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Microsoft is planning to no longer support the Windows Mail, Calendar, and People apps later this year. The software giant has been moving existing users of these apps over to the new Outlook for Windows app in recent months, and now it has set an end of support date for the Mail, Calendar, and People apps of December 31st.
Once the apps reach end of support later this year, Microsoft warns that users who haven’t moved to the new Outlook app “will no longer be able to send and receive email using Windows Mail and Calendar.”
Microsoft has been rolling out the new Outlook for Windows app for years, with it officially reaching the general availability stage in August. The new web-based Outlook is designed to eventually replace the full desktop version of Outlook too, and Microsoft plans to provide enterprise customers a 12-month notice before it starts to move people away from the desktop version of Outlook.
Existing installs of classic Outlook through perpetual and subscription licenses will continue to be supported until at least 2029, so it’s going to take some time for Microsoft to fully move all Outlook users to this new app. It’s starting with the Mail and Calendar apps in Windows later this year, followed by an opt-out phase for Outlook on Windows. You can read more about Microsoft’s timeline for the new Outlook for Windows here.

The Verge

Microsoft is planning to no longer support the Windows Mail, Calendar, and People apps later this year. The software giant has been moving existing users of these apps over to the new Outlook for Windows app in recent months, and now it has set an end of support date for the Mail, Calendar, and People apps of December 31st.

Once the apps reach end of support later this year, Microsoft warns that users who haven’t moved to the new Outlook app “will no longer be able to send and receive email using Windows Mail and Calendar.”

Microsoft has been rolling out the new Outlook for Windows app for years, with it officially reaching the general availability stage in August. The new web-based Outlook is designed to eventually replace the full desktop version of Outlook too, and Microsoft plans to provide enterprise customers a 12-month notice before it starts to move people away from the desktop version of Outlook.

Existing installs of classic Outlook through perpetual and subscription licenses will continue to be supported until at least 2029, so it’s going to take some time for Microsoft to fully move all Outlook users to this new app. It’s starting with the Mail and Calendar apps in Windows later this year, followed by an opt-out phase for Outlook on Windows. You can read more about Microsoft’s timeline for the new Outlook for Windows here.

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Logitech’s Circle View is one of only a handful of security cameras that work with Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video service. The rumor is Apple is now developing its own. | Photo: Logitech

It appears Apple’s rumored push into the smart home will include an Apple smart security camera. Supply-chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports the company is planning to start production of a smart home IP camera in 2026 and aims to sell over 10 million units a year.
Kuo also reports that the camera is “designed to integrate seamlessly with other Apple hardware products via wireless connectivity” and speculates it will integrate deeply with Apple Intelligence and Apple’s Siri voice assistant.
Apple’s competitors, Amazon and Google, both have first-party security camera hardware products for their respective smart home platforms and have already started integrating generative AI. Amazon’s Ring launched a new AI search feature in October, and Google announced Gemini-powered features coming to its Nest cameras. With generative AI, smart home cameras have the potential to go beyond just a security device and provide context for your smart home, for example, by knowing who is at the house and when.
Security cameras make a lot of sense as Apple looks to the smart home for its next big hardware hit. They’re among the fastest-growing device types in the home, have obvious benefits and potential uses in every household, not just single-family residences, and offer the biggest opportunity for ecosystem lock-in of all the smart home device categories.
For example, if you have an Apple Home security camera, you’d benefit from also having additional Apple devices, such as a HomePod or Apple TV to act as a home hub for recording footage and streaming a live view to an Apple TV. This is also where a rumored Apple Smart Display would fit neatly into the picture.

Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Aqara’s G3 camera works with Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video, although it offers more features, including higher video quality and pan and tilt, in Aqara’s app.

Additionally, along with revenue from premium hardware, cameras offer potential ongoing revenue from subscriptions. Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video service (HKSV), which is included in Apple’s iCloud plan, stores recorded footage from cameras securely on the iCloud account — the number of cameras covered depends on your subscription, going up as high as $11 a month. The service also requires an Apple Home Hub, such as a HomePod or AppleTV, which can analyze footage and send you specific alerts for people, animals, vehicles, and packages.
Currently, Apple’s smart home platform, Apple Home, supports integration with third-party cameras from several companies for live streaming footage to the app, but only a handful of cameras support HKSV, including models from Aqara, Eve, and Logitech. Many other popular companies in this space, such as Ring, Arlo, and Blink, don’t work with HKSV, preferring instead to use their own subscription services for recorded video and smart alerts.

Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Belkin developed this WeMo video doorbell exclusive for Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video service.

The other question is what type of camera Apple will start with: an indoor camera like the Eve Cam, an indoor/outdoor camera like the Logitech Circle View, an outdoor camera like the Eve Floodlight Cam, or a video doorbell like the WeMo Smart Video Doorbell.
It’s perhaps surprising that Apple is only now moving into developing smart home devices. While the original intent of Apple HomeKit was to provide a software framework for third-party manufacturers, ten years later, there are still relatively few devices that work with Apple’s smart home platform.
This is one reason Apple helped develop the new smart home standard Matter, which was built on some of the foundations of HomeKit, including its focus on security. Matter is now the main infrastructure for Apple Home and it has already started to bring more products into the ecosystem. With support for security cameras in Matter possibly arriving next year, a new Apple Home camera from Cupertino landing around the same time would make sense.

Logitech’s Circle View is one of only a handful of security cameras that work with Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video service. The rumor is Apple is now developing its own. | Photo: Logitech

It appears Apple’s rumored push into the smart home will include an Apple smart security camera. Supply-chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports the company is planning to start production of a smart home IP camera in 2026 and aims to sell over 10 million units a year.

Kuo also reports that the camera is “designed to integrate seamlessly with other Apple hardware products via wireless connectivity” and speculates it will integrate deeply with Apple Intelligence and Apple’s Siri voice assistant.

Apple’s competitors, Amazon and Google, both have first-party security camera hardware products for their respective smart home platforms and have already started integrating generative AI. Amazon’s Ring launched a new AI search feature in October, and Google announced Gemini-powered features coming to its Nest cameras. With generative AI, smart home cameras have the potential to go beyond just a security device and provide context for your smart home, for example, by knowing who is at the house and when.

Security cameras make a lot of sense as Apple looks to the smart home for its next big hardware hit. They’re among the fastest-growing device types in the home, have obvious benefits and potential uses in every household, not just single-family residences, and offer the biggest opportunity for ecosystem lock-in of all the smart home device categories.

For example, if you have an Apple Home security camera, you’d benefit from also having additional Apple devices, such as a HomePod or Apple TV to act as a home hub for recording footage and streaming a live view to an Apple TV. This is also where a rumored Apple Smart Display would fit neatly into the picture.

Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Aqara’s G3 camera works with Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video, although it offers more features, including higher video quality and pan and tilt, in Aqara’s app.

Additionally, along with revenue from premium hardware, cameras offer potential ongoing revenue from subscriptions. Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video service (HKSV), which is included in Apple’s iCloud plan, stores recorded footage from cameras securely on the iCloud account — the number of cameras covered depends on your subscription, going up as high as $11 a month. The service also requires an Apple Home Hub, such as a HomePod or AppleTV, which can analyze footage and send you specific alerts for people, animals, vehicles, and packages.

Currently, Apple’s smart home platform, Apple Home, supports integration with third-party cameras from several companies for live streaming footage to the app, but only a handful of cameras support HKSV, including models from Aqara, Eve, and Logitech. Many other popular companies in this space, such as Ring, Arlo, and Blink, don’t work with HKSV, preferring instead to use their own subscription services for recorded video and smart alerts.

Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Belkin developed this WeMo video doorbell exclusive for Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video service.

The other question is what type of camera Apple will start with: an indoor camera like the Eve Cam, an indoor/outdoor camera like the Logitech Circle View, an outdoor camera like the Eve Floodlight Cam, or a video doorbell like the WeMo Smart Video Doorbell.

It’s perhaps surprising that Apple is only now moving into developing smart home devices. While the original intent of Apple HomeKit was to provide a software framework for third-party manufacturers, ten years later, there are still relatively few devices that work with Apple’s smart home platform.

This is one reason Apple helped develop the new smart home standard Matter, which was built on some of the foundations of HomeKit, including its focus on security. Matter is now the main infrastructure for Apple Home and it has already started to bring more products into the ecosystem. With support for security cameras in Matter possibly arriving next year, a new Apple Home camera from Cupertino landing around the same time would make sense.

