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LG says its new 4K projector is a ‘stylish art object’

LG says its new 4K projector is a ‘stylish art object’

The LG Qube is so tiny, so boxy, so handle-y. | Image: LG

LG announced the CineBeam Qube (model HU710PB) laser projector yesterday: It’s got a minimalist look and stature, weighing 3.28 pounds and measuring 135mm square on one side and just 80mm wide at the front. (For comparison, the iPhone 15 Pro is just shy of 147mm tall.) It also has an unknown number of HDMI eARC and USB-C ports, and a 3W built-in mono speaker. Impressively, LG says it can project an up-to-120-inch image at full 4K resolution with a pretty standard 1.2 throw ratio. Oh, and it has a handle!

There are some apparent drawbacks to this itty bitty projector. For starters, it pushes out a relatively dim 500 ANSI lumens (compared to 2200 ANSI lumens of the larger Xgimi Horizon Pro we reviewed two years ago). That means that, although LG says this projector supports HDR 10, it won’t pop the way brighter HDR TVs do outside of a very dark room. It being LG, it uses the company’s webOS, which is fine taken on its own as an OS, but lacks the diversity of Google TV or Apple’s tvOS.

Image: LG

I just want to pick it up and walk around with it.

But it’s possible none of that matters if you just want a neat little thing that’s cursorily useful. It looks a little like a cross between the Binomes from the 90s CGI cartoon ReBoot and the hand-cranked Bell & Howell 8mm camera that floated around my house growing up. And while I usually recoil at companies describing their devices with terms like “stylish interior accessory,” I have to admit the Qube calls to me, as a person who is willing to forgive the flaws of quirky, boxy tech that has a handle — like the GameCube, for instance. (Obviously, the GameCube, having no flaws, is just a convenient example here.)

Image: LG

Another view of the LG Qube.

LG didn’t announce either pricing or a release date for the Qube, nor does it say whether it will support features from other LG projectors like AirPlay 2, smart voice control, or really... anything about its capabilities outside of the very basics like those mentioned above.

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Microsoft’s Copilot app is now available on iOS

Microsoft’s Copilot app is now available on iOS

Image: Microsoft

Just days after introducing a Copilot app on Android, Microsoft has rolled out an app for its AI chatbot on iOS and iPadOS. Both versions of the app are now available to download from the Apple App Store.

The app gives you access to Microsoft Copilot (formerly Bing Chat) and works similarly to OpenAI’s ChatGPT mobile app. In addition to letting you ask questions, draft emails, and summarize text, you can also create images through an integration with the text-to-image generator DALL-E3.

Image: Microsoft

And, unlike the free version of ChatGPT which runs GPT-3.5, Copilot lets you access GPT-4, the latest large language model (LLM) from OpenAI, without having to pay for a subscription.

With Microsoft’s rebrand of Bing Chat to Copilot, the company is moving toward offering a standalone experience similar to ChatGPT. Along with rolling out apps on Android and Apple devices, Microsoft also created a web experience for Copilot that’s separate from Bing.

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First reported Tesla Cybertruck accident results in only ‘minor’ injury

First reported Tesla Cybertruck accident results in only ‘minor’ injury

Composite image of a Toyota Corolla and Tesla Cybertruck after the accident. | Image: u/boddhya (Reddit)

After Reddit user boddhya posted two pictures of a Cybertruck accident, the California Highway Patrol confirmed to The Verge that units responded to a two-vehicle accident on SR 35 (Skyline Boulevard). It occurred in this area south of Page Mill Road, which Google Maps lists as Palo Alto, around 2:05PM local time and involved a 2023 Tesla Cybertruck carrying three people that appears to have been hit by a 2009 Toyota Corolla driven by a 17-year-old.

Tesla’s Cybertruck delivery event raised questions about the design and what would occur in an impact with other cars or pedestrians. Fortunately, it doesn’t appear that anyone involved in this incident suffered major injury as a result.

CHP:

Our preliminary investigation indicates a Toyota Corolla was traveling south on SR-35 southbound, south of Page Mill Road, at an unknown speed, when the driver, for unknown reasons, turned to the right and subsequently struck a dirt embankment on the right shoulder. The Toyota then re-entered the roadway, crossed over the double yellow lines into the northbound lane, and crashed into a Tesla Cybertruck traveling north on SR-35 northbound.

The only injury noted in the release provided by CHP mentions a suspected minor injury to the Cybertruck driver, who declined medical transportation, and it mentions that it does not appear the Tesla was operating in autonomous mode. The weather is described as cloudy and wet.

The pictures posted on Reddit show significant damage to the Corolla’s front end. The parts we can see of the Cybertruck don’t show the same damage despite the side-curtain airbags deployed. However, we can only see the passenger side, and the poster didn’t see much of the other side either.

While the truck doesn’t show markings of a “release candidate,” we didn’t spot any of the “Foundation Series” etching, so it’s unclear if this is a customer-delivered model or something else.

We’ll update this article with more details as they become available.

LG’s new ultra-lightweight Gram laptops include some OLED screens and AI Boost

LG’s new ultra-lightweight Gram laptops include some OLED screens and AI Boost

2024 LG Gram Pro | LG

Ahead of CES 2024, LG is debuting new laptops in its ultra-light LG Gram and LG Gram Pro series. If you’re in the market for OLED displays and better graphics, take a look at the 2024 LG Gram Pro lineup. As our review last year noted, the biggest difference between the Pro and standard laptops last year was the graphics — much less the look and feel. For a more visible difference, we’ll keep an eye out for their more fashion-forward cousin, the LG Gram Style.

