Why is it so hard to find a good PopSocket alternative?

Why is it so hard to find a good PopSocket alternative?

This one that I got off Amazon for $20 is alright. But it doesn’t do everything I need it to. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge

I like big phones, but I cannot lie. They come with tradeoffs. Namely, despite having large hands and piano fingers, my iPhone 14 Pro Max doesn’t always feel secure in my grasp. That’s fine when I’m in bed, surrounded by soft blankets and pillows. It’s less fine when I’m trying to text one-handed on public transit or running errands.

I first encountered this problem with my first Big Phone, the iPhone XS Max. Get a PopSocket, everyone said. So I did. I had to begrudgingly admit it worked, even if they were ugly as sin. I even upgraded to a PopWallet Plus. But like Icarus, I flew too close to the sun. I’d thought because my original PopSocket had never fallen off, the PopWallet Plus was safe.

It was not.

Photo by Mitchell Clark / The Verge

I refuse PopSocket’s hegemony in the phone grip world.

I don’t know how it happened, but one day, the wallet part was gone. I looked everywhere. Under the bed, in drawers, cabinets, under my desk, in pockets, my dog’s bed, my cat’s hoard of bread ties, and even the fridge. (I once left my phone in there for two hours; it was a valid place to look.) Alas, it — and my driver’s license, three credit cards, and MetroCard — had disappeared. To this day, I don’t know where it is.

The experience soured me on PopSockets as a brand and began what is now a three-year search for an alternative. I thought it’d be easy. Instead, everything I bought eventually fell off because the adhesive was weaksauce, and my poor phone skittered across floors, cement, asphalt, and other surfaces. (I now have a deep appreciation for tempered glass screen protectors.)

This became less of an issue when covid-19 struck and we were all cooped up at home. It became an issue again once restrictions eased and I had to go outside again. By then, I’d upgraded to the iPhone 12 Pro Max and had MagSafe. Surely, I thought, some intrepid accessory maker had come up with a convenient, cool, and aesthetically pleasing option that didn’t impede wireless or MagSafe charging and would let me lay my phone flat. But these were the early days of MagSafe’s return — the pickings were slim, and PopSockets’ MagSafe options did not inspire confidence.

Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge

Ignore the Fitbit. You can see the purple Sinjimoru strap I used for close to a year on my phone.

The first thing I bought was this Sinjimoru strap. It was $10, discreet, and easily removable. All you had to do was slip the strap through your case and hook the looped end on a tiny clasp. What I liked most was how comfortable it was. You hold your phone naturally, and the strap provides passive support, so you don’t have to grip as hard. People asked me about it all the time, and for a whole year, I thought I’d found the answer to my problems. The only issue was that, thin as it was, it still impeded wireless charging. There was a workaround — I could unclip the strap and lay the phone flat on the charger.

Except doing that so often led to the strap slipping off the clasp at inopportune moments. At the same time, I got tired of propping up my phone whenever I wanted to watch a video while cooking or doing other chores around the house.

It was right around then that I started seeing an Instagram ad for the Ohsnap Snap 3 Pro. I balked at the $29.99 price tag, but to be fair, this thing claimed to do a lot. It had a similar grip to the PopSocket but was rotatable and could double as a kickstand. It was much thinner at 2.5mm — about the thickness of a nickel. It also had magnets in the outer ring, so you could slap it on your fridge or any other metal. The best part was I didn’t have to remove it to use my MagSafe chargers.

For about three weeks, it worked fine. The thinness was nice and all, but the plastic wasn’t that comfortable in my fingers. It felt flimsy, even though it was weirdly durable. And then, one day, a tiny plastic bit broke off while I was switching it into kickstand mode. Then, the super-thin plastic got wonky. It got harder to snap the grippy part back in place — and soon, it wouldn’t snap back at all. It just sort of... hung out slightly extended like an accordion. So back to the drawing board I went.

What I’ve got now is a sparkly $20 magnetic phone ring I found on Amazon. Unlike the Snap 3 Pro or PopSockets, the grip is a metal ring that hinges outward. It’s rotatable, so you can adjust the grip as needed, and doubles as a kickstand. This particular grip has a secondary ring that pops out from the original, which gives you so many options for kickstand angles. I love that. I like how sturdy it feels, and there’s no budging the magnets on this thing. But I don’t love how uncomfortable the metal grip is. I’ve tried holding it every which way, and none of them feel particularly natural. Plus, I have to take it off to use MagSafe chargers. That means I’ve already misplaced it several times because my cats like to bat objects off nightstands.

Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge

The metal ring folds out multiple times, so you have a lot of options for kickstand angles.

I am tired. All I want is to hold my big silly phone more comfortably, have a kickstand, and be able to use MagSafe chargers without having to remove anything. Is that really so much to ask for in one product? Would it be pure, unadulterated greed to ask for one that’s also thin, not too expensive, or hideous?

I never thought this would be such a Herculean task, especially since Amazon is littered with third-party options. But what I’ve found is that very few options manage to get everything right. Some, like the Snap 3 Pro, tick off all the boxes but then fail to execute on long-term durability. Others, like the Sinjimoru strap, just do one or two things well. Perhaps there are more utilitarian options I simply haven’t found yet — but I have a hunch those options may also be ugly as sin. That may feel like a superficial complaint, but it’s also not a crime to want your phone (and its accessories) to express your own style.

Hopefully, this $20 grip that I just bought will be the answer. It’s thin, has a ring that you can use as a kickstand, a loop for your finger, and lets you use it with a MagSafe charger. My colleague Dan Seifert demonstrated it on a video call, and I have high hopes. Otherwise, I may have to concede that The Verge’s resident phone reviewer Allison Johnson was right, and 6.1 inches may be the perfect phone size. And I’m just not ready to do that yet.

VPNs, Verizon, and Instagram Reels: how students are getting around the TikTok ban

VPNs, Verizon, and Instagram Reels: how students are getting around the TikTok ban

The University of Oklahoma blocked TikTok on its devices and networks in December 2022. | Photo by Tharaka Basnayaka / NurPhoto via Getty Images

When he first read the email announcing that public universities in Texas had been asked to ban the use of TikTok on their campuses, UT Dallas student Eric Aaberg feared the worst. As a full-time content creator with over 10,000 followers on the platform, the app was central to his life. Would he be forced to delete it? Would he be punished if he were caught using it?

“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, are you serious?’” Aaberg recalls. “That’s so BS. There’s no way.”

Then he learned the reality. UTD was making TikTok inaccessible on its campus-provided networks. For him, that was the extent of the ban.

Aaberg immediately relaxed. “I was like, ‘Oh, that’s nothing,’” he says.

Texas is one of over thirty US states that have enacted restrictions on the use of TikTok. The complaints, broadly, have to do with the app’s alleged ties to China. “Owned by a Chinese company that employs Chinese Communist Party members, TikTok harvests significant amounts of data from a user’s device, including details about a user’s internet activity,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said when announcing the ban.

Some of the restrictions, such as the one Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed a few months ago, are far-reaching, stipulating broadly that TikTok may not operate within the state. That law is set to take effect next year.

But for most — Texas included — the restrictions extend merely to government entities. Agencies have been tasked with eliminating the use of the platform on state-issued devices (as well as personal devices used for state business) and Wi-Fi networks. Those agencies include state universities.

