How we all get news now

How we all get news now

Image: William Joel / The Verge

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 24, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, so psyched you found us, and also, you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)

This week, I’ve been reading Kyle Chayka’s great book about algorithms, Filterworld, getting nostalgic about Tecmo Bowl, seeing if this show can get me into NASCAR like Drive to Survive got me into Formula 1, catching up on old Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend episodes, spending too much time debating whether I want a Vision Pro, trying to make my basement look more like Peter McKinnon’s studio, and trying desperately to figure out why everyone’s so worked up about rice cookers.

I also have for you a new AI search app, a bunch of shows to watch this weekend, a deep dive into all our news-gathering options, a new podcast about the internet, and much more. Let’s get into it.

(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you into right now? What should everyone else be into right now, too? Tell me everything: installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, tell them to subscribe here.)

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The Drop

• Arc Search. Honestly, can someone else build a cool new browser so I can stop talking so much about Arc? Please and thanks. For now, this is easily the most interesting company in this space, and the new Arc iOS app is both really cool and maybe an existential crisis for the internet. (Got a lot of recommendations for this one this week — thanks to everyone who sent it in!)
• Mr. & Mrs. Smith. I love the 2005 Brangelina movie, so I was slightly worried about whether this show would hold up, especially given all the behind-the-scenes shenanigans. But it seems to! People like it! (I also got a lot of recommendations for this one. My hopes might now be too high for this show…)
• Project Tapestry. As a rule, I don’t love linking to Kickstarters here, but for this, I’ll make an exception: the folks behind Twitterrific and Ivory, two wonderful social media apps, are building an app for collecting, organizing, and reading the internet. I think this is going to be awesome.
• Infinite Craft. Also as a rule, I will pretty much always post whatever Neal Agarwal makes on his website, which is full of fun and silly things to play with. This one is just an endless series of ways to combine things and make new things, and I cannot explain why I love it so much. But I love it so much.
• Circle to Search. Now available on a Pixel or Galaxy near you: a nifty way to search just by drawing a circle around whatever you see and care about. I love this — and I’m psyched to see that Microsoft might be bringing something similar to Edge and that Google’s multisearch feature is getting so much better in general. Bring this everywhere!
• The Skylight Calendar Max. My calendar app is the only reason I’m a remotely functional human being, so of course the idea of a 27-inch screen dedicated to blaring my calendar at me seems super compelling. It’s $600, which is ludicrous, but I’m this close to buying the 15-inch $300 model. Maybe I’ll start being on time for stuff.
• Curb Your Enthusiasm. I have a confession: until very recently, I’d never really watched Curb. Like, I’ve seen episodes, but I’ve never just done a full run-through of the show. Now, I’m about halfway through, and I can’t believe I was missing it. My goal is to be done before the final episode of this new, and final, season — which is apparently a great one.
• Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Echo. This is less a specific recommendation for this one and more a general recommendation for the whole Assembled series. Disney Plus is full of great behind-the-scenes stuff, and there are docs like this for a bunch of different Marvel stuff, almost all of which are super wonky and cool.
• Never Post. So far, there are only two episodes of this podcast — which is basically a bunch of Extremely Online people talking about Extremely Online things, and I mean that in the very best way — and I’ve loved them both. The first episode, on independent media companies, was particularly great.

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Deep dive

A couple of weeks ago, I asked you to share all the ways you read the news. And by “news,” I mean any of the information you care about. This was mostly a selfish thing; with Artifact shutting down, I was losing one of my best sources of good links, and I didn’t know whether to reinvest in Flipboard or Reddit or Apple News Plus or something else entirely. Obviously, The Verge is the number one best news source for all things Verge, but I understand there are other things out there, too.

As always, the Installerverse delivered. Thanks to everyone who emailed, texted, posted at me, and otherwise hit me up with all your thoughts! I got a ton of new ideas. And as promised, I wanted to try and summarize and share how we all do things. So here goes:

• Most people just have A Place. Or two. Overwhelmingly, I heard from folks who mostly just open up one or two sources to get their news. The New York Times app was the most-named one by a pretty wide margin, which didn’t really surprise me. But I also saw a lot of The Washington Post, a lot of The Economist, some Wall Street Journal, a few fans of The Atlantic — the big national sources seem to be where most people start.
• There are so many good curators! I heard from a bunch of folks who really like getting a broad swath of stuff, quickly, all in one place. The three most popular ones were Informed News, Ground News, and Inkl.
• And then there’s Google News. If you want a news app that knows what you like, a number of folks said Google News is the place that most consistently shows them stuff they care about from all over. I got a couple of Apple News recommendations, too, but you all seem to really like Google’s personalization.
• We stan an RSS reader. Feedly got a lot of votes, but Inoreader and NetNewsWire both have some fans, and Feeeed and Unread both got a couple of shout-outs.
• Video isn’t huge, but it’s out there. I got a couple of “I get stuff from YouTube” emails and a couple of shouts for Philip DeFranco in particular, but not as many as I expected. One person, Josh, also specifically recommended PBS NewsHour on YouTube, which I’m also enjoying now.

A few of you even built your own bespoke news-gathering systems, which I loved hearing about. An email from Jeff was my favorite: Jeff made a tool called clickthru.news, which has “no tracking, no customization, no ‘mark as read,’ it updates itself a couple times a day, and I just read it until I get bored.” It’s delightful, y’all.

You know what surprised me most? How few “I get all my stuff from social networks” answers I got. A few years ago, I suspect Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and others would have dominated this list, and now, they’re basically absent. Granted, the Installerverse isn’t the world, but still! Basically nothing to that effect! We’ve all just kinda moved on.

Personally, I’ve settled into a new routine. Most days, I start in Flipboard, which I set up with a few of my interests — I can swipe from general news to tech news to Formula 1 news to news about my town, and the content’s not always amazing, but it’s usually pretty solid. Then I do the big-name app roundup so many do: I check the Times, the Post, the Journal, and The Economist (which I think has the best app by far). All my blogs and feeds go into Feedbin, which I now read mostly in the Unread app. And thanks to you all, I also downloaded Google News, and I check it a few times a day. I do like it so far.

Oh, and then every once in a while, for as long as I can, I’ll still open Artifact. It had so many good ideas.

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Screen share

Fun fact: before Installer launched, I made a prototype version of the newsletter and had Jake Kastrenakes – a deputy editor at The Verge and the crucially necessary, endlessly patient, and thoroughly-responsible-for-its-existence editor of Installer — share his homescreen. And then I promptly forgot that actually nobody ever saw it but me.

So now that we’re live, and we’re all here, I asked Jake to share again. Last time, I remember him having some delightfully weird wallpaper ideas. Turns out, not much has changed.

Here’s Jake’s homescreen, plus some info on the apps he uses and why:

The phone: Pixel 8. It’s the slipperiest phone I’ve ever owned, and it finally convinced me to buy a phone case. I got the hazel one from Google.

The wallpaper: I love this illustration for how in contrast it feels to everything else on a phone. I found it on Twitter after I went down a rabbit hole of following a bunch of Japanese illustrators. The piece is by Shiho Konno, and I rudely ripped the illustrations from a tweet and rotated it to portrait orientation.