For 2024, there’s the Gram Pro 16 and 17, and the LG Gram Pro 2-in-1 (more on what those two things are later). The Gram Pro 16 is available in either the standard Wide Quad or with an OLED display, as well as the 2-in-1. The 2-in-1 doubles as a laptop and a tablet, featuring a touchscreen, a 360-degree adjustable hinge, and a chargeable wireless pen.

Image: LG

LG Gram Pro

All are equipped with NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSDs, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card, and an FHD webcam with facial recognition. Just like the LG Gram, you’ll have your choice of Intel Core Ultra 5 or Intel Core Ultra 7 processors for the LG Gram Pro models. In the Pro lineup, the processors include Intel’s AI Boost NPU hardware to accelerate AI tasks processed locally on the device.

Image: LG

2024 LG Gram laptops

The standard LG Gram series will be available in four different screen sizes (14, 15, 16, and 17-inch) and include Intel Core Ultra processors. All of them include built-in Full-HD cameras, making the smaller ones particularly handy for unexpected Zoom calls during work travel. But even the larger ones weigh less than your lightest pair of dumbbells — the full lineup ranges from 2.42 to 2.98 pounds. The two largest ones boast a 2,560 × 1,600 display — making them more suitable for watching videos, extended reading on the internet or photo editing.

All the new LG Gram models include the LG Gram Link app, which the company says will enable file sharing, photo transfers, and screen mirroring between your computer and Android or iOS devices. The app will use AI to categorize your photos, as well as make image searches easier through keywords.

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Astrohaus will be shipping its cheapest Freewrite digital typewriter in January

Astrohaus will be shipping its cheapest Freewrite digital typewriter in January

Image: Freewrite

Astrohaus will be shipping the cheapest digital typewriter in its Freewright lineup, the Freewright Alpha, in mid-January for $349. You can preorder it now, however, in black or white from the company’s website.

The Freewrite Alpha is the follow-up to the original $649 Freewrite and the $499 portable Freewrite Traveler from 2020. Like its predecessors, the Wi-Fi-enabled typewriter is free of distractions like web browsers and emails to help you focus on writing. After you’re finished, the gadget wirelessly syncs documents with software services like Google Drive and Dropbox so you can edit and share your documents.

However, the Alpha drops the E Ink display in favor of a reflective monochromatic LCD screen, thus keeping costs down. It also now comes with just one screen instead of two and — while about half the weight of the original — is heavier than the Traveler.

On the flip side, though, Astrohaus promises the Alpha should have a much longer 100-hour battery life while continuing to support USB-C. The Alpha also brings back the mechanical switches the Traveler lacked, offering Kailh Choc V2 low-profile switches that are slimmer than the Kailh Box Brown switches found in the original model. The new typewriter also lets you move your cursor around a document in the same way that the Traveler does, a capability lacking in the original model.

News of the Alpha’s shipping date comes after Astrohaus raised $446,742 via an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign launched in 2022. The company began fulfilling orders earlier this year and gave early backers an $80 discount.

Apple resumes Apple Watch sales after ban is paused

Apple resumes Apple Watch sales after ban is paused

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

You can once again buy the latest Apple Watches straight from Apple. The Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 will be available again in some physical Apple stores starting today, with wider availability expected by Saturday. Online sales will resume tomorrow by 3PM ET, Apple spokesperson Nikki Rothberg told The Verge.

The restarting of sales comes hours after a federal appeals court paused a sales and import ban that covered both devices. Apple was banned from selling both products in the US after the US International Trade Commission found that the company had violated patents from the medical device maker Masimo.

The appeals court said that Apple could continue selling its watches temporarily, while the company waited to hear back on whether proposed changes to its watches would avoid the patent issues. US Customs and Border Protection is scheduled to rule on the changes on January 12th. Failing that, the court is considering whether to put the ban on hold until it can rule on the patent dispute, which could potentially delay the ban for months longer.

“Apple’s teams have worked tirelessly over many years to develop technology that empowers users with industry-leading health, wellness and safety features and we are pleased the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has stayed the exclusion order while it considers our request to stay the order pending our full appeal,” Rothberg said in an emailed statement.

Apple pulled sales of the Series 9 and Ultra 2 from its online and physical stores ahead of the ban going into effect on December 26th. The ban covers devices that include a blood oxygen saturation sensor. Apple has included one on flagship watches since late 2020, with the Series 6. Only the lower-priced Apple Watch SE doesn’t include one and has been able to remain on sale.

Third-party retailers were allowed to continue selling through their stock of Apple Watches while the ban was in place, though the import ban would have eventually prevented them from acquiring more units.

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Amazon Prime Video will start showing ads on January 29th

Amazon Prime Video will start showing ads on January 29th

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Earlier this year, Amazon announced plans to start incorporating ads into movies and TV shows streamed from its Prime Video service, and now the company has revealed a specific date when you’ll start seeing them: it’s January 29th. “This will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time,” the company said in an email to customers about the pending shift to “limited advertisements.”

“We aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers. No action is required from you, and there is no change to the current price of your Prime membership,” the company wrote. Customers have the option of paying an additional $2.99 per month to keep avoiding advertisements. The rest of the email summarizes the many benefits of a Prime subscription — no doubt an attempt to keep customers from cancelling over the shift to this “limited” ads model.

