The last-gen Blink Outdoor security camera is half off today

The last-gen Blink Outdoor security camera is half off today

It may not feature person detection like the new model, but the third-gen Blink Outdoor is still a good security camera.for the price. | Image: Amazon

As we enter the last week of August, it’s time to prepare for a jam-packed fall gadget season. Many companies, including Apple, will likely release new gadgets. Shopping events like Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days and Black Friday are set to take place, and of course, we can’t forget the holidays. Altogether, it amounts to a very busy season, particularly for the mail carriers who’ll be delivering all your purchases – and for the porch pirates, who’ll try to steal all of them.

If you want to keep your packages secure, the third-gen Blink Outdoor security camera with the Sync Module 2 included is on sale starting at $49.99 ($50 off) from Amazon and Best Buy. The last-gen budget-friendly camera will help you keep tabs on your goods even when it’s dark, thanks to support for night vision. Like the newer Blink 4, which was just announced yesterday, it also offers 1080p video and lasts a long time despite the fact it runs on two AA batteries. The camera admittedly lacks person detection like its successor and its field of view isn’t as wide, but comes with the essentials like motion detection support. So long as you don’t mind paying extra to store clips and photos, this is a good camera to buy at this price.

We’ve been seeing a ton of good deals drop on headphones this past month, and this week was no exception. Despite being released just last month, Beats Studio Pro are already $100 off at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy, selling for just $249.99 instead.

Compared to their predecessor, the Studio 3, the latest headphones from the Apple-owned Beats sound better with new features like support for lossless audio over USB-C. They also feature improved noise cancellation along with a good transparency mode for when you need to let noise in. They can’t quite drown out noise or as effectively as some of their rivals, like, Sony’s WH-1000XM5, but they’re a good pair of over-ear headphones with support for iOS and Android features like Fast Pair.

If you’re looking for a portable speaker instead of a new pair of headphones, right now the Bose Soundlink Flex is on sale in all colors for $129 ($20 off) at Bose through September 4th. You can also buy it for the same price at Amazon. While the speaker dropped to as low as $105 during Prime Day, this is still one of the best prices we’ve seen.

Despite its slim size, the portable Bluetooth speaker offers a rich, clear sound with a surprising amount of bass, which is why it is one of our favorites. The Bose SoundLink Flex also offers IP67 weather resistance so you can party by the pool – and all day, too, thanks to a 12-hour battery life. Plus, the speaker comes with voice control support and a built-in mic, so you can make and receive calls via Google Assistant or Apple Siri.

Don’t you just love it when a good deal gets even better? Earlier this week, we mentioned Dell was throwing in a $75 gift card when you buy the Xbox Series X at full price. Now Dell’s sweetening the deal even more by taking $25 off the console. That means not only will you get a $75 gift card you can use to apply towards games such as Star Wars Jedi: Survivor or controllers like Microsoft’s Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2, but you’ll be also able to buy the Xbox Series X for $474.99.

The Xbox Series X is larger, faster, and more powerful than the less expensive Xbox Series S with support for 4K gaming. It also offers more storage along with a disc drive for playing both digital and physical games.

Read our Xbox Series X review.

A few more goodies before we bid you farewell

• As a part of its back-to-school sale, Zagg is discounting a range of accessories including the Mophie 3-in-1 15W MagSafe Travel Charger, which drops to $119.99 ($30 off) at checkout. If you travel a lot, this is the best MagSafe charger you can buy. It’s small and foldable for easy storage, but it’s also capable of quickly topping up your phone, Apple Watch, and AirPods simultaneously.
• The Amazfit GTR 4 is amongst our favorite Android smartwatches, and right now is on sale for $169.99 ($30 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. The Amazfit GTR 4 is a platform-agnostic wearable that comes with all the standard health and fitness features, as well as support for Amazon Alexa and 14 days of battery life. Read our review.
• The Black Diamond Spot 400 is on sale for about $37 ($13 off) at REI and Backcountry. Along with 400 lumens of brightness, the headlamp features an IPX8 water and dust resistance rating as well as proximity and red light modes.
• Just in case you prefer wireless earbuds over headphones, right now the Beats Studio Buds Plus is on sale in multiple colors for $129.95 ($40 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. The lineup offers a unique transparent style that makes the buds stand out from the rest, in addition to good sound, noise cancellation, and long battery life. Read our review.

What’s the Matter with the smart home?

What’s the Matter with the smart home?

But has it? | Photo by Fabian Sommer / Picture Alliance via Getty Images

A year ago at Berlin’s IFA tech trade show (think European CES), Verge reporter Jon Porter witnessed a Google Nest Hub control an Apple HomeKit smart plug. This “lightbulb moment for the smart home” was the first public demonstration of Matter. The new smart home standard is designed to fix the biggest issue facing tech in our homes: interoperability, and witnessing two fierce competitors in the space working together was exciting. Twelve months later, on the eve of IFA 2023, we’re still waiting for that lightbulb to turn on across the industry.

The smart home remains fragmented. Despite being developed by the biggest names in the industry — Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung, and more — Matter has yet to deliver on its main promise. You still can’t just buy a smart light bulb, screw it in, and have it work with every other smart light you have (no matter who made it) and with any ecosystem you want.

The industry needs to provide a more compelling reason for people to bring smart tech into their homes — beyond “it’s cool”

Today, if you want the full benefits of home automation, you still need to pick a smart home platform and largely stay within its walled gardens unless you want to tinker with more hardcore DIY options involving Raspberry Pis.

But trade shows like IFA, which kicks off this week, are about tomorrow. And I’m hoping the future that’s on display at this year’s show is more connected and less fragmented than what we’ve seen from the smart home so far.

That’s not to say I’m not excited for a new generation of smart home tech, which, from the list of companies holding press conferences at the show, could include all manner of security cameras, video doorbells, smart speakers, robot vacuum cleaners, and smart lighting products.

