verge-rss

Promotional art for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which was the final cover game for Game Informer. | Image: BioWare

Following GameStop’s sudden announcement that it would be shutting down Game Informer after 33 years — which includes GameStop making all of the work on Game Informer’s website disappear and reportedly laying off the entire staff — people across the video game industry are sharing their tributes to the gaming magazine.
“As someone who grew up poring over each issue, it was such a thrill and an honor to see our games grace Game Informer,” said Neil Druckmann, head of creative at The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog and an executive producer on the hit HBO show. “Sad that such a staple of our industry is now gone. Good luck to everyone involved. Your work will be missed.”
“Thank you for what you have brought to the video game industry,” said the official Konami account on X. “We will never stop fondly reminiscing about waiting for that next issue to arrive in the mail. Your legacy and impact will forever remain.” The accounts for Discord, Cyberpunk 2077, Assassin’s Creed, Metacritic and X Gaming saluted Game Informer, too.
Many are reminiscing about Game Informer’s excellent covers, which often had beautiful, custom art. Kit Ellis, who worked at Nintendo for more than 13 years in marketing and PR, highlighted how the Game Informer team pushed Nintendo to make amazing art for this The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild cover:

Game Informer brought out the best of the games industry. I worked on this cover and its iconic artwork literally would not exist if their team did not push us to deliver something incredible. It’s a profound loss for all of us. pic.twitter.com/ZNn8uZfSp0— Kit Ellis (@kitosan) August 2, 2024

“I remember how excited we were to get this cover ahead of The Witcher 3 launch,” said Michał Nowakowski, the joint CEO of CD Project Red. “Game Informer was there in the very early days of the industry and it is hard to imagine this will be no more.”

This is an end of an era and it saddens me greatly to see this piece of news. I remember how excited we were to get this cover ahead of The Witcher 3 launch. Game Informer was there in the very early days of the industry and it is hard to imagine this will be no more… https://t.co/yXqLQXGrpm pic.twitter.com/6VWhLjCz5g— Michał Nowakowski (@michalnowakow) August 2, 2024

Radek Grabowski, CD Projekt Red’s global PR director, also highlighted great covers for Borderlands and Fortnite. “This is video game preservation, which deserves recognition,” Grabowski said.

Cover stories by Game Informer are also a fascinating historical source. They have immortalized the initial visual designs of games like Borderlands and Fortnite, which are cornerstones of the industry. This is video game preservation, which deserves recognition. pic.twitter.com/qzQmZg892X— Radek (@gamebowski) August 2, 2024

Current and former staffers are expressing their sadness, too.

“I’m heartbroken — it was my dream job — but my bills don’t care,” said former lead video producer Alex Van Aden.
Former editor Wesley LeBlanc posted about now being out of a job while coming home from a work trip.
“We were about 70% done with the next issue and it was going to have a GREAT cover,” said former magazine content director Kyle Hilliard.
“All of our features on Game Informer… just… gone,” said Liana Ruppert, a former staffer who left in 2021. “Some of my favorite work I ever did was over there and that’s just me – heart is breaking for the folks that have been there so much longer, poured so much of themselves into it just for it to be taken away with ZERO notice. How is this ok?”
“As someone who was there at issue one and spent most of their life fighting and scratching and clawing for GI, it breaks my heart to see it end,” said Andy McNamara, a former editor-in-chief who was at the publication for 29 years.
“Heartbroken and angry,” Andrew Reiner, another former editor-in-chief, said in a post. “Most of my adult life was spent at Game Informer. All day, I’ve been remembering amazing moments I had with the team — some of the most talented and kindhearted people I’ve ever met and was lucky enough to work with. End of an era, but GI forever!” (Shuhei Yoshida, who once led Sony’s worldwide game studios and now heads up its indie initiatives, replied: “Unbelievable! Thank you for all the years of amazing coverage and friendship. GI lives in our memory forever.”)

Some are scrutinizing the shutdown message itself, which was not written by Game Informer staff, according to Kotaku’s Ethan Gach. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier observed that ChatGPT was able to write a pretty similar message to the one that was actually posted.

I told ChatGPT to write a farewell message for Game Informer magazine (R.I.P.) and it sure sounds a lot like the one that GameStop executives published this afternoon: pic.twitter.com/yhHyTbsu75— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) August 2, 2024

GameStop didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Below, we’ve embedded a video interview from 2016 with former Game Informer lead editors McNamara and Reiner about the origins of the magazine.

Promotional art for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which was the final cover game for Game Informer. | Image: BioWare

Following GameStop’s sudden announcement that it would be shutting down Game Informer after 33 years — which includes GameStop making all of the work on Game Informer’s website disappear and reportedly laying off the entire staff — people across the video game industry are sharing their tributes to the gaming magazine.

“As someone who grew up poring over each issue, it was such a thrill and an honor to see our games grace Game Informer,” said Neil Druckmann, head of creative at The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog and an executive producer on the hit HBO show. “Sad that such a staple of our industry is now gone. Good luck to everyone involved. Your work will be missed.”

“Thank you for what you have brought to the video game industry,” said the official Konami account on X. “We will never stop fondly reminiscing about waiting for that next issue to arrive in the mail. Your legacy and impact will forever remain.” The accounts for Discord, Cyberpunk 2077, Assassin’s Creed, Metacritic and X Gaming saluted Game Informer, too.

Many are reminiscing about Game Informer’s excellent covers, which often had beautiful, custom art. Kit Ellis, who worked at Nintendo for more than 13 years in marketing and PR, highlighted how the Game Informer team pushed Nintendo to make amazing art for this The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild cover:

“I remember how excited we were to get this cover ahead of The Witcher 3 launch,” said Michał Nowakowski, the joint CEO of CD Project Red. “Game Informer was there in the very early days of the industry and it is hard to imagine this will be no more.”

Radek Grabowski, CD Projekt Red’s global PR director, also highlighted great covers for Borderlands and Fortnite. “This is video game preservation, which deserves recognition,” Grabowski said.

Current and former staffers are expressing their sadness, too.

“I’m heartbroken — it was my dream job — but my bills don’t care,” said former lead video producer Alex Van Aden.
Former editor Wesley LeBlanc posted about now being out of a job while coming home from a work trip.
“We were about 70% done with the next issue and it was going to have a GREAT cover,” said former magazine content director Kyle Hilliard.
“All of our features on Game Informer… just… gone,” said Liana Ruppert, a former staffer who left in 2021. “Some of my favorite work I ever did was over there and that’s just me – heart is breaking for the folks that have been there so much longer, poured so much of themselves into it just for it to be taken away with ZERO notice. How is this ok?”
“As someone who was there at issue one and spent most of their life fighting and scratching and clawing for GI, it breaks my heart to see it end,” said Andy McNamara, a former editor-in-chief who was at the publication for 29 years.
“Heartbroken and angry,” Andrew Reiner, another former editor-in-chief, said in a post. “Most of my adult life was spent at Game Informer. All day, I’ve been remembering amazing moments I had with the team — some of the most talented and kindhearted people I’ve ever met and was lucky enough to work with. End of an era, but GI forever!” (Shuhei Yoshida, who once led Sony’s worldwide game studios and now heads up its indie initiatives, replied: “Unbelievable! Thank you for all the years of amazing coverage and friendship. GI lives in our memory forever.”)

