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New Zealand’s Marcus Daniell (TOP) and Michael Venus compete against USA’s Austin Krajicek and Tennys Sandgren during their Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games men’s doubles tennis match for the bronze medal at the Ariake Tennis Park in Tokyo on July 30th, 2021. | Photo by Vincenzo Pinto / AFP via Getty Images

Athletes are raising concerns about how extreme heat might affect the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, according to a new report. They’re worried that soaring temperatures pose serious health risks to competitors and spectators, not to mention their performance suffering.
Average temperatures during the months when the Summer Olympics are typically held have risen by more than 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) since the last time the Games were held in Paris in 1924, according to the report. Every fraction of a degree of difference can have an impact, considering even a 0.5 degree Celsius rise in core body temperature can increase a person’s heartbeat up to 10 beats per minute. In a worst-case scenario, that can lead to heat exhaustion that could worsen into heatstroke without any intervention.
Summers are getting hotter with climate change, setting the stage for riskier outdoor competitions. That means there needs to be more action taken to protect athletes and their fans, advocates say, especially with the upcoming Games in Paris expected to be a scorcher.
“Athletes collapsing during or after finishing competitions, remind us of this threat and the impact of climate change on sports.”
“At the very least, heat impacts place athletes under a competitive disadvantage, disrupting sleep and forcing them to train earlier and earlier into the morning just to avoid the worst temperatures of the day,” J.K. Tuwei, president of Athletics Kenya, says in the report. “But it is what comes after that, if we do not act with sufficient urgency in addressing climate change, which worries me most. Incidences like athletes collapsing during or after finishing competitions, remind us of this threat and the impact of climate change on sports.”
The report was published today by the British Association for Sustainable Sport (BASIS), a nonprofit trade organization whose members include major sports clubs and venues. University of Portsmouth physiologists Mike Tipton and Jo Corbett also contributed to the report, as did nonprofit research organization Climate Central. Nearly two dozen elite athletes — ranging from track & field stars to rowers, footballers, marathon swimmers, and more — added their testimonies about how brutally hot temperatures have affected them.
Tennis player Marcus Daniell, who, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, won a Bronze medal for New Zealand in the men’s doubles, wrote about how difficult it was to stay hydrated in the heat and humidity that year. That made headaches and lethargy “normal” during the Games, he says in the report.

For me it’s like you are in the build-up to the worst part of a bad flu – shivery and weird and hot and cold. Your mind can’t focus and your mouth is disgustingly dry. And the dangerous thing is that athletes often don’t know when to stop, because we’re conditioned to push ourselves beyond limits as a rule.”
… “I am worried. I have been at tournaments where there have been double digit heatstroke withdrawals in a day. This is not how sport should be played.”

The dangers are also there for swimmers diving into warming waters, British marathon swimmer Amber Keegan says in the report. World Aquatics (formerly FINA) set an upper limit for water temperature of 31 degrees Celsius (87.8 degrees Fahrenheit) for open water swimming after American athlete Fran Crippen died during a dangerously hot open water race in the UAE in 2010.

Physically, there are many impacts of extreme heat – cramp, fatigue (much more so than normal), and vomiting (which is especially bad as you’re losing the nutrition you’ve been consuming during the race). You don’t want to be using energy for cooling yourself down when you could be using it to swim faster.
That’s just the performance side, but from a safety side, if you’re struggling to think clearly, you’re not going to make a sensible decision about whether you’re overheating so much that you should be getting out. Of course, there is safety support, but at the end of the day it’s you that has to put your hand up and say “get me out.”

Paralympic athletes also face risks when they compete in the Paris Games in August and September. Some competitors may have conditions that affect the body’s ability to thermoregulate. One survey of more than 100 athletes at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics found that 21 percent of them reported experiencing at least one “heat stress-related symptom.”
The report lays out a set of recommendations to make sure that athletes can be at their best and that the audience gets a good show. That includes more structured guidelines for when to postpone or cancel an event because of the heat and proactively scheduling events for cooler times of the day or at cooler locations. Built-in water and cooling breaks can also be beneficial for competitors, support staff, and fans, the report says. It even calls on sports organizations to reassess their relationships with fossil fuel companies whose greenhouse gas emissions are causing climate change. “Sponsorship may bring in much-needed finance, but the long-term cost of such partnerships must be reassessed,” the report says.