Bans like those of Montana and Texas have been met with major opposition online and in court. “The law creates a prior restraint on expression that violates the First Amendment, depriving Montanans of access to a forum that for many is a principal source for knowing current events,” reads one such lawsuit, which also argues that TikTok users, were the ban to move forward, would suffer “irreparable harm.”

And for faculty at universities like UTD, the bans can be disruptive and career-damaging. The Knight First Amendment Institute recently filed to expedite a suit against the Texas law, which it says has hurt professors’ ability to conduct research on a social media juggernaut — including on some of the very topics that have lawmakers worried, like disinformation. Faculty in Texas are expected to keep TikTok off any device they use for university business, including school-issued laptops and phones. That makes it difficult to conduct large-scale research of the platform or cite individual videos in class. “The TikTok ban has imposed profound burdens on my teaching and research,” wrote University of North Texas professor Jacqueline Vickery, whose work covers online media literacy, in a supporting brief.

TikTok has sued. Users have sued. The ACLU and other free speech advocates have filed briefs. In many ways, the laws stand at the forefront of rising geopolitical tensions between China and the West and at the center of evolving domestic debates around the balancing of liberty and national security.

But among college students — by far the demographic who use the app the most — the reaction has been much more subdued. It’s best summed up, students say, as a collective eye roll and a quick jump into the Settings app.

“They really just did not care”

Thomas Pablo, a sophomore at the University of Oklahoma, describes the day his school announced a TikTok ban as an utter non-event.

“It was just another Monday,” he recalls.

It happened suddenly — one day, TikToks loaded in the app and in mobile browsers, and the next day, they didn’t. But Pablo and all of his friends knew instinctively what to do: turn off the Wi-Fi and use data. For the past several months since the ban, he’s been switching his phone’s internet on and off around four times per day. Others he knows do it much more often.

Pablo never discussed or brainstormed methods with other students, nor did he hear any outcry about the new restriction. The student body, quietly, in unison, added Wi-Fi toggling to their daily routine. “Everyone was so nonchalant about it,” Pablo says. “They really just did not care.”

“There wasn’t a whole lot of pushback, aside from a lot of grumbling and groans,” says Ana Renfroe, a sophomore at Texas A&M. Some of her professors are still showing TikToks in class. They’ll just ask students to download the videos at home she explains, or will upload them to another platform like Instagram Reels.

Ethan Walker, a senior at East Tennessee State University, feels the same way. “I just turn off my Wi-Fi, and it just loads right off the bat,” Walker says. “It’s a really easy workaround.”

Walker understands, to an extent, where the state of Tennessee is coming from. He did a lot of research when the ban was first announced, and he admits that the app’s data collection scares him. Nevertheless, TikTok is so central to his campus’s culture that he doesn’t feel that he can leave. “To be involved in social life, you have to be at least versed in some of the TikTok trends,” he says.

Walker now turns his Wi-Fi on and off around five times a day. It was a routine that took some adjusting; he’d sometimes forget that his Wi-Fi was off and end up using data all day. But he’s used to it now. If he wants to open TikTok, his fingers navigate to Wi-Fi settings automatically. “It’s honestly just part of my routine,” he says.

This experience is a common one at ETSU — Walker doesn’t know a single person who has given up the app. “It’s like trying to ban meth,” he explains. “Of course people are going to find meth.”

“It’s like trying to ban meth”

The influx of students rushing to data networks may be having some impact on their speeds. Virginia banned TikTok over the summer. Jackson Moyer, a senior at Virginia Tech, doesn’t use TikTok himself but has found the university’s data network to be abysmally slow since he returned to campus for the fall semester. New students couldn’t figure out the bus system because the navigation app wouldn’t load. GroupMe messages wouldn’t go through. He recently tried to open a PDF during a class change when crowds of students were streaming between buildings and found that he couldn’t. He asked a friend to try — the friend couldn’t load it either.

“It was a pretty high-resolution PDF, but like, I expect to be able to load a PDF on my phone,” Moyer complains.

Cellular data is notoriously slow in crowded areas. That’s why carriers often install extra network-boosting equipment at major sporting events, and it was a big reason behind the push for 5G at large gatherings like the NFL Draft, which see tens of thousands of fans trying to stream on such networks at once. The extent to which campus TikTok streaming might impact such speeds is difficult to prove; Virginia Tech has around thirty-seven thousand attendees, which may not provide comparable demand to the audience of a large stadium.

Still, other students have also reported seeing congestion, particularly in the early days of their campuses’ TikTok bans. For a while, Pablo had trouble getting Spotify tracks to play. “I do remember it noticeably being slower,” he says. “It was just kind of a mild nuisance.”

“In the library, it’s getting bad,” Walker says. “The data has gotten noticeably worse there.” (Reached for comment, representatives from OU and ETSU said they were not aware of the issue. Virginia Tech did not respond to a request for comment by press time.)

Still, the only time where the TikTok bans present a true obstacle is in areas with no cell service. Renfroe is an editor for her school’s student newspaper, which means she has to spend quite a bit of time working in a basement office where she doesn’t get signal. There, she has to employ an absolute last resort to entertain herself: Instagram Reels.

It’s not the same. “I wouldn’t describe Instagram Reels as containing peak comedy,” she explains ruefully — jokes and trends that originate on TikTok will often take “like, three months” to make their way over. “It’s just something to watch.”

Other students have turned to VPNs. The cellular networks on UT Dallas’s campus are too slow for Aaberg’s purposes. He’s been using Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 VPN to access TikTok, and he loves it. He’s trying to convince his friends, many of whom have made jumped to Instagram Reels, to do the same. It’s been a tough sell. “I’m like, girl, just download a VPN, it’s not that hard,” he says. But, he concedes, “most of my friends don’t even know what VPN stands for.”

“Girl, just download a VPN”

The future of TikTok bans is uncertain. The numerous suits against them argue that the rules constitute an overly broad and unjustified First Amendment limit; in 2020, a series of court rulings blocked former President Donald Trump’s early attempts to ban the app nationwide.

The Knight First Amendment Institute has asked a judge to immediately exempt Texas faculty from the restrictions while a larger legal challenge is ongoing. “These bans are impeding vital research about one of the most important communications platforms today,” staff attorney Ramya Krishnan tells The Verge. If states want to prevent potential privacy harms, Krishnan says, they should consider tightening the rules on domestic data brokers — who quietly sell much of the same information TikTok hawks fear might leak to China, no ByteDance app required.

At this point, however, many students have been living without TikTok on Wi-Fi for weeks to months. If switching to data and braving slow speeds was annoying, it’s now become routine. “I definitely miss it,” Renfroe says of the TikTok-on-Wi-Fi days. But, “we’ve already settled into it. We’ve kind of been living with it now for two semesters. It’s not exactly at the forefront of my mind.”

Your Wyze webcam might have let other owners peek into your house

Your Wyze webcam might have let other owners peek into your house

Image: Wyze

Some Wyze security camera owners reported Friday that they were unexpectedly able to see webcam feeds that weren’t theirs, meaning that they were unintentionally able to see inside of other people’s houses. A Wyze customer support agent confirmed to The Verge that this was indeed happening.

“Went to check on my cameras and they are all gone be replaced with a new one... and this isn’t mine!” wrote one user. “Apologies if this is your house / dog... I don’t want it showing up as much as you don’t want it!”