Some are scrutinizing the shutdown message itself, which was not written by Game Informer staff, according to Kotaku’s Ethan Gach. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier observed that ChatGPT was able to write a pretty similar message to the one that was actually posted.

GameStop didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Below, we’ve embedded a video interview from 2016 with former Game Informer lead editors McNamara and Reiner about the origins of the magazine.

Read More 

A selfie drone that makes the case for ditching GPS, obstacle avoidance, and controllers. I’ve played around with a few DJI drones over the years but always found them to be too cumbersome to master and use spontaneously. The $349 HoverAir X1 from Zero Zero Robotics is different. This so-called “selfie drone” is so easy to use that it’s already an indispensable tool for my work and play, right out of the box.
For example, the HoverAir X1 is responsible for this review photo, this 360-degree GIF, and this overhead shot, as well as all of the follow, orbit, and zoom in / out shots used in this e-bikepacking video and this ID Buzz e-camper review. Each shot was made with just a touch of a button on the top of the drone — no controller required.
The best drone is the one you have with you and the ultra-lightweight HoverAir X1 can easily fit inside a pocket to be taken everywhere. It launches so quickly that I can impulsively grab a more interesting drone shot instead of just defaulting to my iPhone. It returns automatically to land in your hand.
The HoverAir X1 is not without limitations, and I did manage to break one review unit after falling on it. But I have to admit I love this little guy precisely because of its shortcomings, not in spite of them.

The HoverAir X1’s flying weight is about half that of DJI’s sub-250g Mini drones, so it, too, is exempt from registration and licensing requirements in most countries. It folds up into a 5 x 3.4 x 1.2-inch (127 x 86 x 31mm) package that’s so small and lightweight that I could comfortably carry it in a thigh pocket on long bike rides or trail runs.
The primary user interface for the X1 is two buttons on the drone itself. One turns the unit on, and the other cycles through five presets that lock the camera onto the user as the drone completes a predetermined flight path, shooting video or taking photos along the way:

Hover — floats in fixed space and tracks your movement
Follow — flies behind or in front of you at different heights and distances
Orbit — makes a wide circle overhead around a fixed center spot
Zoom out — flies away and up and then back in
Bird’s eye — for top-down shots directly over a fixed spot

There’s also a sixth mode that lets you assign a lightly customized flight pattern. The hover and follow modes can record videos or take photos for several minutes at a time, while the other flight modes begin and end at the point of launch and last for about 30 seconds.
The HoverAir app lets you tweak each of its automatic flight modes, including the altitude, distance, swapping between photo or video captures, portrait or landscape, and image quality. After some early experimentation to see what I liked, I rarely had to adjust these again.
In a metric I like to call “time to drone,” I can pull the X1 out of a pocket, unfold it, turn it on, select a predefined flight path, and set it aloft from an outstretched palm in less than 20 seconds. No DJI drone can come anywhere close.

The collapsed HoverAir X1 and battery vs. DJI Mini 3 Pro, battery, and controller.

And now expanded.

That’s not to say that the HoverAir can compete with DJI’s consumer drones on features or capabilities. The X1’s diminutive size means compromises were made, starting with a max video resolution of 2.7K/30fps.
Shots also start looking a little shaky in light winds around 10 knots (5.1m/s), and the X1 can’t even fly once winds exceed a moderate 15 knots (7.7m/s). It’s also relatively slow. The X1 can track me fine on a trail run, but it’ll start losing its object lock when I’m road biking at a not-very-fast pace of just 12mph (20km/h). Even when it can keep up, it’ll lose me when the elevation changes rapidly on a steep climb or descent.
Otherwise, the X1’s computer vision tracking is very good — it’s the main reason you’d buy this drone. But when it does lose track of me for whatever reason, it’ll just stop, hover in place, and then eventually land, even over water or a busy street. There is no return-to-home feature to ensure a safe landing and recovery. It can, however, be configured to play a sound to help find it.

The protective cage is built to expand and contract upon impact.

The X1 also lacks any obstacle avoidance. Instead, the drone’s four rotors are encased in a flexible plastic cage to protect the device from collisions. In most flight modes, the lack of avoidance tech isn’t really a problem so long as you give the immediate area a quick survey. It becomes an issue when the drone is in follow-me mode through narrow tree-lined trails, for example, or when walking around a sharp corner inside my home. Usually, it’ll just stop and hover in place if it runs into something, meaning I’ll have to double back to re-engage the tracking lock on my person or to collect it. But if it hits something when going faster — like chasing me on a bike — it’ll crash. My review X1 has already survived a few dozen crashes that sent it plummeting to the ground. It’s fine, other than a few scuff marks.
I did destroy another X1 when my full weight landed on it while testing some new clipless bike pedals (don’t judge!). The X1 is not indestructible, but it’s surprisingly robust for such a lightweight drone.

The HoverAir X1 also lacks any kind of advanced GPS positioning. Instead, it opts for a VIO (Visual Inertial Odometry) system to estimate its position in 3D space, indoors or out, so that its preset flight modes can return the drone to its original starting point. It worked very well in my testing, often living up to the HoverAir’s claim of “centimeter-level precision,” even when flying orbits around me with a 20-foot (six-meter) radius.
The drone also responds to a variety of hand gestures when the user is standing still. For example, you can send the X1 left or right with a wave of an arm or tell it to land with your arms crossed overhead. You can also just grab the drone out of the air and flip it upside down to turn those protected rotors off.
The HoverAir X1 does offer a manual Wi-Fi-connected flight mode whereby your phone becomes the controller. It’s fun, but I found it unresponsive at times, making it difficult to control flight with any real precision. I consider it a bonus feature you might want to use in a pinch.
The X1 is limited to 32GB of built-in storage without any option for microSD expansion. I’m currently using just 8.8GB to store the 113 videos and 60 images I’ve shot at max resolution over the last few months of testing. The footage transfers quickly to a phone over a direct Wi-Fi connection using the HoverAir app or over USB-C to a laptop. That USB-C connection will also charge the X1’s battery in about 55 minutes.

Hover mode selected and recording.