South Korean tech giants Samsung and LG will be in attendance, with the latter having already preannounced plenty of its IFA showing. We’re expecting news from robot vacuum giants Ecovacs and Roborock, and smaller smart home players such as Eve, Nanoleaf, SwitchBot, Aqara, Aeotec, and Yeelight are all on the show floor. Honor also plans to hold a keynote focused around its Honor Magic V2 foldable phone, which recently launched in China.

No doubt, there are cool smart home announcements on the way. But what’s more important is the long and boring task of getting them to seamlessly work together to create a home that’s actually smart, not just a collection of disparate gadgets that solve specific problems. A video doorbell showing me who is at my front door no matter where I am is useful. But what if my doorbell was smart enough to recognize that person and either tell the smart lock to let them in or the security system to call the police?

Take Philips Hue’s rumored new security system, likely to launch this week. By adding cameras and new sensors to its line of smart lighting — presumably flashing all your lights to alert you to danger — the company is leveraging its ecosystem to make it more functional. Saving electricity by having your lights turn on and off automatically is one thing, but if that same ecosystem can also protect your home, then it becomes a far easier sell.

Or what about SwitchBot’s new robot vacuum and mop, which will not only refill itself with water directly from your water lines but can take that water to a humidifier to fill it up, removing another boring chore from your To-do list? The company also tells me it has plans to use the robot’s battery as a roaming charger for different household products.

If this works, it could make for a device that you can delegate chores to entirely, rather than needing to supervise, and it’s not hard to imagine a future where this charging functionality could even take over chores relating to other gadgets like charging smartphones or wireless air purifiers.

Speaking of smart air, Ecovacs’ will show off its Airbot T2 at IFA next week. A robot air purifier that roams around your house in search of stale air, it may look like a Dalek, but it’s a glimpse at a “Rosie” future. Add some suction power and a pair of robot arms, and you’ve got the multifunctional household robot that helped the Jetson family manage daily life 40 years from now.

Image: Ecovacs

Ecovacs’ latest air purifier can roam around your home sniffing for bad air.

I’m not suggesting any of these innovations we expect to see at IFA are at the level of smart home nirvana, but they are pointing toward the type of symbiosis we need. And it’s a need that’s been put into sharp relief by the current energy crisis.

Just as the Nest Learning Thermostat kicked off the most recent home automation moment in 2011 with its promise of saving energy and money, so are energy bills a wake-up call for how we live in our homes in 2023. Technology has the potential to be part of the solution, but the biggest benefits will be felt when all these sensor-equipped devices can work in tandem.

For us to feel comfortable allowing access to those things, we need privacy and security. All of this is why Matter (forgive me) matters. It’s a reset for the smart home. The smart home standard introduces a secure, basic communication layer that allows for interoperability and local control. It moves us away from proprietary protocols, dubious security standards, and cloud dependency to the point where — if appropriately implemented — we can feel comfortable allowing technology intimate access to our homes.

Matter still has a long way to go, partly because some companies are still holding back, waiting to see what’s really in it for them (Philips Hue still hasn’t pulled the trigger despite early enthusiasm), partly because the technology still hasn’t caught up to the dream, and mainly because the regular consumer is yet to be convinced that the whole thing is worth their time and expense. The industry needs to provide a more compelling reason for people to bring smart tech into their homes — beyond “it’s cool.”

The smart home needs to be essential, and today it’s not. Robots and folding phones will never not be cool, but a part of me is hoping for an IFA that’s more focused on the boring essentials.

Fortnite’s island gets a luxury makeover thanks to a vampire

Fortnite’s island gets a luxury makeover thanks to a vampire

Image: Epic Games

Out with the Wilds, in with the Last Resort. Fortnite’s latest season kicks off today — bringing the battle royale game up to Chapter 4: Season 4 — and, as teased yesterday, this new drop comes with a heist theme. But not just any heist: this time around, the island has been given a handful of luxurious locations thanks to a new character.

Here’s the basic rundown of the changes and new lore (yes, Fortnite has lore):

Vampire Kado Thorne has made the Island his home in Fortnite Battle Royale Chapter 4 Season 4, draining the Island’s wealth and treasures to fund some pretty fancy real estate: Sanguine Suites, Relentless Retreat, and Eclipsed Estate. Heist goods from Thorne’s properties to take back what belongs to the Island — and more importantly — to thwart Thorne’s ultimate plan. The fate of the Island is at stake, and thievery’s the last resort. So are you in?

The result, as per usual, is a slightly updated map that looks like this:

Image: Epic Games

The heist theme also comes with a number of associated gameplay changes. You can sneak into any of the new locations to loot powerful items, and there is new gear — including the Rocket Ram, which lets you shoot out of the building once you have the goods — to go along with this. There are even heist bags, which are like chests that only contain gear for heists. My favorite addition? A briefcase that turns into a turret when thrown on the ground. There are also towers now dotted across the island, which you can use to learn about future storm movements.

And for those who purchase this season’s battle pass, there are a number of new characters to unlock. They include: Ahsoka from Star Wars, TikTok star Khaby Lame, an extremely ripped fish named Fish Thicc, and the new vampire. Here’s the full cast:

Image: Epic Games

This isn’t the first time Fortnite has played around with a heist theme, but it seems like the most involved so far, not to mention a big stylistic change from the jungle theme of last season, which was also notable for collaborations with Futurama, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Nike.

How to turn your photos into stickers in iOS 17

How to turn your photos into stickers in iOS 17

Turning your cat photos into shareable stickers is a cinch in iOS 17. | Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

Last year, iOS 16 gave us the ability to cut subjects out of our photos. It was fun! But it wasn’t totally clear what you should do with them. That changes in iOS 17, which is still in public beta at the moment. You can download it now or wait until the full release this fall, but in either case, you’ll find one excellent way to use your photo cutouts: turn them into stickers.

I know. I was skeptical, too. But you have to trust me on this: stickers in iOS 17 are well worth your time, particularly in iMessage. You’re going to thrill and impress all of your friends when you turn a grumpy picture of your cat into a tapback reaction, and everyone will want to know how you did it. You can tell ‘em we told you, or just keep it to yourself and take all the credit like some kind of Apple Genius Bar genius. No judgment.