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Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images

Waymo is ditching its waitlist in Los Angeles, much like it did before in Phoenix and San Francisco, making its fully autonomous vehicles available to anyone who downloads the company’s Waymo One app.
There are still some geographic limitations with which to contend: Waymo only operates within 80 square miles of Los Angeles County, which includes neighborhoods such as Hollywood, Chinatown, Westwood, Marina del Rey, Mar Vista, and Playa Vista.
Still, it was a sign of the company’s growing confidence in its technology, especially after securing a record $5.6 billion investment round, led by its parent company, Alphabet, to help fund its next phase of growth. Waymo recently said it was conducting 150,000 paid trips and driving over 1 million fully autonomous miles every week.

Image: Waymo
Waymo’s service map in Los Angeles.

Looking back, it took Waymo less than a year to open the service up to everyone after first launching its waitlist for select customers in Los Angeles. Waymo started testing the waters in LA back in the fall of 2023. The service went live in March 2024, and in April, the company started charging customers for trips.
Of course, Waymo is now in direct competition with human-powered transportation services like Uber and Lyft, both of which operate without any pesky geographic restrictions. Those services are often cheaper than Waymo’s vehicles, and customers can expect shorter wait times for rides.

Also, Waymo doesn’t provide airport trips to LAX, nor does it allow its vehicles to travel on highways yet. In a city as reliant on private autos as Los Angeles, it remains to be seen how useful Angelinos will find Waymo without being able to travel on the highway. The company hasn’t said when it hopes to eventually expand service to include airport and highway trips.
But Waymo has novelty on its side — and its customers often give it high marks for the ability to customize their rides, such as playing their own music and setting the temperature to their liking.
“Now is an exciting time to welcome everyone in Los Angeles along for the ride,” Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO of Waymo, said in a statement. “Our service has matured quickly and our riders are embracing the many benefits of fully autonomous driving. We’re so grateful to all of our first riders in LA, and we can’t wait to serve more riders soon.”

Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images

Waymo is ditching its waitlist in Los Angeles, much like it did before in Phoenix and San Francisco, making its fully autonomous vehicles available to anyone who downloads the company’s Waymo One app.

There are still some geographic limitations with which to contend: Waymo only operates within 80 square miles of Los Angeles County, which includes neighborhoods such as Hollywood, Chinatown, Westwood, Marina del Rey, Mar Vista, and Playa Vista.

Still, it was a sign of the company’s growing confidence in its technology, especially after securing a record $5.6 billion investment round, led by its parent company, Alphabet, to help fund its next phase of growth. Waymo recently said it was conducting 150,000 paid trips and driving over 1 million fully autonomous miles every week.

Image: Waymo
Waymo’s service map in Los Angeles.

Looking back, it took Waymo less than a year to open the service up to everyone after first launching its waitlist for select customers in Los Angeles. Waymo started testing the waters in LA back in the fall of 2023. The service went live in March 2024, and in April, the company started charging customers for trips.

Of course, Waymo is now in direct competition with human-powered transportation services like Uber and Lyft, both of which operate without any pesky geographic restrictions. Those services are often cheaper than Waymo’s vehicles, and customers can expect shorter wait times for rides.

Also, Waymo doesn’t provide airport trips to LAX, nor does it allow its vehicles to travel on highways yet. In a city as reliant on private autos as Los Angeles, it remains to be seen how useful Angelinos will find Waymo without being able to travel on the highway. The company hasn’t said when it hopes to eventually expand service to include airport and highway trips.

But Waymo has novelty on its side — and its customers often give it high marks for the ability to customize their rides, such as playing their own music and setting the temperature to their liking.

“Now is an exciting time to welcome everyone in Los Angeles along for the ride,” Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO of Waymo, said in a statement. “Our service has matured quickly and our riders are embracing the many benefits of fully autonomous driving. We’re so grateful to all of our first riders in LA, and we can’t wait to serve more riders soon.”

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Image: Epic Games

Fortnite is going old school once again. Epic has announced that the throwback mode Fortnite OG, which brings back the battle royale’s original island, will become a permanent fixture of the game starting on December 6th.
OG first launched last November as a limited-time event, which turned out to be a big hit and was designed explicitly to bring back lapsed players to the game ahead of the release of Lego Fortnite. Its return means iconic Fortnite elements like Tilted Towers and the Baller will now be a standard part of the experience.

Epic is currently attempting to replicate the success of OG. Fortnite is in the midst of Chapter 2 Remix, which — as the name implies — takes the game’s second chapter and tweaks it. The big shift this time is a huge musical connection, in which various artists ranging from Snoop Dogg to Ice Spice, “remix” the island each week. So far that has included possibly the game’s most absurd gun.
Fortnite isn’t the only live service shooter banking on nostalgia, either. Both Apex Legends and Overwatch have followed Fortnite OG with similar events that harken back to their origins.