On paper, the X1 is dumb and unremarkable. But the HoverAir is so good at doing what many people actually need from a drone that its shortcomings rarely matter at all.
DJI is still the king of sweeping panoramas, but the HoverAir X1 makes a strong case for being the drone you choose to capture yourself doing things — indoors and out — especially for social media.
I do wish it was more capable so I could trust it to capture action over water when kitesurfing on windy days, keep up with me when road cycling at pace, or maintain its object lock when I’m bombing down a steep hill on a mountain bike. A 4K/60fps shooting mode would also be nice so long as none of these wishes increase the price too much.
The X1 does 90 percent of what I want a drone to do
Still, the X1 does 90 percent of what I want a drone to do without adding GPS, obstacle avoidance sensors, and a physical controller that’ll just make everything more expensive, more complicated, more cumbersome to carry, and slower to launch. Maybe DJI’s rumored Neo will fill in that last 10 percent because it certainly looks like a response to the HoverAir hype.
The HoverAir X1 lists for $429, but it’s nearly always on sale somewhere, often at or below $350. But I’d recommend opting for the $400-ish bundle that adds a dual-battery quick charger and two extra batteries that each only last about 10 to 12 minutes before needing a 35-minute recharge. Like the X1 itself, they’re so small and lightweight that you can easily bring them along to help document your next activity.
All photography by Thomas Ricker / The Verge

A selfie drone that makes the case for ditching GPS, obstacle avoidance, and controllers.

I’ve played around with a few DJI drones over the years but always found them to be too cumbersome to master and use spontaneously. The $349 HoverAir X1 from Zero Zero Robotics is different. This so-called “selfie drone” is so easy to use that it’s already an indispensable tool for my work and play, right out of the box.

For example, the HoverAir X1 is responsible for this review photo, this 360-degree GIF, and this overhead shot, as well as all of the follow, orbit, and zoom in / out shots used in this e-bikepacking video and this ID Buzz e-camper review. Each shot was made with just a touch of a button on the top of the drone — no controller required.

The best drone is the one you have with you and the ultra-lightweight HoverAir X1 can easily fit inside a pocket to be taken everywhere. It launches so quickly that I can impulsively grab a more interesting drone shot instead of just defaulting to my iPhone. It returns automatically to land in your hand.

The HoverAir X1 is not without limitations, and I did manage to break one review unit after falling on it. But I have to admit I love this little guy precisely because of its shortcomings, not in spite of them.

The HoverAir X1’s flying weight is about half that of DJI’s sub-250g Mini drones, so it, too, is exempt from registration and licensing requirements in most countries. It folds up into a 5 x 3.4 x 1.2-inch (127 x 86 x 31mm) package that’s so small and lightweight that I could comfortably carry it in a thigh pocket on long bike rides or trail runs.

The primary user interface for the X1 is two buttons on the drone itself. One turns the unit on, and the other cycles through five presets that lock the camera onto the user as the drone completes a predetermined flight path, shooting video or taking photos along the way:

Hover — floats in fixed space and tracks your movement
Follow — flies behind or in front of you at different heights and distances
Orbit — makes a wide circle overhead around a fixed center spot
Zoom out — flies away and up and then back in
Bird’s eye — for top-down shots directly over a fixed spot

There’s also a sixth mode that lets you assign a lightly customized flight pattern. The hover and follow modes can record videos or take photos for several minutes at a time, while the other flight modes begin and end at the point of launch and last for about 30 seconds.

The HoverAir app lets you tweak each of its automatic flight modes, including the altitude, distance, swapping between photo or video captures, portrait or landscape, and image quality. After some early experimentation to see what I liked, I rarely had to adjust these again.

In a metric I like to call “time to drone,” I can pull the X1 out of a pocket, unfold it, turn it on, select a predefined flight path, and set it aloft from an outstretched palm in less than 20 seconds. No DJI drone can come anywhere close.

That’s not to say that the HoverAir can compete with DJI’s consumer drones on features or capabilities. The X1’s diminutive size means compromises were made, starting with a max video resolution of 2.7K/30fps.

Shots also start looking a little shaky in light winds around 10 knots (5.1m/s), and the X1 can’t even fly once winds exceed a moderate 15 knots (7.7m/s). It’s also relatively slow. The X1 can track me fine on a trail run, but it’ll start losing its object lock when I’m road biking at a not-very-fast pace of just 12mph (20km/h). Even when it can keep up, it’ll lose me when the elevation changes rapidly on a steep climb or descent.

Otherwise, the X1’s computer vision tracking is very good — it’s the main reason you’d buy this drone. But when it does lose track of me for whatever reason, it’ll just stop, hover in place, and then eventually land, even over water or a busy street. There is no return-to-home feature to ensure a safe landing and recovery. It can, however, be configured to play a sound to help find it.

The X1 also lacks any obstacle avoidance. Instead, the drone’s four rotors are encased in a flexible plastic cage to protect the device from collisions. In most flight modes, the lack of avoidance tech isn’t really a problem so long as you give the immediate area a quick survey. It becomes an issue when the drone is in follow-me mode through narrow tree-lined trails, for example, or when walking around a sharp corner inside my home. Usually, it’ll just stop and hover in place if it runs into something, meaning I’ll have to double back to re-engage the tracking lock on my person or to collect it. But if it hits something when going faster — like chasing me on a bike — it’ll crash. My review X1 has already survived a few dozen crashes that sent it plummeting to the ground. It’s fine, other than a few scuff marks.

I did destroy another X1 when my full weight landed on it while testing some new clipless bike pedals (don’t judge!). The X1 is not indestructible, but it’s surprisingly robust for such a lightweight drone.

The HoverAir X1 also lacks any kind of advanced GPS positioning. Instead, it opts for a VIO (Visual Inertial Odometry) system to estimate its position in 3D space, indoors or out, so that its preset flight modes can return the drone to its original starting point. It worked very well in my testing, often living up to the HoverAir’s claim of “centimeter-level precision,” even when flying orbits around me with a 20-foot (six-meter) radius.

The drone also responds to a variety of hand gestures when the user is standing still. For example, you can send the X1 left or right with a wave of an arm or tell it to land with your arms crossed overhead. You can also just grab the drone out of the air and flip it upside down to turn those protected rotors off.

The HoverAir X1 does offer a manual Wi-Fi-connected flight mode whereby your phone becomes the controller. It’s fun, but I found it unresponsive at times, making it difficult to control flight with any real precision. I consider it a bonus feature you might want to use in a pinch.

The X1 is limited to 32GB of built-in storage without any option for microSD expansion. I’m currently using just 8.8GB to store the 113 videos and 60 images I’ve shot at max resolution over the last few months of testing. The footage transfers quickly to a phone over a direct Wi-Fi connection using the HoverAir app or over USB-C to a laptop. That USB-C connection will also charge the X1’s battery in about 55 minutes.

On paper, the X1 is dumb and unremarkable. But the HoverAir is so good at doing what many people actually need from a drone that its shortcomings rarely matter at all.

DJI is still the king of sweeping panoramas, but the HoverAir X1 makes a strong case for being the drone you choose to capture yourself doing things — indoors and out — especially for social media.