“I am able to click the events tab and see ALL the events on this random person’s camera INSIDE their house,” wrote another.

“I don’t know why, but I can see someone else’s camera,” wrote another.

Each thread has comments from other Reddit users reporting similar issues. Shockingly, I even saw some instances of people claiming they saw the same cameras that other people did.

It appears that people were seeing the other feeds through Wyze’s web viewer at view.wyze.com. A Wyze employee told a user on Reddit that the page is “currently under maintenance” and that “we are working on this and will update when it’s available again.” Wyze’s status page posted a similar message on Friday at 5:44PM ET.

“I cannot disclose any further information.”

A Wyze customer support agent confirmed to me that the company has an issue with its online camera portal — one where people were actually able to see other customers’ camera feeds. “While we work to get this resolved, Wyze Web View functionality may be limited or unavailable,” they told me. The agent was not able to provide an estimate for when the issue would be fixed.

“We and our team are already working to improve our security and to investigate the root cause of this,” the agent said. When I asked if they could share what those improvements might be, the agent responded: “I cannot disclose any further information.”

Wyze’s PR team didn’t immediately reply to an emailed request for comment. While it seems that Wyze is taking steps to fix the issue, you may want to turn off your Wyze cameras until it addresses the problems.

In March 2022, Wyze revealed that it had been aware of a security vulnerability for three years that could have let bad actors access WyzeCam v1 cameras, but quietly discontinued the camera rather than telling customers about it.

Reddit can now translate posts

Reddit can now translate posts

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Reddit can now translate posts into eight different languages when viewing them on Reddit’s iOS or Android apps or on the web while logged out, according to a post from a Reddit admin (employee). To start, posts can be translated into English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, and Swedish.

I tried it out by looking at this post in r/France. It’s in French, but when logged out on the web, I can translate it to English by clicking the “Translate” link at the top left of the post. When logged in on the iOS app, I can see the “Translate” link, too.

Since I don’t speak French, I can’t speak to the quality of Reddit’s translation. (The admin said in a comment that the company is currently using “Google services for translations in a manner consistent with our privacy policy.”) But the translated post in English seems fine to me.

However, you probably can’t read full translated threads just yet: Reddit says it’s only started experimenting with translating the comments under posts and only on iOS and Android. Full translation of posts and comments seems to be Reddit’s plan, though, as the admin writes that “soon, your entire conversation experience on Reddit can be multilingual!”

The admin’s post also reminds users that Reddit is about to deprecate its previous coins system, meaning you soon won’t be able to thank a stranger for giving you gold. The last day coins will work is Tuesday, September 12th, and according to the admin, Reddit has already deprecated the ability to give awards on the Old Reddit design and on the “mobile desktop experience” (which I am guessing means mobile web).

Reddit has promised that there will be some kind of awards system down the line but hasn’t yet shared details. Android Authority found evidence in Reddit’s Android app that the new system may let users turn gold or Reddit karma into real money, which doesn’t sound like a great replacement.

The Uber for tasks might just be Uber

The Uber for tasks might just be Uber

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Uber might be expanding beyond ridesharing and food deliveries. A snippet of code seen by Bloomberg includes a new “Chore” option, which appears to let users hire people through the app for various jobs.

The code suggests that users may be able to hire a worker — reportedly called a “tasker” within the app — for at least one hour, as reported by Bloomberg. In addition to specifying the job they want done, users will also have to state how long it might take and when the worker should show up.

From there, Bloomberg reports that users will have to enter their address, much like on Uber’s food delivery and ridesharing apps. The app will then “determine the cost based on the time required” to complete the job. It’s still not clear what types of jobs users could hire people for, as Bloomberg notes that the code didn’t reveal any examples. The Verge reached out to Uber with a request for more information but didn’t immediately hear back.

However, it’s possible that the tasks could resemble those advertised on sites like TaskRabbit and Angi (formerly Angie’s List), which allow users to hire local workers for things like landscaping, moving services, junk removal, home cleaning, and more. Even if Uber doesn’t end up going through with this feature, it’s still interesting to see the options the company is weighing as it looks to stand out among other ridesharing and delivery services.

Apple’s AirPods and AirPods Max could get USB-C ports next year

Apple’s AirPods and AirPods Max could get USB-C ports next year

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Apple is expected to switch its AirPods Pro earbuds to a USB-C charging case during next week’s iPhone 15 event. And now, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has revealed when the rest of the AirPods lineup will follow suit. The regular AirPods and AirPods Max will both make the change away from Apple’s Lightning connector “as early as next year,” Gurman’s report says.

In the case of the AirPods Pro, you should only be expecting a swap of the port at the bottom of the case; the actual earbuds will be the same second-generation model released last year. Apple has detailed a number of software improvements coming to the AirPods Pro (and only the AirPods Pro) this fall, including Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, and more dependable automatic switching between devices.

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Apple’s regular AirPods were last updated in 2021.

The longer gap for the standard AirPods and AirPods Max signifies that those products will likely undergo a more thorough refresh. The third-generation AirPods are nearly two years old, and the AirPods Max have been around even longer. It wouldn’t make sense to merely change the charging port for the AirPods Max in particular since they’re being left behind and not gaining the same new tricks as the AirPods Pro due to their older H1 chip.

Gurman’s report also includes new details on this year’s Apple Watches, with the big upgrade being a redesigned heart rate sensor and more accurate health readings in general. And he confirms the longstanding iPhone 15 / 15 Pro rumors about a lighter titanium build, the USB-C transition, and more.

Tesla’s $25,000 ‘next-generation car’ will have a Cybertruck design

Tesla’s $25,000 ‘next-generation car’ will have a Cybertruck design

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Tesla is reportedly preparing to build a $25,000 electric car built on the company’s next-generation engineering platform. Axios reports that Elon Musk biographer Walter Isaacson has detailed the plan to build a $25,000 electric car alongside an autonomous robotaxi that could ferry passengers around.

The $25,000 car reportedly has a futuristic design like the long-delayed Cybertruck — the angular pickup truck that Tesla first revealed in 2019. The Cybertruck will supposedly begin production this year, with production-at-scale beginning in 2024.

This isn’t the first time we’re hearing about Tesla’s plans for a $25,000 electric car. Musk promised one in 2018, saying it would be possible within three years. The goal for a more affordable EV was reiterated again in 2020. The Model 3 was also promised to be $35,000, but it debuted at that hard to find price for a few months before Tesla killed its original plan in favor of a new, more expensive strategy.

Image: Getty

The Cybertruck.

Musk had reportedly been pushing for a truly autonomous robotaxi instead of his original $25,000 electric car plan. The robotaxis are designed to reduce reliance on car ownership, with no mirrors, no pedals, and no steering wheel and would make the $25,000 car unnecessary. “[The robotaxi] is the product that makes Tesla a ten-trillion company,” he told Isaacson. “People will be talking about this moment in a hundred years.”

Tesla’s engineers were skeptical about the project, debating whether to create a robotaxi with a steering wheel that could be removed later — fearing Full Self-Driving (FSD) wouldn’t be ready or regulators would not approve such a car. After quietly keeping the $25,000 EV plan alive as a separate project, the engineers eventually convinced Musk that Tesla could build a mass-market vehicle, one sold for $25,000 with a steering wheel and one as a robotaxi, on the company’s “next-generation” engineering platform.

