Here are the best Black Friday deals you can already get

Here are the best Black Friday deals you can already get

Image: Elen Winata for The Verge

From noise-canceling earbuds to robot vacuums and 4K OLED TVs, there is already plenty on offer.

Can’t wait until Black Friday to start your holiday shop or score a killer deal on a gadget you’ve been eyeing? You may not have to. Although Black Friday isn’t until November 29th, Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target have begun rolling out their holiday discounts, many of which are available elsewhere. Brand-specific Black Friday sales like one from Google have started up, too. Some retailers will even refund you the difference if an item drops further in price later this year, meaning you don’t necessarily have to worry about shopping ahead of time.

New deals are popping up daily, so we’ve rounded up the cream of the crop below to make sorting through them easier. Current promos include steep discounts on a range of our favorite tech, too, from the Bose QuietComfort Ultra and Apple’s AirTags to some of our favorite holiday string lights. We’ll continue updating this roundup as more deals drop, so bookmark this page and keep checking back.

The best Apple deals

• The GPS-enabled Apple Watch Series 10 is down to its best price of $349 ($50 off) in the 42mm configuration at Amazon and Walmart. Apple’s latest flagship wearable features the company’s new S10 SiP chip and an added depth and water temperature sensor. It also offers faster charging than the prior model, as well as a larger wide-angle display. Read our review.
• You can buy the last-gen iPad with Wi-Fi and 64GB of storage for its all-time low of $199.99 ($129 off) at Best Buy and Target. The 2021 tablet features a smaller 10.2-inch screen than the newer model, a slower A13 Bionic chip, and a Lightning charging port. However, it’s still snappy enough for streaming, browsing the web, sending emails, and performing other typical tablet tasks, making it great for kids or anybody looking for an affordable tablet. It even features a 3.5mm headphone jack — a welcome rarity.

The best speaker and headphone deals

• Jabra may have stopped selling consumer earbuds, but that doesn’t there aren’t discounts available on the existing models. Right now, for instance, you can purchase the Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 for an all-time low of $199.99 ($80 off) at Best Buy. In addition to noise cancellation, the semi-open Elite 10 come with an LE Audio charging case, which lets you wirelessly transmit audio from an external device. They also feature physical buttons and support other essentials, including multipoint Bluetooth connectivity.
• You can also pick up Jabra’s Elite 8 Active Gen 2 for $169.99 ($60 off) at Best Buy, which is one of the better prices we’ve seen. The fitness-focused earbuds offer a robust IP68 rating water resistance rating that can withstand sweaty workouts, along with a secure fit and adaptive ANC. They also support multipoint pairing and wireless charging, and like the Elite 10, come with an LE Audio charging case.

• The WH-1000XM4, Sony’s last-gen flagships, are on sale starting at $198 ($151 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. That’s not the shockingly low $130 they dropped to earlier this year, but it’s still a great price for a pair of cans that offer some of the best sound quality and noise cancellation performance around. They offer 30 hours of battery life, a foldable design, and flexible ambient audio modes, including a speak-to-chat feature that reduces volume while you’re talking. Read our review.

• The Sonos Roam 2 is available for $139 ($40 off) from Amazon, Best Buy, and Sonos. The compact smart speaker is far easier to set up than the prior model thanks to a dedicated Bluetooth button, meaning you can start listening to tunes without first setting it up in the Sonos app. It also lasts 10 hours per charge and features support for both AirPlay 2 and Amazon Alexa, not to mention an IP67 rating for dust and water protection. You can even sync it with other Sonos speakers like most other Sonos products.
• If you want a portable Sonos speaker with bigger sound and substantially longer battery life, the Sonos Move 2 is on sale for $59 ($90 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Sonos’ online storefront. It packs multiple speakers for stereo sound, and it supports USB-C line-in in addition to the usual wireless streaming options. It’s not exactly small or light (it’s chunky at 6.61 pounds), but the Move 2 can be ideal if you want a single Sonos device to enjoy outdoors or move from room to room in your home Read our review.

The best smart home deals

• The iRobot Roomba Combo j7 Plus is on sale for around $899 ($120 off) at Best Buy and Target, which is one of its better prices to date. The j7 Plus is similar to the Roomba Combo j9 Plus, as it offers AI obstacle avoidance and a mop that automatically lifts to keep your carpets dry. The main difference is that the Combo j9 Plus offers longer batter life and can refill its own mop tank; it also features a new dirt detection feature. Read our review.

• You can buy Philips Hue’s 26.2-feet Festavia string lights with 100 color-changing LEDs for $83.99 ($36 off) directly from Philips Hue (the 65-feet variant is also on sale for $153.99). The Festavia lights can display a range of colors and a wide selection of premade, festive effects and scenes. They also offer Matter support for use with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and other smart home platforms when paired with a Philips Hue Bridge, along with IP54 weatherproofing that allows you to hang them up outside for up to 90 days.
• Eero’s Pro 6E mesh router is available for an all-time low of $159.99 ($90 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, or as part of a two-pack for $259.99 (Amazon, Best Buy) or a three-pack for $349.99 (Amazon, Best Buy). It doesn’t support Wi-Fi 7 like the newer Eero Max, but it does support the 6GHz Wi-Fi band with speeds of up to 1.3Gbps. It also can cover up to 2,000 square feet per unit and conveniently features a pair of ethernet ports. Read our review.