Here’s how to do it. (I followed these steps on an iPhone 13 Mini running the iOS 17 developer beta.)

• Start by opening the Photos app and finding the picture you want to turn into a sticker.
• Long-press the subject until a glowing border appears around it, and tap the Add sticker option.
• A drawer will appear with your current stickers, and the photo cutout will be added.
• You can add an effect now or revisit it to do that later.

Long-press a person, pet, or object to cut it out from the background of your photo.

Add a white border to your sticker or save it as is.

You can retrieve your stickers anytime using Apple’s iOS keyboard. Just tap the smiley icon where you access emoji and scroll all the way to the left of the Frequently Used panel. There, you’ll find any stickers you’ve used recently, as well as a shortcut to access all of your stickers. Just tap the sticker you want to use — but be aware that, outside of iMessage, they’ll just appear as PNG images. The best way to use them is in the walled garden of Apple’s messaging app:

• Open an iMessage chat.
• Tap the plus icon to the left of the text box and select Stickers.
• Tapping a sticker will just add it to your iMessage text. For something even better, you can long-press the sticker you want to use to drag and drop it onto your conversation. You can also stick it to a particular message if you want to use it like a tapback reaction for comic effect.

A couple of pro tips:

• Adding an effect to your sticker sounds cheesy, but it’s actually great. Either tap Add Effect when you’re initially making your sticker or long-press it (and let go) whenever you’re accessing your stickers to see the effect options. Outline adds a white border for a more obvious sticker-like appearance. If you choose the Puffy or Shiny options, it’ll use your phone’s gyroscope to change the reflection like you’re actually moving it under a light source. Try it, it’s great.
• You can turn live photo subjects into moving stickers. Follow the same process as with a regular photo, but on the Add Effect sticker page, make sure the Live option is enabled to animate it. Use it as you would any other sticker.

Before Gran Turismo Inspired a Movie, It Drove Jann Mardenborough to Greatness

Before Gran Turismo Inspired a Movie, It Drove Jann Mardenborough to Greatness The PlayStation video game’s realistic cars and racetracks helped Jann Mardenborough find his calling as a professional driver.

Meta is pulling the plug on Messenger Lite on Android

Meta is pulling the plug on Messenger Lite on Android

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

Meta’s Messenger Lite app for Android is being shut down in September, as reported by 9to5Google. The app launched as a more, well, lightweight way to talk to people on the company’s Messenger platform (former Verge staffer Vlad Savov was a fan), but you won’t be able to use it after September 18th.

When you open the app, you’ll apparently see a prompt that pushes you toward the main Messenger app, 9to5Google says. The app also isn’t available to download on Google Play if you haven’t downloaded it before.

Meta confirmed the closure in a statement to TechCrunch. “Starting August 21, people using the Messenger Lite app for Android will be directed to Messenger or FB Lite to send and receive messages on Messenger,” a Meta spokesperson said.

The announcement of Meta’s Messenger Lite shutdown arrives on the heels of another big Messenger change for Android. Earlier this month, Meta announced that you’ll no longer be able to use Messenger as your default SMS app on Android after September 28th.

Google Home app finally begins adding support for older Nest Cams

Google Home app finally begins adding support for older Nest Cams

Illustration: The Verge

Google is finally starting to add support for older Nest Cams to the Google Home app, starting with the first-generation Nest Cam Indoor from 2015, according to a post from Google on Thursday.

The support is available in the public preview of the Google Home app, and you can find instructions on how to participate in that program on Google’s website. But it might be awhile until you can actually use your Nest Cam Indoor with the app. “Once you’re in the preview, you’ll see a prompt in the Public Preview version of the Home app when you’re able to transfer your camera (it may take a couple of weeks as we slowly add more Nest Cam Indoor users each week) and it will guide you through the process,” Google says in its post about the update. “All eligible Nest Cam Indoor users will also receive an email once access has been rolled out to all users.”

Google launched an overhauled version of the Home app at Google I/O in May. At the time, Anish Kattukaran, director of product at Google Home, reiterated the company’s plans to add support for legacy Nest Cameras to the app. However, Kattukaran said that the move would begin with the first-gen Nest Cam Indoor in July, so the company is a bit behind it’s own deadline. The first-gen Nest Cam outdoor is set to get Home app support next.

If you don’t like the experience of using your Nest Cam Indoor with the Home app, you can transfer the camera back to the Nest app. The Nest app is going to hang around, at least for now; in its post on Thursday, the company said that “there is no change to the Nest app today” and that “you can continue to use the app as you do now.”

Google is expanding its ads transparency center to comply with EU rules

Google is expanding its ads transparency center to comply with EU rules

Illustration: The Verge

Google is making some changes to ads transparency and its data that’s available for researchers to comply with Europe’s Digital Services Act, according to a blog post published Thursday.

Regarding ads transparency, the company says that it will be “expanding” its Ads Transparency Center to “meet specific DSA provisions and providing additional information on targeting for ads served in the European Union,” Google’s Laurie Richardson and Jennifer Flannery O’Connor write in the post. The center, which Google launched earlier this year, is a searchable repository that lets you find out more about the ads you see on Google’s platforms.

For researchers, the two execs say that Google is “expanding data access for researchers” who might be “looking to understand more about how Google Search, YouTube, Google Maps, Google Play and Shopping work in practice, and conducting research related to understanding systemic content risks in the EU.”

The company is also expanding transparency in a few other areas, including another Transparency Center to learn about the company’s policies, including more information about content moderation in its transparency reports, and sharing risk assessments “related to our largest online platforms and our search engine in line with DSA requirements.”

Google is one of many big tech companies that has made changes recently to comply with the DSA, which makes tech companies more accountable for the content on their platforms. Instagram announced that it would be adding a chronological feed for Reels and Stories, for example — but only in Europe. And TikTok users in Europe will be able to opt-out of the personalized algorithms for its For You and Live feeds.

