How to run games on a Chromebook
Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge
Chromebooks were originally synonymous with lightweight, online-only, relatively inexpensive computing. Over time, however, they’ve become more and more capable, not only as useful day-to-day systems but as gaming machines, too.
In fact, there are actually more gaming options on ChromeOS than many people may realize. So we’re going to take you through the options.
To begin with, as well as giving you access to web games that run in a browser, ChromeOS supports Android games as well. Add in the Steam client for Chromebooks, plus the possibilities offered by cloud gaming services, and you’re really spoilt for choice.
You can pick some or all of these options, depending on your gaming needs and your budget.
Android and web games
ChromeOS has supported running Android apps and games for years at this point, and if you click on the ChromeOS Launcher button, open Play Store, and switch to the Games tab, you can see what’s available. Note that the Play Store lists games that are particularly suited to Chromebooks right at the top.
You can find a number of games on Google’s Play Store.
Not every Android game is built to run on ChromeOS, but a lot of them are: any games that aren’t compatible simply won’t show up in the Play Store. And if your favorite Android games are there, you can then take advantage of all that extra screen space to enjoy your games even more. (Having a physical keyboard comes in handy as well.)
Don’t ignore browser-based games, either. As browser technology has evolved and internet speeds have increased, so the sophistication of web games has grown as well. A lot of the games you’ll come across are free to play and load pretty much instantly, and they cover a host of different gaming genres, too.
We don’t have the space here for a full guide to the best browser-based games on the web, but some fine examples out there include the addictive word game Wordle, the fast-paced Line Rider, the turn-based strategy epic Freeciv, OGC Open for golf fans, the open-world RPG Fallen London, and Sonic the Hedgehog for the retro gaming enthusiasts.
Steam on ChromeOS
Steam support on ChromeOS is official, albeit in a beta form — which means you may see occasional bugs, and you’re not going to be able to play everything in your Steam library. Hundreds of games can be played, though, if you have a fairly recent and fairly powerful Chromebook: there’s a list of supported Chromebooks here.
You’ll need to switch to the beta channel to run Steam on ChromeOS.
You’ll need to switch to the beta channel of ChromeOS to find the Steam client if you’re not already on it. If a switch is required, make sure all the local files on your Chromebook are backed up somewhere safe.
Open Settings, then the About Chrome OS tab.
Click Additional details > Change channel.
Select Beta, then click Change channel.
Once ChromeOS has downloaded the beta version of the operating system, you’ll see a Restart button on the About Chrome OS tab. After that’s done, you need to enable a flag.
Type “chrome://flags” in the Chrome address bar and hit Enter.
Look for the “#borealis-enabled” flag via the search box at the top, click the drop-down menu to the right of its entry, and change it to Enabled.
Click Restart at the bottom of the flags list.
When you’re back in ChromeOS, click the Launcher button to find the Steam client. You’ll then be able to log in using your normal credentials and see which games in your library can be run on your Chromebook.
There is another Steam option, which works on any Chromebook with Android app support. If you install the Steam Link app from the Play Store, you can stream gameplay from another computer on the same Wi-Fi network. Games can be controlled using a keyboard and mouse or a Steam-compatible controller connected via Bluetooth or USB.
Another option is to stream from another computer using the Steam Link app.
When Steam Link launches, it’ll scan for computers running Steam on the local network. Click the relevant computer and a connection will be established after you’ve verified it with a PIN shown on-screen. Select Start Playing and you have access to everything installed on the connected computer.
Cloud gaming options
Chromebooks are built for the cloud, so it makes a lot of sense to use them for cloud gaming too. (Though Google’s own Stadia service is, of course, now shuttered.) All the major cloud gaming services will work on Chromebooks, and the system requirements aren’t prohibitive. Assuming you’ve got a fast enough connection, you simply log in inside a browser tab, and you’re ready to go.
Amazon Luna has supported Chromebooks since back in 2021: you’ll need the latest version of ChromeOS and an internet speed of 10 Mbps or more. Games can be controlled through a keyboard and mouse, through an Xbox or PlayStation controller (connected via USB or Bluetooth), or through a Luna controller (which connects directly to your Wi-Fi). A limited number of games are available to Prime members for no extra fee, while a subscription to Luna Plus costs $9.99 a month.
Amazon Luna has supported Chromebooks since back in 2021.
Then there’s GeForce Now from Nvidia. It works with Chromebooks that have 4GB of RAM or more, along with a minimum internet speed of 15 Mbps. You can use a keyboard and mouse for game control or pretty much any Xbox, PlayStation, or third-party gaming controller — these can be connected via Bluetooth or USB. There’s a basic free plan that lets you play games you already own from the cloud, while paid packages that give you more time and more games start from $9.99 per month.
Finally, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate works on Chromebooks, too, giving you access to hundreds of popular titles streamed from the cloud. It’ll cost you $16.99 a month, and you’re going to need an Xbox-compatible gaming controller connected to your Chromebook via Bluetooth or USB. In addition, Microsoft is the most demanding of all these services when it comes to internet speeds, recommending a minimum 20 Mbps connection.
But no matter what your level of gaming is — from a casual and occasional gamer to a hardcore enthusiast with hundreds of Steam titles — there should be a solution for Chromebooks that’ll work for you.
Pokémon Go creator Niantic accused of ‘systemic sexual bias’ in lawsuit
James Bareham / The Verge
A former Niantic employee filed a lawsuit against the AR gaming company on Friday, alleging that it devalued the work of female employees and women of color, denied equal pay to women employees and women of color. The lawsuit, which is seeking class-action status, accuses Niantic of creating a “boys club.” The employee was laid off as part of last week’s job cuts at the company, which affected about 230 staffers.
The employee, who is an anonymous Jane Doe but is described in the complaint as an Asian female, started work at Niantic in February 2020 with a salary of $70,000, the complaint says. Later that year, she was promoted and received a raise to about $84,000, but in “approximately” 2021, she learned that Niantic was paying a male colleague more money even though she had a higher job title and more responsibilities than he did.