Amazon Prime currently costs $14.99 each month or $139 annually. The new charge for ad-free streaming would bring the former to just under $18. Amazon also operates Freevee, a free, ad-sponsored streaming service. The company’s email notes that “live event content such as sports, and content offered through Amazon Freevee will continue to include advertising.”

The move comes as competing streaming services continue to raise subscription rates across the board. The monthly cost of Amazon Prime isn’t changing, but if you want to preserve the same experience you have today starting on January 29th, you’ll end up paying more.

Apple appeals US ban on Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Series 9

Apple appeals US ban on Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Series 9

Image: Apple

Apple has filed an appeal to the International Trade Commission’s decision to ban U.S. sales of Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 models, court records show. Additionally, the company is requesting an emergency stay on the ban for at least two weeks until a decision is made on redesigned versions of the banned models.

“We strongly disagree with the USITC decision and resulting exclusion order, and are taking all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the U.S. as soon as possible,” Apple said in a statement to Reuters on Tuesday. Apple did not immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.

The models, which Apple says are their most popular, were banned after the ITC found that Apple infringed on blood oxygen saturation technology patented by health tech firm Masimo.

In today’s filing, Apple’s attorneys claimed the $3 trillion company “will suffer irreparable harm” if the models remain off the shelves during legal proceedings. According to the filing, the Exclusion Order Enforcement Branch of U.S. Customs and Border Protection is scheduled to make a decision on redesigned versions of the Watch models on January 13, 2023. “At a minimum, the Court should grant a stay long enough for Customs to make this decision,” the company said.

Microsoft Copilot is now available as a ChatGPT-like app on Android

Microsoft Copilot is now available as a ChatGPT-like app on Android

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft has quietly launched a dedicated Copilot app for Android. The new app is available in the Google Play Store, offering access to Microsoft’s AI-powered Copilot without the need for the Bing mobile app. Spotted by Neowin, Copilot on Android has been available for nearly a week, but an iOS version isn’t available just yet.

Microsoft’s Copilot app on Android is very similar to ChatGPT, with access to chatbot capabilities, image generation through DALL-E 3, and the ability to draft text for emails and documents. It also includes free access to OpenAI’s latest GPT-4 model, something you have to pay for if you’re using ChatGPT.

Image: Microsoft

The Copilot interface on Android

The launch of the Copilot app for Android comes a little over a month after Microsoft rebranded Bing Chat to Copilot. Microsoft originally launched its AI push earlier this year inside its Bing search engine, integrating a ChatGPT-like interface into search results. While that’s still available, Microsoft has dropped the Bing Chat branding and allowed Copilot to be more of a standalone experience that also exists on its own dedicated domain over at copilot.microsoft.com — much like ChatGPT.

Launching mobile apps for Copilot seems like the next logical step of expanding this standalone Copilot experience, particularly as Bing Chat Enterprise was also rebranded to just Copilot. While there’s no sign of an iOS version of Copilot right now, I’d expect it’s right around the corner. Until then, you can always use the Bing app on an iPhone or iPad to access the existing Copilot features.

Apple is now banned from selling its latest Apple Watches in the US

Apple is now banned from selling its latest Apple Watches in the US

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Apple can no longer sell the Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 in the US after President Joe Biden’s administration declined to veto the ban today.

Apple pulled both devices from its website on December 21st and from its store shelves after December 24th. A statement (via CNBC) from the Office of US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the agency “decided not to reverse the ITC’s [International Trade Commission] determination” after “careful consideration.”

The ITC issued the ban after finding that Apple infringed on blood oxygen saturation technology patented by a company called Masimo. It also ordered Apple to stop selling any previously-imported devices with the infringed-upon tech. While Apple attempted to block the decision while awaiting an appeal, the ITC denied Apple’s request, and the other chance of intervention was a veto from President Joe Biden, which didn't happen.

The ban only affects Apple stores in the US. That means customers can still get their hands on a Watch Series 9 or Watch Ultra 2 at Best Buy, Target, and other retailers while supplies last. Apple will also continue selling the Watch SE, as it doesn’t come with a blood oxygen sensor.

Still, it’s not clear where Apple will go from here. My colleague Victoria Song explores the various paths Apple could take, including making software changes to the blood oxygen sensor on both watches or disabling the sensor on imported devices. But both of those methods might not be enough to satisfy the ITC, which is why Apple could always choose to settle with Masimo instead.

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Here are over 40 last-minute gifts you can still nab before Christmas

Here are over 40 last-minute gifts you can still nab before Christmas

A Disney Plus subscription provides access to the full catalog of Star Wars, including recent series like Ahsoka. | Image: Suzanne Tenner / Lucasfilm Ltd.

Yes, Christmas is tomorrow — and yes, we know you have yet to buy a gift. We understand that life gets busy, though, and sometimes it feels like the holidays creep up on you out of nowhere. But before you spiral into a full-blown panic attack, take a deep breath. Luckily for you, the internet is filled with a treasure trove of gift cards, subscriptions, and other great digital gifts you can buy as late as Christmas Day itself.

To help make your life a little easier, we’ve curated a list of some of the best digital gifts we’ve either used ourselves or gifted to our friends and family. We’ve organized the list by interests, too, so you can find the perfect present whether your loved one is into the arts, exercise, or something else entirely. That way, you’ll at least be able to gift something more thoughtful than a generic Amazon, Best Buy, or Walmart gift card — even if those are still totally viable options in our book.

Gifts for film and TV buffs

Regardless of whether you’re shopping for a movie buff or an avid sports fan, there are a number of subscriptions on the market that’ll grant your giftee access to a wide range of content. Below are some of the most popular, as well as a few catered toward anime diehards, horror lovers, and those looking for something more niche.

