verge-rss

There are some good EVs and hybrids that are eligible for the incentive. | Screenshot: Umar Shakir / The Verge

Carvana is now offering discounts of up to $4,000 at checkout for eligible used EVs and plug-in hybrids. The discount is essentially an advancement of the federal tax incentive for previously owned vehicles, but it lets customers reap the benefit immediately rather than waiting for tax refunds the following year.
You will still need to file your taxes correctly using IRS Form 8936, and you have to agree to transfer the credit to Carvana once you do file. So, while it’s not making tax season any easier, Carvana is offering a lower cost of entry to buy an electric vehicle, which could help push customers interested in EVs to take the leap.
You can now take advantage of the offer on Carvana’s app or website by searching for EVs or plug-in hybrids with a green tax credit banner. As the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act outlines, not every used clean vehicle is eligible. It has to have at least a 7kWh battery and a price less than or equal to $25,000, including shipping and delivery charges. It’s also only valid on a vehicle’s previous two model years.

Screenshot: Umar Shakir / The Verge
I don’t know if you care, but most eligible Spark EVs are gone.

For instance, if you want a Chevy Spark EV because it’s small, zippy, and fits in any parking space, only the 2015 and 2016 models are eligible. Carvana is selling them for about $11,000 to $14,000 each, so the incentive could bring it down to $10,000 or under (although, as of writing, I’ve noticed some of them no longer have the advertised discount banner).
At checkout, you must confirm your eligibility, which includes the requirement that your income not exceed $150,000 for a married couple filing jointly, $112,500 when filing as the head of a household, or $75,000 for a married couple filing separately, individually, or other.
The credit can’t be claimed for vehicles already purchased with the used clean vehicle tax credit or if you have used that benefit in the past three years (which is not technically possible yet). Either way, take advantage of it sooner rather than later because Republicans may end up killing it eventually.

There are some good EVs and hybrids that are eligible for the incentive. | Screenshot: Umar Shakir / The Verge

Carvana is now offering discounts of up to $4,000 at checkout for eligible used EVs and plug-in hybrids. The discount is essentially an advancement of the federal tax incentive for previously owned vehicles, but it lets customers reap the benefit immediately rather than waiting for tax refunds the following year.

You will still need to file your taxes correctly using IRS Form 8936, and you have to agree to transfer the credit to Carvana once you do file. So, while it’s not making tax season any easier, Carvana is offering a lower cost of entry to buy an electric vehicle, which could help push customers interested in EVs to take the leap.

You can now take advantage of the offer on Carvana’s app or website by searching for EVs or plug-in hybrids with a green tax credit banner. As the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act outlines, not every used clean vehicle is eligible. It has to have at least a 7kWh battery and a price less than or equal to $25,000, including shipping and delivery charges. It’s also only valid on a vehicle’s previous two model years.

Screenshot: Umar Shakir / The Verge
I don’t know if you care, but most eligible Spark EVs are gone.

For instance, if you want a Chevy Spark EV because it’s small, zippy, and fits in any parking space, only the 2015 and 2016 models are eligible. Carvana is selling them for about $11,000 to $14,000 each, so the incentive could bring it down to $10,000 or under (although, as of writing, I’ve noticed some of them no longer have the advertised discount banner).

At checkout, you must confirm your eligibility, which includes the requirement that your income not exceed $150,000 for a married couple filing jointly, $112,500 when filing as the head of a household, or $75,000 for a married couple filing separately, individually, or other.

The credit can’t be claimed for vehicles already purchased with the used clean vehicle tax credit or if you have used that benefit in the past three years (which is not technically possible yet). Either way, take advantage of it sooner rather than later because Republicans may end up killing it eventually.

Read More 

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Instagram isn’t going to focus on longform video because it might “undermine” the platform’s “core identity to connect people with friends,” Instagram boss Adam Mosseri says in a video. Yes, you can technically post Instagram videos to your feed that are as long as one hour, and yes, Instagram did try to push for longer videos with IGTV before shutting the app down! But now, shortform is where it’s at, Mosseri argues.
Mosseri says that Instagram’s two main jobs are to help you connect with friends and to help you explore interests “usually through shortform video.” He says that those two jobs are “symbiotic” because you might send a video that you like to a friend who might also like it.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Adam Mosseri (@mosseri)

On the other hand, longform videos (think videos that are longer than 10 minutes or feel more like TV shows) are “less symbiotic” with Instagram’s two jobs because they mean “you see less content from friends, you interact with your friends less, and you’re actually less likely to send that content or that video to a friend,” Mosseri says. Because of that, Instagram won’t go after the format. (TikTok, on the other hand, is investing more into longer videos.)
Here’s a full transcript of Mosseri’s remarks, which I’ve slightly edited for clarity:

A creator asked me recently: “are we going to do longform video on Instagram?” The answer is no and I wanted to explain why.
We do a number of different things on Instagram but at the heart of it there are really two jobs. One: connecting you with friends. Two: helping you explore your interests, usually through shortfrom video.
It turns out that those two things are symbiotic. You see an amazing video that makes you laugh out loud from a comedian doing a bit, and you send it to someone who you know is going to laugh just as loud as you did. Or for me, I see a highlight of an amazing soccer goal or trick, and I send it to someone who I know loves soccer as much as I do. So these things are about connecting with friends over your interests.
It turns out longfrom video is less symbiotic with these other jobs. If you watch a 10- or 20-minute video, you see less content from friends, you interact with your friends less, and you’re actually less likely to send that content or that video to a friend. So we’re not going to go after that business because it’s part of our core identity to connect people with friends and we don’t want to undermine that by going after longform video.
We understand shortform video doesn’t always do that, but it can. We try and prioritize shortfrom video that does. So let me know down below the comments what you think. I’m sure there are going to be a lot of hot takes on this one. Peace.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Instagram isn’t going to focus on longform video because it might “undermine” the platform’s “core identity to connect people with friends,” Instagram boss Adam Mosseri says in a video. Yes, you can technically post Instagram videos to your feed that are as long as one hour, and yes, Instagram did try to push for longer videos with IGTV before shutting the app down! But now, shortform is where it’s at, Mosseri argues.

Mosseri says that Instagram’s two main jobs are to help you connect with friends and to help you explore interests “usually through shortform video.” He says that those two jobs are “symbiotic” because you might send a video that you like to a friend who might also like it.

On the other hand, longform videos (think videos that are longer than 10 minutes or feel more like TV shows) are “less symbiotic” with Instagram’s two jobs because they mean “you see less content from friends, you interact with your friends less, and you’re actually less likely to send that content or that video to a friend,” Mosseri says. Because of that, Instagram won’t go after the format. (TikTok, on the other hand, is investing more into longer videos.)