I do wish it was more capable so I could trust it to capture action over water when kitesurfing on windy days, keep up with me when road cycling at pace, or maintain its object lock when I’m bombing down a steep hill on a mountain bike. A 4K/60fps shooting mode would also be nice so long as none of these wishes increase the price too much.

Still, the X1 does 90 percent of what I want a drone to do without adding GPS, obstacle avoidance sensors, and a physical controller that’ll just make everything more expensive, more complicated, more cumbersome to carry, and slower to launch. Maybe DJI’s rumored Neo will fill in that last 10 percent because it certainly looks like a response to the HoverAir hype.

The HoverAir X1 lists for $429, but it’s nearly always on sale somewhere, often at or below $350. But I’d recommend opting for the $400-ish bundle that adds a dual-battery quick charger and two extra batteries that each only last about 10 to 12 minutes before needing a 35-minute recharge. Like the X1 itself, they’re so small and lightweight that you can easily bring them along to help document your next activity.

All photography by Thomas Ricker / The Verge

Read More 

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

The CrowdStrike global IT outage that downed some 8.5 million Windows PCs, halting flights and affecting hospitals, banks and more, is now apparently also a scapegoat for the terrible conditions at the set of a reality game show competition put on by mega-popular YouTuber MrBeast, aka Jimmy Donaldson, with $5 million on the line.
The New York Times is reporting that after 2,000 contestants arrived at Allegiant Stadium this July, they were barely fed and didn’t receive their prescription medication or clean underwear on time — despite providing it to the organizers themselves. (The 1,000 contestants who make it through can return for the Beast Games Amazon show, but this segment is for Donaldson’s YouTube channel.)
The Times’ story is filled with anecdotes from over a dozen contestants who say they were mistreated by organizers, like this:
One contestant said she had initially been denied the food she required to take her medication and had been told by staff members that she didn’t actually need to eat. After asking repeatedly, she was given half a banana.
But MrBeast isn’t apologizing, at least not yet. In fact, he’s not even quoted in the Times. Instead, the NYT received a text message from a spokesperson for MrBeast that blamed external factors, including CrowdStrike, instead of any poor planning on its part:
“In a text message, a spokesperson for MrBeast said the shoot “was unfortunately complicated by the CrowdStrike incident, extreme weather and other unexpected logistical and communications issues.” The spokesperson said MrBeast had started a formal review and had “taken steps to ensure that we learn from this experience.”
This is just the latest such event that lured fans to a location without enough logistical support, of course — I immediately flashed back to accusations around Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge, and of course there’s Fyre Festival.
It’s also not the first time in recent days that MrBeast has let an anonymous spokeperson handle bad press: he had one apologize for his younger self to the Associated Press earlier this week.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

The CrowdStrike global IT outage that downed some 8.5 million Windows PCs, halting flights and affecting hospitals, banks and more, is now apparently also a scapegoat for the terrible conditions at the set of a reality game show competition put on by mega-popular YouTuber MrBeast, aka Jimmy Donaldson, with $5 million on the line.

The New York Times is reporting that after 2,000 contestants arrived at Allegiant Stadium this July, they were barely fed and didn’t receive their prescription medication or clean underwear on time — despite providing it to the organizers themselves. (The 1,000 contestants who make it through can return for the Beast Games Amazon show, but this segment is for Donaldson’s YouTube channel.)

The Times’ story is filled with anecdotes from over a dozen contestants who say they were mistreated by organizers, like this:

One contestant said she had initially been denied the food she required to take her medication and had been told by staff members that she didn’t actually need to eat. After asking repeatedly, she was given half a banana.

But MrBeast isn’t apologizing, at least not yet. In fact, he’s not even quoted in the Times. Instead, the NYT received a text message from a spokesperson for MrBeast that blamed external factors, including CrowdStrike, instead of any poor planning on its part:

“In a text message, a spokesperson for MrBeast said the shoot “was unfortunately complicated by the CrowdStrike incident, extreme weather and other unexpected logistical and communications issues.” The spokesperson said MrBeast had started a formal review and had “taken steps to ensure that we learn from this experience.”

This is just the latest such event that lured fans to a location without enough logistical support, of course — I immediately flashed back to accusations around Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge, and of course there’s Fyre Festival.

It’s also not the first time in recent days that MrBeast has let an anonymous spokeperson handle bad press: he had one apologize for his younger self to the Associated Press earlier this week.

Read More 

The Ford Explorer’s new Digital Experience software. | Image: Ford

Ford’s new Android-powered infotainment system is finally coming to a Ford-branded vehicle. The automaker’s so-called Digital Experience, which debuted with the 2024 Lincoln Nautilus earlier this year, will power the new 2025 Ford Explorer SUV, the company announced today.
The 2025 Ford Explorer includes many of the Digital Experience’s main features, including built-in Google Maps, Google Play Store, Google Assistant, wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, and digital HVAC controls. It doesn’t have the extravagant 48-inch panoramic screen setup that the Lincoln Nautilus has, but from the looks of it the main 13.2-inch touchscreen has the same interface. And the Explorer’s 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster can project maps for the first time.

Speaking of HVAC, it looks like the new Explorer lacks physical climate control buttons. That tracks with Ford’s newly redesigned Maverick truck, which also moved its HVAC controls to the touchscreen. The Maverick, however, still runs on Ford’s older QNX-powered Sync 4 software.
The Explorer’s much more subdued screen size, as compared to the Lincoln Nautilus, shows how the system is adaptable to different interiors and use cases. And as we previously reported, Ford is not planning to phase out its internal Sync operating system, which runs on similarly-sized screens across many of Ford’s vehicles.
Ford is also planning to include its Android-based system in its electric vehicles like the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E, both of which have a much larger, vertically oriented screen — and will need a Digital Experience that looks different than the one we see today.

The Ford Explorer’s new Digital Experience software. | Image: Ford

Ford’s new Android-powered infotainment system is finally coming to a Ford-branded vehicle. The automaker’s so-called Digital Experience, which debuted with the 2024 Lincoln Nautilus earlier this year, will power the new 2025 Ford Explorer SUV, the company announced today.

The 2025 Ford Explorer includes many of the Digital Experience’s main features, including built-in Google Maps, Google Play Store, Google Assistant, wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, and digital HVAC controls. It doesn’t have the extravagant 48-inch panoramic screen setup that the Lincoln Nautilus has, but from the looks of it the main 13.2-inch touchscreen has the same interface. And the Explorer’s 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster can project maps for the first time.

Speaking of HVAC, it looks like the new Explorer lacks physical climate control buttons. That tracks with Ford’s newly redesigned Maverick truck, which also moved its HVAC controls to the touchscreen. The Maverick, however, still runs on Ford’s older QNX-powered Sync 4 software.

The Explorer’s much more subdued screen size, as compared to the Lincoln Nautilus, shows how the system is adaptable to different interiors and use cases. And as we previously reported, Ford is not planning to phase out its internal Sync operating system, which runs on similarly-sized screens across many of Ford’s vehicles.