The best smart security deals

• Ring’s Stick Up Cam Battery is on sale for an all-time low of $54.99 ($45 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. The battery-powered 1080p camera offers weatherproofing, so you can mount and use it outside and inside, but you’ll have to pay for a Ring Protect plan to record video. Thankfully, basics like two-way audio, night video, and motion alerts are available for free.
• The second-gen Ring Indoor Cam is available at Amazon and Best Buy for $29.99 ($30 off), which matches its best price to date. Unlike its predecessor, the indoor security camera features color night vision and a physical privacy cover, allowing you to turn off video and audio recording. The wired camera is similar to its predecessor otherwise, though, and features sharp 1080p HD resolution, a built-in siren, and two-way audio.

• You can buy Google’s wired Nest Cam for $69.99 ($30 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, which matches its all-time low. The indoor 1080p camera offers snappy performance and free smart alerts for people and pets. It also comes with 24/7 recording and other useful features, including a Familiar Faces tool that lets you know who is in a room. However, you’ll have to pay for Google’s Nest Aware plan to enable those features. Read our review.
• Our favorite video doorbell, the wired Nest Doorbell, is around $98 ($81 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and the Google Store, which is by far the lowest price we’ve seen. It may not offer 1080p resolution like other video doorbells in its range (it’s limited to 960 x 1280), but it still produces a clear picture and is one of the few options that can manage 24/7 recording. It also supports facial recognition with smart alerts. Read our review.

The best fitness tracker and smartwatch deals

• The Fitbit Inspire 3 is available from Amazon, Best Buy, and Google’s store for $69.95 ($30 off), matching its all-time low. The minimalist band lacks built-in GPS and doesn’t offer as many health and fitness features as the Charge 6, but it packs a bright OLED display and does a good job with the basics. It supports both irregular heart rate notifications and advanced sleep tracking, along with several stress management features. Read our hands-on impressions.
• The Fitbit Ace LTE is matching its all-time low of $179.95 ($50 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Google’s online storefront. Designed for kids, its bubbly design is a bit more playful than most Fitbits. You can play games on it and even take care of a Tamagotchi-like pet, and the tracker periodically pauses the fun until your child has gotten more steps in. Parents can also use it to exchange messages with their children and monitor their real-time location, assuming they opt for the $9.99-a-month Ace Pass data plan.

• If you’re looking for a terrific Fitbit alternative, the Garmin Venu Sq 2 is a great pick that’s down to an all-time low of $149.99 ($100 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Garmin’s online storefront. It’s a shame it lacks built-in GPS, but it does offer a lot of health features not found on rivals like the Fitbit Sense 2 and Versa 4, including hydration tracking and access to Garmin Coach, which provides marathon training plans. These features aren’t locked behind a paywall, either, making the wearable an even better deal. Read our review.

• The Garmin Fenix 7S Pro, one of the best fitness trackers you can buy, is on sale exclusively for Verge readers. Now through Cyber Monday, you can get the multi-sport fitness watch for just $529.99 ($270 off) at Wellbots with promo code VERGEBF270. In addition to a smorgasbord of health sensors and workout tracking, it has reliable multiband GPS, solar charging, military-grade durability, and weekslong battery life. Read our review.

The best TV and streaming device deals

• Amazon’s Fire TV Stick Game Pass bundle is back. Right now, you can pick up the newest Fire TV Stick 4K, an Xbox Wireless Controller, and a month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at Amazon for just $74.99 (about $62 off), or the same package with a Fire TV Stick 4K Max for $79.99 ($66.98 off). Both bundles include everything you need to start streaming hundreds of Game Pass titles — no expensive console required.
• LG’s G4 OLED TV is on sale in the 55-inch configuration starting at $1,796.99 (about $803 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, which is its best price yet. The 4K TV sports many of the C4’s standout features — including a 144Hz refresh rate — but it offers brighter picture quality and more accurate colors.

• The LG B4 OLED is another solid gaming TV, and you can get a 48-inch model for $599.99 ($200 off) at Best Buy or a 55-inch model for $999.99 ($400 off). It has an older processor and a dimmer screen than the costlier “Evo” models, but it’s a fine option if you’re looking for a relatively affordable way to experience 4K 120Hz gaming on an OLED panel.

• The Sonos Ray is available for just $169 ($110 off) from Amazon, Best Buy, and the Sonos storefront. The compact soundbar isn’t as powerful as other models in the brand’s lineup, but it should easily best your TV’s built-in speakers. It’s not our first choice for a soundbar — it lacks HDMI (and thus doesn’t support the helpful eARC tech) — but it’s an affordable way to add a Sonos piece to your home theater setup if you don’t mind using optical. Read our review.

The best gaming deals

• One of Best Buy’s early doorbusters is the Asus ROG Ally, which is matching its all-time low of $499.99 ($150 off) with a Z1 Extreme processor and 512GB of storage (My Best Buy Plus and Total members can save another $50). The handheld lets you play PC games on the go thanks to its seven-inch 1080p display, and while there are faster alternatives, it’s still serviceable for esports shooters, indie gems, and other lightweight titles. Read our review.
• The Hori Split Pad Pro, our favorite Nintendo Switch controller for handheld mode, is on sale for $38.99 ($11 off) at Walmart. The comfortable Joy-Con alternative is outfitted with large triggers, analog sticks, and a set of easy-to-reach buttons, along with more than enough grip that it shouldn’t pose any problems over long gaming sessions.