Image: Epic Games

Fortnite is going old school once again. Epic has announced that the throwback mode Fortnite OG, which brings back the battle royale’s original island, will become a permanent fixture of the game starting on December 6th.

OG first launched last November as a limited-time event, which turned out to be a big hit and was designed explicitly to bring back lapsed players to the game ahead of the release of Lego Fortnite. Its return means iconic Fortnite elements like Tilted Towers and the Baller will now be a standard part of the experience.

Epic is currently attempting to replicate the success of OG. Fortnite is in the midst of Chapter 2 Remix, which — as the name implies — takes the game’s second chapter and tweaks it. The big shift this time is a huge musical connection, in which various artists ranging from Snoop Dogg to Ice Spice, “remix” the island each week. So far that has included possibly the game’s most absurd gun.

Fortnite isn’t the only live service shooter banking on nostalgia, either. Both Apex Legends and Overwatch have followed Fortnite OG with similar events that harken back to their origins.

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Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

Netflix’s subscription plan with ads has reached a new milestone: it hit 70 million monthly users since its launch two years ago. That’s a big jump compared to the 40 million monthly ad-supported users Netflix reported in May.
Additionally, the streaming service said that the ad-supported plan accounted for 50 percent of all new signups in countries where it’s available. Netflix rolled out its ad-supported tier in the US, Australia, Brazil, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and others in November 2022.
It’s no surprise that the ad-supported plan has seen such growth, as the streamer has started nudging users toward the $6.99 per month option by discontinuing its cheapest ad-free tier. The company has also started to build out the plan’s features, adding better resolution and the ability to watch up to two streams simultaneously.

Netflix has launched its own advertising technology platform in Canada as well, with plans to launch it globally throughout next year. The streamer currently partners with Microsoft to sell ads that not only appear across its basic plans but will also show up during the live football games it’s streaming on Christmas Day.
As part of its earnings results last month, Netflix reported an increase of 5 million subscribers, bringing its global total to 282.7 million. The company is also set to air its live boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul this week, which all subscribers will have access to for free.

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

Netflix’s subscription plan with ads has reached a new milestone: it hit 70 million monthly users since its launch two years ago. That’s a big jump compared to the 40 million monthly ad-supported users Netflix reported in May.

Additionally, the streaming service said that the ad-supported plan accounted for 50 percent of all new signups in countries where it’s available. Netflix rolled out its ad-supported tier in the US, Australia, Brazil, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and others in November 2022.

It’s no surprise that the ad-supported plan has seen such growth, as the streamer has started nudging users toward the $6.99 per month option by discontinuing its cheapest ad-free tier. The company has also started to build out the plan’s features, adding better resolution and the ability to watch up to two streams simultaneously.

Netflix has launched its own advertising technology platform in Canada as well, with plans to launch it globally throughout next year. The streamer currently partners with Microsoft to sell ads that not only appear across its basic plans but will also show up during the live football games it’s streaming on Christmas Day.

As part of its earnings results last month, Netflix reported an increase of 5 million subscribers, bringing its global total to 282.7 million. The company is also set to air its live boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul this week, which all subscribers will have access to for free.

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Image: The Verge

Earlier this year Microsoft’s Edge browser automatically started up on my PC and imported my Chrome tabs without consent. Microsoft refused to explain why this behavior had occurred, and then quietly addressed the problem in a Microsoft Edge update. Microsoft hasn’t given up on trying to get your Chrome data though, as a new update is rolling out that automatically starts Edge and offers to import your Chrome tabs.
My colleague Richard Lawler noticed that Edge started automatically on his PC last week at boot and offered up a new prompt to “enhance your browsing experience.” The pop-up has a “bring over your data from other browsers regularly” option ticked by default, and encourages people to confirm and continue with a big blue button. If you want to dismiss this prompt there’s a tiny white X button that looks similar to the sparkles Microsoft is using in the background of the prompt.

Screenshot by Richard Lawler / The Verge
The new Microsoft Edge prompt to import Chrome data and tabs.