• A gift card to a major streaming service like Netflix (Amazon, Target, Best Buy, or Walmart) or Max is a good gift that’ll cater to all kinds of passions. On Netflix, they can spend their holiday binging Carol and the End of World, The Crown, Onimusha, and Squid Game: The Challenge. Max viewers, meanwhile, can catch up on everything from Barbie to The Last of Us, Euphoria, and House of the Dragon.
• A Criterion Channel gift card grants access to over a thousand classic and contemporary Hollywood, international, art house, and independent movies. It also features programming spotlighting directors, stars, genres, and themes, including a “15-minute-a-month film school.”
• For the anime lovers in your life, a Crunchyroll gift card provides access to hundreds of anime shows and films shortly after they air in Japan, including Jujutsu Kaisen, Blue Lock, and Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury. They can even use the gift to purchase Crunchyroll’s extensive collection of anime figures, vinyl records, and clothes.

Gifts for the gamers

If you’re not sure which type of games your giftee prefers, you can gift them an Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo subscription. Not only will these memberships grant him access to free digital titles but they also come with perks such as online multiplayer and cloud-based saves, among other incentives.

• If your giftee is a PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 owner, a membership to PlayStation Plus grants them access to free titles and discounts every month, lets them play games online, and allows them to access cloud-based backups. PlayStation Plus memberships start at $9.99 a month, and you can subscribe directly via PlayStation or buy a three-month subscription with a PlayStation Plus gift card, which is available at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target for $30.
• Nintendo Switch lovers, meanwhile, might enjoy an annual subscription to Nintendo Switch Online, which starts at $19.99 a year (Amazon, Best Buy, and GameStop). The membership lets giftees play with more than 70 retro games released during the NES, SNES, and original Game Boy eras. They can also play online with friends and access cloud saves.
• If you’re willing to fork out extra money, you can also buy an annual Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription. In addition to offering all the same benefits as the Switch Online membership, it also grants access to Game Boy Advance, Sega Genesis, and Nintendo 64 games, as well as DLC content for some titles. Individual plans cost $49.99 (Amazon, Walmart), while a family plan — which allows for up to eight accounts — is currently available via gift card at Amazon and Walmart for $71.89 ($8 off).
• Alternatively, you could buy a gift card to a store like GameStop (Amazon, GameStop), which is useful if you don’t know which console your giftee prefers or want to give them the option of buying accessories and games.

Gifts for the adventurers and globe-trotters

Is your giftee in dire need of a screen break? Fortunately, the internet is filled with travel-oriented gifts, ranging from the obvious — like airline gift cards — to national park passes.

• A GetYourGuide gift card provides an easy way to take advantage of guided tours and fun tourist attractions at various destinations around the world, allowing your loved one to explore volcanoes like Italy’s Mount Etna or swim with sharks in Cape Verde.
• A Pack & Go gift card (Amazon and Target) covers almost everything your giftee will need while on vacation. They can use it on a Southwest Airlines flight, buy gas from Chevron or Texaco if they’re on a road trip, and even book an Airbnb or place a Grubhub order.
• For aspiring polyglots, a Rosetta Stone membership will make it easy to learn everything from French to Arabic to Japanese from the comfort of their home. Along with lessons, memberships come with helpful extras, including speech recognition tech to get the accent just right. At the moment, Rosetta Stone is offering up to 50 percent off of its plans, with the 12-month tier for learning just one language starting at $126 ($42 off).
• Finally, a gift card to a rideshare service like Uber (Amazon, Best Buy, Target) or Lyft (Amazon, Best Buy, Target) will come in handy when they need a ride to the airport. It will also come in handy if their New Year’s Eve plans include popping a few celebratory shots.

Gifts for health and wellness fans

For health and wellness enthusiasts, many services offer a wealth of streamable fitness classes to help them get fit at home. Other gifts can help your giftee practice self-care and lighten their load with meditation or even massages. Below, we’ve listed out a range of options that’ll help your giftee take care of both their body and mind.

• A gift card for Headspace, a popular mindfulness app, offers members access to hundreds of expert-taught meditations, each designed to help them relax, sleep better, and improve their mental health. A subscription will run you $12.99 monthly or $69.99 annually.
• Fitbit Premium subscriptions start at $9.99 a month and are available to all, even if your giftee doesn’t own a Fitbit (though, they’ll be able to enjoy more in-depth metrics if they do). A membership comes with thousands of guided and customizable workouts, which cover everything from martial arts and dance to meditation. Fitbit also offers guided programs covering topics like nutrition, along with the option to one-on-one with a professional health coach for an extra $54.99 per month.
• For those who prefer in-person classes to virtual, a gift card to a subscription service like ClassPass will let your giftee try out thousands of gyms and fitness studios in their local area, not to mention nearby salons and spas.
• If your giftee is too busy to prepare healthy meals every day, a gift card to Fresh N Lean, Blue Apron, HelloFresh, or any meal prep service that offers a healthy selection of meal kits will be very welcome.