• If you have a wireless mouse that supports it, Logitech’s G PowerPlay Wireless Charging System is on sale at Amazon for $91.18 (about $21 off), which is only $2 more than its lowest price to date. Mice like the G502 X Lightspeed support the wireless charging pad, as does the Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2, both of which will grant you infinite playtime without a single second of tethering.

Other miscellaneous deals

• The Google Pixel 8A is on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and the Google Store starting at $399 ($100 off), which is $20 more than its lowest price to date. You’ll get a pure Android experience that’s guaranteed to receive updates over the next seven years, and the device should last you well into that timeline thanks to its IP67 rating for water and dust resistance. It also has wireless charging, a speedy Tensor G3 chip, a 120Hz OLED display, and a dual-camera array that works pretty well. Read our review.
• You can get Amazon’s newest Kindle with lockscreen ads for $84.99 ($25 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, or without lockscreen ads at Amazon for $104.99 ($25 off). The 2024 ebook reader is more of an iterative update compared to previous models, with a backlight that’s 25 percent brighter. It’s also a touch lighter, a bit faster, and lasts a bit longer (up to eight weeks).

• The EcoFlow Wave 2 is a heat pump that is uniquely powered by both a battery and solar power, and it’s currently available for $799 ($200 off) from both Ecoflow and Amazon (with a coupon). The highly portable device combines an air conditioner and heater, and while it struggles with more extreme climates, it does a particularly good job of cooling and heating small spaces in temperate ones. Read our review.

• A number of other Ember smart mugs are also on sale right now — including the 10-ounce Ember Mug 2, which you can buy at Amazon starting at $79.49 (about $50 off). The 12-ounce Travel Mug 2 Plus is also available for $149.96 ($50 off) directly from Ember through December 1st when you apply promo code BLACKFRIDAY24. Unlike the Mug 2, the Travel Mug 2 Plus supports Apple’s Find My network, so you can keep tabs on it using an iPhone or Mac. It also comes with onboard controls and LED status lights.

• Now through November 29th, Moft is taking up to $60 off a variety of cases, stands, and other accessories. The ongoing promo includes Moft’s Invisible Phone Stand and Wallet, which is capable of holding up to three cards and was our favorite adhesive phone grip in 2022. To get the $60 discount, you’ll have to order over $200 and apply the code BF60. However, you can also spend much less and still save, with Moft offering $10 off if you spend over $50 (with code BF10); $20 off if you spend more than $100 (using code BF20); and $37 off if you spend over $150 (with code BF37).

• Amazon Prime members can buy the Glocusent book light for $17.99 ($4 off) at Amazon, which is an all-time low. The light hangs around your neck to illuminate whatever you’re reading, while offering adjustable brightness and warmth settings.
• As part of its early Black Friday promo, Oaky is taking up to 25 percent off several desks, chargers, docks, and other wooden accessories. Right now, for instance, you can buy its attractive Laptop Stand for $120 ($30 off) or an 80 x 19-inch Floating Shelf for $195.50 ($35 off), both of which are available with either oak or walnut construction.

Update, November 21st: Updated to include a selection of new deals, including those for Star Wars Outlaws, the Sonos Ace headphones, and the latest Kindle Paperwhite.

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FCC passes auto safety spectrum rules

FCC passes auto safety spectrum rules

Image: Department of Transportation

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted to finalize new spectrum rules that will push cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) communications technology forward.

C-V2X will use existing cellular networks to send messages from vehicle to vehicle, vehicle to infrastructure, vehicle to cyclists, or vehicle to pedestrians to warn of each other's presence for safety purposes. It could cross-alert for hazardous road conditions, including speeding cars, weather, or traffic congestion.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the agency’s efforts will drive innovation in wireless and transportation economies and “keep us safe on our roadways when we walk, ride, and drive.” The decision on the proposed rule promotes “efficient use of 30 megahertz of spectrum” dedicated to Intelligent Transportation Systems, or ITS, in the 5.9GHz band. And it also codifies C-V2X technical parameters, including power and emission limits, technical parameters, and message priorities.

Companies like Ford have been chasing C-V2X technology for years with the idea that its cars and trucks could audibly alert drivers of a cyclist approaching or vice versa — assuming a cyclist is paying attention to their phone.

In 2022, the FCC won control over what should happen to the spectrum in the 5.9GHz band, which could be partially used for other technologies, such as Wi-Fi expansion. Automotive industry petitioners wanted the entire band, but the ruling judge determined they failed to point out any “significant developments in the field of yet-to-arrive technologies.”

U.S. Plans to Propose Breakup of Google to Fix Search Monopoly

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Nvidia says its Blackwell AI chip is ‘full steam’ ahead

Nvidia says its Blackwell AI chip is ‘full steam’ ahead

The Blackwell B200 GPU. | Image: Nvidia

Nvidia has become the world’s most valuable company on the back of AI chips, passing Microsoft and Apple along the way, and in today’s Q3 2025 earnings, the company suggested its record AI revenue and profits are only the beginning.

While The Information recently reported that its new flagship Blackwell AI servers might have cooling issues, the company didn’t address that on today’s call — instead, Nvidia assured investors that Blackwell is in “full production,” is “full steam” ahead, and that the company would continue to deliver more of the chips each quarter from here on out.

Nvidia has already shipped 13,000 Blackwell samples to its customers this quarter, said CFO Colette Kress, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang claimed Blackwell’s success can already be measured in the billions as a result. “As you can see from all the systems being stood up, Blackwell is in great shape,” Huang told investors.