Ford is also planning to include its Android-based system in its electric vehicles like the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E, both of which have a much larger, vertically oriented screen — and will need a Digital Experience that looks different than the one we see today.

Read More 

The Escape Connector sits between the car’s port and the EV charger’s plug. | Image: EVject

Tesla suing a company that makes a MagSafe-style connector designed to let EV owners make a quick escape from a charging stall if they feel their safety is threatened.
The automaker alleges that the Escape Connector by company EVject is “highly unsafe and poses a high risk of injury to person and/or property,” according to the lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California last week.
Tesla is calling on the court to block EVject from calling the product safe, ban the import of the adapter in the US, and make the company pay no less than $75,000 in damages.

GIF: EVject
You can’t exactly just drive away; you first need to use your touchscreen to stop the charging session.

In the filing, Tesla says it has tested the North American Charging Standard (NACS) version of the EVject accessory in a high-current simulation with the company’s Supercharger cable and a vehicle EV port. Tesla found the EVject product got as hot as 100 degrees Celsius (the boiling point of water) while DC fast-charging at 420 amps.
Tesla also points out that the company has admitted that the adapter may get hot when charging a Cybertruck. EVject’s website markets the product by painting a fearful scenario: EV owners attacked while charging, and they can’t drive away to safety without getting out the car and unplugging.
EVject advertises the adapter as “fully compatible” with NACS vehicles and lists many Tesla models by name. Tesla, which runs the largest electric vehicle charging network in the world, argues that the Escape Connector could also put its charging cables at risk for damage. EVject advertises that the outer part of the breakaway adapter will protect the station plug when disconnected.

Gov.uscourts.cand.433105.1.0 by ahawkins8223 on Scribd

The Escape Connector sits between the car’s port and the EV charger’s plug. | Image: EVject

Tesla suing a company that makes a MagSafe-style connector designed to let EV owners make a quick escape from a charging stall if they feel their safety is threatened.

The automaker alleges that the Escape Connector by company EVject is “highly unsafe and poses a high risk of injury to person and/or property,” according to the lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California last week.

Tesla is calling on the court to block EVject from calling the product safe, ban the import of the adapter in the US, and make the company pay no less than $75,000 in damages.

GIF: EVject
You can’t exactly just drive away; you first need to use your touchscreen to stop the charging session.

In the filing, Tesla says it has tested the North American Charging Standard (NACS) version of the EVject accessory in a high-current simulation with the company’s Supercharger cable and a vehicle EV port. Tesla found the EVject product got as hot as 100 degrees Celsius (the boiling point of water) while DC fast-charging at 420 amps.

Tesla also points out that the company has admitted that the adapter may get hot when charging a Cybertruck. EVject’s website markets the product by painting a fearful scenario: EV owners attacked while charging, and they can’t drive away to safety without getting out the car and unplugging.

EVject advertises the adapter as “fully compatible” with NACS vehicles and lists many Tesla models by name. Tesla, which runs the largest electric vehicle charging network in the world, argues that the Escape Connector could also put its charging cables at risk for damage. EVject advertises that the outer part of the breakaway adapter will protect the station plug when disconnected.

Read More 

Image: The Verge

The Department of Justice is suing TikTok for allegedly letting kids under 13 make accounts without their parents’ permission and collecting “extensive data” on them, in violation of US child privacy law.
The DOJ claims that TikTok knowingly let kids onto its platform through its “Kids Mode,” collected their information, and failed to delete their accounts at their parents’ requests, in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). When a kid under 13 entered their age on the app, they’d be prompted to enter a username, which doesn’t contain personal information, and it would create a Kids Mode account for the user. But the app wouldn’t notify parents or get their consent. Kids can’t upload videos in that mode, but they can view videos; the DOJ alleges that TikTok collected some personal information on them as part of this process, like unique device identifiers and IP addresses.
The lawsuit alleges that TikTok’s age-gating techniques “are deficient in multiple ways.” Under an earlier practice, TikTok would let users restart the account creation process even if they’d originally entered a birthday showing they’re under 13, according to the complaint. TikTok also used to let users log in through Instagram or Google, which would categorize the accounts as “age unknown,” the DOJ alleges.
The DOJ says TikTok has let millions of kids use its platform but said it’s hard to pin down the exact scale of its violations because it didn’t comply with a requirement from a 2019 injunction to keep records on its COPPA compliance. The DOJ is asking the court to prevent TikTok from violating COPPA in the future and pay civil penalties for each violation. Under the FTC Act, civil penalties can go up to $51,744 per violation, per day.
The Federal Trade Commission took credit for its investigation leading to the complaint. The agency announced in June that it had referred a complaint against TikTok to the DOJ after an investigation of potential violations under the FTC Act and COPPA. At the time, the FTC said it had “uncovered reason to believe” TikTok was “violating or are about to violate the law.”
The complaint comes about a month before the DOJ is set to face TikTok in court over TikTok’s lawsuit against a new US law that could outlaw the app unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, agrees to spin it off.
TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek said in a statement that the company disagrees with the DOJ’s claims, “many of which relate to past events and practices that are factually inaccurate or have been addressed. We are proud of our efforts to protect children, and we will continue to update and improve the platform. To that end, we offer age-appropriate experiences with stringent safeguards, proactively remove suspected underage users, and have voluntarily launched features such as default screentime limits, Family Pairing, and additional privacy protections for minors.”

Image: The Verge

The Department of Justice is suing TikTok for allegedly letting kids under 13 make accounts without their parents’ permission and collecting “extensive data” on them, in violation of US child privacy law.

The DOJ claims that TikTok knowingly let kids onto its platform through its “Kids Mode,” collected their information, and failed to delete their accounts at their parents’ requests, in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). When a kid under 13 entered their age on the app, they’d be prompted to enter a username, which doesn’t contain personal information, and it would create a Kids Mode account for the user. But the app wouldn’t notify parents or get their consent. Kids can’t upload videos in that mode, but they can view videos; the DOJ alleges that TikTok collected some personal information on them as part of this process, like unique device identifiers and IP addresses.

The lawsuit alleges that TikTok’s age-gating techniques “are deficient in multiple ways.” Under an earlier practice, TikTok would let users restart the account creation process even if they’d originally entered a birthday showing they’re under 13, according to the complaint. TikTok also used to let users log in through Instagram or Google, which would categorize the accounts as “age unknown,” the DOJ alleges.

The DOJ says TikTok has let millions of kids use its platform but said it’s hard to pin down the exact scale of its violations because it didn’t comply with a requirement from a 2019 injunction to keep records on its COPPA compliance. The DOJ is asking the court to prevent TikTok from violating COPPA in the future and pay civil penalties for each violation. Under the FTC Act, civil penalties can go up to $51,744 per violation, per day.