Here’s a full transcript of Mosseri’s remarks, which I’ve slightly edited for clarity:

A creator asked me recently: “are we going to do longform video on Instagram?” The answer is no and I wanted to explain why.

We do a number of different things on Instagram but at the heart of it there are really two jobs. One: connecting you with friends. Two: helping you explore your interests, usually through shortfrom video.

It turns out that those two things are symbiotic. You see an amazing video that makes you laugh out loud from a comedian doing a bit, and you send it to someone who you know is going to laugh just as loud as you did. Or for me, I see a highlight of an amazing soccer goal or trick, and I send it to someone who I know loves soccer as much as I do. So these things are about connecting with friends over your interests.

It turns out longfrom video is less symbiotic with these other jobs. If you watch a 10- or 20-minute video, you see less content from friends, you interact with your friends less, and you’re actually less likely to send that content or that video to a friend. So we’re not going to go after that business because it’s part of our core identity to connect people with friends and we don’t want to undermine that by going after longform video.

We understand shortform video doesn’t always do that, but it can. We try and prioritize shortfrom video that does. So let me know down below the comments what you think. I’m sure there are going to be a lot of hot takes on this one. Peace.

Read More 

Image: The Verge

Microsoft is planning to hike its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate pricing again in September, alongside launching a new “standard” subscription that doesn’t include day-one access to first-party Xbox games. The Xbox maker has started emailing Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers warning of a price increase to $19.99 a month that starts on September 12th, a $3 increase over the current $16.99 a month pricing.
PC Game Pass subscribers will also see a price hike in September, with the service moving from $9.99 to $11.99 per month and maintaining access to day-one titles. If you’re outside the US and wondering how the price increases affect your own subscription, Microsoft has a full list of all the worldwide price changes here.
The price increases come just before Microsoft plans to add Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and other big first-party Xbox games to its Game Pass service later this year. The price increases will largely affect Ultimate subscribers who make up the vast majority of Game Pass subscribers and come just over a year after the last Game Pass price hikes raised rates by $1–$2 per month.
Alongside the Ultimate and PC Game Pass price hikes, Microsoft will also offer a new option of an Xbox Game Pass Standard subscription without day-one titles that will be priced at $14.99 per month for new users to the service. The existing Xbox Game Pass for console subscription will continue for existing subscribers, but new Game Pass subscribers won’t be able to select the console option starting July 10th until the new Game Pass Standard subscription is available. Microsoft says Xbox Game Pass Standard “will be available in the coming months.”
The new standard option also include online console multiplayer access, which is something that Xbox Game Pass for Console lacked previously. Existing Xbox Game Pass for Console subscribers will only be able to stack for up to 13 months from September 18th, but this won’t impact existing stacks.
I revealed in May that Microsoft was considering raising Xbox Game Pass Ultimate pricing again, amid a debate around adding Call of Duty to the service. A price increase to the top tier will help offset Microsoft adding Activision’s Call of Duty series to Game Pass, and it has been largely expected since Microsoft made the CoD addition official.

Image: The Verge

Microsoft is planning to hike its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate pricing again in September, alongside launching a new “standard” subscription that doesn’t include day-one access to first-party Xbox games. The Xbox maker has started emailing Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers warning of a price increase to $19.99 a month that starts on September 12th, a $3 increase over the current $16.99 a month pricing.

PC Game Pass subscribers will also see a price hike in September, with the service moving from $9.99 to $11.99 per month and maintaining access to day-one titles. If you’re outside the US and wondering how the price increases affect your own subscription, Microsoft has a full list of all the worldwide price changes here.

The price increases come just before Microsoft plans to add Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and other big first-party Xbox games to its Game Pass service later this year. The price increases will largely affect Ultimate subscribers who make up the vast majority of Game Pass subscribers and come just over a year after the last Game Pass price hikes raised rates by $1–$2 per month.

Alongside the Ultimate and PC Game Pass price hikes, Microsoft will also offer a new option of an Xbox Game Pass Standard subscription without day-one titles that will be priced at $14.99 per month for new users to the service. The existing Xbox Game Pass for console subscription will continue for existing subscribers, but new Game Pass subscribers won’t be able to select the console option starting July 10th until the new Game Pass Standard subscription is available. Microsoft says Xbox Game Pass Standard “will be available in the coming months.”

The new standard option also include online console multiplayer access, which is something that Xbox Game Pass for Console lacked previously. Existing Xbox Game Pass for Console subscribers will only be able to stack for up to 13 months from September 18th, but this won’t impact existing stacks.

I revealed in May that Microsoft was considering raising Xbox Game Pass Ultimate pricing again, amid a debate around adding Call of Duty to the service. A price increase to the top tier will help offset Microsoft adding Activision’s Call of Duty series to Game Pass, and it has been largely expected since Microsoft made the CoD addition official.

Read More 

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images

A judge has tossed nearly all of the claims a group of developers brought against GitHub, Microsoft, and OpenAI in a copyright lawsuit filed in 2022, as reported earlier by The Register. In a court order unsealed last week, a California judge left only two claims standing: one that accuses the companies of an open-source license violation and another that alleges breach of contract.
The original lawsuit made 22 claims against the trio, accusing them of violating copyright laws by allowing the AI-powered GitHub Copilot coding assistant to train on developers’ work. Microsoft, the owner of GitHub, uses OpenAI’s technology to power the tool. All three companies asked the court to throw out the lawsuit in January, but Judge Jon Tigar denied their request.
However, Judge Tigar’s latest ruling deals a blow to the accusation that GitHub Copilot violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) by suggesting code without proper attribution. Although the court previously ruled that Copilot’s suggested code wasn’t close enough to its original source, an amended version of the complaint takes issue with GitHub’s duplication detection filter, which users can toggle on to “detect and suppress” Copilot suggestions matching public code found on GitHub.
The amended lawsuit argues that GitHub gives users the option to “receive identical code” when the filter is turned off. It also cites a study that shows how AI models can “memorize” and regurgitate parts of their training data, which could potentially include copyrighted code.

This didn’t hold up in court, as Judge Tigar determined that the code GitHub allegedly copied from developers wasn’t similar enough to their original work. He also mentions a part of the cited study that says GitHub Copilot “rarely emits memorized code in benign situations.” Judge Tigar dismissed this allegation with prejudice, meaning the developers can’t refile the claim. The court also dismissed requests for punitive damages, as well as monetary relief in the form of unjust enrichment.
This doesn’t mean the lawsuit is over. Litigation will likely continue with the developers’ claims regarding breach of contract and open-source license violations.