While Nvidia has long been known as a graphics and gaming company, pioneering the GPU, its data center fortunes have now outstripped its other businesses by an order of magnitude. Gaming is now merely a $2-3 billion business each quarter for Nvidia, but its AI-infused data centers raked in $30.7 billion this past quarter, making up the vast majority of its $35 billion in quarterly earnings.

Much of that is pure profit for Nvidia, too: $14.8 billion in Q1, $16.6 billion in Q2, and now a profit of $19.3 billion in Q3. (Microsoft and Apple made $24.7 billion and $21.4 billion in profit, respectively, this past quarter, though.)

Though AI is nowhere near as big a business yet for Nvidia's rival AMD, that company is seeing a similar shift, and is similarly changing its strategy to revolve around AI. Both Nvidia and AMD have accelerated their development timelines, promising to bring out new chips to meet that AI demand each year instead of every two years.

Practically, that means there’s substantial overlap between each new generation of chips as businesses order them and stick them into data centers. Though Blackwell is Nvidia’s latest and greatest, Nvidia says today that the H200 it announced last year is actually now the fastest-selling product it’s ever made, growing to multiple billions of dollars’ worth this past quarter.

Nvidia’s H100 was its original winning AI product, though it took longer to see its current success; Huang says the company expects demand for its H-series chips to continue through most of next year.

Intel, meanwhile, is far behind in terms of AI fortunes and is currently restructuring.

Apple fights to keep DOJ antitrust suit from reaching trial

Apple fights to keep DOJ antitrust suit from reaching trial

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo by Bloomberg, Getty Images

Apple urged a federal judge to dismiss the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against it, saying the government’s complaint includes speculative arguments and the government doesn’t plausibly argue it has monopoly power.

“The court is allowed to use common sense,” countered DOJ counsel Jonathan Lasken at a hearing in New Jersey on Wednesday. “We’re here today based on the idea that it’s not plausible that [Apple] has monopoly power, but instead is at the mercy of supposed global behemoths who are a fraction of its size.”

The government and more than a dozen states sued Apple earlier this year for maintaining an illegal monopoly in the smartphone market, ultimately driving up prices and locking consumers into its ecosystem. It pointed to five examples of its alleged anticompetitive conduct, including degrading message quality between iPhones and Android phones and limiting third-party smartwatch functionality with the iPhone.

Apple has argued the case against it is overly speculative and amounts to a “judicial redesign” of the iPhone. It’s sought to downplay its own influence, saying the government doesn’t allege a large enough smartphone market share to add up to monopoly power. It characterizes the third-party developers who claim they’ve been harmed as “well-capitalized social media companies, big banks, and global gaming developers.”

US District Court Judge Julien Xavier Neals will now have to decide whether the DOJ’s case against Apple can proceed to a trial in its current form, or whether some — or all — claims should be thrown out. He said he hopes to make that decision by January, according to Bloomberg.

The wildcard, of course, is that a new administration will soon take over, with President-elect Donald Trump’s DOJ continuing the case argued by the agency under President Joe Biden. But Trump and likely members of his administration have dubbed “Big Tech” a persistent enemy, and Trump’s DOJ brought suits against other tech companies in his first term — so Apple likely can’t count on a reprieve.

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Alexa may get smarter with more APIs rather than more AI

Alexa may get smarter with more APIs rather than more AI

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Following ongoing reports that Amazon’s generative AI makeover of Alexa is not going well, it appears Amazon may take a more practical approach to making its smart assistant more useful. According to Business Insider, Amazon is partnering with several companies to make Alexa better at doing things you might want a digital assistant to do: including calling an Uber, tackling Ticketmaster for events, booking dinner through OpenTable, and handling GrubHub and Instacart for your food delivery.

Now, if this sounds familiar, it's because the likes of Uber, OpenTable, GrubHub and others already had Alexa Skills, but apparently, this is something different. These companies are reportedly being recruited to be part of the new Alexa, which Amazon has said will be a smarter, more capable voice assistant — so much more capable, that the company will charge a premium for its use.

Amazon wants to make the new Alexa capable of completing an entire task for a user rather than handing it off to a third party, as it largely does with Skills. BI reports that these partner companies would become the “primary option for handling those specific tasks on the upgraded Alexa." So, for example, when you ask Alexa to order that pizza you got last week from that place you like, it could potentially link into your GrubHub account and order you a pepperoni and pineapple, saving you several minutes of fiddling with your phone.

According to BI, the partnerships aren't final. In fact, an Amazon spokesperson told the publication that any product development process features ideas that “don’t necessarily reflect what the experience will be when we roll it out for our customers.”

The approach is an interesting antidote to the generative-AI hype around voice assistants. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel here, just make the wheel better. While the report didn’t include technical details, if Amazon is partnering with companies, it may well be to leverage a much more tried-and-true solution than generative AI: APIs.

Instead of unleashing an LLM-powered assistant on a service or website and telling it to execute a task for you (a model that companies like Rabbit and Humane AI have tried with limited success), Amazon could just use a smarter, more conversational Alexa to make the clunky command and control structure of API calls more seamless. While technically much less ambitious, if it makes for a smoother experience ordering your pizza via voice than with the current Alexa Skills process, that’s an improvement all round.

The downside is that if Amazon relies on partnerships to provide this functionality, your local pizza place may not be on that list. (Mine only just got online ordering, and it's spotty at best.) According to BI’s source, Amazon expects to have around 200 partners by Q3 next year. Depending on who those partners are, this approach of “let's make sure this actually works” rather than “here’s a chatbot that might try to add pinecones to your pizza” feels like a better solution.