If you simply hit confirm and continue then Microsoft Edge will import your Chrome data and continually import your tabs if you have Chrome set as default. The prompt seems to mainly appear on PCs with Chrome installed, suggesting that Microsoft is once again targeting Chrome users.
Microsoft confirmed the new “feature” to The Verge. “This is a notification giving people the choice to import data from other browsers,” explains Microsoft spokesperson Caitlin Roulston. “There is an option to turn it off.”
So Microsoft clearly isn’t bothered that it’s automatically starting up Edge on people’s PC and then trying to trick them into importing their Chrome data. That’s not too surprising though since Microsoft has been pulling tricks like this for more than four years now.
Shortly after releasing its Chromium-based version of Edge in 2020, Microsoft started launching Edge automatically on people’s PCs in an effort to migrate them away from Chrome. Microsoft then blocked the EdgeDeflector tool to force Windows 11 users into Edge, started using prompts to stop people downloading Chrome, and made it really difficult to switch browser defaults in Windows 11.
We’ve also seen fake AI answers in Bing search results for Chrome, malware-like prompts in Windows 11 to get people to ditch Google, and even polls being injected into the Chrome download page.
Microsoft’s behavior here makes many people distrust Edge, Windows 11, and even the company’s AI efforts. The controversy around Recall should be a wake up signal to Microsoft that its Edge pop-ups in Windows 11 will make it difficult for consumers to trust what it’s doing with AI integration into Windows.

Image: The Verge

Earlier this year Microsoft’s Edge browser automatically started up on my PC and imported my Chrome tabs without consent. Microsoft refused to explain why this behavior had occurred, and then quietly addressed the problem in a Microsoft Edge update. Microsoft hasn’t given up on trying to get your Chrome data though, as a new update is rolling out that automatically starts Edge and offers to import your Chrome tabs.

My colleague Richard Lawler noticed that Edge started automatically on his PC last week at boot and offered up a new prompt to “enhance your browsing experience.” The pop-up has a “bring over your data from other browsers regularly” option ticked by default, and encourages people to confirm and continue with a big blue button. If you want to dismiss this prompt there’s a tiny white X button that looks similar to the sparkles Microsoft is using in the background of the prompt.

Screenshot by Richard Lawler / The Verge
The new Microsoft Edge prompt to import Chrome data and tabs.

If you simply hit confirm and continue then Microsoft Edge will import your Chrome data and continually import your tabs if you have Chrome set as default. The prompt seems to mainly appear on PCs with Chrome installed, suggesting that Microsoft is once again targeting Chrome users.

Microsoft confirmed the new “feature” to The Verge. “This is a notification giving people the choice to import data from other browsers,” explains Microsoft spokesperson Caitlin Roulston. “There is an option to turn it off.”

So Microsoft clearly isn’t bothered that it’s automatically starting up Edge on people’s PC and then trying to trick them into importing their Chrome data. That’s not too surprising though since Microsoft has been pulling tricks like this for more than four years now.

Shortly after releasing its Chromium-based version of Edge in 2020, Microsoft started launching Edge automatically on people’s PCs in an effort to migrate them away from Chrome. Microsoft then blocked the EdgeDeflector tool to force Windows 11 users into Edge, started using prompts to stop people downloading Chrome, and made it really difficult to switch browser defaults in Windows 11.

We’ve also seen fake AI answers in Bing search results for Chrome, malware-like prompts in Windows 11 to get people to ditch Google, and even polls being injected into the Chrome download page.

Microsoft’s behavior here makes many people distrust Edge, Windows 11, and even the company’s AI efforts. The controversy around Recall should be a wake up signal to Microsoft that its Edge pop-ups in Windows 11 will make it difficult for consumers to trust what it’s doing with AI integration into Windows.

Read More 

Following its announcement that the second season of Andor (now subtitled A Star Wars Story) is set to premiere next April, Disney Plus has dropped a new sizzle reel giving us a proper look at the show and a whole bunch of other things coming to the streamer.
Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona) is going to need a pilot in Andor season two, and Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) might just be the man for the job judging from the way the new 2025 preview features footage of him stealing a ship. Cassian’s penchant for taking things that aren’t his seems to be an issue for Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård), but with Stormtroopers mobilizing to attack people elsewhere in the galaxy, the freedom fighters clearly have bigger fish to fry.
The sizzle reel also spotlights a bunch of new moments from Skeleton Crew (out December 3rd), Daredevil: Born Again (out March 4th), Ironheart (out June 24th), and The Handmaid’s Tale’s final season (which doesn’t have a release date yet). There’s also a bit of Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ second season, but what looks really promising are the reel’s brief glimpses of Alien: Earth — FX’s new prequel series to the original 1979 movie. Neither of those last two shows have premiere dates, either, but it probably won’t be too long before we get a chance to check them out.