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images

A judge has tossed nearly all of the claims a group of developers brought against GitHub, Microsoft, and OpenAI in a copyright lawsuit filed in 2022, as reported earlier by The Register. In a court order unsealed last week, a California judge left only two claims standing: one that accuses the companies of an open-source license violation and another that alleges breach of contract.

The original lawsuit made 22 claims against the trio, accusing them of violating copyright laws by allowing the AI-powered GitHub Copilot coding assistant to train on developers’ work. Microsoft, the owner of GitHub, uses OpenAI’s technology to power the tool. All three companies asked the court to throw out the lawsuit in January, but Judge Jon Tigar denied their request.

However, Judge Tigar’s latest ruling deals a blow to the accusation that GitHub Copilot violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) by suggesting code without proper attribution. Although the court previously ruled that Copilot’s suggested code wasn’t close enough to its original source, an amended version of the complaint takes issue with GitHub’s duplication detection filter, which users can toggle on to “detect and suppress” Copilot suggestions matching public code found on GitHub.

The amended lawsuit argues that GitHub gives users the option to “receive identical code” when the filter is turned off. It also cites a study that shows how AI models can “memorize” and regurgitate parts of their training data, which could potentially include copyrighted code.

This didn’t hold up in court, as Judge Tigar determined that the code GitHub allegedly copied from developers wasn’t similar enough to their original work. He also mentions a part of the cited study that says GitHub Copilot “rarely emits memorized code in benign situations.” Judge Tigar dismissed this allegation with prejudice, meaning the developers can’t refile the claim. The court also dismissed requests for punitive damages, as well as monetary relief in the form of unjust enrichment.

This doesn’t mean the lawsuit is over. Litigation will likely continue with the developers’ claims regarding breach of contract and open-source license violations.

Read More 

A broken cellphone with a rechargeable battery lies in a collection container for hazardous materials at a waste sorting facility. | Photo by Jens Büttner / picture alliance via Getty Images

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used in everyday gadgets, electric vehicles, and to store renewable energy could be a growing source of the “forever chemicals” that pollute soil and waterways, new research suggests.
“Forever chemicals” encompass thousands of different kinds of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). For decades, they’ve been used to make products more resistant to water, stains, and heat. More recently, a particular subclass of PFAS called bis-perfluoroalkyl sulfonimides (bis-FASIs) has been used as electrolytes and binders in lithium-ion batteries.
Those bis-FASIs are now showing up in soil, sediment, water, and snow surrounding manufacturing facilities, according to research published yesterday in the journal Nature Communications. The study authors also found bis-FASIs in liquids that leached from landfills.
It’s a problem that could grow as more pieces of our lives become all-electric — from cars to homes and buildings
Taken together, it points to lithium-ion batteries as a potential vector for forever chemical pollution from cradle to grave. Without taking action, it’s a problem that could grow as more pieces of our lives become all-electric — from cars to homes and buildings.
“It’s definitely not intended to be anti-clean or sustainable energy … It’s really meant to highlight, ‘Hey, let’s include environmental risk assessments of the things that we’re using in this infrastructure,’” says lead author Jennifer Guelfo, an assistant professor of environmental engineering at Texas Tech University.
“It’s basically a starting point. And what I hope is that it leads to more attention to these compounds and others like them in applications that are emerging in both clean energy as well as consumer electronics,” adds P. Lee Ferguson, another study author and an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Duke University.
The researchers took water, sediment, and soil samples from 87 different locations in Minnesota, Kentucky, Belgium, and France between January and October 2022 — targeting areas near forever chemical manufacturers including 3M and Arkema, among others. They found concentrations of bis-FASIs in the parts per billion (ppb) common near manufacturing facilities. “You don’t just find that out there typically as like background concentration,” Guelfo says. “Parts per billion is usually something that’s associated with some form of impact.”
For comparison, that’s less PFAS contamination than you might find in the environment from a release of fire-fighting foam, according to Guelfo. PFAS levels might be in the parts per million in that scenario, about a thousand times higher than the bis-FASI concentrations Guelfo and her colleagues typically found near manufacturers. But the contamination they documented is still orders of magnitude higher than limits the Environmental Protection Agency set this year for other kinds of PFAS in drinking water. The agency’s limit is four parts per trillion for two of the most common types of forever chemicals.
There aren’t any federal regulations yet for bis-FASIs in particular, which haven’t been used as ubiquitously as other kinds of PFAS for as long. Because PFAS has been used in everything from nonstick pans to food packaging, fabric protector, and dental floss — certain types of PFAS have likely already entered most Americans’ bloodstreams.

Scientists are still trying to understand how exposure to PFAS affects people, and even less is known about bis-FASIs specifically. But studies on more common types of PFAS have linked high exposure to a higher risk of certain kinds of cancer, liver damage, high cholesterol, and reproductive health issues including lower infant birth weight. Bis-FASIs are likely to persist for a long time in the environment, the new research suggests, but could potentially be cleaned up using similar methods for treating other kinds of forever chemicals in drinking water.
Since there are so many different kinds of PFAS and mounting concerns about the risks they pose as a class of chemicals, the researchers say we might not want to wait to find problems later on if we can take measures now to protect health and the environment. 3M, which faces a slew of lawsuits for producing PFAS over the years, has committed to phasing out forever chemicals by the end of next year and continuing to clean up pollution near its facilities afterwards. That includes no longer manufacturing bis-FASIs, the company tells The Verge in an email. Arkema didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from The Verge.
“I would argue that we should take a proactive stance in terms of mitigating environmental releases of PFAS instead of waiting until we have done decades of toxicology research to say, ‘Hey, maybe we should mitigate this in drinking water,’” Guelfo says.
What’s more, lithium-ion batteries are becoming even more in demand for EVs and solar and wind power. The study authors tested 17 different batteries used in laptops, smartphones, tablets, electric vehicles, and more and detected bis-FASIs in 11 of them. And since it’s estimated that only around 5 percent of lithium-ion batteries are recycled, they decided to look near landfills for bis-FASIs, too. They analyzed existing lab samples of leachates collected from North Carolina landfills and found concentrations nearing the parts per billion range.
“This is a very interesting study from a group of very-qualified investigators,” A. Daniel Jones, associate director at the Michigan State University Center for PFAS Research who was not involved in the research, said in an email to The Verge. “This work draws attention to an often-neglected PFAS chemical and suggests that it is readily transported through the environment. It is also important that this study draws attention to the need for greater awareness of the implications of the full life cycles of lithium batteries.”