In an email to The Verge, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it addressed many of the issues outlined in the new report in its “consensus statement on recommendations and regulations for sport events in the heat” published in 2022. That paper encourages greater collaboration among local, national, and international sports organizations. It also says athletes should “specifically prepare for the expected environmental conditions” at an event.
Local event organizers need to be transparent about environmental risks before and during the event and provide preventative measures and medical care for heat-related illness, the paper says. The IOC also said that the local organizing committee in Paris has worked with medical experts to keep athletes safe and healthy during this year’s games, which start in late July.

New Zealand’s Marcus Daniell (TOP) and Michael Venus compete against USA’s Austin Krajicek and Tennys Sandgren during their Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games men’s doubles tennis match for the bronze medal at the Ariake Tennis Park in Tokyo on July 30th, 2021. | Photo by Vincenzo Pinto / AFP via Getty Images

Athletes are raising concerns about how extreme heat might affect the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, according to a new report. They’re worried that soaring temperatures pose serious health risks to competitors and spectators, not to mention their performance suffering.

Average temperatures during the months when the Summer Olympics are typically held have risen by more than 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) since the last time the Games were held in Paris in 1924, according to the report. Every fraction of a degree of difference can have an impact, considering even a 0.5 degree Celsius rise in core body temperature can increase a person’s heartbeat up to 10 beats per minute. In a worst-case scenario, that can lead to heat exhaustion that could worsen into heatstroke without any intervention.

Summers are getting hotter with climate change, setting the stage for riskier outdoor competitions. That means there needs to be more action taken to protect athletes and their fans, advocates say, especially with the upcoming Games in Paris expected to be a scorcher.

“At the very least, heat impacts place athletes under a competitive disadvantage, disrupting sleep and forcing them to train earlier and earlier into the morning just to avoid the worst temperatures of the day,” J.K. Tuwei, president of Athletics Kenya, says in the report. “But it is what comes after that, if we do not act with sufficient urgency in addressing climate change, which worries me most. Incidences like athletes collapsing during or after finishing competitions, remind us of this threat and the impact of climate change on sports.”

The report was published today by the British Association for Sustainable Sport (BASIS), a nonprofit trade organization whose members include major sports clubs and venues. University of Portsmouth physiologists Mike Tipton and Jo Corbett also contributed to the report, as did nonprofit research organization Climate Central. Nearly two dozen elite athletes — ranging from track & field stars to rowers, footballers, marathon swimmers, and more — added their testimonies about how brutally hot temperatures have affected them.

Tennis player Marcus Daniell, who, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, won a Bronze medal for New Zealand in the men’s doubles, wrote about how difficult it was to stay hydrated in the heat and humidity that year. That made headaches and lethargy “normal” during the Games, he says in the report.

For me it’s like you are in the build-up to the worst part of a bad flu – shivery and weird and hot and cold. Your mind can’t focus and your mouth is disgustingly dry. And the dangerous thing is that athletes often don’t know when to stop, because we’re conditioned to push ourselves beyond limits as a rule.”

… “I am worried. I have been at tournaments where there have been double digit heatstroke withdrawals in a day. This is not how sport should be played.”

The dangers are also there for swimmers diving into warming waters, British marathon swimmer Amber Keegan says in the report. World Aquatics (formerly FINA) set an upper limit for water temperature of 31 degrees Celsius (87.8 degrees Fahrenheit) for open water swimming after American athlete Fran Crippen died during a dangerously hot open water race in the UAE in 2010.

Physically, there are many impacts of extreme heat – cramp, fatigue (much more so than normal), and vomiting (which is especially bad as you’re losing the nutrition you’ve been consuming during the race). You don’t want to be using energy for cooling yourself down when you could be using it to swim faster.

That’s just the performance side, but from a safety side, if you’re struggling to think clearly, you’re not going to make a sensible decision about whether you’re overheating so much that you should be getting out. Of course, there is safety support, but at the end of the day it’s you that has to put your hand up and say “get me out.”

Paralympic athletes also face risks when they compete in the Paris Games in August and September. Some competitors may have conditions that affect the body’s ability to thermoregulate. One survey of more than 100 athletes at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics found that 21 percent of them reported experiencing at least one “heat stress-related symptom.”

The report lays out a set of recommendations to make sure that athletes can be at their best and that the audience gets a good show. That includes more structured guidelines for when to postpone or cancel an event because of the heat and proactively scheduling events for cooler times of the day or at cooler locations. Built-in water and cooling breaks can also be beneficial for competitors, support staff, and fans, the report says. It even calls on sports organizations to reassess their relationships with fossil fuel companies whose greenhouse gas emissions are causing climate change. “Sponsorship may bring in much-needed finance, but the long-term cost of such partnerships must be reassessed,” the report says.