The Federal Trade Commission took credit for its investigation leading to the complaint. The agency announced in June that it had referred a complaint against TikTok to the DOJ after an investigation of potential violations under the FTC Act and COPPA. At the time, the FTC said it had “uncovered reason to believe” TikTok was “violating or are about to violate the law.”

The complaint comes about a month before the DOJ is set to face TikTok in court over TikTok’s lawsuit against a new US law that could outlaw the app unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, agrees to spin it off.

TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek said in a statement that the company disagrees with the DOJ’s claims, “many of which relate to past events and practices that are factually inaccurate or have been addressed. We are proud of our efforts to protect children, and we will continue to update and improve the platform. To that end, we offer age-appropriate experiences with stringent safeguards, proactively remove suspected underage users, and have voluntarily launched features such as default screentime limits, Family Pairing, and additional privacy protections for minors.”

Read More 

Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Scott Olson, Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump has expressed a newfound fondness for Mark Zuckerberg, after years of railing against him.
In an interview with Fox that aired on Friday, Trump said Mark Zuckerberg recently called him “to apologize” after Meta’s AI assistant falsely said the assassination attempt on Trump didn’t happen. (A company blog post written by Joel Kaplan, Meta’s global head of policy, attributed the erroneous responses to “hallucinations” in the system.) In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump claimed that both Meta and Google were “RIGGING THE ELECTION!!!” by suppressing information about the shooting.
Zuckerberg’s apology could help thaw his contentious relationship with Trump, who has long held a public grudge against Meta and its chief executive.
“I believe Mark Zuckerberg, he called me a lot. They are working on, and I think they fixed it. He’s not doing what he did five years ago, with the $500 million dollars, I don’t believe.”

Trump says Zuckerberg called him after the assassination attempt & he won’t be trying to help Democrats win in 2024 as in 2020 pic.twitter.com/i9LKyqHwmV— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 2, 2024

Trump’s $500 million comment may have referred to incorrect claims that Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, spent $400 million in 2020 to elect President Joe Biden. Zuckerberg and his wife did not donate those funds to Biden but to two nonprofit organizations that gave grants to state and local governments to help them pay for election administration.
Trump also said Zuckerberg complimented his reaction to being shot at, adding that Zuckerberg said he wouldn’t endorse a Democrat in this year’s presidential election because of the respect he has for Trump.
“Mark Zuckerberg called me — first of all, he called me a few times,” Trump said. “He called me after the event and he said, ‘That was really amazing, it was really brave.’ And he actually announced he’s not going to support a Democrat, because he can’t, because he respected me for what I did that day.”
When reached for comment, Meta spokesperson Dany Lever directed The Verge to a post on X by Meta communications head Andy Stone, which notes that Zuckerberg hasn’t endorsed candidates in previous elections.
Zuckerberg — who in July declined to endorse either Trump or then-Democratic front-runner Biden — called Trump’s fist pump after being shot at “one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen in my life.” But unlike other Silicon Valley elites, Zuckerberg has neither endorsed nor publicly fundraised for Trump.
Trump’s grudge against Google, however, persists.
“Google, nobody called from Google,” Trump said during the Fox interview. Google has been accused of “censoring” search terms related to the shooting at Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania. Google Communications posted a thread on X refuting those claims, but Trump and conservative media have continued to accuse it of suppressing information.
“Google has been very bad. They’ve been very irresponsible,” Trump said. He said Google could be “close to shut down” by Congress. “Google has to be careful,” he said.

Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Scott Olson, Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump has expressed a newfound fondness for Mark Zuckerberg, after years of railing against him.

In an interview with Fox that aired on Friday, Trump said Mark Zuckerberg recently called him “to apologize” after Meta’s AI assistant falsely said the assassination attempt on Trump didn’t happen. (A company blog post written by Joel Kaplan, Meta’s global head of policy, attributed the erroneous responses to “hallucinations” in the system.) In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump claimed that both Meta and Google were “RIGGING THE ELECTION!!!” by suppressing information about the shooting.

Zuckerberg’s apology could help thaw his contentious relationship with Trump, who has long held a public grudge against Meta and its chief executive.

“I believe Mark Zuckerberg, he called me a lot. They are working on, and I think they fixed it. He’s not doing what he did five years ago, with the $500 million dollars, I don’t believe.”

Trump’s $500 million comment may have referred to incorrect claims that Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, spent $400 million in 2020 to elect President Joe Biden. Zuckerberg and his wife did not donate those funds to Biden but to two nonprofit organizations that gave grants to state and local governments to help them pay for election administration.

Trump also said Zuckerberg complimented his reaction to being shot at, adding that Zuckerberg said he wouldn’t endorse a Democrat in this year’s presidential election because of the respect he has for Trump.

“Mark Zuckerberg called me — first of all, he called me a few times,” Trump said. “He called me after the event and he said, ‘That was really amazing, it was really brave.’ And he actually announced he’s not going to support a Democrat, because he can’t, because he respected me for what I did that day.”

When reached for comment, Meta spokesperson Dany Lever directed The Verge to a post on X by Meta communications head Andy Stone, which notes that Zuckerberg hasn’t endorsed candidates in previous elections.

Zuckerberg — who in July declined to endorse either Trump or then-Democratic front-runner Biden — called Trump’s fist pump after being shot at “one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen in my life.” But unlike other Silicon Valley elites, Zuckerberg has neither endorsed nor publicly fundraised for Trump.

Trump’s grudge against Google, however, persists.

“Google, nobody called from Google,” Trump said during the Fox interview. Google has been accused of “censoring” search terms related to the shooting at Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania. Google Communications posted a thread on X refuting those claims, but Trump and conservative media have continued to accuse it of suppressing information.

“Google has been very bad. They’ve been very irresponsible,” Trump said. He said Google could be “close to shut down” by Congress. “Google has to be careful,” he said.

Read More 

The “Dear Sydney” ad did not go over well with Olympics viewers. | Screenshot: Google

Google is not winning any gold medals for its Olympics ads this year. After days of backlash, the company has decided to pull its controversial “Dear Sydney” ad from Olympic coverage.
In the 60-second ad, a father seeks to write a fan letter on behalf of his daughter to her Olympic idol, US track star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. The premise is the sort of treacly ad you’d expect to see at the Olympics, but things take a twist when instead of helping his daughter write a letter, he just has Gemini do it for them. “This has to be just right,” he says, before prompting Gemini to tell Sydney how inspiring she is, that his daughter plans to break her record one day, and to add a “sorry, not sorry” joke at the end.

From the get-go, the ad has drawn the ire of the internet. Many have lambasted the ad on social media for completely missing the point of writing a fan letter. (Which is, ostensibly, to make a heart-to-heart, human-to-human connection by being vulnerable and expressing how much your hero’s work has impacted your life.) Washington Post columnist Alexandra Petri penned a takedown stating she wants to “throw a sledgehammer into the television every time I see it.” Others have pointed out that the ad encourages taking the easy way out instead of practicing self-expression.
Meanwhile, in a statement to multiple outlets, Google acknowledged the negative feedback but said that the commercial wasn’t meant to imply Gemini could completely replace humans. The ad was meant to “show how the Gemini app can provide a starting point, thought starter, or early draft for someone looking for ideas for their writing.”