Musk reportedly came on board earlier this year after seeing the design that Tesla engineers had created. Engineers presented a robotaxi and the $25,000 EV next to each other, with both reportedly sporting a “Cybertruck futuristic feel” that Musk approved of. “When one of these comes around a corner,” he said, “people will think they are seeing something from the future.”

Image: Tesla

Tesla’s design drawings.

Design drawings for a compact electric car were briefly shown in a Tesla corporate video earlier this year, leading many to speculate they could be part of Tesla’s plans for a $25,000 electric car.

So when will this $25,000 EV actually be available? That’s never certain when it comes to Tesla, and the excerpt from Isaacson’s upcoming biography of Musk doesn’t provide any hints at a launch date. Tesla’s top engineers are working in Austin, Texas alongside a high-speed automated assembly line in an attempt to build these next-generation cars and robotaxis at volume. It’s all part of a manufacturing push to reduce battery costs and make the aim of a $25,000 mass-market Tesla a reality.

iOS 16.6.1 fixes a big iPhone security vulnerability used to install Pegasus spyware

iOS 16.6.1 fixes a big iPhone security vulnerability used to install Pegasus spyware

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Apple has issued a critical security update for iPhones to address a zero-day bug in iOS 16 that could allow attackers to remotely install spyware on a device without any interaction from the iPhone owner. Citizen Lab, a spyware research group, discovered the exploit last week and immediately notified Apple.

The zero-click zero-day exploit had been used to install NGO Group’s Pegasus spyware onto an iPhone owned by an employee of a Washington DC-based civil society organization. Pegasus is spyware developed by a private contractor for use by government agencies. The spyware infects a phone and sends back data, including photos, messages, and audio / video recordings.

The exploit involves PassKit attachments sent via iMessage

Apple has now released iOS 16.6.1 just days after the discovery of this exploit and it’s crucial for iPhone owners to install this update, even if they’re not likely to be targeted with spyware. There are still plenty of groups willing to reverse engineer iOS security updates to try and discover how to exploit this new vulnerability, raising the risk of broader attacks.

Citizen Lab hasn’t provided a full breakdown of the vulnerability for obvious reasons, but the exploit involves PassKit — the framework behind Apple Pay and Wallet — attachments that are loaded with malicious images sent via iMessage. “We expect to publish a more detailed discussion of the exploit chain in the future,” says Citizen Lab.

iOS vulnerabilities have regularly made headlines in recent years, especially ones that have been actively exploited before Apple was aware of the security flaw. Apple has even developed a Rapid Security Response system that can add security fixes to an iPhone without needing to reboot the device.

Crucially, Citizen Lab says Apple’s Lockdown Mode can protect users against this latest exploit, so if you’re at risk of being targeted by state-sponsored spyware then it’s well worth enabling this mode.

Mattel’s Windfall From ‘Barbie’ Goes Far Beyond Dolls

Mattel’s Windfall From ‘Barbie’ Goes Far Beyond Dolls The company’s approach has paid off to a degree that even the C.E.O. could hardly have believed possible.

Honda adopts Tesla’s charging port for future EVs

Honda adopts Tesla’s charging port for future EVs

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Honda announced today that it’s adopting Tesla’s electric vehicle charging connector for its future vehicles. The Japanese automaker was one of the holdouts to accept the competing (and winning) standard, joining the likes of Ford, GM, Rivian, Volvo, Polestar, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, and Fisker.

Honda is planning to implement Tesla’s plug, now known as the North American Charging Standard (or NACS) in a new electric vehicle slated for 2025. The automaker, like every other manufacturer on board with NACS, is promising the availability of a CCS Combo to NACS adapter before 2025 so existing models (and soon-to-be-released ones like the Prologue) will have access to Tesla’s vast and reliable Supercharger network.

Before its plans to adopt NACS, Honda jumped in on a joint venture with BMW, GM, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis to build out a nationwide electric vehicle charging network. DC fast-charging networks that aren’t built by Tesla are found to be largely unreliable, so with access to Tesla’s Supercharger plus building a new network, future Honda EV owners might have a better time, whenever the automaker gets around to releasing them.

Welcome Honda owners to Superchargers across North America⚡️

— Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) September 7, 2023

Polaroid’s new I-2 is its most capable — and expensive — instant camera

Polaroid’s new I-2 is its most capable — and expensive — instant camera

Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

Polaroid has announced a new high-end instant camera dubbed the Polaroid I-2 today. According to Polaroid, the $599.99 I-2 is the company’s most capable instant camera yet, with built-in manual controls and the sharpest new lens it’s ever produced.

The I-2 boasts a three-element autofocusing lens, which Polaroid claims should produce sharper photos than any of its other instant cameras. Meanwhile, the lidar (light detection and ranging) sensor should be able to automatically adjust the lens based on how far away the subject is, even in low-light settings, allowing for more accurate focus. It’s a lot of tech for a camera that uses a decades-old instant film system.

The new lens, to an extent, could address one of my personal pet peeves when it comes to Polaroid’s instant cameras. Traditionally, Polaroid’s instant cameras tend to produce photos that aren’t particularly clear in comparison to their Fujifilm rivals, especially in low-light conditions. That gives the photos an artsy and dreamy vintage vibe that’s charming, which was why the Polaroid Now Plus was my top instant camera pick for retro fans. However, it can be frustrating if you want to quickly and easily take a shot that’s clear and true to life.

In addition, Polaroid also added a small external display and controls so you can manually adjust shutter speed, aperture, brightness, and shooting modes from the camera itself. Making similar adjustments with the Polaroid Now Plus required using the companion app on your phone.

Image: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

The new Polaroid I-2 is a bulky instant camera with built-in controls you can manually adjust.

The Polaroid I-2 also attempts to differentiate itself from the rest of the lineup by offering compatibility with i-Type, 600, and SX-70 film. Otherwise, the I-2 is similar to the Polaroid Now Plus, with Bluetooth support and an app you can use to control the camera remotely.

My colleagues Antonio G. Di Benedetto, Becca Farsace, and I have been testing the new Polaroid I-2 for the past few days, and you can check out Becca’s thoughts in the video below. As for me, I’ve yet to form an opinion. So far, the Polaroid’s prints exude the same retro vibe as its siblings, but my biggest gripe with this camera is how difficult it is to set up and use. All three of us wasted multiple shots while coming to grips with the I-2’s quirks, which gets expensive fast since Polaroid prints cost about $2 each.

Once you get the hang of things, the photos do indeed look sharper than those from the Polaroid Now Plus. You’ll just need patience to get there, especially if you, like me, don’t already have some photography knowledge — and of course, the willingness to pay $600 for an instant camera.

Nintendo Switch 2 evidence grows with rumors of developer demos

Nintendo Switch 2 evidence grows with rumors of developer demos

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge

Nintendo has reportedly demonstrated the Nintendo Switch 2 behind closed doors at Gamescom last month. Eurogamer reports that some trusted developers got an early look at the Switch 2 and some tech demos of how games run on the unannounced system.

There was reportedly a demo of an improved version of Zelda: Breath of the Wild that’s designed to run on the more advanced hardware inside the Nintendo Switch 2. Eurogamer’s report follows rumors from Windows Central’s Jez Corden that Nintendo had discussed a next-generation Switch with select developers at Gamescom.