The apps: X and Threads (slightly out of reach to slightly reduce my usage), a step counter (to shame me into moving when I work from home), Spotify, Google Maps, Google Photos, Pocket (I used to use this, now it mostly sits there), The New York Times (now I read this instead), a shortcut to ChatGPT’s voice mode (I wanted to encourage myself to try more AI stuff; I don’t use it often, but the voice mode is really compelling), Instagram, Camera, Phone, Firefox (I just switched to this when it launched extension support), The Verge (with an Edge shortcut; the web icons Firefox makes are small and weird, so I’m just living with two browsers in my dock), Gmail, Google Messages.

I also asked Jake to share a few things he’s into right now. Here’s what he sent back:

• I just got an Analogue Pocket. Using it feels like playing games the way you remembered them. (Even if the games maybe play just a bit worse 20 years later.)
• This Yeule album from last year is like 50 percent of my Spotify listening right now. I will not be answering what percent Olivia Rodrigo is.
• Kashmiri Red Chili. It’s going in everything.

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Crowdsourced

Here’s what the Installer community is into this week. I want to know what you’re into right now as well! Email installer@theverge.com or message +1 203-570-8663 with your recommendations for anything and everything, and we’ll feature some of our favorites here every week.

“Really enjoying PI.FYI after reading Kevin’s story. Lotta bugs but makes me feel indescribable things.” – Akhilesh

“Don’t know why NotePlan isn’t getting more attention — it’s a fantastic app for writing notes and planning using time blocks and has great integration with calendars and reminders. The developer, Eduard, is extremely good at listening to users.” – Anders

“The Memphis Belle is an (incredibly well-made) propaganda documentary from 1943. Watching it on YouTube and comparing it to Masters of the Air is fascinating and makes it obvious that it must have been a big source of inspiration for the show. The overlap is huge.” – Nino

“Arturia released a free update to their modern softsynth, Pigments, this week. While I can’t complain about a free upgrade to an already solid product, it’s not my pick: using Pigments 5 has underscored how much I prefer using the built-in synthesis tools of my DAW of choice, Bitwig Studio (it’s better than its name, honest!). Bitwig’s approach to modularity and consistent systems that apply across every aspect of the program really clicks with my nerd brain.” – Andrew

”I’ve been getting re-obsessed with Halo due to new Halo Infinite content as well as the forthcoming season 2 of the show, which seems like a massive improvement from the rather compromised first season.” – Kenton

“I recently started training for a triathlon using my Apple Watch. While it’s great in many ways, Apple’s Fitness app does not show as much data as I would like. HealthFit is a simple yet powerful app that fills this gap with its crazy graphs and more.” – Krystof

“Spurious Correlations. It’s absolutely lovely to have such weird pairings correlated. Example after example of the adage, ‘Correlation is not causation.’ And then to see the AI descriptions below the graphs’ completely made-up drivel applying causation is just chef’s kiss.” – Matthew.

“Obsessed with the James Figurine (Jimmy Tamborello from Dntel and The Postal Service) song from 2006 about texting and relationships before smartphones (and without T9).” – Michael

“My podcast recommendation is Pop Pantheon — ultra-deep dives into pop music careers and wider topics from host DJ Louie XIV and expert guests. Every episode is a joy to listen to; full of well-researched insight without any fat (despite the often multi-hour length), and I always come away with enhanced appreciation for the featured acts.” – Ben

“I’ve been watching video game expert Jeff Gerstmann play and rank every single NES game released in North America! It’s a wild endeavor to embark on, but there’s nobody else I’d rather see do it.” – Luke

“Winter travel is great: fewer crowds, things are cheaper. Dry hotel rooms are not great. I bought a portable USB-powered humidifier ahead of two winter trips. Putting it on the nightstand next to my face made a noticeable difference when waking up. In Europe, I plugged it into my battery pack when I left the room so it keeps going as power gets cut, and it worked perfectly. Amazon is littered with them, but I settled on this one.” – Sean

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Signing off

Kevin Nguyen, a deputy editor at The Verge, sent over a recommendation that derailed my whole week. Here’s what he said: “There’s no football this weekend, but you can bridge that gap to the Super Bowl by playing Retro Bowl. It’s styled like the 8-bit days of Tecmo Bowl and has a perfect balance of simplicity and depth for a phone game. The free version is great (no ads, just some in-game currency you can purchase but don’t need at all), and there’s a version on Apple Arcade, too. My screen time went up 39 percent the week after I downloaded it, so you’ve been warned.”

He’s not kidding. I have been playing this game more or less nonstop since Kevin told me about it (it works really well with a controller, by the way), to the point where I have to leave my phone in the other room or I’ll play it all night and not sleep. I’ve been playing the Retro Goal soccer game, too, and it’s just as fun. Like Kevin said: you’ve been warned.

See you next week!

How A.I. Is Remodeling the Fantasy Home

How A.I. Is Remodeling the Fantasy Home Amid an intractable real estate crisis, fake luxury houses offer a delusion of one’s own.

iFixit pulls the Vision Pro apart, exposing its connectors, screens, and fans

iFixit pulls the Vision Pro apart, exposing its connectors, screens, and fans

Image: iFixit

We’ve already found out a few hidden tidbits of Apple’s Vision Pro over the last week, like the revelation that it has not one, but two different kinds of Lightning-esque connectors. But now you can see so much more in iFixit’s first teardown video, offering some answers to questions like what contributes to its weight, and which parts could be very expensive to replace.

Disconnecting those Buff Lightning connectors for the battery cable and strap arms is pretty easy, requiring only a SIM eject tool. After that, the disassembly is pretty standard for Apple hardware: heat gun, prying, screws everywhere, brackets, and connectors.

Image: iFixit

The details of the EyeSight feature that shows a rendered version of the wearer’s eyes have been uncovered. A filter uses lenticular lenses and film that create a 3D effect, so viewers on the outside can see the right image depending on their angle, even if it’s not as bright after all the filtering.

In a tweet from iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens, you can see what the Vision Pro and that screen look like without the outer layers, the removal of which also exposes the cameras and sensors mounted around the outside. The video is in and out pretty quickly. But there’s more to come — iFixit says the headset is too complicated for one video, and promises a later one showing “just how deep this rabbit hole goes.”

This teardown is getting WILD. pic.twitter.com/OAuOQGhJqr

— Kyle Wiens (@kwiens) February 2, 2024

Neck lamps are a bookworm’s best friend

Neck lamps are a bookworm’s best friend

Callum at home NOT annoying his partner. | Photo by Callum Booth / The Verge

As convenient as e-readers are, I can’t quit actual books. Maybe it’s their reassuring weight, the satisfying crinkle of their pages, their beguiling musk; but there’s something addictive about that combination of paper, ink, and glue.

Despite this — and as much as it pains me to say it — physical books aren’t perfect. One issue that’s been a particularly large albatross around my neck is reading in low-light environments. When I do so, I’m either keeping my partner awake with a blazing bedside lamp, twisting my body into awkward positions to illuminate the pages, or — worst of all — having to turn on the dreaded Big Light.