This wouldn’t be the first time big tech stepped in it while trying to showcase the power of AI in an ad. A few months ago, Apple caught flack for its “Crush” ad, which showed a hydraulic press squishing creative tools into a shiny new iPad. People were understandably upset by the imagery, especially as AI sparks fears that technology will steal and replace the work of writers, artists, performers, and other creatives.
At the heart of the issue, tech companies still struggle to read the room with regard to AI. With the “Dear Sydney” ad, it isn’t even about AI stealing jobs. Generally speaking, humans crave authentic connection. What makes a fan letter precious is the knowledge that someone took time out of their busy life to express what you or your work means to them. It’s hard to imagine that McLaughlin-Levrone wouldn’t be moved by a rambling letter from a child with the occasional typo or awkward grammar.
Ironically, the father’s words leading up to his Gemini prompt were perfect enough. Conversely, the glimpses you can see of Gemini’s draft read more like a boilerplate cover letter. Google may have meant to show that Gemini is great at starting a draft, but it failed to understand that business emails are one thing, but personal letters are something else entirely. Writing them isn’t supposed to be easy. Being nervous, pushing through it, and sending your honest feelings anyway — that’s the entire point.

The “Dear Sydney” ad did not go over well with Olympics viewers. | Screenshot: Google

Google is not winning any gold medals for its Olympics ads this year. After days of backlash, the company has decided to pull its controversial “Dear Sydney” ad from Olympic coverage.

In the 60-second ad, a father seeks to write a fan letter on behalf of his daughter to her Olympic idol, US track star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. The premise is the sort of treacly ad you’d expect to see at the Olympics, but things take a twist when instead of helping his daughter write a letter, he just has Gemini do it for them. “This has to be just right,” he says, before prompting Gemini to tell Sydney how inspiring she is, that his daughter plans to break her record one day, and to add a “sorry, not sorry” joke at the end.

From the get-go, the ad has drawn the ire of the internet. Many have lambasted the ad on social media for completely missing the point of writing a fan letter. (Which is, ostensibly, to make a heart-to-heart, human-to-human connection by being vulnerable and expressing how much your hero’s work has impacted your life.) Washington Post columnist Alexandra Petri penned a takedown stating she wants to “throw a sledgehammer into the television every time I see it.” Others have pointed out that the ad encourages taking the easy way out instead of practicing self-expression.

Meanwhile, in a statement to multiple outlets, Google acknowledged the negative feedback but said that the commercial wasn’t meant to imply Gemini could completely replace humans. The ad was meant to “show how the Gemini app can provide a starting point, thought starter, or early draft for someone looking for ideas for their writing.”

This wouldn’t be the first time big tech stepped in it while trying to showcase the power of AI in an ad. A few months ago, Apple caught flack for its “Crush” ad, which showed a hydraulic press squishing creative tools into a shiny new iPad. People were understandably upset by the imagery, especially as AI sparks fears that technology will steal and replace the work of writers, artists, performers, and other creatives.

At the heart of the issue, tech companies still struggle to read the room with regard to AI. With the “Dear Sydney” ad, it isn’t even about AI stealing jobs. Generally speaking, humans crave authentic connection. What makes a fan letter precious is the knowledge that someone took time out of their busy life to express what you or your work means to them. It’s hard to imagine that McLaughlin-Levrone wouldn’t be moved by a rambling letter from a child with the occasional typo or awkward grammar.

Ironically, the father’s words leading up to his Gemini prompt were perfect enough. Conversely, the glimpses you can see of Gemini’s draft read more like a boilerplate cover letter. Google may have meant to show that Gemini is great at starting a draft, but it failed to understand that business emails are one thing, but personal letters are something else entirely. Writing them isn’t supposed to be easy. Being nervous, pushing through it, and sending your honest feelings anyway — that’s the entire point.

Read More 

Google’s high-end flagship is colorful, capable, and loaded with plenty of AI tricks. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

Google’s next Pixel hardware event is less than two weeks away, which, in turn, means the Pixel 9 lineup is nearly upon us. That being said, you don’t need to wait for the debut of Google’s next handset on August 13th if you want a future-proofed Android phone chockful of premium specs and newfangled AI capabilities. That’s because the Pixel 8 Pro — Google’s current high-end flagship — is on sale at Amazon and Best Buy with 128GB of storage starting at $699 ($300 off), an all-time low.

If the recent rumor mill is to be believed, Google’s next pro-grade smartphone will feature several distinct design changes and a modest performance boost thanks to its G4 Tensor chip. But the third-gen chipset in the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro is still plenty fast, allowing both phones to run large language models on-device. That means they can leverage a number of AI editing tools, including one that lets you choose the best expression for each person in a photo when you take multiple images and an enhanced Magic Eraser that allows you to easily remove larger objects from photos — albeit with varying degrees of success.
The Pixel 8 Pro has plenty going for it outside of AI, too. The 6.7-inch Android phone packs an excellent camera array with a 5x telephoto lens and 8-megapixel ultrawide, along with manual exposure controls not found on the standard Pixel 8. It also offers a speedy 120Hz refresh, expanded Face Unlock capabilities, and seven years of OS updates, so it will continue to receive support for years to come.

Read our Google Pixel 8 Pro review.

Some more ways to save today

You can grab the RoboVac 11S Max for just $149.99 ($100 off) at Amazon with an on-page coupon or direct from Eufy with promo code WS24T2126111. This older bump-and-run bot can’t hold a candle to the best robot vacuums or even some of our budget picks, but it’s not a bad option if all you need is a simple robovac with good suction, a decent-sized dustbin, and quiet operation.
One thing we don’t anticipate seeing at Google’s next hardware event is an updated Pixel Tablet — which makes the $150 discount we’re seeing at Woot on the dockless, 128GB base model a lot more attractive. Along with the OnePlus Pad 2, Google’s 11-inch slate remains one of the better Android tablets available, with responsive performance, great sound, and a lovely LCD that’s great for watching movies and playing games. Read our review.
The UE Wonderboom 4 is once again matching its all-time low of $79.99 ($20 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. As my colleague David Pierce pointed out in an earlier edition of Installer, Ultimate Ears’ latest Bluetooth speaker is well-equipped for the dog days of summer, namely because it offers the same rugged IP67 rating as earlier models, a new megaphone feature that amplifies your voice when you talk into it, and USB-C charging (finally).

Google’s high-end flagship is colorful, capable, and loaded with plenty of AI tricks. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

Google’s next Pixel hardware event is less than two weeks away, which, in turn, means the Pixel 9 lineup is nearly upon us. That being said, you don’t need to wait for the debut of Google’s next handset on August 13th if you want a future-proofed Android phone chockful of premium specs and newfangled AI capabilities. That’s because the Pixel 8 Pro — Google’s current high-end flagship — is on sale at Amazon and Best Buy with 128GB of storage starting at $699 ($300 off), an all-time low.