VGC also reported in July that a new Nintendo Switch is being planned for a 2024 release. The new console is said to include an LCD screen instead of OLED and continue to support cartridge slots for playing physical releases of games. Developer kits for the next Nintendo Switch are said to already be available to certain developers, with Nikkei Asia reporting recently that the new console development is “progressing well.”

A next-generation Switch has been rumored for years, though. Bloomberg first reported that Nintendo was working on a 4K version of the Nintendo Switch in 2020. The Bloomberg report claimed that the global chip shortage during the pandemic made Nintendo reevaluate its plans to upgrade the Switch hardware to a 4K resolution and new Nvidia chips. At least 11 developers had reportedly received 4K Nintendo Switch development kits. Nintendo denied that a 4K “Switch Pro” was in development.

Existing Switch sales have been slowing down recently, with Nintendo hoping to boost sales with special edition OLED versions.

Experts link LastPass security breach to a string of crypto heists

Experts link LastPass security breach to a string of crypto heists

One researcher claims the number of victims who stored their crypto keys on LastPass was “simply too much to ignore.” | Illustration: Beatrice Sala

Security experts are claiming that some of the LastPass password vaults stolen during a security breach near the end of 2022 have now been cracked open following a string of six-figure cryptocurrency heists. Cybersecurity blogger Brian Krebs reports that several researchers have identified a “highly reliable set of clues” that seemingly connect over 150 victims of crypto theft with the LastPass service. Collectively, over $35 million in crypto has reportedly been stolen so far, with between two to five high-value heists occurring each month since December 2022.

Taylor Monahan, lead product manager at crypto wallet company MetaMask and one of the key researchers investigating the attacks, concluded that the common thread connecting the victims was that they’d previously used LastPass to store their “seed phrase” — a private digital key that’s required to access cryptocurrency investments. These keys are often stored on encrypted services like password managers to prevent bad actors from gaining access to crypto wallets. The stolen funds were also moved to the same blockchain addresses, further linking the victims.

At this point I'm also confident in saying that, in most of these cases, the compromised keys were stolen from @LastPass

The number of victims who only had the specific group of seeds/keys that were drained stored in LastPass is simply too much to ignore.

— Tay (@tayvano_) August 28, 2023

Password management service LastPass suffered two known security breaches in August and November last year, with hackers using information obtained during the first breach to access shared cloud storage containing customer encryption keys for vault backups during the latter incident. We have reached out to LastPass to confirm if any of the stolen password vaults have been cracked and will update this story if we hear back.

In a statement to The Verge, LastPass CEO Karim Toubba says that the security breach last November remains “the subject of an ongoing investigation by law enforcement and is also the subject of pending litigation.” The company did not say whether the 2022 LastPass breaches have anything to do with the reported crypto thefts.

Researcher Nick Bax, director of analytics at crypto wallet recovery company Unciphered, also reviewed the theft data and agreed with Monahan’s conclusions in an interview with KrebsOnSecurity:

“I’m confident enough that this is a real problem that I’ve been urging my friends and family who use LastPass to change all of their passwords and migrate any crypto that may have been exposed, despite knowing full well how tedious that is.”

The new Mustang Mach-E Rally is Ford’s off-roadiest performance EV yet

The new Mustang Mach-E Rally is Ford’s off-roadiest performance EV yet

2024 Mustang Mach-E Rally in Grabber Yellow. | Image: Ford

This new Mach-E Rally is what you’d get if you could cross Ford’s most performant Mustang Mach-E electric SUV trim, the GT, with the company’s discontinued Focus RS rally sport monster. Ford initially revealed the Mustang Mach-E Rally at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July, but is today announcing more details. The vehicle is slated for early 2024 manufacturing (yes, this isn’t some performance one-off), with deliveries coming “shortly” afterward.

The Rally isn’t quite hot-hatch-sized like the Focus RS, but the added suspension upgrades, protective underbody shielding, and extra tuning let it similarly hit the dirt roads. Ford says it’s put Mach-E Rally prototypes through “500-mile simulating rally-cross durability trials” to ensure it can survive off-road adventures. The automaker also added extra shielding for the dual motors to protect them from dirt and rocks, plus film on the door cladding and fender arches to protect the paint.

The Mach-E Rally will have a preliminary price similar to the GT Performance Edition at about $65,000

Ford says that the Mach-E Rally is expected to be priced similar to the GT Performance Edition at about $65,000 — although final pricing won’t be announced until closer to production time (and possibly subject to price fluctuations).

Specs-wise, the 2024 Mustang Mach-E Rally is similar to the GT Performance Edition. Both are capable of 480 horsepower, but Ford’s targeting a quicker zero to 60mph acceleration for the Rally to edge the GT Performance’s 3.5 seconds. And the Rally ekes out a bit more muscle with its two-motor layout that targets 650lbs-ft of torque.

As an EV, the Rally gets the same range as the Mach-E GT at 250 miles on a single charge. That’s on the same 91kWh-usable battery found in the bellies of current Extended Range Mach-E vehicles, which have an EPA-estimated 290 miles on a single charge for AWD versions. Ford isn’t concerned about range, though, as it shares that the median daily distance Mach-E customers drive is approximately 30 miles. And Ford CEO Jim Farley has feelings when it comes to really big cars and really big batteries.

Image: Ford

Ford vehicles won’t get Tesla’s NACS plugs on board until 2025.

You can fast-charge the Rally at up to 150kW max (just like the other Mach-E trims), but Ford made changes to decrease the overall DC fast-charge time of the Rally: from 10 to an 80 percent state of charge in about 36 minutes (compared to about 45 minutes on the standard-range Mach-E).

The Rally will still have a CCS Combo connector on board despite Ford and other manufacturers adopting Tesla’s connector, now known as the North American Charging Standard (NACS). Ford EV customers are slated to get CCS-to-NACS adapters in 2024, but details are still scarce.

Image: Ford

White wheels, big spoiler, and that Rally logo.

The suspension for the Rally is raised about 20 millimeters compared to the GT, and includes specialty-tuned springs and MagneRide shocks to help it grip those bumpy dirt roads. And it's got 385-millimeter front brake rotors and red Brembo calipers behind 19-inch white alloy wheels for better stopping power.

The Rally’s interior has some minor updates that remind you that you’re driving a special Mach-E. The dash includes subtle gloss white accents, and the steering wheel bottom spokes have a glossy white finish. Additionally, there are extra contrasty stitches on the interior door trim, and the seats have a “Mach-E Rally” stamp along with gloss-white seatbacks. There’s no need to look up while in the vehicle, as the Rally doesn’t feature the panoramic glass roof found on premium Mach-E trims.

The interior tech of the Rally, including the 15.5-inch touchscreen, is the same as other Mach-E models. But the software includes a new RallySport Drive Mode that enables added yaw for bigger slides, a linear throttle response for better control, and better damping for improved corner handling. For daily drivers, this can translate to better traction on snowy and rainy road conditions. It also helps that it comes with Michelin’s all-season Cross Climate2 tires that have sidewall grooves and directional treading.

The software includes a new RallySport Drive Mode

Ford also includes a 90-day trial of its latest BlueCruise hands-free driver assistant system (version 1.3), which users can purchase or defer to later. Ford claims the updated version has improved lane-change assistance, lane repositioning, and better overall performance curve handling and narrow lane driving.