In 2022, he was allegedly paid $127,000 per year, but she was paid $105,000 per year despite being one job level higher. In or around spring 2023, she received a raise to $115,000 per year, still below her male colleague.
Around that same time, the employee also saw that Niantic posted the pay range for her job title and level — as of 2023, California employers with more than 15 staffers have to share pay ranges in job listings because of a pay transparency law — and saw that she was being paid more than $10,000 less than the bottom end of that range.
The employee discussed her concerns with other female staffers, and sexism and equal pay were brought up in the company’s employee resources group for women, Wolfpack.
But when the employee brought her concerns to Niantic’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Director and Principal People Partner, they “made clear” that “they and male upper management at Niantic were hostile to her complaints or voiced concerns about sexism or sexual bias in the workplace,” the complaint says.
The executives in the meeting also allegedly said her job evaluations were affected by her discussing workplace issues with her colleagues and said that she was paid below the range because she had raised concerns with her colleagues. According to the complaint, the employee then “immediately unsubscribed” from the Wolfpack group “in fear that her association with Wolfpack would disadvantage Wolfpack employees or her.”
This year, Wolfpack found in a survey of staffers that “many female employees viewed Niantic as a sexist work culture that disadvantages female employees” and a majority of respondents “expressed concerns about equal pay at Niantic,” the complaint says. When those survey findings where shared with upper management, “Niantic’s Chief Marketing Officer, Mike Quigley, required Wolfpack to remove references to Boys Club and similar comments about sexism in the workplace from their presentation to Wolfpack members about the results of the survey.” The group was also told that they could not survey staffers without approval from upper management.
Niantic didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
The lawsuit against Niantic is just the latest legal action toward a major gaming company based on allegations from female employees. The state of California sued Activision Blizzard in 2021 alleging that it fostered a culture of “constant sexual harassment,” while Riot Games announced that year that it would pay $100 million to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit.
As part of its recent layoffs, CEO John Hanke reiterated the company’s focus on Pokémon Go, its cash cow. The company has struggled to find its next big hit, shutting down games based on Harry Potter, Catan, and, as of last week, its NBA game.
Here are the best Apple Watch deals right now
The Apple Watch Series 8 isn’t a massive step up from the prior model, but it does offer a few new features. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Editor’s note:Amazon Prime Dayis nearly here. Thankfully, if you’re looking to get a leg up on the two-day shopping event, we’ve rounded up thebest early Prime Day dealsyou can already get.
In September, Apple launched its latest batch of smartwatches, introducing the first-ever Ultra ($799) alongside the Series 8 ($399) and a new Apple Watch SE ($249). Each wearable has its own pros and cons, but the introduction of the high-end Ultra also means there are now more Apple Watch models on the market before than ever before — and a lot more deals to be had.
But with all of those options, which one should you pick? Generally speaking, you want to buy the newest watch you can afford so that it continues to receive software updates from Apple. The latest update, watchOS 9, launched on the Apple Watch Series 4 and newer models in September, and watchOS 10 will offer the same compatibility when it arrives in the fall. Also, keep in mind that, unlike some Apple products, the largest discounts are typically reserved for the newest models, not the last-gen ones.
Picking up a watch from the latest (or a recent) generation ensures you’re getting a smartwatch with an updated design, a robust number of features, and plenty of sensors. And thankfully, now that the Series 3 is officially out of commission (it was long overdue), it’s harder to end up with a watch that will quickly feel outdated.
Now, let’s get into the deals.
The best Apple Watch Series 8 deals
The Apple Watch Series 8 represents the latest wearable in Apple’s flagship Series lineup. It brings a new chipset (that our colleague Victoria Song says isn’t faster than the previous iteration), new temperature sensors that enable menstrual tracking, Crash Detection, and a host of other enhancements. While the subtle improvements are welcome, the Series 8 isn’t all that different from the prior model, the Apple Watch Series 7.
We recently saw the starting price of the base Apple Watch Series 8 drop to $329 ($70 off), however, the 41mm model with GPS is only available right now in select styles at Amazon for $379 ($20 off) and Walmart for $389 ($10 off). As for the larger, 45mm model with GPS, it’s currently on sale in select configurations at Amazon and Walmart for $419.99, which is a mere $10 off and far more expensive than the watch’s all-time low of $359.
If you’re looking to snag an LTE-equipped model, the 41mm configuration is available at Walmart in red for $429 ($70 off). Walmart is also selling the 45mm variant for the same price, though, the retailer is only offering the $100 discount on the white configuration.
The Apple Watch SE received a refresh in late 2022. It has the same chipset as the Series 8, which is great, but with fewer sensors, no always-on display, and a slightly outdated design compared to the Series 7 and Series 8. Those omissions might take this out of the running for some people, but it still may be exactly what you’re after. Best of all, it starts at $249 for the 40mm Wi-Fi / GPS model, which is $30 less than the previous generation’s baseline cost. Opting for cellular connectivity bumps up the starting price to $299 for the 40mm size (44mm adds $20 to each configuration).
Right now, the 40mm Apple Watch SE with GPS is available at Amazon in select styles starting at $239.99 ($9 off). The GPS-only model is also available at Amazon in the 44mm sizing for $269.99 ($9 off) or in the LTE configuration at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target starting at $299 (its full retail price).
Apple’s big, thick, and capable Watch Ultra launched at $799 with GPS and LTE support, and in case you aren’t in the know, it has the most features, sensors, and ruggedness of any Apple Watch model available thus far. Its 49mm case houses a screen that can get brighter than the Series 8, it has a longer-lasting battery and more precise GPS tracking, and it’s loaded with sensors that essentially turn it into a swimming and diving guide.
In May, we saw select Apple Watch Ultra configurations drop to $701.99 (about $97 off). Right now, however, Apple’s premium wearable is only on sale at Amazon in select configurations for as low as $779.99 ($19 off), which is only the watch’s third-lowest price to date.