Alphabet’s Wing partners with Walmart for drone deliveries in Dallas

Alphabet’s Wing partners with Walmart for drone deliveries in Dallas

Image: Walmart

Wing, the drone delivery service owned by Alphabet, is teaming up with Walmart to offer deliveries in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. In an announcement on Thursday, Walmart says the partnership will allow the retailer to deliver to an additional 60,000 homes.

In the coming weeks, Wing will start delivering out of a Walmart Supercenter in Frisco, Texas, before expanding to a second nearby store by the end of this year. The company will make deliveries to homes within six miles of the stores, with deliveries arriving “in under 30 minutes.” Even though Wing says the drones are “highly automated,” operators will still keep an eye on them from a remote location.

Walmart and Wing set to expand drone delivery together in Dallas metro #DeliveredbyWing #DroneDelivery #supplychain #deliverydrone #uas #uav #logistics #robotics #drone #drones #engineering #automation #aerodynamics #delivery #lastmiledelivery pic.twitter.com/koLFm3BJor

— Wing (@Wing) August 24, 2023

Walmart has been experimenting with drone delivery for quite some time now. In addition to Wing, the company has partnered with DroneUp, Zipline, and Flytrex to offer drone deliveries to millions of households in the US. Walmart currently offers drone deliveries in 36 stores across seven states and has completed 10,000 successful deliveries — far outpacing the deliveries made by Amazon’s drone program.

As for what products are eligible for delivery through Wing, the drone company says it’s working with Walmart “to offer everything from full lunches to quick afternoon snacks or over-the-counter medicines.” That apparently even includes a carton of eggs, as Wing says the tether its drones use is gentle enough to transport “delicate items.”

The partnership is a pretty big deal for Wing, which recently revealed its new logistics systems that allow drones to initiate pick-ups and deliveries without having to return to an originating base. Last year, it kicked off its drone delivery service in Dallas to deliver items from Walgreens, Blue Bell Creameries, and other stores. It also partnered with DoorDash to deliver food orders in Australia.

Once the service launches, Wing will offer deliveries from Walmart six days per week (excluding Wednesdays) from 10:30AM to 6:30PM. If you’re in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, you can download Wing’s mobile app to see if your home is eligible.

Microsoft investigating Windows 11 BSOD ‘unsupported processor’ update errors

Microsoft investigating Windows 11 BSOD ‘unsupported processor’ update errors

Microsoft says it’s investigating reports of a Blue Screen of Death with an “UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR” error message that’s been cropping up on some Windows 11 PCs after installing an update released earlier this week. The latest KB5029351 update includes the usual monthly fixes, but it appears to be causing issues when used with some MSI motherboards.

“We are presently investigating to determine if this is an issue caused by Microsoft. We will provide an update when more information is available,” reads a support note on Microsoft’s Windows health center.

I’ve personally experienced this issue on a Windows 11 gaming PC, which is running an Intel Core i9-13900KS on an MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi motherboard. A number of Reddit users have reported the same BSOD after installing the update, all running Intel systems on MSI motherboards with the latest BIOS updates applied.

Image: Microsoft

The Blue Screen of Death error.

Thankfully, after experiencing the BSOD Windows 11 is able to recover and roll back the patch. Microsoft now appears to have pulled the KB5029351 update from affected systems, but it’s still available for everyone else. The update went through Microsoft’s usual Windows Insider testing, into the Release Preview ring, and then to retail copies of Windows 11 before issues were reported.

It’s not immediately clear what’s causing the problem, but it may well be linked to MSI’s recent BIOS updates in preparation for Intel’s upcoming 14th Gen desktop CPUs, codenamed Raptor Lake-S Refresh. MSI issued a round of BIOS updates recently for Z690 and Z790 motherboards that “support next-gen CPUs,” according to the patch notes. Reddit users are all on the most recent MSI BIOS update, and at least one reports that downgrading the BIOS update allowed the KB5029351 update to install.

We’ve reached out to MSI to comment on the BIOS updates and we’ll update this post with any response.

In Reversal Because of A.I., Office Jobs Are Now More at Risk

In Reversal Because of A.I., Office Jobs Are Now More at Risk Technology disruption typically affected blue-collar occupations. Now white-collar workers may feel the brunt of changes.

India’s Chandrayaan-3 probe successfully lands on the lunar south pole

India’s Chandrayaan-3 probe successfully lands on the lunar south pole

India is now the first nation to successfully achieve a soft landing near the Moon’s southern pole. | Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE / AFP via Getty Images

India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission has made space travel history today by successfully achieving a soft landing near the south pole of Earth’s Moon, just days after Russia’s Luna 25 spacecraft crashed while trying to land in the same region. India is now the fourth nation to achieve a soft Moon landing and the first to have successfully touched down on the lunar south pole — a little-explored area of the Moon that’s believed to contain water ice.

Three other nations — the US, China, and the former Soviet Union — have all previously achieved a soft landing near the Moon’s equator, a safer region with (comparatively) amiable temperatures and terrain and reliable sunlight to recharge solar-powered instruments. During a live stream of the lander’s touchdown, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the successful outcome of this mission sets the country up for future human spaceflight.

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
'India ,
I reached my destination
and you too!'
: Chandrayaan-3

Chandrayaan-3 has successfully
soft-landed on the moon !.

Congratulations, India !#Chandrayaan_3#Ch3

— ISRO (@isro) August 23, 2023

By contrast, much of the Moon’s southern pole is littered with deep craters and basins that are permanently shrouded in darkness. According to NASA, these areas haven’t seen sunlight in billions of years and can experience temperatures as low as negative 334 degrees Fahrenheit (negative 203 degrees Celsius). The extreme conditions in these “cold traps” make remote observation from Earth difficult and present problems for operating sensitive equipment in the region.

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft took 22 days to enter the Moon’s orbit on August 5th, following its launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on July 14th. On August 17th, the Vikram lander carrying Pragyan — a lunar ground rover — successfully separated from its propulsion module in preparation for today’s soft landing.

Image: NASA

This image from NASA shows the definite distribution of surface ice at the Moon’s south pole (left) and north pole (right).