There’s an extra set of lights up front on the Rally, two circular fog lamps on the nosecone that Ford says are rally-inspired. Color options include grabber blue, shadow black, eruption green, grabber yellow, star white and a new glacier gray.

Fans who miss the Focus RS will love the inspired winged spoiler on the Rally, and old-school Mustang fans can continue to lament how far off from the source material the electric SUV has gone.

Google Search, Whatsapp, and TikTok on list of 22 services targeted by EU’s tough new DMA

Google Search, Whatsapp, and TikTok on list of 22 services targeted by EU’s tough new DMA

A graphic showing the companies and services being designated as gatekeepers. (Click here for higher resolution image.) | Image: European Commission

The European Commission has officially confirmed which tech companies, and which of their services, count as “gatekeepers” under its strict new Digital Markets Act (DMA). The companies listed all appeared on a provisional list released in early July, and mostly consist of American tech giants. There’s Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft from the US, plus ByteDance from China. 22 core platform services provided by gatekeepers must now comply with the DMA’s obligations by March 6th, 2024.

Here’s the full list of core platform services, as announced by the European Commission today:

• Social Networks: TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
• N-IICS (aka messaging services): WhatsApp, Messenger
• Intermediation: Google Maps, Google Play, Google Shopping, Amazon Marketplace, Apple’s App Store, Meta Marketplace
• Video Sharing: YouTube
• Advertising services: Google, Amazon, Meta
• Web Browsers: Chrome, Safari
• Search: Google Search
• Operating Systems: Android, iOS, Windows

Samsung, which appeared on the previous list, successfully argued that it does not meet the threshold for being a gatekeeper with its internet browser. Likewise Microsoft’s Bing search engine, Edge browser, and advertising service are not on the list, but Commission has said it’s opening market investigations to assess whether they meet the bar for regulation. The same is true of Apple’s iMessage service. The Commission has said these investigation will take no more than five months, but could result in Apple being forced to make iMessage interoperable with competing services upon request. It’s also investigating whether iPadOS should be designated as a gatekeeper.

Broadly, the DMA is the EU’s attempt to rein in the market power of Big Tech by opening up entrenched platforms and curbing ecosystem lock-in and anti-competitive behavior, making them compete on the merits of their products and services alone. Major messaging apps will have an obligation to make themselves interoperable with competitors, for example, while operating systems will need to be designed to offer third-party app stores and allow developers to offer alternative in-app payment options.

It’s D-Day for #DMA!

The most impactful online companies will now have to play by our EU rules.#Gatekeepers are:

Alphabet
Amazon
Apple
ByteDance
Meta
Microsoft

DMA means more choice for consumers.

Fewer obstacles for smaller competitors.

Opening the gates to the Internet pic.twitter.com/xaTluUfBax

— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) September 6, 2023

The exact rules companies will have to obey depend on which of their services the commission has deemed to hit its bar for regulation (it calls these “core platform services”). Meta’s Instagram and Facebook are set to be regulated as online social networking services, for example, while Google Search will be regulated as a search engine and Microsoft’s Windows will be regulated as an operating system.

The DMA uses several criteria to determine whether a company and its service should be designated as a gatekeeper, including whether a company has an annual turnover of over €7.5 billion (around $8 billion) in Europe and a market cap of over €75 billion (around $80.5 billion), and whether a service has over 45 million monthly active users in the EU.

Meanwhile the likes of Google Search (and Bing, if it ends up being included) will have to give their users a choice of other search engines, while operating system providers will need to offer the ability to uninstall pre-installed apps and change system defaults like virtual assistants and web browsers. Gatekeepers will be banned from self-preferencing their own products and services compared to other companies on their platforms. The commission has put out a pretty extensive FAQ listing all the obligations.

Image: European Commission

The timeline for compliance.

Although today’s announcement is a significant step towards implementing the DMA, the process is far from over. The FT previously noted that the commission is bracing itself for legal challenges over the rules, similar to what we’ve seen with Amazon and German retailer Zalando challenging the EU over their designations as “very large online platforms” under the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The new UE Epicboom is a beefy $350 Bluetooth speaker

The new UE Epicboom is a beefy $350 Bluetooth speaker

Image: Ultimate Ears

Where do you go next after branding your speakers with names like the Boom, Megaboom, Hyperboom, and Wonderboom? Well, apparently the natural progression has led Ultimate Ears to none other than “Epicboom.” That’s the new speaker that the company just announced today. It’s a chunky device that gives off more of a Sonos Move aura as opposed to UE’s signature cylindrical Bluetooth speakers. Priced at $349.99, the 4.36-pound Epicboom promises 360-degree audio output from its 4.6-inch woofer and two high-frequency 45mm transductors.

This speaker is rated IP67 against dust and water — that’s a win over the Move’s IP56 rating and means you can submerge it for up to 30 minutes — and it’ll last for 17 hours of playback on a charge, the company claims.

Fundamentally this is still just a Bluetooth speaker; there’s no Wi-Fi element for richer audio quality, nor any smart voice assistant functionality. But UE does advertise an adaptive EQ function that tailors the sound performance based on the speaker’s environment. And like always, you can use party mode to link it up with other UE speakers you own to blanket your space in music.

Image: Ultimate Ears

The Epicboom can last for up to 17 hours on a charge.

UE also includes NFC pairing for you Android users, and the Epicboom can connect to two audio source devices at the same time. It has numerous preset sound modes including Signature Bass Boost, Game/Cinema, Podcast/Vocal, and Deep Relaxation. (Consider me curious about that last one.) There’s even an Outdoor Boost button that tacks on an extra 1dB of sound, according to the product’s website. And yes, Ultimate Ears’ customizable “Magic Button” is still present as well for one-tap access to your favorite playlist on your chosen music subscription service.

The Epicboom comes in black (with yellow volume button accents) or white (with red accents), and it’s available for immediate shipping. $349.99 is definitely up there for a Bluetooth-only speaker in this day and age. But Ultimate Ears has built enough brand power with its Boom lineup that people seeking beefier sound will inevitably splurge on this since it’ll be easily found at Best Buy and other retailers starting on September 22nd. The UE formula might be losing its sheen for certain people in light of smarter alternatives, but as ever, there’s something to be said for the easy, convenient, and dependable option.

In Its First Monopoly Trial of Modern Internet Era, U.S. Sets Sights on Google

In Its First Monopoly Trial of Modern Internet Era, U.S. Sets Sights on Google The 10-week trial, set to begin Tuesday, amps up efforts to rein in Big Tech by targeting the core search business that turned Google into a $1.7 trillion behemoth.

PowerA is adding the wrong kind of wireless to its wired Xbox controller

PowerA is adding the wrong kind of wireless to its wired Xbox controller

It’s got nice features like hair-trigger lockouts, but what is up with these cheap-o looking LED strips? | Image: PowerA

Accessory maker PowerA seems to know that RGB gamer lights are all the rage, but its new Xbox controller and LED strips have very strong “We have gamer lights at home!” vibes.

PowerA’s new RGB-infused peripheral is the Advantage Wired Controller for Xbox Series X / S with Lumectra. It’s a $44.99 wired gamepad available in black or white with some nice sounding features, like hair triggers, two customizable rear buttons, four-zone RGB lighting with three preprogrammed modes, and a detachable USB-C cable (a nice upgrade over PowerA’s cheaper models still plagued by Micro USB ports).