Following its announcement that the second season of Andor (now subtitled A Star Wars Story) is set to premiere next April, Disney Plus has dropped a new sizzle reel giving us a proper look at the show and a whole bunch of other things coming to the streamer.

Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona) is going to need a pilot in Andor season two, and Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) might just be the man for the job judging from the way the new 2025 preview features footage of him stealing a ship. Cassian’s penchant for taking things that aren’t his seems to be an issue for Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård), but with Stormtroopers mobilizing to attack people elsewhere in the galaxy, the freedom fighters clearly have bigger fish to fry.

The sizzle reel also spotlights a bunch of new moments from Skeleton Crew (out December 3rd), Daredevil: Born Again (out March 4th), Ironheart (out June 24th), and The Handmaid’s Tale’s final season (which doesn’t have a release date yet). There’s also a bit of Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ second season, but what looks really promising are the reel’s brief glimpses of Alien: Earth — FX’s new prequel series to the original 1979 movie. Neither of those last two shows have premiere dates, either, but it probably won’t be too long before we get a chance to check them out.

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There’s no better pair of AirPods you can buy for under $100. | Image: Chris Welch / The Verge

If you’re looking for a good opportunity to upgrade from an older pair of AirPods, then some of the early Black Friday sales going on right now are where you want to be. Walmart, for example, has chopped down the price of a pair of Apple AirPods (third-gen) with a Lightning charging case to $94, which is a massive $75 off and easily the lowest price we’ve seen to date.

The fourth-gen AirPods are out now — with slight audio quality and comfort improvements, plus the option to get them with active noise cancellation and a wireless charging case bearing its own speaker — but the third-gen AirPods are still rock solid for routine music, podcasts, calls, and other listening needs. The charging case adds 24 hours of playtime to the earbuds’ six-hour battery life, but without the option for wireless charging, the Lightning connector is a bit of a downer now that Apple has moved on from it in nearly all of its latest devices. Still, the price is low enough that it may be worth keeping an extra cable handy.
And the third-gen AirPods are still great on other merits. They were the first base AirPods to snub the tailpipe in an overdue design refresh, but they’re also notable for adding spatial audio head tracking, IPX4 sweat and water resistance, precision Find My, automatic and quick device pairing and switching, and other tight integrations with iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other Apple devices. We considered them well-balanced at their original price, so they’re even easier to recommend with today’s discount.

There’s no better pair of AirPods you can buy for under $100. | Image: Chris Welch / The Verge

If you’re looking for a good opportunity to upgrade from an older pair of AirPods, then some of the early Black Friday sales going on right now are where you want to be. Walmart, for example, has chopped down the price of a pair of Apple AirPods (third-gen) with a Lightning charging case to $94, which is a massive $75 off and easily the lowest price we’ve seen to date.

The fourth-gen AirPods are out now — with slight audio quality and comfort improvements, plus the option to get them with active noise cancellation and a wireless charging case bearing its own speaker — but the third-gen AirPods are still rock solid for routine music, podcasts, calls, and other listening needs. The charging case adds 24 hours of playtime to the earbuds’ six-hour battery life, but without the option for wireless charging, the Lightning connector is a bit of a downer now that Apple has moved on from it in nearly all of its latest devices. Still, the price is low enough that it may be worth keeping an extra cable handy.

And the third-gen AirPods are still great on other merits. They were the first base AirPods to snub the tailpipe in an overdue design refresh, but they’re also notable for adding spatial audio head tracking, IPX4 sweat and water resistance, precision Find My, automatic and quick device pairing and switching, and other tight integrations with iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other Apple devices. We considered them well-balanced at their original price, so they’re even easier to recommend with today’s discount.

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Cath Virginia / The Verge

The European Union has accused Apple of unlawfully discriminating against EU customers after finding the Cupertino company’s geo-blocking measures may be violating the bloc’s consumer protection rules.
Announced via a press release on Tuesday, the European Commission and the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) said a joint investigation had identified “several potentially prohibited geo-blocking practices” that Apple applies to its App Store, iTunes Store, Arcade, Books. Podcasts, and Apple Music services. Issues include restricting consumers to payment methods issued in the same country where their Apple account was registered, preventing app downloads offered in other EU/EEA countries, and having restrictive, region-specific interfaces.
“In the app version of these services, consumers are only allowed to access the interface made for the country where they have registered their Apple account and face significant challenges when attempting to change this, which is not allowed under EU’s anti-geo-blocking rules,” the CPC Network said in the press release. These rules and other EU service regulations prohibit companies from placing “discriminatory provisions” on services that restrict EU customers based on nationality or country of residence.