Tesla’s first 500kW V4 Superchargers are coming next year

Tesla’s first 500kW V4 Superchargers are coming next year

New V4 cabinet and Supercharger stalls. | Image: Tesla

Tesla will launch fully realized V4 Supercharger stations that support up to 500kW charging for EVs and 1.2MW for Tesla’s commercial Semi trucks next year. Sites with new V4 cabinets are going into permitting now. When they open next year, they’ll connect the charging stalls EVs plug into with upgraded electronics that support faster charging on Cybertruck and other manufacturers’ EVs.

Tesla started rolling out the V4 stalls in Europe and limited places in the US last year. However, their power cabinets are limited to the capabilities of V3 Supercharger stations that support 250kW max charging. The updated V4 stalls include new physical payment terminals, longer cords that can reach the charge ports of other manufacturers’ EVs without causing the vehicles to block additional spots, and CCS connectors (so you don’t have to bring your own adapter.)

According to Tesla, V4 cabinets can deploy faster and power up to 8 stalls each. It’ll especially be helpful to owners of certain EVs from Porsche, Hyundai, Kia, and more who currently get slower charging speeds on V3 Superchargers due to their lack of higher voltage charging.

US lawyers will reportedly try to force Google to sell Chrome and unbundle Android

US lawyers will reportedly try to force Google to sell Chrome and unbundle Android

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge

The Department of Justice is planning to ask for Google’s antitrust trial judge to force the company to sell off its Chrome browser after the judge ruled the company has maintained an illegal search monopoly, reports Bloomberg.

Chrome is the world’s most widely used browser, and the government’s lawyers have argued that its use in cross-promoting Google’s products is one of the things limiting available channels and incentives for competition to grow.

Requirements that officials are preparing to propose include that Google separate Android from Search and Google Play, but without trying to force Google to sell off Android. Another requirement would say it has to share more information with advertisers and that it “give them more control over where their ads appear,” the outlet writes.

Bloomberg also reports that officials will recommend that the company “give websites more options to prevent their content from being used by Google’s artificial intelligence products.” Finally, they will reportedly push for “a ban on the type of exclusive contracts that were at the center of the case against Google.”

Google’s regulatory affairs VP, Lee-Anne Mulholland, said that the DOJ “continues to push a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case,” Bloomberg writes.

Amazon and SpaceX attack US labor watchdog in court

Amazon and SpaceX attack US labor watchdog in court

Photo by ANDREA RENAULT/AFP via Getty Images

Amazon and SpaceX are seeking to hamstring the National Labor Relations Board, asking a court to declare its processes for upholding labor law unconstitutional. But judges on a three-person panel appeared skeptical when the companies presented their arguments Monday.

In two separate cases before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the two companies argued that the NLRB is unlawfully forcing them to participate in administrative law proceedings over alleged anti-labor actions. The Amazon case centers around whether it’s required to bargain with the union at its JFK 8 fulfillment center on Staten Island, while the SpaceX case involves a charge by former employees who claimed they were fired after being critical of CEO Elon Musk.

A ruling in favor of the companies could undermine the NLRB’s power to enforce protections for workers. It comes just as vocal pro-union President Joe Biden is leaving office and deregulation-friendly President-elect Donald Trump takes over. Trump notably counts Musk among his chief allies after his massive fundraising push. The NLRB is an independent agency with five board members appointed by the president to 5-year terms.

During oral arguments, the judges mostly prodded attorneys on the finer points of the companies’ decisions to appeal, and the timeline of their objections. At one point, Judge James Graves Jr., an Obama appointee, expressed doubt that Amazon had even met the conditions for an appeal — suggesting it should have waited on the ruling from the district court first. Two days after Amazon’s notice of appeal, the district court denied Amazon’s request for a temporary restraining order on its NLRB proceedings.

Both companies are seeking to short-circuit the NLRB’s proceedings with a court order

George W. Bush-appointed Judge Priscilla Richman similarly pressed SpaceX’s counsel Michael Kenneally about why the company rushed to an appeal, rather than letting the case progress in a lower court. Kenneally said SpaceX waited as long as it felt it could to bring its challenge and accused the government of leaning on procedural arguments because it couldn’t defend the NLRB’s constitutionality. Graves appeared skeptical. “That sounds to me about like the argument that, ‘well, procedure doesn’t matter if I win on the merits, so just skip right over procedure,’” he said.

Both companies are seeking to short-circuit the NLRB’s proceedings with a court order, which requires demonstrating this would cause them irreparable harm. But in Amazon’s case, NLRB counsel Tyler Wiese called the company’s deadline for the district court “imaginary,” and said, “merely proceeding through an administrative process is not irreparable harm.”

Amazon and SpaceX both argue that the NLRB’s administrative proceedings are tainted because its board members or administrative law judges are unconstitutionally insulated from removal. They point to Article II of the Constitution, which says the president must “take care that the Laws be faithfully executed,” which they say includes removing officials.

Amazon also says the NLRB is violating the Seventh Amendment, which protects the right to a jury trial in certain civil cases. It argues that the NLRB shouldn’t be allowed to decide on financial remedies related to the case because it would deny the company due process. Cox said the board itself “improperly interfered with the [union] election by exercising its prosecutorial authority,” so failing to stop the proceedings would let the NLRB as as judge and prosecutor.