While all of the Apple Watch models and colorways covered here are encased in aluminum (except the Ultra, which has a titanium build), Apple does make a more premium range built out of stainless steel and titanium. These offerings are functionally and aesthetically similar to their aluminum counterparts, with slightly refined colors and finishings — polished for the stainless steel and brushed for the titanium. However, they start at much steeper prices of $749 and above. They, too, can often be found on sale, but they’re never discounted as low as the standard base models, so we don’t include them here.
Buying Apple’s Vision Pro headset could require an appointment and a face scan
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
Apple is planning to sell its $3,499 Vision Pro headset on an appointment-only basis at launch, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. According to Gurman, Apple will create designated sections where customers can try on the headset in its stores, with the first ones appearing at stores in major areas like New York and Los Angeles.
Apple will reportedly ask in-store buyers to schedule an appointment to purchase the Vision Pro, similar to the rollout of the first Apple Watch in 2015. During the appointment, Gurman says Apple will ensure that the Vision Pro fits the wearer and also outfit the device with prescription lens inserts if needed. Gurman says Apple Stores will need to keep “hundreds or thousands of lenses” in stock as a result.
The other element he mentions is that Apple’s working on both an iPhone app and a physical machine that scans a person’s head to figure out if it has the right light seal — a component that prevents light from interfering with a wearer’s field of view. When the company opens online orders in the US in early 2024, it will reportedly have customers upload their lens prescription and their head scan data.
The demos at the last WWDC didn’t include that step, with only a vision test and ear scanning for spatial audio.
The headset, which is set to launch in the US early next year, won’t be available in other countries until late 2024, Gurman says. After it releases the Vision Pro in the US, Apple will reportedly bring the headset to the UK and Canada afterward, with other countries in Asia and Europe to follow. The company doesn’t plan on bringing the device to third-party retailers until at least 2025, Gurman notes.
Apple may also be working on some additional accessories for the Vision Pro. According to Gurman, it’s exploring a second strap that goes across the wearer’s head to help people with “smaller body sizes and heads” wear the headset for long periods of time. It is also looking into creating a shoulder pouch for the Vision Pro headset’s external battery pack, as some people who wear certain kinds of cultural apparel may not have pockets.
Amazon’s colorful Echo Pop is on sale for just $17.99 ahead of Prime Day
Amazon’s Echo Pop speaker comes in a host of fun colors, including an attractive teal option. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Unsurprisingly, the Pop sheds a few features found on pricier smart speakers to hit its bargain-level price point. It offers fewer sensors than the fifth-gen Echo Dot, for instance, and skips the physical Action button found on most other Echo models, which lets you prompt Alexa without saying a wake word. Nonetheless, the Pop is the cheapest Matter controller you can buy at the moment, rendering it as futureproof as it is colorful. What’s more, it features quick performance and plenty of Alexa-based smarts, making it a great option if you want to upgrade from an older Echo model or dip your toe into Amazon’s vast ecosystem of smart home devices.
The season for spring cleaning might be over, but there’s rarely been a better time than now to grab iRobot’s Roomba i3 Evo. Normally $349.99, the budget-friendly robot vacuum is on sale at Amazon right now for just $250, nearly matching its best price to date.
Several years after making its debut, the i3 Evo remains our favorite robovac for those working with a tighter budget. It lacks many of the premium bells and whistles associated with our top pick, the poop-dodging iRobot j7, yet it still offers the same suction power and a similar set of software features. It sports a physical spot-cleaning button for tackling quick jobs, along with smart mapping, letting you control which rooms you’d like it to clean. What it lacks is the j7’s bigger battery and AI obstacle avoidance — two features that are by no means a deal-breaker given the i3 Evo currently costs half the price without its optional auto-empty station.
A few more deals to kick-start your weekend
In case you missed it in one of our aforementioned Prime Day guides, the latest Kindle Paperwhite Kids is on sale at Amazon for Prime members for $104.99 ($65 off). That’s easily the best price to date on the ad-free ebook reader, which is identical to the standard Paperwhite but comes with an extended two-year warranty, a year of Amazon Kids Plus, and one of three kid-friendly covers. Read our review.
Right now, you can pick up a single 1,100-lumen Wyze Bulb Colorfor just $12.29 on Amazon. Wyze’s full-color, dimmable A19 bulbs typically go for around $16, making today’s discount a solid deal if you’re looking for a good budget smart bulb that works over Wi-Fi and supports scheduling, timers, and voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant.
Not to be outdone, Walmart plans to host its own deal extravaganza next week to compete with Prime Day. We don’t know much about what will be on offer, but we do know Walmart Plus subscribers will get early access to deals beginning on July 10th. Thankfully, if you’re not already a Walmart Plus subscriber, new members can still sign up for an annual membership at Walmart for just $49 (half off). The premium membership functions a lot like Amazon Prime, giving you access to exclusive perks such as free shipping, limited-time deals, and streaming services like Paramount Plus.
Casetify’s gorgeous Evangelion iPhone and AirPods cases are (not) just a dream
Products from the Project-CSTF: Protection from Impact line. | Image: Khara / Casetify
The Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise has given rise to quite a few interesting real-world smartphones and even more mech-themed accessories over the years. But rather than simply trying to replicate pieces of tech from the classic anime, the new line of Evangelion-inspired cases and chargers from Casetify aims to transform your ordinary iPhone into a device capable of surviving an Impact event.
Casetify, the company behind those phone case ads you’ve undoubtedly seen on Instagram, is collaborating with Studio Khara for a new line of Evangelion-inspired iPhone and AirPods accessories that are all designed to help protect your devices from falls. Like Casetify’s classic Impact line, each of the new cases featured in the Project-CSTF: Protection from Impact series wraps your device in layers of impact-absorbing shielding meant to minimize damage from spills and falls.
Along with regular cases emblazoned with various Evangelion pilots and MagSafe cases that resemble the mechs themselves, Casetify is also releasing a charging dock inspired by the mobile ejection stands seen in Evangelion as well as an AirPods Pro / Pro 2 case modeled after Eva Test Type-01’s head.