The mission marks India’s second attempt at a lunar landing after the Chandrayaan-2 lander crashed into the Moon’s surface back in 2019. The next stage of the Chandrayaan-3 mission will involve deploying Pragyan to survey the local environment for one lunar day (around 14 Earth days) and carry out a variety of scientific experiments. These include using X-ray spectrometry to identify the elemental composition of the Moon’s surface.

Corsair’s first standing desk is designed for gaming, streaming, and more

Corsair’s first standing desk is designed for gaming, streaming, and more

Just look at all the stuff you can mount on this desk. | Image: Corsair

Corsair’s Platform:6 is a modular standing desk that’s being targeted at everyone from remote workers to content creators and, naturally, PC gamers. It’ll be available to purchase in the fourth quarter of this year, but Corsair’s website isn’t currently listing any prices for the desk or its many, many accessories.

With the Platform:6 due to be offered in multiple configurations that are customizable via an online configurator, it’s a little tricky to work out what’s included as standard, and what’s available as a modular upgrade. But Corsair’s press release suggests that the desk comes with dual monitor arms, a cable management tray, and an in-desk storage cubby with built-in USB Type-A and Type-C charging ports. Most interesting is a modular rail system that’s built into the desk and which is designed to let you mount additional desk accessories and avoid having them clutter up your work surface.

Image: Corsair

Image: Corsair

Image: Corsair

Pegboards can be attached to hang your various accessories off.

Beyond that, there are a plethora of seemingly optional extras. The “Creator Edition” of the desk is equipped with motorized height adjustment that can remember height presets of your choosing. There are also 30 x 70cm side extensions to make the six foot-wide desk even wider, as well as optional hanging pegboards for your headphones, game controllers, and whatever else you can fit on them. Corsair also advertises that it’ll offer adapters for Elgato’s range of Multi-Mount accessories to attach cameras, lights, and microphones.

It’s a set of features that appears tailor made to the needs of streamers in particular, whose desks are often seen overflowing with streaming and gaming gear. The Platform:6 seems to go beyond what’s offered by a lot of existing gaming-branded desks, whose features typically include cable management, height adjustment, and maybe a built-in monitor arm.

My big question, as one of the multiple Verge staff members to have bought a Fully standing desk over the years, is whether Corsair is going to release the Platform:6’s rail system as a standalone accessory. I have no plans to buy a new desk anytime soon, but the thought of mounting all my desk detritus to a simple crossbar is very appealing. How about it Corsair?

Samsung’s 57-inch ‘Dual UHD’ gaming monitor gets a price and release date

Samsung’s 57-inch ‘Dual UHD’ gaming monitor gets a price and release date

It’s a lot of screen, whichever way you cut it. | Image: Samsung

Samsung’s 57-inch Odyssey Neo G9, its massive gaming monitor that’s like having two 32-inch 4K displays sat next to each other, will be available in the US in October for $2,499.99, the company has announced. If you’re in the UK the monitor is available to preorder from today for £2,199.99.

If the Odyssey Neo G9 sounds familiar, then that might be for a couple of reasons. Samsung first teased the monitor last November before officially announcing it at CES in January 2023, albeit without a price or firm release date. But the Odyssey Neo G9 name might also sound familiar because Samsung released a 49-inch model under the same name in 2021 that only offered the combined resolution of two 1440p displays.

Image: Samsung

The monitor is equipped with a host of multi-tasking tools.

Image: Samsung

It’s technically a gaming monitor, which means it offers gaming monitor aesthetics.

In 2023, Samsung is now offering 57 inches of curved Mini LED display with a refresh rate of 240Hz, a peak brightness of 1000 nits (VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certified, 420 nits typical), and a total resolution of 7,680 x 2,160. That translates to a wildly ultra-wide 32:9 aspect ratio. Our experience with previous monitors this wide is that the extra horizontal resolution ends up being more useful for multi-tasking rather than ultra-wide gaming. My colleague Sean Hollister explored the issue in-depth when he reviewed a previous Odyssey G9 monitor, but the short version is that most 3D games start to become seriously warped on monitors this wide, even when they support the resolution in the first place.

For multitasking, Samsung has equipped the 57-inch Odyssey Neo G9 with picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture display modes, allowing you to display content from multiple inputs simultaneously. The monitor is equipped with one DisplayPort 2.1 port, as well as three HDMI 2.1 ports. There’s also a USB hub included for good measure, though Samsung’s press release doesn’t offer details on exactly how many ports that gets you. The monitor supports AMD’s FreeSync Premium Pro variable refresh rate tech.

As well as the 57-inch Odyssey Neo G9, Samsung has also announced a release window for the 2023 version of its 55-inch Odyssey Ark, which will be available in the US in October. Samsung says the 55-inch display can show up to four inputs on the screen at once (three HDMI and a DisplayPort), and also sports a built-in KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) switch. There’s no sign of a price just yet.

YouTube Improperly Used Targeted Ads on Children’s Videos, Watchdogs Say

YouTube Improperly Used Targeted Ads on Children’s Videos, Watchdogs Say One of the groups said it had used Google’s tools to run a targeted ad campaign this month on children’s channels. Google has said it did not allow such ads on videos made for children.

Defcon 2023: los hackers encuentran fallos de la IA

Defcon 2023: los hackers encuentran fallos de la IA Los piratas informáticos actuaron con el beneplácito de la Casa Blanca y de empresas de inteligencia artificial y hallaron desinformación política, estereotipos demográficos, instrucciones para hacer vigilancia y más.

Hyperkin’s new Xbox controller has drift-free sticks in a PlayStation-style layout

Hyperkin’s new Xbox controller has drift-free sticks in a PlayStation-style layout

A licensed Xbox controller with a bit of a PlayStation vibe. | Image: Hyperkin

Third-party controller makers are continuing to pick up the slack from Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo when it comes to making more durable, drift-proof controllers. Hyperkin is announcing the Competition, an Xbox-licensed wired controller for Xbox Series X / S and PC with a PlayStation-like symmetrical stick layout that you don’t commonly find on Xbox gamepads. But, more importantly, it uses both Hall effect sensors for its sticks and impact triggers to minimize long-term wear and tear.