A broken cellphone with a rechargeable battery lies in a collection container for hazardous materials at a waste sorting facility. | Photo by Jens Büttner / picture alliance via Getty Images

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used in everyday gadgets, electric vehicles, and to store renewable energy could be a growing source of the “forever chemicals” that pollute soil and waterways, new research suggests.

“Forever chemicals” encompass thousands of different kinds of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). For decades, they’ve been used to make products more resistant to water, stains, and heat. More recently, a particular subclass of PFAS called bis-perfluoroalkyl sulfonimides (bis-FASIs) has been used as electrolytes and binders in lithium-ion batteries.

Those bis-FASIs are now showing up in soil, sediment, water, and snow surrounding manufacturing facilities, according to research published yesterday in the journal Nature Communications. The study authors also found bis-FASIs in liquids that leached from landfills.

Taken together, it points to lithium-ion batteries as a potential vector for forever chemical pollution from cradle to grave. Without taking action, it’s a problem that could grow as more pieces of our lives become all-electric — from cars to homes and buildings.

“It’s definitely not intended to be anti-clean or sustainable energy … It’s really meant to highlight, ‘Hey, let’s include environmental risk assessments of the things that we’re using in this infrastructure,’” says lead author Jennifer Guelfo, an assistant professor of environmental engineering at Texas Tech University.

“It’s basically a starting point. And what I hope is that it leads to more attention to these compounds and others like them in applications that are emerging in both clean energy as well as consumer electronics,” adds P. Lee Ferguson, another study author and an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Duke University.

The researchers took water, sediment, and soil samples from 87 different locations in Minnesota, Kentucky, Belgium, and France between January and October 2022 — targeting areas near forever chemical manufacturers including 3M and Arkema, among others. They found concentrations of bis-FASIs in the parts per billion (ppb) common near manufacturing facilities. “You don’t just find that out there typically as like background concentration,” Guelfo says. “Parts per billion is usually something that’s associated with some form of impact.”

For comparison, that’s less PFAS contamination than you might find in the environment from a release of fire-fighting foam, according to Guelfo. PFAS levels might be in the parts per million in that scenario, about a thousand times higher than the bis-FASI concentrations Guelfo and her colleagues typically found near manufacturers. But the contamination they documented is still orders of magnitude higher than limits the Environmental Protection Agency set this year for other kinds of PFAS in drinking water. The agency’s limit is four parts per trillion for two of the most common types of forever chemicals.

There aren’t any federal regulations yet for bis-FASIs in particular, which haven’t been used as ubiquitously as other kinds of PFAS for as long. Because PFAS has been used in everything from nonstick pans to food packaging, fabric protector, and dental floss — certain types of PFAS have likely already entered most Americans’ bloodstreams.

Scientists are still trying to understand how exposure to PFAS affects people, and even less is known about bis-FASIs specifically. But studies on more common types of PFAS have linked high exposure to a higher risk of certain kinds of cancer, liver damage, high cholesterol, and reproductive health issues including lower infant birth weight. Bis-FASIs are likely to persist for a long time in the environment, the new research suggests, but could potentially be cleaned up using similar methods for treating other kinds of forever chemicals in drinking water.

Since there are so many different kinds of PFAS and mounting concerns about the risks they pose as a class of chemicals, the researchers say we might not want to wait to find problems later on if we can take measures now to protect health and the environment. 3M, which faces a slew of lawsuits for producing PFAS over the years, has committed to phasing out forever chemicals by the end of next year and continuing to clean up pollution near its facilities afterwards. That includes no longer manufacturing bis-FASIs, the company tells The Verge in an email. Arkema didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from The Verge.

“I would argue that we should take a proactive stance in terms of mitigating environmental releases of PFAS instead of waiting until we have done decades of toxicology research to say, ‘Hey, maybe we should mitigate this in drinking water,’” Guelfo says.

What’s more, lithium-ion batteries are becoming even more in demand for EVs and solar and wind power. The study authors tested 17 different batteries used in laptops, smartphones, tablets, electric vehicles, and more and detected bis-FASIs in 11 of them. And since it’s estimated that only around 5 percent of lithium-ion batteries are recycled, they decided to look near landfills for bis-FASIs, too. They analyzed existing lab samples of leachates collected from North Carolina landfills and found concentrations nearing the parts per billion range.

“This is a very interesting study from a group of very-qualified investigators,” A. Daniel Jones, associate director at the Michigan State University Center for PFAS Research who was not involved in the research, said in an email to The Verge. “This work draws attention to an often-neglected PFAS chemical and suggests that it is readily transported through the environment. It is also important that this study draws attention to the need for greater awareness of the implications of the full life cycles of lithium batteries.”

Read More 

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that it seized two domain names and more than 900 social media accounts it claims were part of an “AI-enhanced” Russian bot farm. Many of the accounts were designed to look like they belonged to Americans and posted content about the Russia-Ukraine war, including videos in which Russian President Vladimir Putin justified Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Justice Department claims that an employee of RT — Russia’s state media outlet — was behind the bot farm. RT’s leadership signed off on a plan to use the bot farm to “distribute information on a wide-scale basis,” amplifying the publication’s reach on social media,” an FBI agent alleged in an affidavit. To set up the bot farm, the employee bought two domain names from Namecheap, an Arizona-based company, that were then used to create two email servers, the affidavit claims. The servers were then used to create 968 email addresses, which were in turn used to set up social media accounts, according to the affidavit and the DOJ.
In early 2023, a member of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) created a private intelligence organization whose membership included the deputy editor and other employees of RT, the affidavit claims. The organization’s true purpose “was to advance the mission of the FSB and the Russian government, including by spreading disinformation through the social media accounts created by the bot farm,” the DOJ claimed in a statement. In other words, the goal was not to expand RT’s audience but to spread disinformation on behalf of the Russian government using RT’s bot network, according to the DOJ.
The effort was concentrated on X, where profiles were created with Meliorator, an “AI-enabled bot farm generation and management software,” according to a joint cybersecurity advisory published by the US, Canadian, and Dutch governments. Meliorator had an obfuscation technique designed to bypass X’s verification methods, the cybersecurity advisory claims.
Each bot’s profile had an identity or “soul” based on an archetype or persona. They were given biographical information, political ideologies, and a location. For example, one account purported to be a Bitcoin enthusiast and free speech absolutist from Minneapolis who was opposed to the New World Order. A “thoughts” tab allowed the operator to control the bots’ online behavior based on their soul or archetype.
The alleged scheme violates the Emergency Economic Powers Act, which lets the president impose economic sanctions on certain foreign actors and governments. Under the IEEPA, the executive branch has imposed a number of orders and regulations governing Americans’ transactions with Russian nationals and the Russian government, including an executive order that prohibits US persons from providing funds, goods, or services “to or for the benefit of” Specially Designated Nationals without obtaining authorization from the Treasury Department.
The investigation is ongoing.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that it seized two domain names and more than 900 social media accounts it claims were part of an “AI-enhanced” Russian bot farm. Many of the accounts were designed to look like they belonged to Americans and posted content about the Russia-Ukraine war, including videos in which Russian President Vladimir Putin justified Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Justice Department claims that an employee of RT — Russia’s state media outlet — was behind the bot farm. RT’s leadership signed off on a plan to use the bot farm to “distribute information on a wide-scale basis,” amplifying the publication’s reach on social media,” an FBI agent alleged in an affidavit. To set up the bot farm, the employee bought two domain names from Namecheap, an Arizona-based company, that were then used to create two email servers, the affidavit claims. The servers were then used to create 968 email addresses, which were in turn used to set up social media accounts, according to the affidavit and the DOJ.