To celebrate the Evangelion collab’s debut on July 20th, Casetify is putting on a limited-run outdoor exhibition at Shinjuku Kabukicho Cine City Square in Japan that will run until July 25th and feature a 13-foot-tall EVA-01. Casetify’s yet to announce any pricing for the Project-CSTF: Protection from Impact series, but ahead of its release on the 20th, interested fans can sign up for a waitlist and head into any one of Casetify’s Studio store locations to receive a special AR marker card that unlocks digital replicas of the line’s products.
TP-Link’s new three-pack mesh router reminds you it’s okay to just have Wi-Fi 6
Even without Wi-Fi 6E, you’re still getting your money’s worth. | Image: TP-Link
TP-Link has launched a new competitively priced Wi-Fi 6 router that might make you think twice before upgrading to Wi-Fi 6E or even Wi-Fi 7. The Deco X55 Pro is a whole-home Wi-Fi 6 mesh router system that’s available in a three-pack now on Amazon and the TP-Link webstore at an initial discounted launch price of $239.99 (if you use the 20DECOX55PRO promo code). Once this promotional offer ends on July 31st, the Deco X55 Pro will switch to its standard $299.99 price.
Each node of the three-pack mesh router comes with two 2.5 gigabit ethernet ports, and TP-Link advertises the Deco X55 Pro’s Wi-Fi 6 capabilities can deliver up to 3Gbps of wireless speed and that it features an “AI-driven” mesh system that’s designed to automatically switch between network sources for a better connection.
Image: TP-Link
You get a total of six 2.5 gigabit ethernet ports for the trio, which is handy if you have a large family with a lot of wired devices.
TP-Link claims the mesh router trio covers up to 6,500 square feet, which should be a large enough Wi-Fi net to blanket most homes, helping to eliminate weak signals and dead zones in areas where less robust systems may struggle to permeate — such as bathrooms, garages, and basements. It can also support over 150 devices, according to TP-Link, more than some pricier Wi-Fi systems like the Eero Pro 6E’s advertised 100-plus devices.
This is a dual-band Wi-Fi system, meaning it only supports the usual single 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands. You’ll have a hard time finding a tri-band system available at a similar price, though — for example, the Wi-Fi 6-enabled Eero Pro 6 provides an additional 5GHz band, but that’ll still cost you $399 despite the product being almost three years old. If you wanted to explore Wi-Fi 6E, then the TP-Link Deco XE75 tri-band system is also available for $299, though that’s for two rather than a three-pack of base stations. It’ll give you a 6GHz band to play with, but the Deco XE75 duo doesn’t have as large of a range as this Deco X55 Pro triple-pack, and there still aren’t many 6GHz-compatible devices out there yet.
Jony Ive’s LoveFrom worked on this limited edition $60,000 turntable
The Linn Sondek LP12-50 turtable. | Image: Linn
LoveFrom, the design firm formed by Apple’s former design head Jony Ive, has collaborated with British audio brand Linn on a 50th anniversary edition of its Sondek LP12 turntable. Just 250 models of the Linn Sondek LP12-50 will be produced and delivered between August 2023 and March 2024, with the limited edition turntable available to reserve now for an eye-watering $60,000 (£50,000).
According to a blog post from Linn CEO Gilad Tiefenbrun, the collaboration dates back to early 2022 when Tiefenbrun was offered a meeting with Ive out of the blue over LinkedIn. Eventually, the two companies decided to collaborate on the upcoming turntable, which Fast Company calls Ive’s “first hardware project post-Apple.”
Image: Linn
Image: Linn
Image: Linn
Image: Linn
Ive-approved hinges.
Linn has focused on the sonic elements of the Sondek LP12-50 like a so-called “Bedrok” plinth made from a dense wood designed to minimize vibrations. Meanwhile, LoveFrom focused more on its industrial design. “We saw a number of areas where there could be small improvements and gentle evolutions of the current design,” Ive tells Fast Company. Previously squared-off components have been given smoother edges, a plastic rocker power button has been swapped out for an aluminum circle, and new hinges were developed for the machine’s dust cover that can hold it open at any angle.
Interestingly, Fast Company reports LoveFrom’s work on Linn’s Sondek LP12-50 was pro bono, and there’s “no contract or other financial arrangement” between the two firms. “There’s a substantial percentage of our work which we do purely for the love of doing it,” Ive said, noting that the design firm makes money from its longer-term contracts with the likes of Airbnb and Ferrari.
Reddit demands moderators remove NSFW labels, or else
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Many communities on Reddit have used the NSFW (Not Safe For Work) designation in some form to protest Reddit’s new API pricing, which forced apps like Apollo and rif is fun for Reddit to shut down, as well as a recent pattern of behavior toward its unpaid volunteer moderators that they find “threatening.” Subreddits, including r/PICS and r/military, had made the NSFW switch, pointing to language from Reddit websites to justify the change.
The moderators of the r/military community said they switched their label to NSFW because “military content has a chance to be violent content” and argued that “this subreddit should have been NSFW already, but we’d never thought to change it until recently,” according to a public post on Thursday.
However, Reddit has sent messages to the mods of those subreddits saying they must “immediately correct” their NSFW labeling, claiming each community “has not historically been considered NSFW nor would they under our current policies.” If the designation isn’t corrected, any moderators involved in that decision will be removed. Those mods may be “subject to additional actions,” such as losing the ability to join future moderator teams.
Going NSFW puts up an age gate and means that the subreddit is not eligible for advertising, creating friction for users, and potentially affecting Reddit’s ability to monetize the channel.
As of Thursday evening, r/PICS had dropped the NSFW designation, along with r/military.
In an email to The Verge, a moderator for the military subreddit said that the mods decided to revert the NSFW designation because the community is a helpful resource for veterans experiencing mental health crises. The mod said that if Reddit removed the team, it could put the community at risk.
Reddit didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. For a previous story, spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt said that “moderators incorrectly marking a community as NSFW is a violation of both our Content Policy and Moderator Code of Conduct.”
This is a final warning for inaccurately labeling your community NSFW which is a violation of the Mod Code of Conduct rule 2. Your subreddit has not historically been considered NSFW nor would they under our current policies.