The NLRB says it feels confident in a 1937 Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Act. “It is nothing new for big companies to challenge the authority of the NLRB to enforce workers’ rights so as not to be held accountable for their violations of the National Labor Relations Act,” NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo said in a statement. “While the current challenges require the NLRB to expend scarce resources defending against them, we’ve seen that the results of these kinds of challenges is ultimately a delay in justice, but that ultimately justice does prevail.”

LG’s first 480Hz OLED gaming monitor is $1,000

LG’s first 480Hz OLED gaming monitor is $1,000

Image: LG

LG’s 27-inch OLED gaming monitor is one of the fastest models we’ve seen to date and it’s finally ready for preorder. The UltraGear 27GX790A (or GX7 for short) is priced at $999.99 and is built around a 480Hz panel from LG Display announced in early January with a 2560 x 1440 resolution and 0.03ms response time.

The base specs of the GX7 are on par with the $1,100 InZone M10S that Sony released in September. That makes the UltraGear GX7 a smidge cheaper, but it lacks some of the performance modes and variable refresh rate features available on Sony’s offering.

The UltraGear GX7 is listed as available for preorder on LG’s US website, but there’s no mention of a delivery date and it can’t yet be added to the basket for checkout. We’ve reached out to LG for more information and will update here if we hear back.

Image: LG

Here’s a shot of the UltraGear GX7 from the rear, showing the port locations behind the adjustable stand.

The UltraGear GX7 is compatible with both Nvidia’s G-Sync and AMD’s FreeSync technology to help eliminate flickering and screen tearing issues. The display carries a DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification that supports a wide color gamut and impressive black levels, and an “Anti-Glare and Low Reflection” coating to improve the viewing experience in brightly lit environments.

The monitor features ports for HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 2.1, USB 3.0, and a headphone jack. It also comes with a slim, height-adjustable stand that can tilt up to 15 degrees, and swivel up to 30 degrees.

Trump picks Brendan Carr to lead FCC

Trump picks Brendan Carr to lead FCC

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

President-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday that intends to name Brendan Carr as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Carr, a commissioner at the FCC since 2017, has made a name for himself by threatening to use the commission’s powers to regulate speech online and over the airwaves.

Carr authored Project 2025’s section on the FCC, using it to propose restrictions on social media platforms meant to bolster conservative speech. He proposed limiting the legal shield that gives websites wide latitude to host and moderate user-generated content. He also suggested putting regulations on tech companies that would limit their ability to block and prioritize that content as they choose.

In the lead up to the election, Carr threatened to use the commission’s powers to punish companies for speech he doesn’t like. Just this month, he floated revoking NBC’s broadcast license after SNL featured Kamala Harris. As commissioner, he voted to repeal net neutrality rules in 2017 and later voted against restoring net neutrality earlier this year.

In an exceptionally vague statement, Trump says Carr will “end the regulatory onslaught crippling America’s Job Creators and Innovators.” He also says that Carr will “ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America.”

Apple’s Lightning-to-3.5mm headphone adapter may be going away

Apple’s Lightning-to-3.5mm headphone adapter may be going away

I haven’t been able to find mine for years. | Image: Apple

The Apple Lightning to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter may have bitten the dust, as it’s sold out at Apple’s online store in the US and much of the world, MacRumors reports. The accessory is reportedly still available from Apple in some countries, including France, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

If it’s truly gone, then this feels like the end of an era. Apple introduced the Lightning headphone adapter in 2016 alongside the iPhone 7, when it first courageously ditched the headphone jack. The company even included it with new iPhones for a couple of generations before it stopped doing that for 2018’s iPhone XS, leaving customers to buy one themselves, pick up Lightning EarPods, or get on the AirPods train (which many of us had started begrudgingly admitting were actually good).

The writing has been on the wall for what’s left of the Apple Store’s Lightning selection since last year’s introduction of USB-C to the iPhone 15 line. Now, the Apple Store has dwindled to a handful of Lightning adapters, cables (including that special audio cable for AirPods Max), and Lightning EarPods.

And I’m sorry to report that, at least in the US Apple Store, Apple’s Lightning-to-VGA adapter appears to be gone, too.

Trump Picks Brendan Carr to Lead F.C.C.

Trump Picks Brendan Carr to Lead F.C.C. Mr. Carr, who currently sits on the commission and is a vocal critic of Big Tech, has said the agency should regulate the tech industry.

ChatGPT Defeated Doctors at Diagnosing Illness

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Netflix served the Tyson vs. Paul fight to 60 million households

Netflix served the Tyson vs. Paul fight to 60 million households

Netflix had a very big night. | Photo: Al Bello / Getty Images for Netflix

Netflix peaked at “65 million concurrent streams” during the boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul last night, according to Most Valuable Promotions, the promoter for the fight. Those streams went out to 60 million households globally, the group said in a press release shared with The Verge via email. That’s more than twice the traffic Netflix could see for its Christmas Day NFL stream this year, if everyone who watched last year streamed it.

The crush of people trying to watch Tyson vs. Paul seemed to be more than Netflix’s servers could easily handle, as the social web was awash with complaints about the quality of the stream, which many found to be muddy, or plagued with buffering and dropped connections. Downdetector recorded more than 100,000 complaints of Netflix streaming issues during the event, according to Bloomberg.

60 million households around the world tuned in live to watch Paul vs. Tyson!