But you know what? That’s all history. I’ve seen the light! More specifically, a neck light. And the longer I use it, the more certain I am that it’s a gadget every bookworm should own.

A neck light (or neck lamp) is exactly what it sounds like: a light that sits on your neck. The majority of models are U-shaped with an LED bulb at the end of either arm. These are flexible, meaning you can adjust the position and angle of the light. Many units — including my Glocusent, like the one in the video above — come with an array of white color settings from very warm to cool and the ability to toggle through brightness levels. Even better, they’re cheap, often costing under $30.

I started searching for a solution to my low-light reading woes years ago. The first thing I tried were those clip-on book lights often sold in stationary stores. While they do the job, it’s not a particularly good one, as they can only uniformly brighten the top of a single page and have a tendency to flap around wildly while reading.

Undeterred, the next gadget I tested was a headlamp. This was an improvement but had its own problems. During long reading sessions its weight and strap became uncomfortable, especially as I had to keep my head still and at a slight angle to keep the light consistent.

Soon afterward, I stumbled across the neck lamp. I was skeptical at first. Not only did I think it’d have a raft of problems similar to the clip-on light and headlamp, but gadgets you strap around your neck don’t exactly have a glittering track record.

Just think about the Bose SoundWear, a horseshoe-shaped speaker that rests on your shoulders because… I’m still not entirely sure. Or, indeed, the Pulsetto, a stress management device that uses radio waves to (supposedly) stimulate the vagus nerve in the neck. Why? Wellness purposes, of course.

No, the neck light is more akin to the unsung hero of the wearable world: wireless neckband headphones.

Because of the rise of true wireless technology (thanks, AirPods), these “neckbuds” have been largely forgotten. This, friends, is a crying shame, as both they and neck lights share a lot of positive traits. Specifically, they’re comfortable, relatively inexpensive, and, due to their size, tough to misplace.

There is one key difference between them: it’s a lot more embarrassing to be seen outside with a neck lamp — and neckbuds are embarrassing enough.

Illuminated in a dimly lit corner of a bar like some sort of nerdy angler fish

For better or worse, I’m a man who likes to read. As such, I’ve taken my neck lamp to a number of public places. And what I’ve learned is this: you shouldn’t. It’s tough to seem suave, discreet, or mysterious when you’re illuminating a dimly lit corner of a bar like some sort of nerdy angler fish.

There are some exceptions I’ve discovered in my… tests. A neck lamp is broadly accepted in public places with a modicum of privacy, think a plane or train, but in most other cases? Unless you’re truly above caring, you’d best keep it at home, people.

All in all, this is a minor quibble. While it’s true that wearing a neck light won’t get you invited to the Met Gala, I’ve got a big TBR (to be read) pile to get through anyway. And fashion isn’t everything. Sometimes you just want something comfortable, efficient, and affordable. Like sweatpants. The neck lamp, then, is the sweatpants of the reading world: cozy and best used in the comfort of your own home.

Beyond even that, I can genuinely say the gadget has improved my life. My partner is no longer sleep deprived, my posture isn’t quite as appalling, and, blessedly, the Big Light remains unused, all for the price of a single cocktail in Manhattan.

I believe a neck lamp can help others, too. From going over documents in a dark office to combating some effects of presbyopia as people age, this gadget can make an actual difference in people’s lives.

But wouldn’t a Kindle work just as well? Honestly, there’s no better way to read in dim environments — but I’m not ready to give up on my romance with physical books. And if you feel the same way about paper and ink smushed together, then you also need to get yourself a neck lamp.

Anxiety, Mood Swings and Sleepless Nights: Life Near a Bitcoin Mine

Anxiety, Mood Swings and Sleepless Nights: Life Near a Bitcoin Mine Pushed by an advocacy group, Arkansas became the first state to shield noisy cryptocurrency operators from unhappy neighbors. A furious backlash has some lawmakers considering a statewide ban.

‘There is no such thing as a real picture,’ says Samsung exec

‘There is no such thing as a real picture,’ says Samsung exec

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, showing off its cameras. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

How does Samsung defend itself against the notion that its phone cameras are spitting out fake AI photos of not only the Moon, but most anything else you’d care to aim them at these days? For starters, the company’s head of product is saying that every photo is fake.

Samsung EVP Patrick Chomet told TechRadar recently:

There was a very nice video by Marques Brownlee last year on the moon picture. Everyone was like, ‘Is it fake? Is it not fake?’ There was a debate around what constitutes a real picture. And actually, there is no such thing as a real picture. As soon as you have sensors to capture something, you reproduce [what you’re seeing], and it doesn’t mean anything. There is no real picture. You can try to define a real picture by saying, ‘I took that picture’, but if you used AI to optimize the zoom, the autofocus, the scene – is it real? Or is it all filters? There is no real picture, full stop.

While I expect more than a few photographers will be offended by the idea that a photo “doesn’t mean anything,” he does have a point: What is a photo, really? It’s a question that we’ve been exploring on The Verge and The Vergecast for years as companies like Apple, Google, and Samsung increasingly combine multiple frames across multiple cameras to produce their final smartphone images, among other techniques.

Now, of course, the rise of generative AI is really bringing the debate to a head — and Samsung’s new Galaxy S24 and S24 Ultra are the latest phones to market that feature.

Chomet’s take has a bit more nuance to it than “nothing is true, everything is permitted,” though. He told TechRadar that the industry does need to be regulated, that governments are right to be concerned, and that Samsung intends to help.

In the meanwhile, he says Samsung’s strategy is to give consumers two things it’s decided they want: a way to capture “the moment,” and a way to create “a new reality.” Both use AI, he says — but the latter get watermarks and metadata “to ensure people understand the difference.”

The best ebook reader to buy right now

The best ebook reader to buy right now

Image: Will Joel / The Verge

From reading in the bath to scribbling notes in the margins, from diving into the Amazon ecosystem to avoiding it outright, there’s an e-reader for everyone.

Any ebook reader will let you cram a Beauty and the Beast-sized library’s worth of books in your pocket, but so will your phone. An ebook reader offers a more book-like reading experience, with fewer distractions and less eye strain, and many include extra features, like adjustable frontlighting. Some really are pocketable. Others are waterproof or offer physical page-turning buttons, while a few even let you take notes.

I’ve been using ebook readers for nearly a decade, and I’ve gone hands-on with dozens, from the Kindle Paperwhite to lesser-known rivals like the Pocketbook Era. Whether you want something your kid can throw against the wall or a waterproof, warm-glow Kindle that won’t ruin your spa ambiance, these are the best ebook readers for everyone.

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The best Kindle

Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.9 x .32 inches / Weight: 205 grams / Screen area and resolution: 6.8-inch screen, 300ppi resolution / Storage: 8GB or 16GB / Other features: IPX8 waterproofing, Bluetooth audio support

If you mostly buy ebooks from Amazon, you’ll want a Kindle, and the 11th-gen Kindle Paperwhite is the best choice for most people. Starting at $139.99, it’s cheaper than the Kobo Libra 2 — my top non-Amazon ebook reader, which I’ll dive into later — for many of the same features. Those include a large 300pi display and an adjustable warm white frontlight, which make for a clear and enjoyable reading experience. The latter also conveniently improves sleep by cutting down on blue light that interrupts melatonin production.