Please immediately correct the NSFW labeling on your subreddit. Failure to do so will result in action being taken on your moderator team by the end of this week. This means moderators involved in this activity will be removed from this mod team. Moderators may also be subject to additional actions, e.g., losing the ability to join mod teams in the future.
Lastly, if you suddenly begin to post, or approve content that features sexually explicit content to your community in order to justify the NSFW label, we will immediately remove and permanently suspend moderators who have participated in this action.
Rule 2 in the Moderator Code of Conduct says that moderators should “set appropriate and reasonable expectations.” Last month, Reddit admin account ModCodeofConduct said that it’s “not acceptable” to switch from safe for work to NSFW in protest, and a few communities changed back after feeling the pressure from Reddit.
In the case of r/PICS, it switched to focusing entirely on posts about comedian John Oliver after a community vote, and on Monday, the moderators switched it to NSFW because they felt that content in the subreddit was in violation of a Reddit wiki page titled “Reddit Content Policy.” That page defines NSFW as the following: “Content that contains nudity, pornography, or profanity, which a reasonable viewer may not want to be seen accessing in a public or formal setting such as in a workplace should be tagged as NSFW.”
However, in screenshots of messages between r/PICS and Reddit seen by The Verge, Reddit said that the wiki page is outdated (the last edit was made four years ago) and pointed to a different page, also titled Reddit Content Policy, which doesn’t define rules for NSFW. Rule 6 is perhaps the closest: “Ensure people have predictable experiences on Reddit by properly labeling content and communities, particularly content that is graphic, sexually-explicit, or offensive.”
On r/PICS, the rules explicitly say that “no explicit pornography or gore” is allowed, and from what I’ve seen, posts in the community hold to that rule. On Wednesday, r/PICS also argued that “the visible marking of r/PICS as NSFW is vital to establishing reasonable expectations.”
The moderators of r/cyberpunkgame made a post on Wednesday about a message from Reddit regarding the community’s NSFW designation, so I asked if they had received this new message as well. “We haven’t received that message, but we stand in support with the communities who did,” the moderators wrote in a Reddit DM to me. “This is a worrying development, and something that hits close to home for Cyberpunk fans. Reddit’s actions are on par with the most dystopian of companies seen in Night City.”
Threads: What to Know About Instagram’s ‘Twitter Killer’ App Here’s what to know about Instagram’s new app for public conversations and how it differs from Twitter.
Reddit has crushed the biggest protest in its history. What’s next? Make AI-generated porn legal again, apparently — as long as it’s not deepfaked. Today, Reddit has added an explicit carveout to its Content Policy that allows “AI-generated sexual media that depicts fictional people or characters.”
Some backstory: In 2018, Reddit was among the many platforms that banned deepfake AI porn communities, declaring that “involuntary pornography” was not okay. Specifically, Reddit modified its Rule 3 to ban depictions of nudity or sexual contact “that may have been faked.”
But as of 2018, Reddit left an explicit carveout for porn distributed with a sexual worker’s consent — and today, Reddit has added another carveout for AI-generated sexual media.
Here’s the new part, in bold:
Note that the rule does not apply to media distributed commercially with the consent of those depicted, AI-generated sexual media that depicts fictional people or characters, or artistic depictions (e.g., cartoons, anime, etc.) – although keep in mind our rules regarding respecting the intellectual property of others.
Juxtaposition by Sean Hollister / The Verge
Here’s a diff of thebeforeandafter, just to make it crystal-clear.
“[S]exually explicit AI-generated content violates our rules if it depicts a real, identifiable person,” the company clarified today.
Mind you, Rule 3 isn’t the only Reddit rule keeping Midjourney and Stable Diffusion-alikes from blasting NSFW AI content all over the platform. Rule 6 requires that Reddit communities label sexually explicit and / or offensive content, to the point it generally stays within opt-in NSFW communities. And Rule 4 prohibits sexual or suggestive content involving minors, fictional or not.
Technically speaking, intellectual property rules should also keep many fictional AI-unclothed characters from appearing on Reddit. But enforcing that is tough: IP rights have generally not stopped Rule 34 (which is not a Reddit rule, BTW) in the past.
F.B.I. Searched the Home of Kraken’s Jesse Powell Federal agents were investigating Jesse Powell, the founder of the crypto exchange Kraken, over claims that he hacked and cyber-stalked a nonprofit arts group.
The best floodlight camera to buy right now
The Verge
An all-in-one security camera with motion-activated light and continuous power, a floodlight camera is a simple way to add safety and security to your home’s perimeter.
When something goes bump in the night in your backyard, you probably want to know about it. While regular security cameras with night vision can show you what’s out there, a floodlight camera can show you and tell that rascal or raccoon to get off your lawn, scaring them away with some powerful lumens and possibly a blaring siren.
With smart floodlight cameras, you get the added value of better lighting, plus a way to keep an eye on your home. Thanks to sensors, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, smart floodlight cameras can be set only to light up when there’s someone there instead of just when a gust of wind sends a plastic bag through your yard.
A floodlight camera has a few benefits over a standard smart security camera. If you have existing hardwired lighting around your home, it’s an easy swap to add a camera and lighting in place of standard outdoor lights. This removes worries about recharging batteries, installing solar panels, or finding an outdoor outlet. If you’re looking for advice on why you might want a floodlight camera or how to install it, I’ve got more details for you below, as well as tips on how to install a floodlight camera.
Here, I’ve rounded up the seven best floodlight security cameras based on extensive testing over 12 months at a single-family home in South Carolina.
The best hardwired floodlight camera
Video quality:1080p HD, 8x digital zoom /Lumens:2,000 /Smart alerts:Person ($) /Field of view:140 degrees (270 motion) /Siren:Yes (110 decibels)Power options:Hardwired or plug in /Wi-Fi:2.4GHz and 5GHz /Storage:Cloud, local /Subscription fee:$3.99 a month /Works with:Alexa, Ring
Ring’s top-of-the-line floodlight camera has superb video quality, excellent motion detection, and an impressive 2,000 lumens of adjustable light. Its wide horizontal and deep vertical field of view gave a better vantage over my backyard than most of the competition.