In early 2023, a member of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) created a private intelligence organization whose membership included the deputy editor and other employees of RT, the affidavit claims. The organization’s true purpose “was to advance the mission of the FSB and the Russian government, including by spreading disinformation through the social media accounts created by the bot farm,” the DOJ claimed in a statement. In other words, the goal was not to expand RT’s audience but to spread disinformation on behalf of the Russian government using RT’s bot network, according to the DOJ.

The effort was concentrated on X, where profiles were created with Meliorator, an “AI-enabled bot farm generation and management software,” according to a joint cybersecurity advisory published by the US, Canadian, and Dutch governments. Meliorator had an obfuscation technique designed to bypass X’s verification methods, the cybersecurity advisory claims.

Each bot’s profile had an identity or “soul” based on an archetype or persona. They were given biographical information, political ideologies, and a location. For example, one account purported to be a Bitcoin enthusiast and free speech absolutist from Minneapolis who was opposed to the New World Order. A “thoughts” tab allowed the operator to control the bots’ online behavior based on their soul or archetype.

The alleged scheme violates the Emergency Economic Powers Act, which lets the president impose economic sanctions on certain foreign actors and governments. Under the IEEPA, the executive branch has imposed a number of orders and regulations governing Americans’ transactions with Russian nationals and the Russian government, including an executive order that prohibits US persons from providing funds, goods, or services “to or for the benefit of” Specially Designated Nationals without obtaining authorization from the Treasury Department.

The investigation is ongoing.

Read More 

The game is an oldie but goodie, especially with multiple people playing. | Screenshot: Nintendo

If you have a sudden or anticipated need for Joy-Con replacements or additional controllers to supplement the pair that came with your Nintendo Switch, the ongoing Walmart Deals event is where you want to be. Until July 11th, the retailer is selling the red and blue Joy-Con bundled with a copy of Super Mario Party for $69 ($31 off). The Joy-Con controllers retail for about that much on their own, and the game is usually around $40 to $50 when it’s on sale, so the game is effectively free.

Super Mario Party for Switch (the 11th in its long history, though there’s a newer title in Mario Party Superstars) offers four-player fun with 80 different minigames, from racing and sports to puzzlers and gladiator-style rumbles. There’s a mix of new and classic boards and games to enjoy, all of which are completely playable with just a single Joy-Con per player (including a sizable amount that use the controllers’ motion capabilities). You can play with up to four people in free-for-all or team-based formats, whether you’re online or hosting a couch co-op night.

Super Mario Party has a fun mix of Nintendo characters to play with. You have iconic mainstays like Mario, Luigi, Bowser, and Princess Peach, of course, but you’ll also find characters from popular series like Animal Crossing, Splatoon, and The Legend of Zelda. You can earn several unique dice blocks for each with special abilities or improved odds to roll the numbers you need.
To win, you’ll need to acquire more stars than your opponents before the turn or time limit expires. As you move across the board, you’ll claim bonuses and powerups that may help you land on lucrative squares that can earn you more stars. You might also land on squares that aren’t so helpful to your plight.
Between the skill-based minigames, boosts and busts you can encounter on the board from random dice rolls, and last-minute swings that can completely turn the tide, no two games of Super Mario Party ever feel quite the same. Be careful playing with loved ones — there’s a good chance your friendly rivalries can turn a little bitter as you continually settle the score.

The game is an oldie but goodie, especially with multiple people playing. | Screenshot: Nintendo

If you have a sudden or anticipated need for Joy-Con replacements or additional controllers to supplement the pair that came with your Nintendo Switch, the ongoing Walmart Deals event is where you want to be. Until July 11th, the retailer is selling the red and blue Joy-Con bundled with a copy of Super Mario Party for $69 ($31 off). The Joy-Con controllers retail for about that much on their own, and the game is usually around $40 to $50 when it’s on sale, so the game is effectively free.

Super Mario Party for Switch (the 11th in its long history, though there’s a newer title in Mario Party Superstars) offers four-player fun with 80 different minigames, from racing and sports to puzzlers and gladiator-style rumbles. There’s a mix of new and classic boards and games to enjoy, all of which are completely playable with just a single Joy-Con per player (including a sizable amount that use the controllers’ motion capabilities). You can play with up to four people in free-for-all or team-based formats, whether you’re online or hosting a couch co-op night.

Super Mario Party has a fun mix of Nintendo characters to play with. You have iconic mainstays like Mario, Luigi, Bowser, and Princess Peach, of course, but you’ll also find characters from popular series like Animal Crossing, Splatoon, and The Legend of Zelda. You can earn several unique dice blocks for each with special abilities or improved odds to roll the numbers you need.

To win, you’ll need to acquire more stars than your opponents before the turn or time limit expires. As you move across the board, you’ll claim bonuses and powerups that may help you land on lucrative squares that can earn you more stars. You might also land on squares that aren’t so helpful to your plight.

Between the skill-based minigames, boosts and busts you can encounter on the board from random dice rolls, and last-minute swings that can completely turn the tide, no two games of Super Mario Party ever feel quite the same. Be careful playing with loved ones — there’s a good chance your friendly rivalries can turn a little bitter as you continually settle the score.

Read More 

Image: The Verge

Mark Matlock, a political candidate for the right-wing Reform UK party, clarified in The Independent that he is a real person, not an AI bot, as some suspected.
Perhaps it was the glossy, hyper-smooth skin in a campaign image or the fact that Matlock had apparently missed events like the election count — but earlier this week, a thread on X questioned whether Matlock existed at all. “We might be on the verge of a HUGE SCANDAL,” the post read.