That warm white frontlighting is an advantage over the cool white of the $99.99 base-model Kindle, and unlike the base Kindle, the Paperwhite has IPX8 water resistance. The $189.99 Signature Edition Paperwhite also has an auto-adjusting frontlight and no lockscreen ads. It also has wireless charging, which is a rare feature to find in an e-reader.

Photo by Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge

The Kindle Paperwhite comes with an adjustable warm white frontlight.

Amazon is the largest online retailer in the world, and it dominates the US ebook market, so Kindle owners have access to advantages owners of other ebook readers don’t. Much of Amazon’s hardware strategy depends on offering cut-rate discounts to pull you into its content ecosystem. If you have Prime and buy a lot of Kindle ebooks, the Paperwhite is the best choice because Amazon makes it incredibly easy to buy and read its stuff. Its ebooks and audiobooks are often on sale, and Prime members get more free content through Prime Reading. Rivals like Kobo offer sales, too, but it’s hard for them to offer discounts as steep as Amazon does.

There are downsides, though. The Paperwhite has lockscreen ads unless you pay $20 extra to get rid of them. It’s also too big to hold comfortably with one hand. Perhaps the Kindle Paperwhite’s biggest flaw, though — which it shares with all Kindles aside from Fire tablets — is that it’s not easy to read books purchased outside of Amazon’s store. Kindle ebook formats are proprietary and only work on Kindle. Unlike Kobo and other ebook readers, Kindles don’t support EPUB files, an open file format used by pretty much everyone except Amazon. So, for example, if you often shop from Kobo’s bookstore (or Barnes & Noble or Google Play Books or many other ebook stores), you can’t easily read those books on a Kindle without using a workaround. There are ways to convert and transfer file formats so you can read on the Kindle and vice versa, but it’ll take a couple of extra steps.

However, if you don’t buy your books elsewhere or you don’t mind shopping from Amazon, you’ll be more than happy with the Kindle Paperwhite.

Read our full review of the Kindle Paperwhite.

The best non-Amazon ebook reader

Dimensions: 5.69 x 6.36 x 0.35 inches / Weight: 215 grams / Screen area and resolution: 7-inch screen, 300ppi / Storage: Up to 32GB / Other features: Physical page-turning buttons, waterproofing, Bluetooth audio support

The Kobo Libra 2 is an excellent alternative to an Amazon ebook reader, especially for readers outside the US. It’s just as nice as the Paperwhite, with many of the Paperwhite’s standout features, like waterproofing, USB-C support, and a 300ppi display. It doesn’t work as well with Amazon’s ecosystem, of course, but it offers a few extra perks that make the e-reader, in some ways, even more enjoyable to use.

The Kobo Libra 2 is my favorite ebook reader to use

For one thing, it supports more file formats, including EPUB. It’s also much easier to directly borrow books from the Overdrive library system, while native support for Pocket means you can read your saved articles offline. The Libra 2 also comes with easy-to-use physical buttons and starts at 16GB of storage, double the capacity of the base Paperwhite. There are no annoying lockscreen ads to contend with, either. Plus, instead of a flat-front screen, the display is slightly recessed into the frame. I loved that as it meant I didn’t accidentally tap the screen and skip a page, as I often did with the Paperwhite. It also kept the screen cleaner and — combined with the wide side bezel — made the Libra 2 more comfortable to hold.

The Kobo Libra 2 is my favorite ebook reader to use. I kept having to restrain myself from using it all the time to give the other e-readers on this list a fair chance.

However, at $189, it costs $50 more than the ad-supported Paperwhite, though it’s only $20 more than the ad-free Paperwhite. That gap widens even more when the Paperwhite is on sale, which it regularly is. Plus, as somebody whose digital library consists mainly of Amazon ebooks, I found the fact that I couldn’t easily and quickly read my vast collection of Kindle books frustrating. You can do it, but you’ll have to convert file formats using third-party apps, which can take time, especially if you have a large library. But if those things don’t matter or apply to you, the Kobo Libra 2 will give you the best digital reading experience of all the e-readers on this list.

The best cheap ebook reader

Dimensions: 6.2 x 4.3 x 0.32 inches / Weight: 158 grams / Screen area and resolution: 6-inch screen, 300ppi resolution / Storage: 16GB / Other features: USB-C support, Bluetooth audio support

The base-model Kindle ($99.99 with ads) is the best cheap ebook reader. Its 300ppi resolution makes text clearer and easier to read than the lower-resolution screens on other ebook readers in its price range, and its 16GB of storage is double even that of the Paperwhite. It even has USB-C for relatively fast charging.

Reading on its six-inch screen feels a little more cramped than it does on the larger displays of the Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Libra 2. However, the flip side is that its small size makes it pocketable, light, and easy for small hands to hold. Combined with its relatively affordable price, the Kindle is also the best ebook reader for kids — especially in the kids version Amazon sells for $20 more. It shares the same exact specs but is ad-free with parental controls, a two-year extended replacement guarantee, and a case. It also comes with one year of Amazon Kids Plus, which grants kids access to thousands of kids books and audiobooks for free. After that, though, you’ll have to pay $79 per year.

Image: Kindle Kids

The kid-friendly version of the Kindle comes with colorful cases.

The base Kindle doesn’t have extra conveniences like the physical page-turning buttons found on Barnes & Noble’s entry-level e-reader, the Nook GlowLight 4e. However, you do get something more important: snappier responses. On most of the other entry-level ebook readers I tested, including the GlowLight 4e, I had to wait a few seconds after tapping the screen for the page to turn. The Kindle, in comparison, offered no perceptive lag.

There are other tradeoffs. There’s no water resistance, unlike the Paperwhite, and battery life is good, but it’ll last you three weeks tops — not months, like the Paperwhite. And because it’s an Amazon ebook reader, you’re also locked into the Amazon ecosystem and have to pay extra to get rid of ads. But if you can do without all of that, the Kindle delivers the essentials for under $100.

Read my full review of the Kindle.

The best ebook reader for taking notes

Dimensions: 7.6 x 8.94 x 0.30 inches / Weight: 390 grams / Screen area and resolution: 10.3-inches, 227ppi resolution / Storage: 32GB / Other features: Handwriting to text conversion, magnetic stylus, Bluetooth audio support

Of all the large ebook readers I tested, the Kobo Elipsa 2E stood out the most because of its excellent note-taking abilities. You can directly write on pages, and the notes will not disappear, which makes for a more intuitive note-taking experience than the Kindle Scribe, which only supports on-page notes on select Kindle titles. Otherwise, you’re limited to making annotations on cards that are like disappearing sticky notes.

You can also sync your notes with Dropbox or view them online, and Kobo can even convert handwriting to typed text. Amazon rolled out a similar capability for the Kindle Scribe, but it can only convert handwriting to typed text when you export notebooks and not as accurately. By contrast, Kobo lets you convert your handwriting not just while exporting but also from within a notebook itself.