That all sounds well and good, but the new wired Advantage also has some wireless tech — no, it doesn’t have any official Xbox wireless connectivity like PowerA put into its MOGA XP-Ultra mobile controller — but instead, it has a friggin’ IR blaster. “Why?” you ask? Well, isn’t it obvious that it’s for controlling a new range of non-smart LED strips called Lumectra?

Image: PowerA

If you look at this and think “needs more RGB,” PowerA is here for you.

PowerA’s Lumectra LED strips launching alongside the controller come in two flavors: one is a four-foot RGB LED strip you can get bundled with the Advantage for $54.99, and the other is a standalone 18-foot RGB LED strip PowerA is selling for $19.99. Both strips can be controlled by the Advantage’s IR blaster, while the 18-foot model also comes with its own generic-looking IR remote control.

I’ve tested many PowerA game controllers, and I’ve found most of them to be capital-F Fine. The company typically offers more than competent products, excellent customer service (bordering on being a little Extra), and even some premium features trickled down to cheaper models for a better value. But these Lumectra light strips, frankly, look like cheap-o generic LED strips from no-name brands found on Amazon or AliExpress.

Image: PowerA

Come on, what are we doing here?

I’ve already started testing the existing non-RGB version of the Advantage Controller for a future update to our Xbox controller buying guide, sans IR blaster. It’s a very competent wired controller for Xbox and PC, offering a low price for a gamepad with additional rear buttons and three-stage trigger lockouts for firing off faster shots in FPS games. But I never once thought while using it, “You know what I really need to be doing right now? Controlling some dumb lights.”

There may be folks out there who find $55 for a controller and some simple strip lights worthwhile for a basic gamer-y setup (and we all know they’ll go on get discounts soon enough), but my esteemed colleague Umar Shakir has a simple alternative for his own generic LEDs that’s cheaper and even more wireless:

Photo by Umar Shakir / The Verge

You can even use the fancy washi tape of your own choosing.

Facebook’s unloved ‘News’ tab is going away in Europe

Facebook’s unloved ‘News’ tab is going away in Europe

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Meta plans to “deprecate” the News tab in Facebook’s bookmarks section in the UK, France, and Germany. That’s typically been company speak for removing a feature. The changes are supposed to go into effect in early December, according to Meta.

“As a company, we have to focus our time and resources on things people tell us they want to see more of on the platform, including short form video,” the company said in a press release today.

This is the latest action Facebook has taken to make news a lower priority on its platform. It’s also another step toward mimicking shortform video content on TikTok.

“As a company, we have to focus our time and resources on things people tell us they want to see more of on the platform, including short form video.”

Meta announced in July that it would quit paying US publishers to put their content in Facebook’s News tab. Last year, the company also said that its engineering and product teams would be more focused on video content from creators rather than on its News tab.

Facebook News was only available in the US, UK, Germany, France, and Australia. After the changes go into effect in Europe in December, it’ll only be left in the US and Australia. News accounts for less than 3 percent of what users around the world see in their Facebook feed, according to Meta.

People will still be able to see links to news articles on their feeds, and news publishers in Europe will still have access to their accounts and pages after the changes go into effect in December. Meta also seems to be encouraging news organizations to pivot to shortform video, saying in its release today that they “can also still leverage products like Reels and our ads system to reach broader audiences and drive people to their website.”

The company also says it will honor “obligations under all existing Facebook News deals” with publishers in the UK, France, and Germany until December. But it won’t sign onto any new deals for content on Facebook News or offer new products to news publishers in those countries in the future.

Meta’s also reportedly exploring ad-free paid subscriptions in Europe. That could be one way to get around regulators’ concerns in the EU about data collection and privacy. The company didn’t immediately respond to a press inquiry from The Verge.

Ring’s former CEO is rebranding Latch to Door.com

Ring’s former CEO is rebranding Latch to Door.com

Image: Latch

Latch, the commercial access company run by the founder of Ring, is expanding beyond smart locks. The company announced today that it’s rebranding to Door.com with the goal of offering an overarching platform that gives independent service workers, like drivers, housekeepers, and dog walkers, a platform to grow their businesses.

After founding Ring in 2013, Jamie Siminoff sold the company to Amazon in 2018, where he continued to work until leaving in May of this year. The next day, Latch announced that it had acquired Siminoff’s four-month-old stealth startup, Honest Day’s Work, and Siminoff became CEO of Latch. Honest Day’s Work aimed to create “a full-building operating system designed to help owners, residents, and third parties like guests, couriers, and service providers seamlessly experience the modern building.”

Latch has become known for its line of smart locks that landlords can use to manage who can enter their buildings. It also developed its own smart building operating system, LatchOS, which offers control over its smart locks as well as other smart devices via the Latch app. The rebrand doesn’t mean that Latch is going away, however, as Siminoff seeks to combine its vision with that of Honest Day’s Work. According to Siminoff, Latch will exist as a subbrand under the Door.com umbrella, joining a series of other services that the company plans on launching in the future.

“I think Latch was too constrained on expanding that vision.”

“Latch is a great brand for locks, but I do think it was too constrained,” Siminoff tells The Verge. “Even if you go back to latch before I was part of it... they had this vision of services and other things. I think Latch was too constrained on expanding that vision.”

One of the services Door.com is launching in line with that goal is called James, something Siminoff says is the “first view you can get into what we were building.” This app serves as a platform for professional drivers, allowing them to book and manage clients. Siminoff notes that while drivers will get 100 percent of the profit, riders will get charged a 5 percent cut that James will take.

It’s still not clear what other services Door.com plans on launching in the future, but it seems the company will adjust its path based on the success of James. “I could see a world where you master that and then you launch multiple verticals from there... but we definitely want to learn more.” Door.com is expected to officially launch sometime next year.

DLSS 3 mod for Starfield has a controversial DRM paywall

DLSS 3 mod for Starfield has a controversial DRM paywall

Image: Bethesda Softworks

Starfield isn’t even officially out of early access yet, but one of its mods has already generated controversy within the community. The mod in question adds support for Nvidia’s DLSS 3 upscaling technology, which Bethesda omitted to include in Starfield in favor of AMD’s rival FSR 2. But users have been critical of modder PureDark’s decision to lock DLSS 3’s more advanced frame-generation features behind a subscription to their Patreon. The free version of the mod only supports DLSS 2, which offers upscaling but not frame generation.

Attempting to charge users for mods is a controversial topic, as Bethesda and Valve discovered when they teamed up to let modders charge for their Skyrim mods via Steam in 2015. The move was so controversial that Valve removed the feature just days later, with Valve’s Alden Kroll admitting that the company had “missed the mark pretty badly” with its decision to introduce the feature.

Particularly controversial has been PureDark’s decision to add DRM to the DLSS 3 Starfield mod in an attempt to prevent non-Patreon subscribers from getting access, though RockPaperShotgun reports that this copy-protection appears to have already been cracked. DLSS 3 is notable for offering frame-generation on newer 40-series Nvidia GPUs, adding additional frames in addition to upscaling the game to a higher resolution.