We might be on the verge of a HUGE SCANDAL. Suspicions have been raised that Reform have fielded election candidates that aren’t real people. Is there any evidence that Mark Matlock (candidate for Clapham & Brixton Hill) actually exists? He looks AI generated. pic.twitter.com/0wJcR4HZXG— Dr Bella (@Dr_BellaR) July 8, 2024

An AI-generated political candidate isn’t totally out of the realm of possibility: during this election, an executive at an AI company used an AI persona to run for Parliament in the UK. He lost, obviously, getting just 179 votes.
Matlock, however, is a human candidate who apparently was very ill during the election.
“I got pneumonia three days before election night I was exercising taking vitamins so I could attend but it was just not viable. On election night I couldn’t even stand,” he told The Independent. Matlock also provided the outlet with the original photo that drew attention, saying the background was removed and the color of his tie was changed. The photo does have that rubbery, uncanny look to it that’s come to be associated with AI, though —particularly Matlock’s hair and skin. This seems like a good lesson for all elected officials: don’t edit your pictures in a way that looks like a Midjourney result for the prompt “youthful, nonthreatening-looking politician.”
The 2024 elections in the US and abroad are already feeling the effects of the proliferation of AI tools, though, for now, we still haven’t seen an AI bot replace a human politician. (To be fair, some people would probably prefer that.) Convincingly real deepfakes of politicians are easier than ever to make, with President Joe Biden’s voice being cloned to discourage people from voting, in one notable incident. There’s also the question of how to handle political ads created using AI tools — Google said earlier this month it will automatically create disclosures for political ads that have been labeled as AI-generated by the advertiser.
As The Guardian points out, some Reform UK candidates offered barely any details about themselves online, likely adding to the speculation about Matlock. So if you’re planning to run for elected office anytime soon, be warned: show up to events, engage with constituents, and keep a public profile. And, of course, lay off the photo editing.

Image: The Verge

Mark Matlock, a political candidate for the right-wing Reform UK party, clarified in The Independent that he is a real person, not an AI bot, as some suspected.

Perhaps it was the glossy, hyper-smooth skin in a campaign image or the fact that Matlock had apparently missed events like the election count — but earlier this week, a thread on X questioned whether Matlock existed at all. “We might be on the verge of a HUGE SCANDAL,” the post read.

An AI-generated political candidate isn’t totally out of the realm of possibility: during this election, an executive at an AI company used an AI persona to run for Parliament in the UK. He lost, obviously, getting just 179 votes.

Matlock, however, is a human candidate who apparently was very ill during the election.

“I got pneumonia three days before election night I was exercising taking vitamins so I could attend but it was just not viable. On election night I couldn’t even stand,” he told The Independent. Matlock also provided the outlet with the original photo that drew attention, saying the background was removed and the color of his tie was changed. The photo does have that rubbery, uncanny look to it that’s come to be associated with AI, though —particularly Matlock’s hair and skin. This seems like a good lesson for all elected officials: don’t edit your pictures in a way that looks like a Midjourney result for the prompt “youthful, nonthreatening-looking politician.”

The 2024 elections in the US and abroad are already feeling the effects of the proliferation of AI tools, though, for now, we still haven’t seen an AI bot replace a human politician. (To be fair, some people would probably prefer that.) Convincingly real deepfakes of politicians are easier than ever to make, with President Joe Biden’s voice being cloned to discourage people from voting, in one notable incident. There’s also the question of how to handle political ads created using AI tools — Google said earlier this month it will automatically create disclosures for political ads that have been labeled as AI-generated by the advertiser.

As The Guardian points out, some Reform UK candidates offered barely any details about themselves online, likely adding to the speculation about Matlock. So if you’re planning to run for elected office anytime soon, be warned: show up to events, engage with constituents, and keep a public profile. And, of course, lay off the photo editing.

Read More 

The second-gen AirPods Pro are one of several Apple devices that have dropped to an all-time low ahead of Prime Day. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Amazon Prime Day may kick off on July 16th, but if you can’t wait or you’re not a Prime member, Walmart’s competing sales event is worth a look. Now until July 11th, the retailer is discounting a whole bunch of gadgets and goodies, from the latest AirPods Pro to the Nintendo Switch OLED. What’s more, Walmart is offering half-price yearlong Walmart Plus memberships ($49) throughout the sale, which grants you access to free delivery, a complimentary subscription to Paramount Plus, and early access to deals during future sales events.

Below, we’ve rounded up all the worthwhile deals you can currently take advantage of. If you’re a Prime member, we’d also recommend checking out our guide to the best early Prime Day deals so you can save even more ahead of the two-day shopping event.

The best headphone and earbud deals

If you want a pair of wireless earbuds that integrate well with Apple’s ecosystem and can do without ANC, the third-gen AirPods are on sale at Walmart and Amazon with a Lightning charging case for $129 ($45 off). That’s the best price we’ve seen on the latest entry-level AirPods, which deliver good sound and improved battery life; unlike their predecessor, they also offer IPX4 sweat and water resistance. Read our review.

If you want the cheapest AirPods money can buy, Apple’s second-gen AirPods are down to an all-time low of $69 ($60 off) at Walmart and Amazon. They don’t have IPX4 sweat and water resistance like the third-gen AirPods, but they still sound good, last a long time on a single charge, and offer reliable performance. Read our review.

Sony’s LinkBuds S are on sale at Walmart starting at $138.60. This isn’t the lowest we’ve seen the wireless earbuds go for — they’ve dropped down to as low as $108 in the past — but it’s still a respectable $61 discount. That’s a decent price for a pair of noise-canceling earbuds with excellent sound and support for the LDAC lossless audio codec. They also feature a helpful transparency mode for when you want to hear your surroundings. Read our review.

The best gaming deals

Govee’s DreamView G1S Pro gaming lights are down to $80 ($26 off) at Walmart. The lighting set includes two desktop light towers and a flexible strip light for the back of your monitor. It comes with a 1080p camera that reads the colors on your screen, which, in turn, allows the lights to reflect what’s happening in your game. There’s also an integrated microphone that allows the lights to respond to sound, whether from the game you’re playing or to visualize any music you’re listening to.

Sony’s DualSense Edge controller for the PlayStation 5 is down to $174.99 ($25 off) at Walmart, which is the best price we’ve seen on the pro-style controller so far. It builds upon the original DualSense’s innovative features with swappable thumb sticks, customizable stick sensitivity and dead zones, adjustable trigger travel, and programmable back buttons that you can swap and remove at will. It comes with a hard-shell carrying case, too. Read our review.
The original Pulse 3D headset for the PlayStation 5 is down to $87.99 ($12 off) in select colors at Walmart, which isn’t the lowest price we’ve seen but is a decent consolation if you can’t afford the updated Pulse Elite model. The wireless headset supports Sony’s Tempest 3D Audio tech, which offers spatial audio that surrounds you with accurately positioned sound effects. You can dial in your preferred EQ settings, too, with three presets and three slots to customize your own.
If you’ve always dreamed of adding an arcade machine to your game room, Walmart is currently selling Arcade1Up’s Capcom Legacy cabinet for just $249 ($51 off). The “Yoga Flame” design takes after the featured Street Fighter franchise and showcases iconic characters from the preloaded games, including Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting, Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, and Super Street Fighter II Turbo. It also comes with a selection of other classic Capcom games, such as Strider, Final Fight, and Captain Commando.

