are currently only a handful of Matter-certified appliances in the newly supported categories — Roborock’s S8 MaxV Ultra,Ecovac’s Deebot X2 Combo robot vacuums, and AiDot’s air purifier being some examples. But now that one of the major platforms has announced support, I expect we’ll see manufacturers enabling it in their appliances. Whirlpool (which owns KitchenAid and Maytag), Midea, LG, and Haier (which owns GE Appliances) are all notable brands that have said their products will support Matter.
Samsung announced a few other enhancements for its platform besides a Matter update. It’s adding a new Hub Manager interface in the SmartThings app to provide a single place to manage multiple hubs. This adds the option to choose a primary hub as well as a new Hub Backup feature. If you have multiple SmartThings hubs, a secondary hub can kick in if the primary hub fails.
SmartThings has expanded its hub infrastructure significantly in recent years, adding SmartThings hubs into its TVs, soundbars, and smart fridges. With the Hub Backup feature, since it’s more likely you have multiple hubs in your house, if one gets unplugged, fails, or you replace it, your smart home will continue to operate. Most of Samsung’s newer SmartThings hubs support Thread, Zigbee, and Matter, but only the Aeotec SmartThings hub also supports Z-Wave.
Samsung Galaxy smartphone users are getting a new quick access Device Control feature. You’ll now be able to choose devices to add to your own home control page on the phone’s quick panel for fast access to adjust the TV’s volume or change a light’s brightness without opening the SmartThings app.
Image: Samsung SmartThings
SmartThings Energy is getting gamified. Now, if you save 400Wh a day by using the energy management feature, you can earn Samsung Rewards.
Energy management is a key feature of the smart home, and SmartThings Energy, SmartThings’ energy management service, is one of the more robust options. Now, Samsung is adding a neat gamification feature to the platform, which lets you view and manage energy use from compatible appliances to help you save energy. When you use Samsung’s AI Energy Mode, which automatically adjusts appliances’ energy use, you can earn an Energy Stamp for every day you save 400Wh of electricity. These can be converted into Samsung Rewards and spent on Samsung products at Samsung.com.
The SmartThings app is also getting some interface updates. The Devices tab will now display Rooms as top-level tabs, making managing your devices by room easier. Searching for devices has also been “enhanced” to help you find what you need quicker. Devices will also feature more glanceable information on their card, including the device's status — for example, a door lock will indicate if it’s locked or unlocked.
You’ll also now be able to share any routines or automation you create in the app with friends and family. Shareable Routines will let you generate a QR code of a routine you’ve created for someone to scan to activate in the SmartThings app.
While these are mostly incremental improvements to the platform, they are all welcome updates that — if they work as advertised — will make using SmartThings to manage your smart home easier and more reliable. The platform has also been leading the way in Matter adoption, and while Matter is still far from the smooth, seamless smart home experience we’ve been promised, SmartThings now offers one of the most robust implementations.
Supreme Court Declines to Rule on Tech Platforms’ Free Speech Rights The justices returned both cases, which concerned state laws that supporters said were aimed at “Silicon Valley censorship,” to lower courts. Critics had said the laws violated the sites’ First Amendment rights.
Meta’s Ad-Free Subscription Violates Competition Law, E.U. Says Regulators said the subscription service introduced last year is a “pay or consent” method to collect personal data and bolster advertising.
Facebook and Instagram’s ‘pay or consent’ ad model violates the DMA, says the EU
Image: The Verge
The EU has formally charged Meta with violations of its Digital Markets Act (DMA), marking its second such charge in as many weeks. The European Commission writes in a preliminary ruling that the “pay or consent” advertising model that launched last year for Facebook and Instagram users runs afoul of Article 5(2) of the DMA by not giving users a third option that uses less data for ad targeting but is still free to use.
Regulators found in their investigation that Meta gives users a “binary choice” that forces them to either choose to pay a monthly subscription fee to get the ad-free version of Facebook and Instagram or consent to the ad-supported version. Where Meta runs afoul of its rules, it says, is by not letting users opt for a free version that “uses less of their personal data but is otherwise equivalent to the ‘personalised ads’ based service” and by not allowing them to “exercise their right to freely consent to the combination of their personal data.”
“Our preliminary view is that Meta’s advertising model fails to comply with the Digital Markets Act,” wrote Margrethe Vestager, who leads the region’s competition policy. “And we want to empower citizens to be able to take control over their own data and choose a less personalised ads experience.”
The commission explains the part of the DMA it believes Meta has violated:
Under Article 5(2) of the DMA, gatekeepers must seek users’ consent for combining their personal data between designated core platform services and other services, and if a user refuses such consent, they should have access to a less personalised but equivalent alternative. Gatekeepers cannot make use of the service or certain functionalities conditional on users’ consent.
The #DMA is here to give back users the power to decide over their #data#Meta has forced millions of users across EU into a binary choice : “pay or consent”.
In our preliminary conclusion this is a breach of the DMA.
“Subscription for no ads follows the direction of the highest court in Europe and complies with the DMA,” Meta spokesperson Matthew Pollard told The Verge in an email. “We look forward to further constructive dialogue with the European Commission to bring this investigation to a close.”
The commission says that it has informed Meta of its charges and has the opportunity to respond to its findings. If Meta is ultimately found to be in violation when the investigation concludes next year, the EU could fine it as much as 10 percent of its total worldwide revenue, which, for Meta, could be as much as $13.4 billion based on its results for 2023. The penalty could grow to up to 20 percent if the company is found to continue violating the DMA.
Meta is the second company charged since the DMA went into full force in March 2024. The commission asserted last week that Apple’s App Store “steering” policies don’t allow sufficient competition.
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