Gifts for foodies

Whether they’re a diehard foodie, a wine connoisseur, or a caffeine addict, the internet is filled with subscriptions and gift cards for all types. Here are just a few of our favorites:

• A Sur La Table gift card (Sur La Table, Kroger, Staples) is a great gift for the beloved chef in your life. They can use it to buy whatever they need for the kitchen, as well as to take online cooking classes where live instructors help students make everything from chicken piccata to tiramisu. Classes start at $29 per household, with each taking between 90 and 120 minutes a pop.
• For those with a sweet tooth, Goldbelly’s monthly ice cream subscription allows them to enjoy up to six pints of ice cream or 24 ice cream sandwiches a month, all of which are sourced from small creameries all over the country. It’s a pricey subscription, however, with a three-month plan going for an eye-watering $299.85.
• These days, it feels like there’s a Starbucks pretty much everywhere you look now, meaning a Starbucks gift card (Amazon, Best Buy, or Target) can help your giftee get their caffeine fix whenever, wherever.
• Sometimes, it’s better to leave the cooking to somebody else. For foodies, a gift card to a food delivery service like DoorDash (Amazon, Target) means they can nab some crab rangoons from their favorite Chinese restaurant without leaving home.

Gifts for music lovers

Whether your giftee is a musician or just loves to unwind with some music, there are a lot of digital presents you can buy. We all know about Spotify gift cards (Amazon, Best Buy, or Target), but there are also other streaming services that you can gift as a subscription, some of which we’ve highlighted below.

• For the true audiophiles out there, a Tidal gift card (Walmart, PayPal, or Best Buy) is great because it will allow them to stream music in the highest audio quality possible. The ad-free service starts at $10.99 per month while paying $9 extra per month allows giftees to enjoy support for lossless FLAC audio, Dolby Atmos Music, and Sony’s 360 Reality Audio formats.
• If you know somebody who’s always wanted to learn to play the guitar, a Fender Play subscription can help them do so thanks to a continuously updated catalog of hundreds of instructor-led video lessons. A subscription typically starts at $9.99 a month, but right now you can gift an annual subscription for $74.999 (half off).
• A Vinyl Me, Please subscription is perfect for those who love spinning records. Every month, giftees receive vinyl records from their choice of music genre, whether that’s hip-hop, rock, or jazz. The packages also come with booklets so they can learn more about the record, along with access to exclusive discounts. Three-month subscriptions start at $128 and come with a total of four records (one of which is a limited-time bonus).
• Lastly, a Ticketmaster gift card is a present that’ll allow your loved one to watch their favorite musicians perform live, whether that’s Olivia Rodrigo, Bad Bunny, or The Rolling Stones.

Gifts for the bookworms

Obviously, you could just gift a bibliophile a book and they’d probably be happy. But what if you don’t know what your giftee is into or simply want to give them more options? In that case, a gift card to their favorite bookstore or a subscription to something like Kindle Unlimited, which grants members access to millions of ebooks and even select audiobooks, is a good idea. That said, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite alternatives below.

• For fans of Marvel and DC comics, as well as manga like Fairy Tale, a Comixology Unlimited subscription is perfect. For $5.99 a month, they’ll be able to enjoy over 45,000 comics and graphic novels, not to mention more than 2,400 manga titles from their phone or tablet. Subscribers also get discounts on select digital books.
• You can also gift a Book of the Month membership, which currently starts at $59.99 for a three-book plan. The company curates a small selection of five to seven bestsellers and classics for members every month, making it easy to quickly choose something to read.
• If your giftee prefers to pick up books from brick-and-mortar bookstores, a gift card to Barnes & Noble (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or Best Buy) might be a good idea. For those into buying books from local bookstores, there’s also a gift card for Bookshop.org.
• For those who prefer traditional newspapers and magazines, you can gift a subscription to The New York Times or The Washington Post, or publications catered to specific interests like Cosmopolitan and National Geographic.

Gifts for the creatives

Movie buffs and bibliophiles are easy to shop for, but what do you get the creative type? It’s actually not that hard — just buy them something to help them create, whether that’s an online course or access to a new tool. Below are a few subscriptions and gift cards creators will love that you can also buy last minute.

• A MasterClass membership (which starts at $10 a month) provides access to classes taught by world leaders and other subject matter experts, including screenwriters, musicians, and business experts. Right now, the company will throw in a second membership for free when you sign up, so you can gift it to another person on your list (or enjoy it yourself — we’re not here to judge!).
• An Adobe Creative Cloud subscription ($59.99 per month) is a good gift for both aspiring and experienced creative professionals alike, providing access to popular services like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, InDesign, and other Adobe apps.
• If you know somebody trying to learn how to code, a subscription to the coding educational platform Codecademy ($29.99 per month) can help them build their portfolio with online courses, a community, fun events, cheat sheets, and other resources. There’s even a plan for those looking to change career paths, one that offers all the above as well as technical interview help. That latter is currently available for $120 a year (half off) when you use promo code BYE2023.
• For giftees into arts and crafts, a Craftsy membership ($113 a year) grants access to more than 2,000 live and on-demand classes led by experts covering everything from baking and cake decorating to woodworking and painting. Members also get to connect with other crafters in the Craftsy community and attend live events.

Gift cards for pretty much anyone

• Sometimes the best gift card is one that’ll give your giftee a ton of options, especially if you’re having a hard time figuring out what they want. Gift cards from major retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target are perfect in these situations, namely because they’ll let your giftee choose whatever they like from a wide range of departments.

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The PlayStation Portal is flawed but fun

The PlayStation Portal is flawed but fun

It does one thing well, and yet there are other multi-use devices that are arguably better, but dammit sometimes I’m lazy.

Sony is often at its best when it’s at its weirdest, like making donut-shaped earbuds that are actually super comfy or a speaker and lamp combo that totally looks like a bong for some reason. But when it comes to the PlayStation Portal, the weirdness isn’t just in the design, it’s at the core foundation of “Why does this thing exist?”