The Competition was once quietly teased way back in the Before Time at E3 2019, but after a long enough delay, Hyperkin revised it to include the upgraded sensors. However, even after all that time, the launch date and price are still not finalized. It’s tentatively set for release in the first quarter of 2024 with an estimated MSRP of $49.99, but Terence Calacsan, Public Relations Manager for Hyperkin, tells The Verge, “This is subject to change.”

Image: Hyperkin

Besides blue, it will also come in white.

Image: Hyperkin

And black.

Hall effect sensors use magnets to detect movement, meaning there’s no internal friction or impact between surfaces when you’re turning an analog stick or pressing a trigger. Potentiometer-based modules, like the ones used in all first-party gamepads, from Nintendo Joy-Cons to Sony’s DualSense Edge and Microsoft’s Xbox Elite Series 2, can all fall victim to drift over time.

Hyperkin’s Competition may sound a bit similar to GameSir’s recent G7 SE, which was the first Xbox-licensed gamepad to use the superior stick technology, but the Competition aims to separate itself with its unique (for Xbox) stick positioning. We’ll have to see if it competes on price as well. Though if more and more gamepad makers go Hall effect, it will hopefully convince the console makers to eventually follow suit — even if it takes a whole new console generation.

Threads on the web is here

Threads on the web is here

Image: The Verge

Meta is finally launching a much more capable web app for Threads, the company announced on Tuesday. You’ll be able to post, interact with other posts, and look at your feed, spokesperson Christine Pai tells The Verge. It’s set to roll out over the next few days, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says.

So far, Threads on the web has essentially been a glorified way to look at somebody’s profile — you couldn’t even like or reshare a post even though the web app included the buttons to do so. (If you clicked them, Threads would show you a QR code to download the mobile app.) The new desktop web interface looks a lot like the one in the mobile app, though with some small differences; the navigation icons are on the top of the page, and to switch between the For You and Following feeds, you’ll click a button in the bottom-left corner.

Image: Meta

However, the web experience doesn’t let you do everything that you can in the mobile app. According to Pai, that means you can’t do things like edit your profile or send a post to Instagram DMs from the web.

Still, I’m thrilled that there’s even a bare-bones level of functionality available. I much prefer using social media apps on the web on my computer, especially since I spend the vast majority of my workday in a desktop web browser. Jumping over to my phone just to post something on Threads was starting to get annoying, so I bet I’ll be using this new web version of Threads quite a bit.

Threads had a splashy launch at the beginning of July to take advantage of the unhappiness toward Elon Musk’s Twitter. The app hit 100 million users in a matter of days, easily eclipsing ChatGPT’s huge release last year, even though the app still isn’t available in the European Union.

Despite the big launch, some analytics firms have reported that Threads usage has plummeted; perhaps the improved web app and forthcoming better search will convince some lapsed users to return.

Update August 22nd, 9:08AM ET: Added post from Mark Zuckerberg.

Gillette x Razer gamer razor has no lights and has no lasers

Gillette x Razer gamer razor has no lights and has no lasers

Razer’s new razor has no RGB, but it’ll shave ya. | GilletteLabs

After all this time, Razer made a razor. Well. Technically, Gillette made a razor and put Razer’s branding on it. Finally, a razor for gamers!

Don’t confuse this with the Razer Razer, this year’s April Fool’s Day joke. That was an RGB gaming mouse with an electric shaver built into it. As fun as it would be to have a quick way to get a bunch of beard hair into your keyboard, the reality here is both smarter and more disappointing.

To be more specific: they took the five-blade GilletteLabs with Exfoliating Bar and slapped Razer’s acid-green-and-black color scheme and snake logo on it. No RGB, which feels like a missed opportunity to tie into Razer’s vast Chroma ecosystem and sync your razor to your laptop, headset, keyboard, mouse, mousepad, and iPhone cooling fan, but it looks like it’ll do a much better job at shaving your face.

Gillette sent along a big old press release about how appropriate and cool it is for Gillette and Razer to team up, how it was inspired by the shaving mouse April Fool’s Day joke, and so forth. In response to me asking whether this was just a GilletteLabs with Exfoliating Bar with Razer colors and branding, Gillette’s global brand franchise leader Daniel Ordonez told The Verge:

It is much more than a logo on a razor. Gillette and Razer meet at the intersection of design, innovation, and cutting-edge technology to unveil the limited-edition product. Both brands collaborated on design elements in a variety of ways to leverage each other’s strengths to create a unique and compelling product – bringing together and integrating the visual and brand identities from both partners – to develop the GilletteLabs Razer Limited Edition product.

And there you have it! The GilletteLabs Razer Limited Edition product is rolling out worldwide at the end of August in two variants — with and without a Razer-green travel tin. You can also buy Razer-branded refill blades if consistency is that important to you. Gillette told me that “final consumer pricing is at the sole discretion of the retailer,” which is not super helpful, but the regular GilletteLabs with Exfoliating Bar is like $23, or $30ish with the travel case, so expect to pay somewhere around that!

[Absolutely unnecessary further context: Back in 2009, Gillette made the Gillette Fusion Gamer and Power Fusion Gamer, which were the Fusion and Power Fusion with a slightly different color scheme and the word “Gamer” on the package. It went about as well as you’d think. At least this time, it’s got an actual gaming company — and one with a distinct aesthetic — onboard. Still shoulda put RGB on it, though.]

Instagram is adding a chronological feed for Reels and Stories in Europe

Instagram is adding a chronological feed for Reels and Stories in Europe

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Instagram and Facebook users in Europe are getting more options to opt out of Meta’s recommendation algorithms, the company has explained in a blog post today. According to Meta’s president of global affairs Nick Clegg, European users will be able to access features like Reels, Stories, and Search on Facebook and Instagram without seeing content that’s been ranked by Meta’s recommendation algorithms.