The best smartwatch deals

Apple’s latest entry-level smartwatch — the second-gen Apple Watch SE — is on sale at Walmart in the GPS configuration starting at $189 ($60 off). It lacks the temperature, EKG, and blood oxygen sensors found in the Apple Watch Series 9, but it’s otherwise a capable wearable for tracking various health and fitness metrics. It also sports the same chipset and Crash Detection feature as the Apple Watch Series 8. Read our review.
The Fitbit Versa 4, which is more akin to a traditional smartwatch than other Fitbit trackers, is down to $119.95 (about $80 off) at Walmart. It has built-in GPS, heart rate monitoring, and an estimated three days of battery life while using its always-on display.
You can pick up a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic in the 46mm / Bluetooth configuration at Walmart for a mere $99 ($50 off). We’re expecting to see the seventh generation in the lineup at Samsung’s Unpacked event on July 10th, but the current promo on the fourth-gen model is a decent deal if you have a specific need for a Galaxy Watch that runs Wear OS on a shoestring budget. Read our review.

The best TV and streaming device deals

You can save on the 2023 TCL Q6 series of TVs in a variety of sizes, including the 65-inch configuration (now $398 at Walmart and Amazon), the 75-inch configuration (now $498 at Walmart), and the 85-inch configuration (now $748 at Walmart). The Q6 sets use Google’s TV software, which supports voice assistants like Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. The TVs can technically meet modern gaming standards with a “Game Accelerator 120” mode, which halves the 4K resolution to push its native 60Hz refresh rate to a simulated 120Hz variable refresh rate. It also supports AMD FreeSync and an auto low-latency mode for reduced input lag and screen tearing. Dolby Vision and HDR10 Plus round out the list of visual upgrades with DTS Virtual:X for surround audio, but sadly, there’s no Dolby Atmos support.
The 55-inch TCL S5 from 2024 is also on sale for $278 ($172 off) at Walmart. While it doesn’t have the QLED panel like the Q series highlighted above, the S5 supports a lot of the same visual features and even has some unique tricks of its own. That includes support for Dolby Atmos and Apple Home with AirPlay 2 integration.

Miscellaneous deals

The second-gen Apple Pencil is basically matching its all-time low of $79.99 ($50 off) at Walmart, Amazon, and Target (with a free Circle membership). Compared to the first-gen Apple Pencil, it ditches the awkward Lightning port charging in favor of a magnetic charging mechanism that attaches to the side of the latest iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad Mini models. It also supports tap gestures.
You can grab a pair of Govee DreamView P1 light bars for $49.99 ($21 off) at Walmart and Govee. The reactive lights are small enough to fit on a desk or an entertainment stand yet bright enough to paint your wall with colors, allowing you to illuminate your room based on whatever music you’re listening to or the content on your TV. You can also control the lighting using your voice via Alexa, Google Assistant, or Govee’s smartphone app.

The Insta360 X4 will still run you the base $499.99 price at Walmart as it will everywhere else, but the retailer is currently bundling it with a carrying case, a 64GB microSD card, a lens cleaning kit, and a few other accessories. The waterproof 8K action camera uses two sensors to record in all directions around you, which lets you swivel the point of view to any angle you want when editing your footage. (You can also record with just one sensor if you want to use it as an ordinary action cam.)

The second-gen AirPods Pro are one of several Apple devices that have dropped to an all-time low ahead of Prime Day. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Amazon Prime Day may kick off on July 16th, but if you can’t wait or you’re not a Prime member, Walmart’s competing sales event is worth a look. Now until July 11th, the retailer is discounting a whole bunch of gadgets and goodies, from the latest AirPods Pro to the Nintendo Switch OLED. What’s more, Walmart is offering half-price yearlong Walmart Plus memberships ($49) throughout the sale, which grants you access to free delivery, a complimentary subscription to Paramount Plus, and early access to deals during future sales events.

Below, we’ve rounded up all the worthwhile deals you can currently take advantage of. If you’re a Prime member, we’d also recommend checking out our guide to the best early Prime Day deals so you can save even more ahead of the two-day shopping event.

The best headphone and earbud deals

If you want a pair of wireless earbuds that integrate well with Apple’s ecosystem and can do without ANC, the third-gen AirPods are on sale at Walmart and Amazon with a Lightning charging case for $129 ($45 off). That’s the best price we’ve seen on the latest entry-level AirPods, which deliver good sound and improved battery life; unlike their predecessor, they also offer IPX4 sweat and water resistance. Read our review.

If you want the cheapest AirPods money can buy, Apple’s second-gen AirPods are down to an all-time low of $69 ($60 off) at Walmart and Amazon. They don’t have IPX4 sweat and water resistance like the third-gen AirPods, but they still sound good, last a long time on a single charge, and offer reliable performance. Read our review.

Sony’s LinkBuds S are on sale at Walmart starting at $138.60. This isn’t the lowest we’ve seen the wireless earbuds go for — they’ve dropped down to as low as $108 in the past — but it’s still a respectable $61 discount. That’s a decent price for a pair of noise-canceling earbuds with excellent sound and support for the LDAC lossless audio codec. They also feature a helpful transparency mode for when you want to hear your surroundings. Read our review.

The best gaming deals

Govee’s DreamView G1S Pro gaming lights are down to $80 ($26 off) at Walmart. The lighting set includes two desktop light towers and a flexible strip light for the back of your monitor. It comes with a 1080p camera that reads the colors on your screen, which, in turn, allows the lights to reflect what’s happening in your game. There’s also an integrated microphone that allows the lights to respond to sound, whether from the game you’re playing or to visualize any music you’re listening to.