The Elipsa 2E also offers other helpful note-taking tools. It’s even capable, for example, of solving math equations for you. You can also insert diagrams and drawings, and it’ll automatically snap it into something that looks cleaner and nicer. There’s also a great selection of pen types and ink shades.

True, the Kindle Scribe starts at $60 less, but the Kobo Elipsa 2E comes with twice the storage. You can step up to the 32GB Kindle Scribe if you want the same storage capacity, but that puts it at essentially the same price as the Kobo. I recommend just forking out the money on the Elipsa 2E instead.

I also recommend the Elipsa 2E over the Onyx Boox Note Air 2 Plus, even though it, too, offers much better writing tools than the Kindle Scribe. That’s because it costs a whopping $449 and also isn’t as readily available in the US market. The Onyx Boox Note Air 2 Plus also comes with too many distracting extras, like an easy-to-access music player and the Google Play app store preinstalled so you can download multiple reading apps, including both the Kindle and Kobo apps. However, Kindle and Kobo notes didn’t show up on the Onyx Boox Note Air 2 Plus — and you can’t annotate their books anywhere as easily as you can on their respective devices.

Note-taking capabilities aside, the Kobo Elipsa 2E is also a good e-reader, but it comes with the same strengths and weaknesses as other Kobo e-readers. There’s support for a wide range of file formats, but you can’t easily read Kindle books without converting them first. Its 227ppi display is also slightly less sharp than the 300ppi screen found on the Kindle Scribe and the Kobo Libra 2. However, the 10.3-inch screen does balance things out a bit and makes text easier to read, so it’s not really a noticeable drawback.

Other ebook readers that didn’t make the cut

There are some other ebook readers I tested that I didn’t feature above but are still worth highlighting. Here are the most notable:

Kobo Clara 2E

If you’re looking for a non-Amazon alternative that’s more affordable than the Kobo Libra 2, the Kobo Clara 2E is worth a look. It sells for $139.99 and also offers waterproofing as well as a sharp, 300ppi display, but it lacks buttons. As I mentioned in my review, I also liked that it doesn’t come with ads but found it’s not as fast as the Kindle Paperwhite. However, now that I’ve used the e-reader for quite some time, I find it’s snappy enough, and the occasional lag isn’t as distracting as I imagined it’d become. The Libra 2 is still faster, though.

Nook Glowlight 4 Plus

In 2023, Barnes and Noble released the new Nook Glowlight 4 Plus. If you own a lot of digital books from Barnes and Noble, this could be a good Kindle alternative. Otherwise, I’d still recommend the Kobo Libra 2 to everybody else. The $199.99 Nook Glowlight 4 Plus is a good e-reader with a lot to offer, including a lovely 300ppi screen, waterproofing, physical page-turning buttons, and even a headphone jack. However, it’s just not as snappy, which makes setting it up, buying books from the device itself, and navigating the interface a slow ordeal. It didn’t help that the screen sometimes froze, too, which meant I had to restart the device while in the middle of a book.

Kindle Oasis

Finally, I didn’t mention the Kindle Oasis, which has physical page-turning buttons and which many consider a high-end device. At this point, though, it’s old, hard to find in stock, and lacks some features even the base Kindle offers — like USB-C support. That makes it less appealing at $249.99. If you are willing to pay that much for a high-end reader, I’d take a look at the Kobo Libra 2 or the Kobo Sage instead. The latter is $239.99 ($30 off), yet not only does it come with buttons and USB-C, but you can also use it to take notes. The eight-inch screen feels very cramped to write on, though, so I wouldn’t recommend it as a primary note-taking device.

Update February 2nd, 2024: Adjusted prices and added new related links.

Here are the best Kindle deals right now

Here are the best Kindle deals right now

The Kindle Scribe is on sale as a part of a bundle.

When it comes to finding a device to use to read your ebooks, you have a few options to choose from. You can always buy a tablet or use your phone, but those devices are multipurpose and can be used for a ton of things, like surfing the web or doom-scrolling on Twitter. If you are looking for something to strictly read books, e-readers, while niche, are designed to store all of your books in a virtual library with limited functionality.

Amazon, one of the pioneers of the e-reader, has dominated the space for years with its ever-expanding Kindle lineup, which consists of several unique models with their own pros and cons. The bulk of the devices function as simple ebook readers; however, with the Kindle Scribe, Amazon looks to be moving beyond books and into the realm of writing — something that should make future Kindles function more akin to physical paper.

Below, we’ve listed each model currently available. Sometimes, there isn’t a deal for one or any of the products, but we’ve mentioned the most recent sale price in those instances. Keep in mind that Amazon also offers 20 percent off all of its Kindles when you trade in select devices, so there are still other ways to save money when none of the models are available at a discount.

Image: Amazon

The best Kindle (2022) deals

In case you missed it, Amazon announced a new entry-level Kindle last year, one that’s designed to replace the 2019 model. The latest Kindle — which starts at $99.99 — puts Amazon’s base e-reader more in line with the most recent Kindle Paperwhite, providing a number of quality-of-life improvements in the process. The new model features longer battery life, a 300ppi screen, and now charges via USB-C instead of Micro USB. It also touts 16GB of storage by default and comes in a new “denim” color, which resembles the soft blue you might associate with jeans.

In the past, Amazon’s newest ad-supported Kindle has dropped to as low as $74.99 ($25 off) with three months of Kindle Unlimited included. Right now, though, you can only buy the Kindle at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target for its full retail price. If you don’t mind waiting, Kindles often go on sale around Valentines Day, given they tend to be popular presents. If you can’t wait, though, and you want to get one with a few extras, you can pick it up on sale at Amazon with ads, a power adapter, and a fabric cover starting at $134.97 ($15 off). Regardless of whether you choose the standalone model or the bundle, the new Kindle remains a worthwhile option if you’re looking to pick up an e-reader for less than the latest Paperwhite.

Read our Kindle (2022) review.

The best Kindle Kids (2022) deals

The new base Kindle wasn’t the only e-reader Amazon introduced in 2022. The new entry-level model has arrived alongside a new Kindle Kids, which is identical to the standard model but comes with a handful of accessories and provides age-appropriate content for younger readers who prefer digital books. Like the last-gen Kindle Kids, the new model retails for $20 more than the base model, bringing the MSRP to $119.99.

In terms of add-ons, the new Kindle Kids edition consists of four items: the device, a case, a two-year extended replacement guarantee (in the event the device breaks), and one year of Amazon Kids Plus. The latter is the biggest selling point of the device aside from the kid-friendly patterns, as it allows parents to grant their child access to a digital library of kid-friendly books like Percy Jackson and the entire Harry Potter series at no additional cost.

While we’ve seen the Kindle Kids drop to as low as $79.99, right now there are no deals available. That means you can only buy Amazon’s latest Kindle Kids from Amazon and Best Buy at its full retail price of $119.99.

Photo by Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge

The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is identical to the standard model but features wireless charging and a sensor to automatically adjust the backlight.