The boxing mega-event dominated social media, shattered records, and even had our buffering systems on the ropes. pic.twitter.com/kA8LjfAJSk

— Netflix (@netflix) November 16, 2024

That’s also just a massive number of people streaming a single live event at the same time. Disney served 59 million concurrent streams of a World Cup cricket match through its Disney Plus Hotstar service last year. It hit similar numbers a few days earlier, and again in June this year.

Netflix CTO Elizabeth Stone told employees that the company dealt with this “unprecedented scale” by prioritizing keeping the stream stable “for the majority of viewers,” according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

“We don’t want to dismiss the poor experience of some members, and know we have room for improvement, but still consider this event a huge success,” Stone reportedly wrote.

Update November 16th: Added Disney Plus Hotstar streaming numbers for additional context.

18 states want the SEC to stop enforcing crypto regulation

18 states want the SEC to stop enforcing crypto regulation

In which various government bodies fight over “permissionless” assets | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The US Securities and Exchange Commission wants to “unilaterally wrest regulatory authority away from the States” when it comes to crypto, according to a lawsuit from 18 states. These states want to halt the SEC’s enforcement actions, so they can manage crypto regulation instead. Also named as a plaintiff on the suit is the DeFi Education Fund, a special interest lobbyist.

Controversial SEC chair Gary Gensler is named in the suit, along with other SEC commissioners. Gensler’s treatment of crypto during his time as chair has made him a punching bag for the industry — and for Republicans such as president-elect Donald Trump.

There has been an ongoing turf war over crypto regulation. Until this point, the two major contenders were the SEC, and the crypto industry’s preferred regulator, the Commodities Futures and Exchange Commission. Led by Russell Coleman, the attorney general for Kentucky, the states have chosen to Leeroy Jenkins themselves into the fray.

Gensler’s SEC has notched significant wins against the crypto industry — and in multiple court cases, judges have agreed that the SEC does have jurisdiction over crypto. “The SEC’s sweeping assertion of regulatory jurisdiction is untenable,” the lawsuit claims. “The digital assets implicated here are just that — assets, not investment contracts covered by federal securities laws.”

This is both annoying and highly debatable. Coinbase, which is being sued by the SEC, has argued the suit should be dismissed because Coinbase isn’t trading securities. US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla ruled against Coinbase — and the case is proceeding. “The ‘crypto’ nomenclature may be of recent vintage, but the challenged transactions fall comfortably within the framework that courts have used to identify securities for nearly eighty years,” Failla wrote

The states’ suit also argues that a precedent called the major questions doctrine means that the SEC shouldn’t litigate against the crypto industry without Congressional approval. This, too, is highly debatable: judges rejected this line of argument from Terraform Labs and Coinbase.

ESPN is testing a generative AI avatar called ‘FACTS’

ESPN is testing a generative AI avatar called ‘FACTS’

Image: ESPN

ESPN is testing an AI-generated avatar with the Saturday college football show SEC Nation. Dubbed FACTS, it’s going to be “...promoting education and fun around sports analytics” with information drawn from ESPN Analytics, which includes data like the Football Power Index (FPI), player and team statistics, and game schedules. We haven’t seen the avatar in action, but it sounds like a bot-ified version of stats encyclopedia Howie Schwab, who was ESPN’s first statistician and eventually the star of a mid-2000s game show, Stump the Schwab.

ESPN has already brought generative AI to its website with AI-written game recaps. FACTS is still in development, and there’s no word on when it could make its first appearance on the network.

FACTS uses Nvidia’s ACE (Avatar Cloud Engine), an Azure OpenAI integration to power language processing, and ElevenLabs for its text-to-speech capabilities.

In the announcement from its ESPN Edge Innovation Conference, the network claims FACTS is “absolutely not” made to replace journalists or other talent. “FACTS is designed to test innovations out in the market and create an outlet for ESPN Analytics’ data to be accessible to fans in an engaging and enjoyable segment,” the company writes.

The world’s biggest battery maker says Elon Musk’s 4680 cell ‘is going to fail’

The world’s biggest battery maker says Elon Musk’s 4680 cell ‘is going to fail’

Image: Tesla

Robin Zeng, the founder of the world’s largest EV battery company, says Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s big bet on 4680 cylindrical cell technology “is going to fail and never be successful.” Zeng, the chairman of China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), tells Reuters that when Musk visited China in April, “We had a very big debate, and I showed him. He was silent. He doesn’t know how to make a battery.”

Tesla’s “tabless” 4680 cells, which are used in some of its cars, including the Cybertruck, are supposed to have “five times” more energy capacity, and the company announced in September it had produced 100 million of them. A recent report by The Information said Musk had given the team working on the batteries an end of the year deadline to deal with costs and other problems.

CATL batteries, meanwhile, go inside everything from Tesla vehicles in China to Ford EVs in North America like the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning. The company specializes in lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP), which generally don’t get as much range as various cylindrical cell units used in many Tesla vehicles.

While Zeng wasn’t impressed with Musk’s battery knowledge, he thought he was good with chips, software, hardware, and “mechanical things.”

Zeng also commented that Musk’s problem is “overpromising” timelines, which he often does habitually, especially regarding Full Self-Driving technology. “Maybe something needs five years. But he says two years. I definitely asked him why. He told me he wanted to push people.”

Pokémon TCG Pocket will let you trade cards starting early next year

Pokémon TCG Pocket will let you trade cards starting early next year

The Pokemon Company

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has been a big hit since its worldwide launch last month, and the team behind it has shared a brief roadmap of a couple updates to come — including the ability to trade cards with other people.