PlayStation Remote Play is far from a new feature, and it’s something you can use with multi-purpose devices like a phone, tablet, or laptop at no additional cost. So why spend $200 on a dedicated piece of hardware for only this one feature? After spending a lot more time with the PlayStation Portal since my initial hands-on, I think I’ve finally figured it out: this thing is an air fryer.

You may be asking, “Wait, how is a gaming handheld a home cooking appliance?” Well, much like an air fryer, the Portal is a device that costs a not-insignificant amount of money that does just one thing with only one way of doing it (it streams games off your PS5 via Wi-Fi), while other multi-use devices can pull the same task (PS5 Remote Play works on Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, iPadOS, and even the PS4). And also like an air fryer, you likely already have a device that does the same thing as the Portal (many home ovens offer convection heating, which is how an air fryer cooks). But I’ll be damned if firing up some crispy chicken nuggets in 10 minutes or grabbing a quick game session while in bed aren’t the same kind of convenience.

The PlayStation Portal is all about conveniences — taking your games from your console and moving them around your house or even out into the world. However, with a reliance on Wi-Fi performance, your world of convenience comes crashing down as soon as you struggle with poor connectivity or when one of the Portal’s many strange quirks rears its ugly head.

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Sony's PlayStation Portal isn't the new PSP you're looking for. #playstation #playstationportal #ps5 #psp #tech #techtok

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In my time with the Portal, I’ve mostly had the “it just works” experience, especially after a post-launch software update that seemed to make some small performance improvements. I connect it to my PlayStation 5 and within a few seconds I can bring my games to most parts of my home and play them fine on the Portal’s crisp and colorful eight-inch LCD — complete with those nifty DualSense haptics.

It sounds foolproof when I sum it up like that, but booting up the Portal and connecting (the only thing it does when you turn it on) is a very “your mileage may vary” moment. It may work fine. It may not work at all. It may require some tinkering with your home network settings. I’ve been lurking in the r/PlayStationPortal subreddit to get a gist of the vibe from its community, and amid the troubleshooting help and people posting their W’s about how great their Portal works even on a roadtrip you occasionally see some massive frustration.

For my home testing, my PS5 is connected via ethernet and I have gigabit internet over a mesh Wi-Fi network with three Google Nest Wifi Pro routers. Even with all of that, there are of course spots in my home where connectivity can get a little dicey. Sometimes, for what seems in the moment unexplainable, a game will freeze up and skip whole seconds of gameplay. I never quite know if it’s because another device on my network is suddenly soaking up bandwidth, or there’s more congestion from my ISP in the neighborhood, or maybe it’s just a strange anomaly. You never really know why, but you have to live with the reality that every once in a while you might have your swings in Spider-Man 2 or your axe throws in God of War Ragnarök disrupted. It may test your patience at times, but it’s the trade-off of relying on Wi-Fi in exchange for not taking up the family TV or bringing your game into a different room.

In this photo we were streaming over 30 miles away from my PlayStation 5, and it worked very well. That was, until we accidentally turned off the console while remote — rendering the Portal useless until I returned home.

This is where one of the PlayStation Portal’s biggest oversights can’t help but make you wonder if things could be better. The Portal only supports Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), which has been around since 2014. It has more than enough bandwidth for Sony’s listed minimum requirement of 5Mbps download and upload speeds and even well beyond the recommended speed of 15Mbps, but why does a new device released in late 2023 (one that relies on Wi-Fi, mind you) not ship with a Wi-Fi 6 or 6E radio? While not all homes have Wi-Fi 6E routers, the ones that do should be able to play their Portals on the less congested 6Ghz band. It’s one of the Portal’s many baffling oversights, especially since Wi-Fi 7 devices are rounding the corner.

This is a very “YMMV” device

But the Portal’s illogical quirks go well beyond its Wi-Fi spec shortcomings. This thing has an Airplane Mode. Why? It’s a paperweight without Wi-Fi. It doesn’t play any games or media off of local storage — it doesn’t even tell you how much internal storage it has — and it doesn’t stream any content that isn’t beamed to it from your PS5. It also lacks an auto-brightness adjustment, doesn’t come with any protective case (the only options out there are from third parties), and only supports one user login at a time. Do you share your PS5 with another person or have multiple accounts within your family? If you plan to share the PlayStation Portal as well then be prepared to manually log out and log back in (including with 2FA if you have it activated — which you should) on it every single time someone else wants a turn.

All of these quirks and shortcomings make the Portal feel like a half-measure, or the bones of a bigger project that got its funding cut part way through development. Though perhaps nothing feels as egregious as the omission of Bluetooth audio. The Portal thankfully has a 3.5mm headphone jack, but if you want wireless your only option is Sony’s new proprietary PlayStation Link audio devices — which carry premium prices while lacking premium features like active noise cancellation. Of the two headphones announced thus far, only the $199.99 Pulse Explore earbuds have come out yet (and are still hard to find in stock). The $149.99 Pulse Elite headset isn’t due out until late February.

If you can live with the quirks, this is a cozy way to play some PS5 games.