“We are stepping up the fight against geo-blocking. No company, big or small, should unjustly discriminate customers based on their nationality, place of residence or place of establishment,” European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in the press release.
Apple has one month to propose commitments to address the geo-blocking issues, or risk facing “enforcement measures to ensure compliance” — which can include penalties of up to four percent of Apple’s global annual turnover. The company has already been hit with an EU fine of €1.84 billion (about $2 billion) for antitrust violations and reportedly faces a further penalty for “anti-steering” practices that could reach as high as $38 billion.

Cath Virginia / The Verge

The European Union has accused Apple of unlawfully discriminating against EU customers after finding the Cupertino company’s geo-blocking measures may be violating the bloc’s consumer protection rules.

Announced via a press release on Tuesday, the European Commission and the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) said a joint investigation had identified “several potentially prohibited geo-blocking practices” that Apple applies to its App Store, iTunes Store, Arcade, Books. Podcasts, and Apple Music services. Issues include restricting consumers to payment methods issued in the same country where their Apple account was registered, preventing app downloads offered in other EU/EEA countries, and having restrictive, region-specific interfaces.

“In the app version of these services, consumers are only allowed to access the interface made for the country where they have registered their Apple account and face significant challenges when attempting to change this, which is not allowed under EU’s anti-geo-blocking rules,” the CPC Network said in the press release. These rules and other EU service regulations prohibit companies from placing “discriminatory provisions” on services that restrict EU customers based on nationality or country of residence.

“We are stepping up the fight against geo-blocking. No company, big or small, should unjustly discriminate customers based on their nationality, place of residence or place of establishment,” European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in the press release.

Apple has one month to propose commitments to address the geo-blocking issues, or risk facing “enforcement measures to ensure compliance” — which can include penalties of up to four percent of Apple’s global annual turnover. The company has already been hit with an EU fine of €1.84 billion (about $2 billion) for antitrust violations and reportedly faces a further penalty for “anti-steering” practices that could reach as high as $38 billion.

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Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

23andMe is laying off 40 percent of its employees, or over 200 workers, as the company attempts to recover from last year’s massive data breach and reverse its plummeting stock price. The genetic testing company also announced that it will shut down its therapeutics business.
Though 23andMe says the restructuring plan will cost it around $12 million, it expects to save more than $35 million as a result, while “substantially” lowering operating expenses. 23andMe’s therapeutics division, which studied potential cancer treatments using its database of genetic material, will end all clinical trials, as the company considers licensing agreements or asset sales to “maximize” the program’s value.
23andMe has had a turbulent past year, with the company confirming a data breach affecting 6.9 million users in 2023, revealing names, birth years, and ancestry information. In September, 23andMe agreed to pay $30 million to affected customers following a class action lawsuit. Meanwhile, all of 23andMe’s board members resigned after rejecting CEO Anne Wojcicki’s plan to take the company private.
“We are taking these difficult but necessary actions as we restructure 23andMe and focus on the long-term success of our core consumer business and research partnerships,” Wojcicki said in a statement.

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23andMe is laying off 40 percent of its employees, or over 200 workers, as the company attempts to recover from last year’s massive data breach and reverse its plummeting stock price. The genetic testing company also announced that it will shut down its therapeutics business.

Though 23andMe says the restructuring plan will cost it around $12 million, it expects to save more than $35 million as a result, while “substantially” lowering operating expenses. 23andMe’s therapeutics division, which studied potential cancer treatments using its database of genetic material, will end all clinical trials, as the company considers licensing agreements or asset sales to “maximize” the program’s value.

23andMe has had a turbulent past year, with the company confirming a data breach affecting 6.9 million users in 2023, revealing names, birth years, and ancestry information. In September, 23andMe agreed to pay $30 million to affected customers following a class action lawsuit. Meanwhile, all of 23andMe’s board members resigned after rejecting CEO Anne Wojcicki’s plan to take the company private.

“We are taking these difficult but necessary actions as we restructure 23andMe and focus on the long-term success of our core consumer business and research partnerships,” Wojcicki said in a statement.

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