“For example, on Facebook and Instagram, users will have the option to view Stories and Reels only from people they follow, ranked in chronological order, newest to oldest,” Clegg writes. “They will also be able to view Search results based only on the words they enter, rather than personalized specifically to them based on their previous activity and personal interests.”

“Users will have the option to view Stories and Reels only from people they follow, ranked in chronological order”

Meta is making the changes to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a new piece of regulation that will impact how tech companies moderate content on their platforms. In particular, the DSA requires very large online platforms to allow users to opt out of receiving personalized recommendations. TikTok announced a similar change to its service in Europe earlier this month. Meta says it will need to comply with the DSA by later this month.

Instagram and Facebook users are already able to view select parts of the services using chronological feeds without algorithmically-recommended content. Instagram introduced a purely chronological feed in March 2022, while Facebook announced a “Feeds” tab a couple months later in July. In both cases the announcements concerned the main feeds offered by both services, with no mention of being able to access Reels or Stories content chronologically.

According to Clegg, the changes made to the companies Stories, Reels, and Search are just part of a raft of work Meta is doing to comply with the DSA this month. Meta apparently has over 1,000 employees currently working on complying with the new rules. Clegg says the company has released an expanded Ad Library to offer more transparency on ads that run on its platforms, has offered more details on its recommendation algorithms, and has introduced new limits on how advertisers can target teens. It’s also attempting to make reporting illegal content easier on its platforms, and will give users in the EU more information on moderation decisions.

Microsoft to sell off Activision cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft in bid for UK approval

Microsoft to sell off Activision cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft in bid for UK approval

Illustration by William Joel / The Verge

Microsoft is restructuring its proposed Activision Blizzard deal to transfer cloud gaming rights for current and new Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft. The transfer of rights is designed to appease regulators in the UK that are concerned about the impact Microsoft’s proposed $68.7 billion deal will have on cloud gaming competition. The restructured deal has triggered a new regulatory investigation in the UK that could last until October 18th.

“To address the concerns about the impact of the proposed acquisition on cloud game streaming raised by the UK Competition and Markets Authority, we are restructuring the transaction to acquire a narrower set of rights,” says Microsoft president Brad Smith. “This includes executing an agreement effective at the closing of our merger that transfers the cloud streaming rights for all current and new Activision Blizzard PC and console games released over the next 15 years to Ubisoft Entertainment SA, a leading global game publisher. The rights will be in perpetuity.”

This restructured deal means that if Microsoft does close its proposed deal then it will not be able to release Activision Blizzard games exclusively on Xbox Cloud Gaming. Microsoft won’t be able to exclusively control the licensing terms of Activision Blizzard games on rival services either.

“Ubisoft will compensate Microsoft for the cloud streaming rights to Activision Blizzard’s games through a one-off payment and through a market-based wholesale pricing mechanism, including an option that supports pricing based on usage,” explains Smith. “It will also give Ubisoft the opportunity to offer Activision Blizzard’s games to cloud gaming services running non-Windows operating systems.”

The Ubisoft+ lineup is expanding!

We're excited to announce a new agreement that will bring Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft+ via streaming upon the completion of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard!

We’ll also be licensing the games to a range of cloud streaming… pic.twitter.com/sZTnEFJedC

— Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) August 22, 2023

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) first blocked Microsoft’s deal in April citing cloud gaming concerns, before agreeing to negotiations with the Xbox maker following the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) loss in a US federal court last month. Now the CMA has signaled a new investigation phase thanks to Microsoft’s restructured deal, with a statutory deadline set for October 18th — the same deadline that Microsoft recently agreed in its extension of the deal closing date with Activision. A source familiar with Microsoft’s plans tells The Verge that the company now isn’t expecting to be able to close its Activision Blizzard deal until early October.

The CMA has now imposed a final order on Microsoft’s original deal, prohibiting it worldwide while it investigates this new restructuring of the proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition. The CMA notes that “Ubisoft will also be able, for a fee, to require Microsoft to adapt Activision’s titles to operating systems other than Windows, such as Linux, if it decides to use or license out the cloud streaming rights to Activision’s titles to a cloud gaming service that runs a non-Windows operating system.”

The restructured transaction won’t affect Microsoft’s obligations to the European Commission, though. Microsoft has made several cloud gaming deals and EU regulators approved the Activision Blizzard deal thanks to a free license to consumers in EU countries that would allow them to stream via “any cloud game streaming services of their choice” all current and future Activision Blizzard PC and console games that they have a license for.

“The agreement with Ubisoft has been structured so that Microsoft will still acquire the rights needed to honor fully its legal obligations under its commitments to the European Commission, as well as its existing contractual obligations to other cloud game streaming providers, including Nvidia, Boosteroid, Ubitus, and Nware,” says Smith.

The CMA will now assess the reworked deal over the coming weeks and deliver a decision by the October 18th deadline. “This is not a green light. We will carefully and objectively assess the details of the restructured deal and its impact on competition, including in light of third-party comments,” says Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA. “Our goal has not changed – any future decision on this new deal will ensure that the growing cloud gaming market continues to benefit from open and effective competition driving innovation and choice.”

X reportedly tests removing headlines from links to news articles

X reportedly tests removing headlines from links to news articles

The Verge

A report from Fortune claims that X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, has tested stripping headlines from articles shared on the site. Posts would only include the lead image and the URL, unless the person or publisher posting the link adds their own text, per materials the outlet viewed.

The image would still serve as a link to the article, but there's no word on a timetable to roll it out or confirmation that it will ship at all. “It’s something Elon wants,” a source is quoted as saying, “They were running it by advertisers, who didn’t like it, but it’s happening.”

(if this text was not here, all you would see is this image with no context, no headline, no description — but it would be a clickable article) pic.twitter.com/XIhUQymnv4

— Kylie Robison (@kyliebytes) August 22, 2023

Explanations for the change include reducing the height of individual posts so users’ timelines display more content, and that owner Elon Musk apparently “believes the change will help curb clickbait.”

X did not immediately respond to a request for comment beyond an automated response from its press contact address.