Sony’s Pulse Explore earbuds work well on the Portal, and yes, their proprietary PlayStation Link connection yields noticeably less latency than using the same earbuds in Bluetooth mode on another device with Remote Play. But in no way does that justify omitting Bluetooth entirely from the Portal. Bluetooth can be slow and inefficient but it performs well enough and it’s a convenient feature that should be present on this device that’s all about convenience and simplicity. Asking your customers to spend yet another $150 to $200 just to use wireless audio on your $200 remote player is pretty lousy — especially since the more expensive (and noise-canceling) Sony InZone H9 wireless headset some PS5 diehards may already own can’t even be used via its USB dongle. The saving grace of the Portal in regards to audio are its built-in speakers that don’t sound too tinny and the fact that you can always fall back to wired audio (which circumvents any latency anyway).

Despite all these frustrating quirks, the Portal delivers a nice all-in-one experience. You can have a higher quality Remote Play experience on an iPad or laptop with much larger screens, and you can have a more portable experience with a collapsible phone controller like the BackBone One, but all of those solutions are clunkier. Nothing is quite as simple as picking up the Portal and turning it on.

Many Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally owners have found ways to use Remote Play with free software like Chiaki, but you still have to put in a bit of legwork and tinkering to get it set up. I’ve used it on my original Deck, and it’s mostly fine — successfully mimicking even the DualSense touchpad and share button thanks to community-made downloadable button layouts — but you’re just never going to have all those DualSense haptics (if you care).

The PlayStation Portal shortcuts the initial setup labor and confusion of Remote Play to give you a somewhat turnkey, streamlined solution. It can be handy alongside your PS5 if you’re a parent or a busy person looking to squeeze in short game sessions despite someone else using the TV, or if you want to add a level of comfort to your gaming by allowing you to chill in bed while playing. But all the caveats and hangups of Remote Play are still here.

Some of the various ways you can stream your PS5 via Remote Play.

My biggest recommendation for people considering a Portal is to first connect your PS5 via ethernet (seriously, Wi-Fi on both ends of this equation ain’t gonna be a good time), and test out the PS Remote Play app using your home Wi-Fi on your laptop, tablet, or phone. If it performs well enough to your liking, especially for the kinds of games you like to play, then a Portal may make some sense.

Sony’s first attempt at a handheld since the PlayStation Vita may be a strange, limited device that only serves one purpose but it serves that purpose well if your home Wi-Fi isn’t plagued with gremlins. Hopefully, Sony is testing the waters of what’s to come more than simply releasing a half-baked product. There seems to be a demand (at least for now), as Portals are heavily backordered. I’m cool with nerdy niches and single-use devices when they’re good, and overall I’ve enjoyed the Portal despite its numerous flaws. But it mostly makes me long for a return of a true portable PlayStation handheld, which I hope Sony is working on for the future.

Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

AI companies would be required to disclose copyrighted training data under new bill

AI companies would be required to disclose copyrighted training data under new bill

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Two lawmakers filed a bill requiring creators of foundation models to disclose sources of training data so copyright holders know their information was taken. The AI Foundation Model Transparency Act — filed by Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Don Beyer (D-VA) — would direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to work with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to establish rules for reporting training data transparency.

Companies that make foundation models will be required to report sources of training data and how the data is retained during the inference process, describe the limitations or risks of the model, how the model aligns with NIST’s planned AI Risk Management Framework and any other federal standards might be established, and provide information on the computational power used to train and run the model. The bill also says AI developers must report efforts to “red team” the model to prevent it from providing “inaccurate or harmful information” around medical or health-related questions, biological synthesis, cybersecurity, elections, policing, financial loan decisions, education, employment decisions, public services, and vulnerable populations such as children.

The bill calls out the importance of training data transparency around copyright as several lawsuits have come out against AI companies alleging copyright infringement. It specifically mentions the case of artists against Stability AI, Midjourney, and Deviant Art, (which was largely dismissed in October, according to VentureBeat), and Getty Images’ complaint against Stability AI.

“With the increase in public access to artificial intelligence, there has been an increase in lawsuits and public concerns about copyright infringement,” the bill states. “Public use of foundation models has led to countless instances of the public being presented with inaccurate, imprecise, or biased information.”

The bill still needs to be assigned to a committee and discussed, and it’s unclear if that will happen before the busy election campaign season starts.

Eshoo and Beyer’s bill complements the Biden administration’s AI executive order, which helps establish reporting standards for AI models. The executive order, however, is not law, so if the AI Foundation Model Transparency Act passes, it will make transparency requirements for training data a federal rule.

Substack Says It Will Not Ban Nazis or Extremist Speech

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No Oversight: Inside a Boom-Time Start-Up Fraud and Its Unraveling

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Chrome’s password safety tool will now automatically run in the background

Chrome’s password safety tool will now automatically run in the background

Image: The Verge

Google’s Safety Check feature for Chrome, which, among other things, checks the internet to see if any of your saved passwords have been compromised, will now “run automatically in the background” on desktop, the company said in a blog post on Thursday. The constant checks could mean that you’re alerted about a password that you should change sooner than you would have before.

Safety Check also watches for bad extensions or site permissions you need to look at, and you can act on Safety Check alerts from Chrome’s three-dot menu. In addition, Google says that Safety Check can revoke a site’s permissions if you haven’t visited it in a while.

Google also announced an upcoming feature for Chrome’s tab groups, also on desktop: Chrome will let you save tab groups so that you can use those groups across devices, which might be handy when moving between a PC at home and a laptop when traveling. Google says this feature will roll out “over the next few weeks.”

Image: Google

The company also teased that it will bring features powered by Gemini, its new AI model, to Chrome “early next year.” That’s not a surprise — CEO Sundar Pichai had already said Gemini would make its way to Chrome — but I’m curious to see what it means in practice all the same.