If the recent rumor mill is to be believed, Google’s next pro-grade smartphone will feature several distinct design changes and a modest performance boost thanks to its G4 Tensor chip. But the third-gen chipset in the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro is still plenty fast, allowing both phones to run large language models on-device. That means they can leverage a number of AI editing tools, including one that lets you choose the best expression for each person in a photo when you take multiple images and an enhanced Magic Eraser that allows you to easily remove larger objects from photos — albeit with varying degrees of success.

The Pixel 8 Pro has plenty going for it outside of AI, too. The 6.7-inch Android phone packs an excellent camera array with a 5x telephoto lens and 8-megapixel ultrawide, along with manual exposure controls not found on the standard Pixel 8. It also offers a speedy 120Hz refresh, expanded Face Unlock capabilities, and seven years of OS updates, so it will continue to receive support for years to come.

Read our Google Pixel 8 Pro review.

Some more ways to save today

You can grab the RoboVac 11S Max for just $149.99 ($100 off) at Amazon with an on-page coupon or direct from Eufy with promo code WS24T2126111. This older bump-and-run bot can’t hold a candle to the best robot vacuums or even some of our budget picks, but it’s not a bad option if all you need is a simple robovac with good suction, a decent-sized dustbin, and quiet operation.
One thing we don’t anticipate seeing at Google’s next hardware event is an updated Pixel Tablet — which makes the $150 discount we’re seeing at Woot on the dockless, 128GB base model a lot more attractive. Along with the OnePlus Pad 2, Google’s 11-inch slate remains one of the better Android tablets available, with responsive performance, great sound, and a lovely LCD that’s great for watching movies and playing games. Read our review.
The UE Wonderboom 4 is once again matching its all-time low of $79.99 ($20 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. As my colleague David Pierce pointed out in an earlier edition of Installer, Ultimate Ears’ latest Bluetooth speaker is well-equipped for the dog days of summer, namely because it offers the same rugged IP67 rating as earlier models, a new megaphone feature that amplifies your voice when you talk into it, and USB-C charging (finally).

Read More 

It looks like the SQ8 E-tron, but it’s not. | Image: Audi

Audi is giving its all-electric Q8 E-tron some premium add-on packages across the lineup as the automaker’s overall EV sales are falling quarter over quarter this year.
The 2025 Audi Q8 E-tron SUV and Sportback now have a “sportier” S line competition appearance package that feels a bit like a parts bin consolidation. It adds body components from the $90,000 SQ8 E-tron, making the vehicle wider, and includes a body-color Singleframe and special 21-inch five-spoke black wheels. It also gets black-painted brake calipers with S branding and door projection lights for the edition.
While the package is only launching in Europe right now, the company is “evaluating” bringing it to the US as well, according to Audi’s product communications manager, Nathan Hoyt.
There is some speculation that the automaker could end production of the vehicles due to a significant drop in demand. CleanTechnica reported Audi’s EV sales were down from 7.411 vehicles in Q4 2023 to 5,714 in Q1 2024. And earlier this year, Car and Driver reported that Audi was considering an early end to the Q8 E-tron’s production. However, Hoyt tells me there are “no plans at this time to end production of the Q8 e-tron.”
The 2025 Q8 E-tron lineup, starting at $74,800, was announced in early July, and it added new standard options, including Homelink buttons and Remote park assist plus that lets you park the car into tight spots while standing outside the vehicle. There’s also a Magnesium package that black out the colors and adds matte gold to the wheels.

The Q8 E-tron’s just announced S line appearance package also adds new carbon fiber components embedded in places like the front air curtains, side view mirrors, and on parts of all four doors. Of course, the real SQ8 E-tron models have the carbon fiber components, too — but only part of the Carbon Style package add-on.
Audi also includes the SQ8 E-tron’s adaptive air suspension sport system with the S line package, giving the regular Q8 E-tron the ability to change the ride height and add dynamic damping control for better comfort.
While the Q8 E-tron’s future is in question, Audi is working to bring the new A6 E-tron series which will likely have better range and a slicker appearance. Audi’s electric vehicle lineup has long had poorer range compared to Tesla, Ford, and Kia. And while Audi’s Porsche Taycan-based E-tron GT is a great effort, it’s far too expensive for a mainstream luxury EV.
Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is in a price-slashing competition, trying to get customers to choose their EV over the other — especially over Tesla (which is struggling to get new buyers).

It looks like the SQ8 E-tron, but it’s not. | Image: Audi

Audi is giving its all-electric Q8 E-tron some premium add-on packages across the lineup as the automaker’s overall EV sales are falling quarter over quarter this year.

The 2025 Audi Q8 E-tron SUV and Sportback now have a “sportier” S line competition appearance package that feels a bit like a parts bin consolidation. It adds body components from the $90,000 SQ8 E-tron, making the vehicle wider, and includes a body-color Singleframe and special 21-inch five-spoke black wheels. It also gets black-painted brake calipers with S branding and door projection lights for the edition.

While the package is only launching in Europe right now, the company is “evaluating” bringing it to the US as well, according to Audi’s product communications manager, Nathan Hoyt.

There is some speculation that the automaker could end production of the vehicles due to a significant drop in demand. CleanTechnica reported Audi’s EV sales were down from 7.411 vehicles in Q4 2023 to 5,714 in Q1 2024. And earlier this year, Car and Driver reported that Audi was considering an early end to the Q8 E-tron’s production. However, Hoyt tells me there are “no plans at this time to end production of the Q8 e-tron.”

The 2025 Q8 E-tron lineup, starting at $74,800, was announced in early July, and it added new standard options, including Homelink buttons and Remote park assist plus that lets you park the car into tight spots while standing outside the vehicle. There’s also a Magnesium package that black out the colors and adds matte gold to the wheels.

The Q8 E-tron’s just announced S line appearance package also adds new carbon fiber components embedded in places like the front air curtains, side view mirrors, and on parts of all four doors. Of course, the real SQ8 E-tron models have the carbon fiber components, too — but only part of the Carbon Style package add-on.

Audi also includes the SQ8 E-tron’s adaptive air suspension sport system with the S line package, giving the regular Q8 E-tron the ability to change the ride height and add dynamic damping control for better comfort.

While the Q8 E-tron’s future is in question, Audi is working to bring the new A6 E-tron series which will likely have better range and a slicker appearance. Audi’s electric vehicle lineup has long had poorer range compared to Tesla, Ford, and Kia. And while Audi’s Porsche Taycan-based E-tron GT is a great effort, it’s far too expensive for a mainstream luxury EV.

Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is in a price-slashing competition, trying to get customers to choose their EV over the other — especially over Tesla (which is struggling to get new buyers).

Read More