While I didn’t find the Bird’s Eye View feature that useful, the radar-powered 3D motion detection was very good. Of all the cameras I tested, this was the most reliable at picking up motion anywhere in its range, even mounted on the eave of my second floor. It’s part of the Ring security ecosystem — which is great in its own right — but it doesn’t integrate with smart home platforms outside of Amazon’s Alexa.
The enhanced motion detection is the main reason to buy the Pro model over the Floodlight Cam Wired Plus, which is $50 cheaper. The other key differences are no HDR imaging on the Plus or the option of 5GHz Wi-Fi. Neither of these makes much difference on a floodlight camera — due to its likely location being up high and far away from your Wi-Fi router — but better motion detection is worth a lot on a security camera.
Ring’s digital zoom is also excellent, and the bumped-up siren is the loudest I tested (at 110dB, 105 on the Plus). You can’t trigger the siren on motion, but there is the unique-to-Ring option to add a verbal warning telling prowlers they’re on camera — less offensive to the neighbors than a motion-triggered siren. I also like that there’s a version that runs off a standard wall outlet if you don’t have a junction box available, but I recommend hardwiring if you can.
The Ring Floodlight Cam has an excellent field of view.
You’ll need to pay for a Ring Protect Plus plan for recorded video, starting at $4 a month. This also adds person detection (no other smart alerts) — without it, it’s livestream only. However, the Pro does work with the local storage option of a Ring Alarm Pro, if you have that security system.
Alexa integration is useful; you can view a live feed in the Alexa app and on Alexa-enabled smart displays and have Echo smart speakers announce when people and / or motion is detected. But you can’t control the Ring’s floodlights through Alexa, either with voice or in Routines; you have to use the Ring app for all light control.
In the Ring app, there’s an option to adjust the three motion zones for the lights — which was handy for preventing them from turning on when my neighbor walked in his yard. The lights can also be set on a schedule, adjust the brightness, and link Ring devices so that if a Ring camera on one side of the house detects motion, it can turn on the floodlights on the other.
If you use a smart home system other than Alexa, give the Ring Floodlight Cam a pass, as it only works with Alexa. However, if you are starting on your smart home journey, the Ring app is fast becoming a smart home platform of its own, especially if you add a Ring Alarm or Ring Alarm Pro to your setup.
The best budget floodlight camera
Video quality:1080p HD /Lumens:2,600 /Smart alerts:Person, package, vehicle, animal ($) /Field of view:130 degrees (270 motion) /Siren:105 decibels /Power options:Hardwired /Wi-Fi:2.4GHz /Storage:Cloud and local (SD card) /Subscription fee:$1.99 monthly /Works with:Alexa, Google Home
Wyze’s superb floodlight camera is less than half the price of the competition. This 2,600-lumen blaster lit up the side of my house like an airport runway. (It’s a harsh white, however.) Moreover, unlike most of the competition, the Wyze Cam Floodlight offers sound detection, useful to highlight anyone trying to creep through the bushes while out of range of any motion sensors.
Wyze uses both PIR and camera-based motion sensors — which means the camera doesn’t have to be in the range of motion for the lights to turn on. Wyze offers 270 degrees of motion sensing, which is the widest range of motion sensing I tested, and it’s adjustable. The cherry on top is the extra USB port, so you can power a second Wyze Cam v3 (sold separately) and put it around the corner for an additional angle. This does look a bit like a Rube Goldberg machine on the side of your house, however.
Two cameras are better than one. With the Wyze Cam Floodlight, you can connect a second Wyze Cam and leach off the power supply.
Despite the low price, you’ll want to factor in paying for a Wyze Cam Plus subscription plan ($3 a month), as that’s how you’ll get smart alerts for people, packages, vehicles, and animals. Although 12 seconds of motion-recorded clips are free, there’s a five-minute cooldown period between them where the camera won’t record anything, so unless you pay up for the unlimited length clips and no cooldown included in Cam Plus, you could miss some vital action.
Zoom on the 1080p resolution Wyze is not great, but the starlight sensor-powered night vision is superb. This uses any available light to illuminate a dark scene in color, and I could see more in that mode than with the floodlights turned on. The Wyze Cam also has a loud siren and can pulse the lights to scare off anything creeping around. As a bonus, there’s the option of local storage by adding an SD card, which enables free 24/7 continuous video recording.
As with all Wyze gear, smart home integration outside of the Wyze ecosystem is limited. You can stream footage to Google and Alexa smart displays and have Alexa announce if motion is detected. But you can’t control the lights with either voice assistant, and you don’t get individual control of the floodlights outside of the Wyze app.
The best battery-powered floodlight camera
Video quality:2K, 12x zoom /Lumens:2,000 (3,000 when plugged in) /Smart alerts:Person, package, vehicle, pet ($) /Field of view:160 degrees (130 motion) /Siren:Yes (105 decibels) /Power options:Battery, solar panel, plug in /Wi-Fi:2.4GHz /Storage:Cloud /Subscription fee:$3.99 monthly /Works with:Alexa, Google Home, Apple Home, Samsung SmartThings
If you don’t have access to hardwiring or a nearby power outlet or you want a floodlight camera that works with all the major smart home platforms, the Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Cam is the best option. This camera works with Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, Apple Home, and Alexa. It has better video quality than the Ring, a 12x digital zoom, an option to auto-track and zoom, a motion-activated siren, and more smart alerts.
But the Arlo is a battery-powered camera, and while this means you can mount it anywhere you need to, it lacks the best feature of hardwired floodlight cams: reliable, continuous power. Arlo has the option of continuous power, but you need a nearby outlet and an additional $50 power cord. It does not mount to a standard outdoor junction box and isn’t a great drop-in upgrade for an existing non-camera floodlight. I tested the Arlo for six months on battery power in a very busy location and had to charge it every two months. A $60 solar panel add-on would help, but you’re paying over $300.