The best Kindle Paperwhite (2021) deals

Amazon’s latest Kindle Paperwhite is its 11th-gen model, which comes with USB-C support, longer battery life, and a larger 6.8-inch display. The e-reader launched more than two years ago, and it often receives steep discounts at retailers like Amazon and Best Buy, particularly around Black Friday and throughout the holiday season. You can still occasionally pick up the last-gen model from 2018 at a discount.

The 2021 Kindle Paperwhite comes in a variety of configurations: first, there’s an 8GB model with ads for $139.99 and an 8GB model without ads for $159.99. There’s also a 16GB version with ads for $149.99 and an ad-free version that sells for $169.99. Finally, there’s a 32GB ad-free Signature Edition for $189.99. The latter is identical to the standard Paperwhite except it also features Qi wireless charging and a sensor that will automatically adjust the backlight when needed.

Amazon has also rolled out a Kindle Paperwhite Kids Edition for $169.99, which comes bundled with a kid-friendly cover, a two-year extended replacement guarantee, and a year of Amazon Kids Plus, much like the aforementioned Kindle Kids. All 2021 models are also similar to the 2018 model in that they feature a waterproof design and Audible audiobook support.

There aren’t any discounts currently available on the standard Kindle Paperwhite by itself, meaning it's only available at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target starting at $139.99. However, you can buy the base Paperwhite at Amazon as part of a package that contains a power adapter and your choice of a fabric cover for $174.97 ($20 off), a leather cover for $181.97 ($20 off), or a “cork” cover for $189.97 ($20 off).

Read our Kindle Paperwhite (2021) review.

As for the 32GB ad-free Signature Edition, it’s available at Amazon and Best Buy right now for $189.99 — its regular retail price. However, you can buy the ad-free Signature Edition with 32GB of storage, a wireless charging dock, and a leather cover on sale at Amazon for $244.97 ($20 off). You can also buy the e-reader with a cork cover and a wireless charging dock for $252.97 ($20 off) or a fabric cover and a wireless charging dock for $237.97 ($20 off).

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

The best Kindle Oasis (2019) deals

The Kindle Oasis is the most expensive of the lineup, starting at $249.99. The device comes in two storage configurations, 8GB or 32GB, and like the other models, you can get it with or without ads on the lock screen.

The 2019 Kindle Oasis looks very similar to the previous model. It retains its waterproof 7-inch 300ppi E Ink display and supports Audible audiobooks via Bluetooth. However, unlike previous models, it can adjust the color temperature to a yellow-toned display, making it easier to read at night.

The 8GB Kindle Oasis normally starts at $249.99. In the past, we’ve seen the e-reader drop to as low as $174.99, which remains the lowest price to date for the standalone configuration. Sadly, however, the Oasis is currently neither on sale nor in stock at Amazon or any other major retailer. You could buy the international version of the e-reader starting at $199.99 ($70 off) from Amazon, but Amazon will not ship it to US addresses.

Read our Kindle Oasis (2019) review.

Image: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

The best Kindle Scribe deals

The ad-free Kindle Scribe is Amazon’s biggest e-reader to date — one that also represents a departure from past Kindle models. It packs a 10.2-inch display with 300 dpi, along with the same great battery life for which Kindles have become known. What separates the Scribe from other models, however, is that it comes with one of two styli, which can be used to annotate books, doodle, or jot down notes. We found the e-reader’s note-taking capabilities lacking in our testing, but Amazon has already started to improve the software via free OTA software updates, helping bring it up to speed with other E Ink competitors.

The Kindle Scribe is available at its full price of $339.99 at Amazon in its 16GB base configuration with a Basic Pen and three months of Kindle Unlimited included. The same model is also available at Amazon bundled with a fabric cover and a power adapter for $359.97 ($60 off), or with a leather cover and a power adapter for $379.97 ($60 off).

As for the model with the Premium Pen, which offers a shortcut button and a built-in eraser, it’s on sale in the 16GB configuration with a folio cover and a power adapter starting at $389.97 ($60 off).

Read our Kindle Scribe review.

Hulu is cracking down on password sharing, just like Disney Plus and Netflix

Hulu is cracking down on password sharing, just like Disney Plus and Netflix

Image: Disney

Hulu has just laid the groundwork to kick friends, family, and freeloaders off its streaming service unless they pay for their own accounts. This week, the company revised its Terms of Service to explicitly ban password sharing outside of “your primary personal residence,” and it’s begun to tell subscribers they’ll need to comply by March 14th, 2024.

This doesn’t come as much of a surprise: the writing’s been on the wall ever since Netflix reported that its password sharing crackdown was successful in driving more signups, after Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed he’d like to follow suit, and certainly after Disney Plus began its own password sharing crackdown in earnest. (Disney should soon own all of Hulu and the two apps are even beginning to merge.)

Here’s the new ToS section in full:

m. Account Sharing. Unless otherwise permitted by your Service Tier, you may not share your subscription outside of your household. “Household” means the collection of devices associated with your primary personal residence that are used by the individuals who reside therein. Additional usage rules may apply for certain Service Tiers. For more details on our account sharing policy, please visit our Help Center.

We may, in our sole discretion, analyze the use of your account to determine compliance with this Agreement. If we determine, in our sole discretion, that you have violated this Agreement, we may limit or terminate access to the Service and/or take any other steps as permitted by this Agreement (including those set forth in Section 6 of this Agreement).

You will be responsible for any use of your account by your household, including compliance with this section.

The new ToS is dated January 25th, 2024; previous versions of the ToS didn’t mention account sharing at all.

Here’s an example of the emails being sent to Hulu subscribers:

“We’re adding limitations on sharing your account outside of your household, and explaining how we may assess your compliance with these limitations,” the most important paragraph reads.

Neither the email nor the ToS say how Hulu will measure compliance or how quickly it’ll take action, but Hulu will apparently “analyze the use of your account” and it reserves the right to “limit or terminate access” if it decides you’ve broken the policy.

The ToS also suggests there’s more info about its account sharing policy at the Hulu Help Center, but we’re not seeing any help articles about account sharing right now.

Death Stranding 2’s new trailer is delightfully disturbing

Death Stranding 2’s new trailer is delightfully disturbing

Image: Kojima Productions

The sequel to Death Stranding is shaping up to be just as strange as the original. At its State of Play showcase today, Sony showed off a new trailer for the game that... starts out with a particularly disturbing bit of surgery. The lengthy clip features a whole bunch of new locations outside of the US, as well as the return of a villain who has been given a Joker-esque makeover. And yes, the baby makes an appearance — along with a new, talking doll.

The sequel also has an official title now: Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. It’s due to launch in 2025. Here’s the premise:

Embark on an inspiring mission of human connection beyond the UCA. Sam — with companions by his side — sets out on a new journey to save humanity from extinction. Join them as they traverse a world beset by otherworldly enemies, obstacles and a haunting question: should we have connected?

Death Stranding 2 was first unveiled at The Game Awards in 2022 and is coming to the PS5 (at least at launch — the original made its way to the PC and iPhone eventually). It once again boasts an all-star cast of Hollywood and games industry acting talent, including Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux, Elle Fanning, Shioli Kutsuna, and Troy Baker.