Apple’s sci-fi drama Invasion ramps up the tension in season 2

Apple’s sci-fi drama Invasion ramps up the tension in season 2

Image: Apple

Invasion was a curious addition to the sci-fi TV landscape when it debuted in 2021. For much of its runtime, it barely felt like science fiction at all. We all knew something alien was happening — it’s right there in the show’s title, after all — but the story was much more focused on the human-level drama going down as the world steadily succumbed to the invading forces. The result was a show that started very slowly, though things did eventually pick up mid-season. Ultimately, season 1 felt like a prologue to a much bigger story.

With all of that setup out of the way, the second season starts out much more exciting — and it doesn’t let up for the first few episodes.

Note: this write-up is based on the first five (of 10) episodes of season 2. I’ll have more on the full season later on.

One of the most notable things about Invasion is its structure. The show follows a handful of characters spread across the globe, each dealing with the invading aliens in different ways. Season 1 was all about survival for pretty much the whole cast, whether it was a mother in America trying to keep her kids alive, a bus full of students stranded and alone in England, or a Japanese communications expert desperately trying to contact a lost astronaut who also happened to be her secret girlfriend. But in season 2, most everybody has a bit more direction, and it makes the show move forward with more purpose and intensity.

The new season picks up a few months after the spiky alien blobs first made their presence known, and things aren’t going so well. Major cities look like war zones, with most people having fled or died, while those who remain struggle to fight against the very tough to kill invaders. If it weren’t for the looming spaceships on the horizon, the show could be mistaken for any number of postapocalyptic series early on. And once again, the cast is spread across the globe, dealing with the invasion — and their own personal struggles — on various fronts.

For example, in the first episode, the aforementioned comms expert Mitsuki (Shioli Kutsuna) finds herself on the frontlines of the conflict, fighting in the streets and using Molotov cocktails to keep the alien invaders at bay. But very soon, she’s picked up by an organization called the WDC (World Defense Coalition) and transported to help research the only downed alien spacecraft on Earth. Her attempts to reach her astronaut lover in season 1 made her the only person on the planet to make contact with the aliens, and here, she’s able to continue that work.

The scenes in and around the alien craft are great. Everything about this species is just so, well, alien; the ship is organic in nature, and anyone who spends too much time inside starts to get a little loopy. Her attempts to make further contact with the aliens feel like a mix of Annihilation and Arrival, and eventually, they have a big impact on humanity’s ability to fight back, with a few scenes reminiscent of Independence Day.

But as much as season 2 can feel like other more prominent sci-fi stories at times, it does a great job of mixing that with the grounded human drama that helped make season 1 stand out. The other half of the first episode follows Aneesha (Golshifteh Farahani), who is living on the run with her two kids, heading north and doing her best to avoid other people in the name of safety. She also happens to still be in possession of a piece of alien metal that the government really wants to get its hands on. Her story is much less about the actual aliens and more about navigating the dangerous new social landscape on Earth.

Image: Apple

The show manages to smoothly jump between the slower character development moments and storylines that are rushing toward something with urgency. Basically, it’s still the same Invasion from season 1, except there’s a lot more forward momentum, which in turn, makes it much more exciting. And it gets much deeper into sci-fi weirdness, with dangerous new aliens and a strange goopy creature that Mitsuki forms a connection with. So far, it fulfills the promise of the first season, which was a very long setup for an epic sci-fi story. Now, we’re seeing that story unfold.

The beginning of Invasion helped us understand the humans at the heart of its story. Now, season 2 is helping us understand the aliens that they’re running from.

Season 2 of Invasion premieres on Apple TV Plus on August 23rd.

Amazon’s Fire TV Channels adds a sidebar and more free streaming content

Amazon’s Fire TV Channels adds a sidebar and more free streaming content 

Image: Amazon

Amazon is updating its recently launched Fire TV Channels app. The free, ad-supported streaming platform has a new sidebar that lets you navigate through different categories of content along with a new slate of shows.

Fire TV Channels first launched in May with a lineup of free shows, live news, music videos, and sports from over 400 different providers, such as ABC News, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, America’s Test Kitchen, Martha Stewart, and others. But now, Amazon says the app will also include content from Variety, Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, TV Line, Funny or Die, GameSpot, Honest Trailer, and more.

Meanwhile, the new app’s sidebar lets you sift through all the different types of content available on the platform, with categories including News, Sports, Entertainment, Gaming, Cooking, Travel, and Music Videos. Fire TV Channels is only available on Fire TV devices in the US, and you can access it from the Your Apps & Channels screen without the need to download the app or create an account.

Amazon is continuing to build out its FAST offerings as free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) grows in popularity as an alternative to paid streaming. In addition to Fire TV Channels, Amazon also owns Freevee, a FAST service that’s currently available as a standalone app or through Prime Video. In May, Amazon added even more Prime Video originals to Freevee to help draw in more viewers looking to hop into a library of always-on shows.

The voice of Mario is stepping away from the character

The voice of Mario is stepping away from the character

Martinet at the launch of Super Mario Galaxy. | Photo by Stephen Kelly - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images

Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario for 27 years, will no longer be voicing the iconic character, according to a tweet from Nintendo. Martinet took on the role with 1996’s Super Mario 64 and has voiced the character in numerous games since, including both mainline Mario releases like Super Mario Odyssey and Super Mario Galaxy as well as countless spinoffs.

“Charles is now moving into the brand-new role of Mario Ambassador. With this new transition, he will be stepping back from recording character voices for our games,” Nintendo’s statement reads. “It has been an honor working with Charles to help bring Mario to life for so many years and we want to thank and celebrate him.”

We have a message for fans of the Mushroom Kingdom. Please take a look. pic.twitter.com/U1ASicOuTO

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) August 21, 2023

Though a fixture in video game history, Martinet was missed as the voice of Mario in the billon-dollar grossing Super Mario Bros. Movie that was released earlier this year. There was also speculation that Martinet was not the voice of Mario in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Wonder, due out October 20th. Nintendo has not yet confirmed if Super Mario Bros. Wonder would be Martinet’s last time as gaming’s most famous plumber.

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