The camera’s software features are also expensive. You have to subscribe to its Arlo Secure service (starting at $3.99 a month) for zoom and track, rich notifications, and smart alerts for animals, vehicles, and packages. I couldn’t even snooze motion alerts without a subscription plan. There is the option of continuous 24/7 recording for an additional fee.
The Arlo Pro 3 floodlight camera gives off a lot of light despite its small size.
The Arlo is the least obtrusive-looking floodlight camera I tested. I won’t go so far as to say it looks nice — but it’s not as large or as prominent-looking as the rest (with the exception of the Eve Outdoor Cam and Netatmo).
Despite the camera’s smaller size, the light is very bright and more than enough to light up my entire back patio. It’s one of only two cameras I tested that has the option to pulse its light to scare off intruders, and you can set its 80dB siren to go off on motion. (Be careful with this feature if you don’t want your neighbors to come knocking.)
One issue I ran into was water getting into the floodlight after a heavy rainstorm. I was able to dry it out, and it’s been working fine since then, but I would recommend installing this and any floodlight camera under an eave or some covering where possible to extend its life.
I also find the Arlo app to be finicky. It logs me out frequently and takes way too long to pull up a live view. In comparison, I didn’t have the same issues with the Ring app — despite the camera being installed further from my router than the Arlo.
Unlike some Arlo cameras, the Pro 3 Floodlight Cam doesn’t require an Arlo hub, but it can be used with one to help with range and extend battery life. If you want Apple Home compatibility, you also need that hub, which costs $100. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have HomeKit Secure Video or local storage. There is just no way around that Arlo subscription.
The best pan and tilt floodlight camera
Video quality:2K /Lumens:3,000 /Smart alerts:Person /Field of view:360 degrees (270 motion) /Siren: 100 decibels /Power options:Hardwired /Wi-Fi:2.4GHz /Storage:Local (on-device), cloud /Subscription fee:$3 monthly /Works with:Alexa, Google Home
Eufy has gone for function over form with its beast of a floodlight camera that boasts a camera with a 360-degree field of view that pans and tilts to cover a vast area. This feature — plus its three adjustable, tunable lighting panels, individually addressable PIR motion sensors, and local storage — makes the Eufy Floodlight Cam 2 Pro a great option if you have a large area to cover.
Important note:Eufy recently suffered some security vulnerabilities, which the company was not transparent about. We temporarily removed our recommendations while the company worked on a fix. While the security flaws appear to have been resolved, the company’s lack of transparency is something to consider before purchasing a Eufy camera. You can read moreabout the issues and Eufy’s solutions here.
The 360-degree pan and tilt feature is well thought out, with subject lock and tracking that follows a person as they walk through your property. While you set the camera to a fixed point, it can detect motion outside its view (thanks to PIR motion sensors in each floodlight panel) and swivel the camera to catch it.
Smart alerts are for people but not animals, vehicles, or packages. You can adjust the sensitivity of each motion sensor and set up activity zones to limit false alerts. Opt-in rich notifications preview the captured clip right in your phone’s notification tray, reducing how often you have to open the app to check-in.
A helpful auto-cruise feature lets you set four preset positions and have the camera auto-rotate through them on a set schedule or on demand. A Look Around button on the main page of the Eufy app sends the camera into a surveillance spin for a quick check on your property.
The Eufy Floodlight Cam 2 Pro looks like a mall security camera hanging off your house. It only works under eaves (as pictured) not mounted on a wall.
But it is ugly. And the outdated push-to-talk two-way audio (we’d love some full-duplex here), limited zoom, and no option for continuous video recording are all letdowns.
A neat feature is three lighting panels that deliver a blinding 3,000 lumens of light at up to 5,700 Kelvins, much higher than any competitor. At full brightness, it resembles the lighting of a prison yard, which is not great for most people. Thankfully, you can change the brightness and the color temperature from cool to warm. I set it to warm, and 20 percent brightness, and it was more than bright enough without being harsh.
The 2K video quality is good, although the digital zoom is lacking (surprising with this resolution). The camera works over 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, has a weather rating of IP65, and includes standard and color night vision. It doesn’t require a Eufy hub, but recently became compatible with the Eufy HomeBase 3, which should add AI-powered smart alerts — including animals and vehicles, plus facial recognition. I’ve not tested this feature yet, and the HomeBase costs $150, but will work with multiple Eufy cameras.
Without a HomeBase, there is 4GB of nonremovable onboard storage for around 14 days’ worth of recordings for free, based on about 45 activations a day. You can also use a network-attached storage setup or Eufy’s cloud service for $3 a month per camera. There is no 24/7 continuous video recording, and it works with Google Home and Alexa to stream footage on smart displays and control the camera’s lights in the app.
The best floodlight camera without cloud storage
Video quality:1080p HD, 8x digital zoom /Lumens:1,100/Smart alerts:People, vehicles, animals /Field of view:100 degrees /Siren:105 decibels /Power options:Hardwired /Wi-Fi:2.4GHz /Storage:Local (microSD card) /Subscription fee:None /Works with:Apple Home, Alexa, Google Home
For those leery of relying in any way on a company’s cloud to protect their footage, the Netatmo Smart Outdoor Camera is a good option. Netatmo doesn’t have a cloud service: all video is recorded locally, and all smart alerts are processed on the device. You can also opt to store recordings on your personal server (via FTP) or in Dropbox or use Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video service (an Apple Home hub and an iCloud plan is required).
Additionally, Netatmo doesn’t charge any ongoing fees. Its smart alerts for animals, people, and vehicles and rich notifications are all free, which makes up a little for that eye-wateringly high price tag. The built-in siren hits an ear-splitting 105dB, which you can opt out of by getting the non-siren version for $30 less.
The Netatmo camera works with Apple Home, Google Home, or Amazon Alexa, and you can control both the light and camera in Apple Home. It also works with HomeKit Secure Video, but I like the Eve better if you’re an Apple Home user, as it has better video quality, double the lumens, and two-way talk (but no siren).