The sequel is far from the only project in the works at Kojima Productions. The studio has teamed up with A24 for a live-action film based on Death Stranding and is working on a mysterious Xbox horror game called OD.

Replika’s new AI therapy app tries to bring you to a zen island

Replika’s new AI therapy app tries to bring you to a zen island

Tomo, the AI avatar | Luka, Inc.

AI companion company Replika partnered with the team behind the AI dating simulator Blush to release Tomo, a wellness and meditation app with an AI-generated avatar guiding users. Its the kind of concept that seemed destined as soon as generative AI took off, but in the time I’ve spent with Tomo, I found myself wondering if I can ever open up to an AI like I can with a real therapist.

Tomo, now generally available on the Apple iOS store, brings users to a virtual island retreat, greeted by an AI-generated avatar guide named… Tomo. Tomo offers programs to help people explore personal growth, mental well-being, and fulfillment. It also provides guided meditation, yoga, affirmation classes, and, most of all, talk therapy.

Users can try out Tomo for free for three days, after which they have to choose between paying $7.99 a week or $49.99 per year.

I got to try Tomo before the launch. The first time I launched the app, I was greeted by spa music, signaling that the app wants users to feel like they’re in a retreat rather than a therapist’s office. Then the avatar Tomo, drawn as a young woman standing in front of a traditional Japanese house on an island, asks me if I’m ready to begin. Tomo started asking me some questions to figure out what I hoped to work on.

“We worked with coaches and psychologists to come up with the programs for Tomo. We focused on the most common problems but also thought about what would work best with conversational AI,” Eugenia Kuyda, founder and CEO of Replika, tells The Verge in an email. “We had a lot of experience building coaching programs for Replika with clinical psychologists from UC Berkeley; for Tomo, we expanded that to mindfulness teachers to combine Eastern and Western practices.”

The approach felt like texting a therapist on text-based therapy services like BetterHelp. I already go to in-person therapy, so the experience of sharing more about myself was not new. Yet I have never been a text therapy fan; I prefer stream-of-consciousness conversation to typing out my anxieties. But for the sake of a hands-on, I kept texting with Tomo. It began building a profile based on my answers. My profile shows I like to focus on work, have money anxieties, and need help coping with stress; in other words, a journalist existing in late-stage capitalism. Tomo summarized our conversation, but it did mistakenly assume I had a “determination to pursue pottery” when really I’m just curious about it as a possible stress reliever.

Screenshot: Luka, Inc.

Screenshot of a Tomo therapy session.

After the initial conversation, users can explore other activities or “areas” of the island. There was no virtual pottery for me to apparently pursue; instead, the programs Tomo offers range from mastering the art of work-life balance, driving motivation, and improving sleep, which comes in the form of modules that users can finish in anywhere from two weeks to a month. Eventually, the developers said, people can unlock 3D objects around the island “that facilitate a deeper exploration of their inner sanctuary.”

Tomo, the avatar guide, is supposed to be powered by generative AI to have better conversations with users. But honestly, talking to Tomo didn’t feel much different from speaking with a regular chatbot. I couldn’t get it to participate in a little art therapy with me (it wouldn’t draw) or retail therapy (it couldn’t help with shopping or travel tasks I tried to assign it) — which meant that instead of feeling like a fully formed digital being on which I could unload my troubles, it really just felt like someone put background music on ChatGPT.

And while I found the guided meditations helpful, it also felt like other guided meditation apps I’ve tried before. Eventually I found myself losing interest, mainly because by the time I remembered to open Tomo, I already had assignments from my therapist to work on.

Using AI for mental health therapy remains controversial, especially as privacy protections still fall short for many technology-based mental health solutions. It’s a tricky business, one for which Replika, which is behind Tomo’s digital avatar, has already gotten into hot water. Italy banned Replika last year for failing to meet security standards in its Replika chat app. But Replika’s CEO says it is taking more precautions with Tomo, though the company did not give me its full privacy policy.

“We don’t share any information with any third parties and rely on a subscription business model. What users tell Tomo stays private between them and their coach,” Kuyda said.

Tomo is only available on iPhones; an Android version will be released later this year. Replika also plans to launch an app on Apple’s Vision Pro, paving the way for an even more immersive Tomo-guided meditation.

Elon Musk won’t get his $55 billion pay package after all

Elon Musk won’t get his $55 billion pay package after all

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images

Elon Musk isn’t going to get that $55 billion pay package after all, a Delaware Court of Chancery judge has ruled. The ruling means Tesla’s board will need to come up with a new proposal.

The ruling threatens Musk’s fortune if it makes it through an appeal, Bloomberg reports. Without the options in that package, Musk may only be the third-richest man in the world.

Tesla shareholders approved the package in 2018, which gave Musk incentive to hit specific milestones, including a market valuation of $650 billion, which was more than 10 times Tesla’s value at the time. The trial hinged on a specific question: did Musk mislead the shareholders when he gave them the plan?

Tesla shareholders approved the package in 2018

Greg Varallo, attorney for the investor who sued, Richard Tornetta, said the investors weren’t told that Musk himself came up with the plan or that the board’s members were beholden to Musk. Last February, Judge Kathaleen McCormick called this argument a “kill shot.”

“Defendants were unable to prove that the stockholder vote was fully informed because the proxy statement inaccurately described key directors as independent and misleadingly omitted details about the process,” McCormick wrote in her decision. “The defendants proved that Musk was uniquely motivated by ambitious goals and that Tesla desperately needed Musk to succeed in its next stage of development, but these facts do not justify the largest compensation plan in the history of public markets.”

One of the big questions in the case was how much of Tesla Musk controlled — and not just through his shares. “Musk wielded the maximum influence that a manager can wield over a company,” McCormick wrote.

The board of directors consisted of a lot of people who had close relationships with Musk:

• Elon Musk.
• Antonio Gracias, a member of the compensation committee and friend of Musk’s who has amassed a great deal of wealth from investing in Musk’s companies as far back as PayPal.
• James Murdoch, another Musk buddy who vacationed with Musk across the globe.
• Musk’s brother, Kimbal.
• Ira Ehrenpreis, one of the members of the compensation committee, acknowledged to the court that his relationship with Elon and Kimbal Musk had “significant influence on his professional career.”
• Brad Buss, another member of the compensation committee who “owed 44 percent of his net worth to Musk entities.”
• Robyn Denholm, a member of the compensation committee whose compensation as a Tesla board chair was more money than she made from other sources.
• Linda Johnson Rice, who appears to have been truly independent.
• Steve Jurvetson, who had a prolonged period of absence during this incident and wasn’t considered a major player by the judge.

“Ultimately, the key witnesses said it all — they were there to cooperate with Musk, not negotiate against him,” McCormick wrote.

“They were there to cooperate with Musk, not negotiate against him.”

Musk has demanded more control over Tesla lately, posting on X earlier this month that he wanted at least 25 percent ownership of the company in order to pursue artificial intelligence work. That would roughly be double his current ownership stake of around 13 percent.