“We are aiming to add a feature that allows certain cards to be traded starting in January, 2025,” according to an update from the team on the official Pokémon forums. “We are planning to gradually expand the selection of cards that are able to be traded.” It’s unclear what cards will initially be available to trade, and hopefully the expansion of the list doesn’t take too long.

The game will also get new booster packs by the end of this year. And there are other new features in the works in addition to trading, and the team says it will announce more details “as the dates for the addition of these features are finalized.”

As of November 7th, Pokémon TCG Pocket has been downloaded more than 30 million times. On November 8th and 9th, the game reportedly brought in more than $5 million in daily earnings.

PayPal will let you pool money for group gifts and shared expenses

PayPal will let you pool money for group gifts and shared expenses

PayPal is making it easier to collectively pool together funds on the platform. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images

PayPal is introducing a new money-pooling feature that aims to make it easier to collect and pay for things as a group. The feature is free and allows PayPal users to create a pool online or via the platform’s app, invite friends and family to contribute, track contributed funds, and transfer that cash to their own PayPal balance.

Provided you trust the pool organizer who will hold the power to spend or withdraw those funds, the pooling feature should provide a simple way to gather cash for things like gifts and group traveling collectively. Pool organizers can share pool joining links via “text, email, WhatsApp, and more” to people regardless of whether they have a PayPal account or not. Contributions can be made using a PayPal balance or bank account, and organizers can also set a pool name, description, target date, and funding goal amount.

Image: PayPal

Here’s what the setup process looks like in the PayPal app.

The money pooling feature is rolling out today across the US, UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Users in those regions can access it by selecting “Pool Money” from either the PayPal app menu, or in the “More Options” menu within the “Send/Request” tab.

Other apps like Settle Up are already available that directly focus on tracking and pooling group expenses. Venmo also introduced a similar feature last year called “Groups” with a notable distinction — the responsibility is entirely shared, which may be a better solution if you don’t want a single individual in charge of the group.

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F.B.I. Searches Home of Shayne Coplan, Polymarket Founder

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Apple updates Logic Pro with new sounds and search features

Apple updates Logic Pro with new sounds and search features

Apple Logic Pro for Mac 11.1 with Quantec Room Simulator | Image: Apple

Apple today announced some minor updates to Logic Pro for both the Mac and the iPad, including the ability to search for plug-ins and sources and the addition of more analog-simulating sounds.

In Logic Pro for Mac 11.1 and Logic Pro for iPad 2.1, you can now reorder channel strips and plug-ins in the mixer and plug-in windows to make it easier to organize the layout of an audio mix.

As for the new sounds, Apple added a library of analog synthesizer samples called Modular Melodies, akin to the Modular Rhythms pack already found in Logic.

A more exciting sonic addition is the new Quantec Room Simulator (QRS) plug-in, which emulates the vintage digital reverb hardware of the same name, found in professional recording studios all over the world. Apple has acquired the technology for the classic QRS model and the later YardStick models to integrate into this software.

Image: Apple

I wish the QRS plug-in looked like the real life reverb unit

Specific to Logic Pro for Mac, you are now able to share a song to the Mac’s Voice Memos app — which may be a great feature for when Voice Memos gets that multitrack option on the iPhone in iOS 18.2

Added to the iPad version of Logic Pro is the ability to add your own local third party sample folders to the browser window, to make it easier to bring external audio files into tracks and sampler plug-ins.

These upgrades are small for current Logic users, but they do overall make the digital audio workplace easier to use and adds to the plethora of useful tools for no additional cost. Users will have access to upgrade to Logic Pro for Mac 11.1 and Logic Pro for iPad 2.1 today.

MKBHD got himself in trouble again

MKBHD got himself in trouble again

A screen grab of the video titled “How My Video Gear is Changing!” | Image: MKBHD

Marques Brownlee is dealing with another commenter backlash. Fans of Brownlee are furious that his latest video, titled “How My Video Gear is Changing!” on the MKBHD YouTube channel, is a fully sponsored segment for DJI, rather than an editorially independent review. The video also contained a clip of Brownlee driving a sports car way over the speed limit on a suburban road.

Commenters have flooded the video with criticism, calling out Brownlee for running the sponsored segment. “This can’t even be considered a sponsored video anymore. It’s literally just a ten minute advertisement,” reads one comment with more than 12,000 likes.

In response, Brownlee edited the video to remove the clip of him speeding. It had originally shown him exceeding 95 miles per hour in a 35 miles per hour zone and speeding past a sign on the road warning drivers to slow down for children. Brownlee pinned his own comment on the video this afternoon, saying he cut out the “unnecessary driving clip” and that he “hears everyone’s feedback on sponsored videos.” He then posted an acknowledgment and apology on X saying it was “absolutely inexcusable and dangerous.”

Last video I did something pretty stupid. You might've already seen it, but maybe not so I'll address it here. There was a clip with the action cam of me test driving a car and going way to fast. Absolutely inexcusable and dangerous.

I've since cut it out of the video with…

— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) November 12, 2024

This is the second loud backlash against Brownlee in about two months. In late September, fans criticized him for launching an expensive wallpaper app; he later addressed the situation and made changes to the app that seemed to rectify some of the loudest complaints.

Brownlee has increasingly been expanding beyond his traditional YouTube videos. He’s worked on physical products, like his Atoms shoes collaborations, and he joined the board at wallet maker Ridge.

Can Trump Prevent a TikTok Ban? His Team Says ‘He Will Deliver’

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