The Netatmo is a stylish-looking floodlight camera made of aluminum instead of plastic, with a high-end feel that doesn’t look out of place on the side of more modern homes. It comes in black or white and needs to be mounted vertically to the side of a house. (It won’t fit under your eaves.)
The biggest downside is that the video quality of the Netatmo Smart Outdoor Camera is nowhere near as good as the competition. This is an older camera, and while it offers 1080p video, it live streams in 720p, and there is no HDR imaging or seemingly any other digital trickery more modern cameras use to produce a more vibrant image.
There is also no two-way audio. You can hear someone through the app but can’t speak to them. The light is also only rated for 1,100 lumens, the lowest by far, but it feels plenty bright in use. I like that you can choose specific types of motion to trigger the lights and have it just come on for people or animals.
The best floodlight camera for Google Home
Video quality:1080p HD, 6x digital zoom /Lumens:2,400 /Smart alerts:People, vehicles, animals, familiar faces ($), sound ($) /Field of view:130 degrees (180 motion) /Siren:No /Power options:Hardwired, plug-in ($) /Wi-Fi:2.4GHz and 5GHz /Storage:Cloud and local /Subscription fee:$6 a month /Works with:Alexa, Google, Samsung SmartThings
There is a lot to like about the Google Nest Cam with floodlight. It has built-in battery backup for when the power goes out, free on-device recording (up to three hours), free smart alerts for people, animals, and vehicles, and the option of 24/7 recording (for a fee).
It’s also got facial recognition if you take the time to add known faces. It’s a lot nicer to get an alert that says, “Sarah the Gardener is in the backyard,” rather than the scarier “There’s a person in the backyard.” You need to pay for a Nest Secure subscription service for this, which starts at $6 a month.
All of these features are part of the Google Nest Cam that magnetically attaches to the two floodlights. The lights have some good control options, including adjustable arms to angle your lighting, app and voice control in the Google Home app, ambient light activation, and the option to dim the beams.
But there is no built-in siren, making it a poor choice for a dedicated security device. It offers 5GHz Wi-Fi, and the on-device machine learning makes for speedier notifications than most cameras I tested. Motion sensors in the floodlights provide a wide 180-degree sensing range, ensuring the lights turn on when anything gets nearby.
The camera works with the Google Home app (not the old Nest app) and can stream to both Google Nest and Amazon Echo smart displays. It doesn’t fit well for an under-the-eave installation (as you can see in my pictures), so only consider it if you can install it on the side of your house and up high.
Video quality:1080p HD, 6x digital zoom /Lumens:2,400 /Smart alerts:People, vehicles, animals, familiar faces /Field of view:157 degrees /Siren:No /Power options:Hardwired /Wi-Fi:2.4GHz /Storage:Cloud /Subscription fee:$1 a month /Works with:Apple Home
The Eve Outdoor Cam is the best Apple Home floodlight camera. It works with HomeKit Secure Video, which processes all video locally on an Apple TV or HomePod. But it only works with Apple Home and the Eve app, which doesn’t have an Android version yet, so only get this if you use an iPhone.
The Eve camera is compact, svelte, and the smallest camera I tested. It was so small it didn’t completely cover the electrical box for the light it was replacing. (It only mounts on a vertical wall, so you can’t put it under an eave or overhang.) It has a good solid feel and, like the Netatmo, the housing is aluminum (all the other models in this guide are plastic), and it comes in white or black. The Eve Outdoor Cam also looks much less like a mall surveillance camera than many of its competitors.
Its video quality is very good, especially during the day. Images were bright, clear, and only a little pixelated when I zoomed in. With the light on, the image was a little muddy at night, but I could make out faces clearly enough. The regular night vision was slightly better.
Apple’s HomeKit video integration adds a slew of smart alerts, including people, packages, animals, and vehicles. You can also grant access to your Apple Photos library and get alerts when it recognizes people. Facial recognition and package alerts make this a good camera to set up by your front door. It’s also not super bright, as in it won’t blind visitors. But it will light up the scene well enough to see what’s happening. A brightness boost mode adds an extra bump for 30 seconds if you want a stronger floodlight. It’s nothing compared to the Eufy or Wyze lighting, though, which are both like walking down an airport runway.
There is no built-in siren or 24/7 recording, and you have to pay for an iCloud Plus plan (starting at 99 cents per month) to view any recorded video. But there is two-way audio, which was very good, and you can use the light and motion sensor separately to trigger automations in the Apple Home app.
Other cameras we’re testing
Wyze’s new floodlight camera packs a lot of features in for a very low price.
The Wyze Pro Floodlight is an upgrade to my current Budget pick, the Wyze Cam Floodlight, and it’s better all around, with higher lumens, tunable light, higher resolution (2.5k), and a wider field of view (a whopping 180). It’s also more expensive, but uses AI-powered light control that can be set only to turn the lights on when a person or vehicle is detected. The video quality is very impressive, especially at this price, but I’ve been getting a lot of false people alerts in early testing.
The Blink Wired Floodlight Camera ($99.99) is a great budget option with on-device processing of people alerts, so nothing has to go to the cloud (although you have to subscribe for this feature). Specs-wise, it's very similar to my current budget pick, Wyze Cam Floodlight; both have local storage options and 1080p video but wok better when you pay a monthly subscription. The Wyze has the option of an extra camera, but the Blink has a nicer design. It also plays well with Alexa but doesn’t work with any other smart home platform.
The Lorex 2K Wi-Fi Floodlight Security Camera has great video quality and local storage on the camera; it also works with 2.4 GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi. It detects animals, vehicles, and people for free and has a built-in siren. But it has a narrow field of view (122 diagonal), and its AI detection is spotty — it told me my cat strolling along in the backyard was a vehicle multiple times and that my dog was a person. I do like its track and zoom feature and that you can adjust the temperature of the lights. It also has some innovative settings for lighting activation, but it’s fiddly to adjust the light panels, and the camera is fixed in place.
Photos by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Update Wednesday, July 5th, 2023:Added new details throughout and updated features and prices.
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