Musk said in follow-up posts that he was waiting for a ruling in the shareholder lawsuit before taking his proposal for a larger ownership stake to the board. “The reason for no new ‘compensation plan’ is that we are still waiting for a decision in my Delaware compensation case,” he wrote on January 15th. “The trial for that was held in 2022, but a verdict has yet to be made.”

He added, “I put ‘compensation plan’ in quotes, because, from my standpoint, this is primarily about ensuring the right amount of voting influence at Tesla.”

Minutes after today’s ruling, Musk posted: “Never incorporate your company in the state of Delaware.”

Watch Me Lose My Job on TikTok

Watch Me Lose My Job on TikTok Some tech workers are filming their layoffs and sharing them on social media. They say it’s part catharsis, part transparency.

TikTok goes full YouTube

TikTok goes full YouTube

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge

Vertical video platform TikTok wants users to turn their phones around and start shooting horizontal videos — long ones, too.

TikTok appears to be incentivizing creators to start posting horizontal videos that are more than a minute long, according to a prompt seen by creators @candicedchap and @kenlyealtumbiz. The platform says it will “boost” these videos within 72 hours of posting. Creators who’ve been on TikTok for more than three months will be eligible for the viewership boost, as long as the videos are not ads or from political parties.

The Verge reached out to TikTok for additional information but didn’t immediately hear back.

Pushing for horizontal videos would be a big change

Most people who watch TikToks do so on their phones, which lends perfectly well to the vertical video format. Turning a TikTok on its side relies on getting viewers to do the same.

The YouTube-ization of TikTok has been happening for a while. The platform is testing 30-minute long videos, and that comes just a few months after it began expanding video lengths up to 15 minutes. Most YouTube videos tend to be 10 minutes or longer (think of “a week in the life” vlogs) for monetization reasons rather than the bite-sized-length content for which TikTok is famous.

This isn’t the first time TikTok has encouraged its most valuable asset, its creators, to post more YouTube-like content on the platform. Its new paywall program, Series, lets users make collections of videos, up to 20 minutes long, for paying subscribers. Creators can set their prices from $1 all the way to $190.

With horizontal videos — and an increasing preference for longer content — creators might be tempted to cannibalize their YouTube material instead. While YouTube, or at least YouTube Shorts, still pays creators more, rehashing the same content across multiple platforms already happens anyway. YouTube, on the other hand, introduced more features so it will feel more like TikTok.

If anything, horizontal TikToks will look great on the revamped iPad app.

Microsoft says Apple’s new App Store rules are ‘a step in the wrong direction’

Microsoft says Apple’s new App Store rules are ‘a step in the wrong direction’

Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Apple’s new plan to comply with the European Union’s tech regulations has already drawn criticism from Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney and Spotify. Now Microsoft is weighing in with its own concerns, calling the App Store changes in the EU “a step in the wrong direction.”

Apple has proposed a new Core Technology Fee for apps that want to operate on third-party app stores in the EU. It will require developers using third-party app stores to pay €0.50 for each annual app install after 1 million downloads. Apple will also still take a 17 percent commission from the developers who choose to use third-party payment processors.

“Apple’s new policy is a step in the wrong direction,” says Xbox president Sarah Bond in a post on X. “We hope they listen to feedback on their proposed plan and work towards a more inclusive future for all.”

We believe constructive conversations drive change and progress towards open platforms and greater competition. Apple's new policy is a step in the wrong direction. We hope they listen to feedback on their proposed plan and work towards a more inclusive future for all. https://t.co/mDRI5KPJf6

— BondSarahBond (@BondSarah_Bond) January 29, 2024

Bond is now responsible for overseeing all of Microsoft’s Xbox platform and hardware work, just as the company is hoping to launch its own Xbox mobile store. Microsoft has been quietly building a mobile Xbox store that may launch as soon as this year. The Xbox mobile store is designed as an alternative to Apple and Google’s mobile gaming store dominance, and it will rely on content from Activision Blizzard like Call of Duty: Mobile and Candy Crush Saga — two hugely popular mobile games published by Activision and King, respectively.

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer previously discussed the potential for the Xbox mobile store last year, referencing the EU’s Digital Markets Act as a “huge opportunity” for Microsoft.

Epic Games’ CEO Tim Sweeney has labeled Apple’s App Store changes “hot garbage,” and said that “Apple’s plan to thwart Europe’s new Digital Markets Act law is a devious new instance of Malicious Compliance.” Sweeney fought a long-running legal battle against Apple’s App Store policies and payment processing in the US.

Spotify has also accused Apple of “extortion” with this new App Store tax, and calls on the EU regulators to take action. The European Commission says it will issue a response to Apple’s changes when the regulations officially go into effect in March, and it promises “strong action” if Apple’s “proposed solutions are not good enough.”

Microsoft’s reaction to Apple’s latest policy changes could also spell trouble for a potential Xbox Cloud Gaming app on iOS. Apple opened the App Store to cloud gaming services last week, at the same time that it announced its new App Store policies for EU markets. “Developers can now submit a single app with the capability to stream all of the games offered in their catalog,” Apple wrote in a blog post.

Nvidia, Microsoft, and other cloud gaming providers haven’t reacted to Apple’s acceptance of cloud gaming services. We’re still waiting to hear if Apple’s changes are enough to convince these providers to publish iOS apps for their services.

Hottest Job in Corporate America? The Executive in Charge of A.I.

Hottest Job in Corporate America? The Executive in Charge of A.I. Many feared that artificial intelligence would kill jobs. But hospitals, insurance companies and others are creating roles to navigate and harness the disruptive technology.

Nomad’s first Qi2 charger is shipping now for $10 less than its MagSafe model

Nomad’s first Qi2 charger is shipping now for $10 less than its MagSafe model

The Nomad Stand offers 15W of wireless iPhone fast charging for $100. | Image: Nomad

Nomad’s Stand is the latest Qi2 charger to hit the market, offering up to 15W of wireless charging speed to Qi2-compatible phones like the iPhone 15. The accessory was announced in late December, but it’s now shipping in a choice of black or white for $100 from Nomad’s website.

It’s $100 price point makes the Stand $10 cheaper than Nomad’s equivalent MagSafe model, the Stand One, and offers the same “up to 15W” charging speeds and magnetic attachment compatibility as Apple’s MagSafe (Apple helped develop the Qi2 charging standard). The bad news is that Nomad’s $100 asking price doesn’t include the required 20W power adapter — you just get a USB-C to USB-C cable.

Image: Nomad

Nomad’s Stand in black.

Nomad’s accessory is part of an initial wave of Qi2-compatible chargers, with companies like Belkin, Anker, Satechi, and Mophie all having either released or announced their own devices for the bedside, workspace, and car. And there are some more affordable competitors to Nomad’s Stand in that list. Belkin’s BoostCharge Pro convertible stand ships early next month for $59.99 (though it looks like you’ll also have to provide your own charging brick here), and Satechi’s 2-in-1 charging stand will come with a 45W power supply and cost $79.99 when it ships sometime in the second quarter of 2024.