Sony’s DualSense Edge controller for the PlayStation 5 is down to $174.99 ($25 off) at Walmart, which is the best price we’ve seen on the pro-style controller so far. It builds upon the original DualSense’s innovative features with swappable thumb sticks, customizable stick sensitivity and dead zones, adjustable trigger travel, and programmable back buttons that you can swap and remove at will. It comes with a hard-shell carrying case, too. Read our review.
The original Pulse 3D headset for the PlayStation 5 is down to $87.99 ($12 off) in select colors at Walmart, which isn’t the lowest price we’ve seen but is a decent consolation if you can’t afford the updated Pulse Elite model. The wireless headset supports Sony’s Tempest 3D Audio tech, which offers spatial audio that surrounds you with accurately positioned sound effects. You can dial in your preferred EQ settings, too, with three presets and three slots to customize your own.
If you’ve always dreamed of adding an arcade machine to your game room, Walmart is currently selling Arcade1Up’s Capcom Legacy cabinet for just $249 ($51 off). The “Yoga Flame” design takes after the featured Street Fighter franchise and showcases iconic characters from the preloaded games, including Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting, Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, and Super Street Fighter II Turbo. It also comes with a selection of other classic Capcom games, such as Strider, Final Fight, and Captain Commando.

The best smartwatch deals

Apple’s latest entry-level smartwatch — the second-gen Apple Watch SE — is on sale at Walmart in the GPS configuration starting at $189 ($60 off). It lacks the temperature, EKG, and blood oxygen sensors found in the Apple Watch Series 9, but it’s otherwise a capable wearable for tracking various health and fitness metrics. It also sports the same chipset and Crash Detection feature as the Apple Watch Series 8. Read our review.
The Fitbit Versa 4, which is more akin to a traditional smartwatch than other Fitbit trackers, is down to $119.95 (about $80 off) at Walmart. It has built-in GPS, heart rate monitoring, and an estimated three days of battery life while using its always-on display.
You can pick up a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic in the 46mm / Bluetooth configuration at Walmart for a mere $99 ($50 off). We’re expecting to see the seventh generation in the lineup at Samsung’s Unpacked event on July 10th, but the current promo on the fourth-gen model is a decent deal if you have a specific need for a Galaxy Watch that runs Wear OS on a shoestring budget. Read our review.

The best TV and streaming device deals

You can save on the 2023 TCL Q6 series of TVs in a variety of sizes, including the 65-inch configuration (now $398 at Walmart and Amazon), the 75-inch configuration (now $498 at Walmart), and the 85-inch configuration (now $748 at Walmart). The Q6 sets use Google’s TV software, which supports voice assistants like Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. The TVs can technically meet modern gaming standards with a “Game Accelerator 120” mode, which halves the 4K resolution to push its native 60Hz refresh rate to a simulated 120Hz variable refresh rate. It also supports AMD FreeSync and an auto low-latency mode for reduced input lag and screen tearing. Dolby Vision and HDR10 Plus round out the list of visual upgrades with DTS Virtual:X for surround audio, but sadly, there’s no Dolby Atmos support.
The 55-inch TCL S5 from 2024 is also on sale for $278 ($172 off) at Walmart. While it doesn’t have the QLED panel like the Q series highlighted above, the S5 supports a lot of the same visual features and even has some unique tricks of its own. That includes support for Dolby Atmos and Apple Home with AirPlay 2 integration.

Miscellaneous deals

The second-gen Apple Pencil is basically matching its all-time low of $79.99 ($50 off) at Walmart, Amazon, and Target (with a free Circle membership). Compared to the first-gen Apple Pencil, it ditches the awkward Lightning port charging in favor of a magnetic charging mechanism that attaches to the side of the latest iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad Mini models. It also supports tap gestures.
You can grab a pair of Govee DreamView P1 light bars for $49.99 ($21 off) at Walmart and Govee. The reactive lights are small enough to fit on a desk or an entertainment stand yet bright enough to paint your wall with colors, allowing you to illuminate your room based on whatever music you’re listening to or the content on your TV. You can also control the lighting using your voice via Alexa, Google Assistant, or Govee’s smartphone app.

The Insta360 X4 will still run you the base $499.99 price at Walmart as it will everywhere else, but the retailer is currently bundling it with a carrying case, a 64GB microSD card, a lens cleaning kit, and a few other accessories. The waterproof 8K action camera uses two sensors to record in all directions around you, which lets you swivel the point of view to any angle you want when editing your footage. (You can also record with just one sensor if you want to use it as an ordinary action cam.)

Read More 

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Google’s Pixel Watch 3 may have a brighter 2,000-nit display with smaller bezels and an ultra wideband (UWB) chip, according to a new report from Android Authority. And it won’t just be a new display and chip — the Pixel Watch could be getting a battery boost, too. The rumored 45mm Pixel Watch will have a 420mAh battery, up from the 306mAh of last year’s watches, while the 41mm model will only get a 310mAh battery.
Over the weekend, an FCC filing appeared to confirm a UWB chip for the Pixel Watch 3. (FCC documents shut down the notion for the Pixel Watch 2 last year.) UWB chips, which use short, high-frequency wireless bursts for pinpoint-accurate location sensing, mean the Watch 3 could be more easily findable on Google’s recently upgraded Find My Device network. The tech is also showing up in other devices like smart locks and in cars, letting them react to you when you’re nearby if you have a UWB device linked to them.

If the rumor is true, it suggests another marked improvement for the Pixel Watch series, after the Pixel Watch 2 got better health tracking and a bigger battery than the first version. But there was only one size, it wasn’t as light as it seemed like it should be, and The Verge’s Victoria Song questioned its durability after it took on mysterious scratches just two days into her review of it. It’s unclear if all of those issues will be resolved with the Watch 3 — but if you want to be optimistic, this all sounds like great news.

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Google’s Pixel Watch 3 may have a brighter 2,000-nit display with smaller bezels and an ultra wideband (UWB) chip, according to a new report from Android Authority. And it won’t just be a new display and chip — the Pixel Watch could be getting a battery boost, too. The rumored 45mm Pixel Watch will have a 420mAh battery, up from the 306mAh of last year’s watches, while the 41mm model will only get a 310mAh battery.

Over the weekend, an FCC filing appeared to confirm a UWB chip for the Pixel Watch 3. (FCC documents shut down the notion for the Pixel Watch 2 last year.) UWB chips, which use short, high-frequency wireless bursts for pinpoint-accurate location sensing, mean the Watch 3 could be more easily findable on Google’s recently upgraded Find My Device network. The tech is also showing up in other devices like smart locks and in cars, letting them react to you when you’re nearby if you have a UWB device linked to them.

If the rumor is true, it suggests another marked improvement for the Pixel Watch series, after the Pixel Watch 2 got better health tracking and a bigger battery than the first version. But there was only one size, it wasn’t as light as it seemed like it should be, and The Verge’s Victoria Song questioned its durability after it took on mysterious scratches just two days into her review of it. It’s unclear if all of those issues will be resolved with the Watch 3 — but if you want to be optimistic, this all sounds like great news.

Read More