Behold! Someone is investing in a podcast company

Behold! Someone is investing in a podcast company

The Verge

Behold! Someone is investing in a podcast company

Could it be a sign that the tide is turning? Danish podcast and audiobook subscription service Podimo announced a new funding round worth €44 million ($48.4 million). Participants in the round include previous investors Augustinus Fabrikker and HighlandX, as well as the Danish Export and Investment Fund.

“This investment allows Podimo to continue our strong growth trajectory while orienting the company towards profitability,” Morten Strunge, CEO of Podimo, said in a statement. “This funding isn’t solely about financial support. While profitability remains a key objective, our investment focus extends beyond financial milestones. We are resolutely committed to enhancing our product and sustaining a healthy business model that benefits creators and listeners alike.”

As other companies, most notably Spotify, back away from exclusivity, Podimo is sticking with it. The app has a library of more than 70,000 audiobooks and 1,000 exclusive podcasts. According to the release, the company’s subscriber base has expanded by 80 percent in the last year. But it still has not entered the major English-language markets. The app is only available in Latin America and a handful of European countries including Denmark, Norway, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and Finland.

Earlier this week, I talked about Podimo with Podnews’ James Cridland, The Squeeze’s Skye Pillsbury, and Oxford Road’s Dan Granger on The Media Roundtable (episode out December 27th if you aren’t swimming in a sea of eggnog). And it is definitely an interesting company! But it is also not clear to me (despite previously asking for financials) how well the model is working when similar endeavors have faltered (i.e., Luminary). I also have not been able to get my hands on it, so if you have and have opinions on the app, feel free to reach out.

New York’s attorney general says SiriusXM’s annoying cancellation process is actually illegal

SiriusXM is getting sued by the state of New York for making it too difficult for subscribers to cancel their plans. The suit claims that customers who want to cancel are required to chat over the phone or online with an agent who bombards them with questions and offers. “Sirius deliberately wastes its subscribers’ time even though it has the ability to process cancellations with the click of a button,” the suit reads.

I am not going to lie, I chuckled at the idea that SiriusXM is getting slammed for wasting people’s time, a thing of which most companies (and humans) are guilty. But SiriusXM’s alleged practices do seem excessive, if true. Attorney General Letitia James’ office claims that SiriusXM’s own data reveals that because of all the wait times and obstacles, it takes subscribers an average of 11.5 minutes to cancel by phone and 30 minutes to cancel online. The suit is seeking damages for affected customers, as well as a $5,000 penalty to the state of New York for each violation.

“Having to endure a lengthy and frustrating process to cancel a subscription is a stressful burden no one looks forward to, and when companies make it hard to cancel subscriptions, it’s illegal,” James said in a statement. “Consumers should be able to cancel a subscription they no longer use or need without any issues, and companies have a legal duty to make their cancellation process easy.”

Clearly, some people have managed to endure SiriusXM’s cancellation process. The company reported a drop of 336,000 subscribers to its flagship satellite radio service in the first nine months of 2023.

“It’s telling that the New York Attorney General issued a press release before providing SiriusXM with a copy of the complaint,” SiriusXM spokesperson Jessica Casano-Antonellis said in a statement. “Like a number of consumer businesses, we offer a variety of options for customers to sign up for or cancel their SiriusXM subscription and, upon receiving and reviewing the complaint, we intend to vigorously defend against these baseless allegations that grossly mischaracterize SiriusXM’s practices.”

The long-term trend away from broadcast means that SiriusXM has had to get creative about its future. That is why it snatched up Stitcher in 2020 and Team Coco in 2022, and handed out lucrative distribution deals to top podcasts Crime Junkie and Pod Save America. It is also why the company revamped its app last month as something that looks and flows more like a typical streaming app.

We’ll have to see how successful the lawsuit is. I think if SiriusXM’s practices are ruled to be illegal, then that is less an audio world problem than it is a subscription-based business problem. Genuinely, what would happen to every gym in NYC?

The Apple Watch ban is preventing repairs of many models

The Apple Watch ban is preventing repairs of many models

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Not only has Apple halted online sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra Series 2 (with in-store sales to follow), but the company’s ongoing patent rift with medical device maker Masimo has another ripple effect: out-of-warranty hardware repairs for several Apple Watch models are now unavailable to customers. That’s according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who reports that Apple has informed customer service employees that out-of-warranty hardware repairs and whole unit replacements for the Apple Watch Series 6 onward (with the exception of the SE) will be unavailable for the duration of the ban imposed by the US International Trade Commission.

If you own one of the models included in the ban and your device is out of warranty, well, you should be extra careful with Apple’s smartwatch starting right now. Products under warranty (or the extended AppleCare Plus program) aren’t affected by this situation. Customers will be notified when hardware replacements are permitted, according to Gurman’s report.

This gives Apple yet another critical reason to resolve the patent dispute with Masimo. The Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 are currently unavailable from Apple’s online store during the final stretch of holiday shopping, though both models can still be purchased in Apple’s physical stores, which will pull the devices after December 24th. Third-party retailers can continue selling them after that, but supply is likely to dwindle since Apple is barred from importing more Apple Watch devices until it resolves the patent dispute.

The patent dispute revolves around the SpO2 sensor built into the Apple Watch Series 6, 7, 8, 9, Ultra, and Ultra 2. Apple is said to be working on a software update that could avoid further infringement of Masimo’s patents, though the medical device maker believes the issue fundamentally relates to hardware and will require deeper changes.