For what it’s worth, the non-paid DLSS 2 mod reportedly works well. RockPaperShotgun’s benchmarks show it matching or even slightly beating the performance of the game’s official AMD FSR 2 support, with slightly better image quality to boot. As of this writing, PureDarks’ “Starfield Upscaler” DLSS mod is the most popular release on NexusMods for Starfield.

PureDark has a history of modding support for DLSS into games that don’t officially offer Nvidia’s upscaling technology, and his NexusMods profile lists mods for previous Bethesda games like Fallout 4 and Skyrim. The modder previously added DRM to their DLSS 3 mod for Red Dead Redemption 2.

Although Starfield only officially supports AMD’s FSR 2 at launch, AMD has suggested that there’s nothing stopping the game from also supporting Nvidia’s DLSS. Despite AMD marketing itself as Starfield’s “exclusive PC partner,” its gaming chief Frank Azor has said that if Bethesda wants to add DLSS, then it’ll “have AMD’s full support.”

A $700 Million Bonanza for the Winners of Crypto’s Collapse: Lawyers

A $700 Million Bonanza for the Winners of Crypto’s Collapse: Lawyers Bankruptcy lawyers and other corporate turnaround specialists have reaped major fees from the bankruptcies of five cryptocurrency companies, including FTX.

The new Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 gives me serious mouse envy

The new Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 gives me serious mouse envy

The Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 mouse. | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge

I called it the real magic mouse, but I can no longer look at my award-winning Logitech G502 Lightspeed quite the same way — because I’ve just been spoiled by a new mouse that’s roughly half its weight.

Logitech has just announced the G Pro X Superlight 2, the fastest and lightest mouse the company’s ever made, and after spending a very long Labor Day weekend blasting baddies and clicking desktop files, I’m already finding it hard to go back.

Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge

It’s not quite ambidextrous; you still only get your Mouse 4 and Mouse 5 buttons on the left.

The $159 Superlight 2 weighs just 60 grams (2.1 ounces), down from the original 63-gram mouse and way lighter than my 114 gram G502 Lightspeed, all with no ugly holes punched in its simplistic sculpted black plastic frame. But unlike the original, which presented as a cut-down G Pro Wireless, the new Superlight 2 is actually Logitech’s most advanced mouse yet.

Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge

This included Pro X2 USB dongle gives you a 2,000Hz polling rate. (You only get 1,000 if using wired or with Logitech’s Powerplay mousepad.)

It’s the first with a 2kHz wireless report rate, and the first with a new Hero 2 sensor that tracks at 500 inches per second (and up to 32,000 DPI), with a “unique dual array design that increases working range and maintains tracking performance, even when lifting or tilting the mouse.” It also boasts 95 hours of battery life, up from 70 hours with the original Superlight. (That’s if you’re using its power-saving modes; the company’s G Hub software estimates I’ll get 51 hours without.)

I’m happy to say it’s still compatible with my beloved Logitech Powerplay wireless charging mousepad so you never run out of juice — only now I can more easily take it on the go because any old USB-C cable can let me charge and play!

Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge

USB-C port! Sanity prevails.

Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge

Logitech includes this USB-C to USB-A charge-and-play cable in the box.

Yes, Logitech has done away with its annoyingly proprietary micro-USB connector heads, just like it did with the G502 X last year, in favor of USB-C.

Here’s the part where I admit I’m not an esports player who can readily feel the difference between 1kHz and 2kHz polling. But I will tell you this: I expected a learning curve, and what I got was simply a mouse I can fling around at high speed with way less effort. I don’t need to be as deliberate. I don’t know how much of it is the Superlight’s PTFE mouse skates and how much is the weight, but my G502 feels like a chore by comparison.

Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge

So much glorious grey Teflon to glide on.

Still, I don’t quite feel the same way about Logitech’s Lightforce Hybrid Switches, which sit underneath the mouse buttons. They’re a hybrid of optical switches for high speed, and mechanical switches for tactile feedback and power savings — the mechanical switches wake up the optical ones by default.

But they are also very tactile and require a stronger click compared to the microswitches on my G502. I think they’re making me a tad slower in rapid-fire scenarios, but I also think I could get used to them after a while.

I don’t miss my G502’s sniper button, or its canted design with sharp edges, or the mouse wheel horizontal scroll buttons I never really used anyhow. As of today, there are only two features Logitech would need to add to make this mouse a definite purchase for me: the company’s trademark dual-mode hyperscroll wheel for blazing through documents and websites with a flick, and some DPI adjust buttons so I can change sensitivity on the fly.

I doubt those features will make it into a Superlight, because Logitech’s targeting this mouse to tournament gamers above all — but personally, I want to buy just one mouse for work and play.

The G502 X weighs 102 grams, I suppose... but would that be enough of a difference from my G502’s 114g? Meanwhile, the Razer mouse atop our best gaming mouse guide weighs 112g. So much for my mouse endgame.

The Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 goes on sale today, alongside a new wireless RGB keyboard, the TKL Lightspeed.

Douglas Lenat, Who Tried to Make Computers More Human, Dies at 72

Douglas Lenat, Who Tried to Make Computers More Human, Dies at 72 He spent decades working on artificial intelligence, striving to create machines that could replicate common sense.

The Audi Q6 E-tron has three screens lighting up the entire dashboard

The Audi Q6 E-tron has three screens lighting up the entire dashboard

The “Digital Stage” stretches across the entire dashboard. | Image: Audi

The Audi Q6 E-tron comes with not one, but three screens tacked on its dashboard. As you can see in the first images of the electric vehicle’s interior, the three-screen setup — dubbed the “Digital Stage”— stretches from the driver’s side to the front passenger, with each display sporting different sizes and features.

The driver gets two displays nestled within a free-standing hub that gently curves on both sides. While the 11.9-inch screen dedicated to the gauge cluster and other vehicle information sits directly in front of the driver, it connects to a 14.5-inch touch infotainment display that extends beyond the right side of the steering wheel. Audi says “special ambient lighting” makes the setup “appear to float” at night.

Image: Audi

Passengers gete a 10.9-inch screens for movies and infotainment controls.

In addition to those two displays, the front passenger gets a 10.9-inch screen for audio and navigation controls, along with the ability to watch movies during a drive. The passenger’s display also comes with a privacy mode that shields the screen from the driver to avoid distracting them.

But Audi isn’t the only EV maker that’s putting giant touchscreens across their vehicle’s entire dashboard. Mercedes stuck a 56-inch touchscreen inside its EQS SUV, and it even showed off a giant digital dashboard for its 2024 E-Class vehicles. There’s also a pretty sizeable 34-inch display in the Lucid Air, and the circular display that’s front-and-center on this all-electric Mini Cooper’s dash.

Image: Audi

Here’s the outside of the Audi Q6 E-tron.

Some other high-tech features coming to the Q6 E-tron include 22 speakers powered by a Bang & Olufsen sound system. There’s even an augmented reality heads-up display (HUD) on the windshield that shows things such as speed, traffic signs, and navigation information.

The Q6 E-tron also features a “self learning” voice assistant that you can trigger by saying “Hey Audi.” Over time, Audi says its assistant will learn your behavior, allowing it to make automatic suggestions or adjustments to certain controls, like seat temperature. We don’t know much about what’s powering the Audi Q6 E-tron just yet, but we’ll likely hear more soon, as it’s expected to hit the road sometime next year.