In an email to The Verge, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it addressed many of the issues outlined in the new report in its “consensus statement on recommendations and regulations for sport events in the heat” published in 2022. That paper encourages greater collaboration among local, national, and international sports organizations. It also says athletes should “specifically prepare for the expected environmental conditions” at an event.

Local event organizers need to be transparent about environmental risks before and during the event and provide preventative measures and medical care for heat-related illness, the paper says. The IOC also said that the local organizing committee in Paris has worked with medical experts to keep athletes safe and healthy during this year’s games, which start in late July.

Read More 

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

For the past couple of weeks, Adobe has faced intense backlash over changes to its terms of service agreement — and now, it’s trying to patch things up. On Tuesday, Adobe announced a tweaked version of its terms of service agreement that makes it clear the company will not train AI on user content stored locally or in the cloud.
The section defining Adobe’s access to user content now includes several distinct categories, including one dedicated to generative AI. Adobe’s updated terms explicitly state that its software “will not use your Local or Cloud Content to train generative AI.” But there’s one exception: if your work is submitted to the Adobe Stock marketplace, the company can use it to train Adobe Firefly.
These additions to the terms of service, according to Scott Belsky, Adobe’s chief strategy officer, aren’t actually changing anything — Adobe says its stance on AI training just wasn’t clearly laid out before, leading to confusion. “We’ve explicitly said we will not train generative AI on your content,” Belsky said during an interview with The Verge. “It was always a policy that we had as a company. We always made that very clear, but we never explicitly said that.”

The new terms also address user concerns about Adobe scanning content created under a nondisclosure agreement (NDA), saying the company does not “scan or review” work stored locally on your device. Adobe will only automatically scan content uploaded to the cloud to “ensure we are not hosting illegal or abusive content, like Child Sexual Abuse Material.” It will also only subject work uploaded to the cloud to human review if it’s flagged or reported as illegal, or if you opt in to a prerelease, beta, or Adobe’s product improvement program.
Adobe’s changes to its terms of service agreement sparked an uproar earlier this month after users misread changes as giving the company permission to use their work for AI training. The outcry stemmed from creatives who have grown frustrated with the company’s outsize grasp on the creative industry. Even the federal government has taken notice of users’ complaints about Adobe, as the Department of Justice is suing the company for allegedly hiding expensive cancellation fees and making it difficult to cancel their subscriptions.

A lot of user frustration dates back to Adobe’s shift to a subscription-only model in 2012, something Belsky acknowledged as a point of contention. “I think that that was a change for some customers that probably rubbed them negatively,” Belsky said. “I think that when something like this [the terms of service update] happens, my observation is that we see a bit of a resurgence of that frustration. That may have been seeded back when we made that model change.”
It’s great that Adobe’s tweaking its terms of service to make them more transparent, but this may just serve as a small patch on top of a much larger wound that will likely take more time — and close attention — to heal.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

For the past couple of weeks, Adobe has faced intense backlash over changes to its terms of service agreement — and now, it’s trying to patch things up. On Tuesday, Adobe announced a tweaked version of its terms of service agreement that makes it clear the company will not train AI on user content stored locally or in the cloud.

The section defining Adobe’s access to user content now includes several distinct categories, including one dedicated to generative AI. Adobe’s updated terms explicitly state that its software “will not use your Local or Cloud Content to train generative AI.” But there’s one exception: if your work is submitted to the Adobe Stock marketplace, the company can use it to train Adobe Firefly.

These additions to the terms of service, according to Scott Belsky, Adobe’s chief strategy officer, aren’t actually changing anything — Adobe says its stance on AI training just wasn’t clearly laid out before, leading to confusion. “We’ve explicitly said we will not train generative AI on your content,” Belsky said during an interview with The Verge. “It was always a policy that we had as a company. We always made that very clear, but we never explicitly said that.”

The new terms also address user concerns about Adobe scanning content created under a nondisclosure agreement (NDA), saying the company does not “scan or review” work stored locally on your device. Adobe will only automatically scan content uploaded to the cloud to “ensure we are not hosting illegal or abusive content, like Child Sexual Abuse Material.” It will also only subject work uploaded to the cloud to human review if it’s flagged or reported as illegal, or if you opt in to a prerelease, beta, or Adobe’s product improvement program.

Adobe’s changes to its terms of service agreement sparked an uproar earlier this month after users misread changes as giving the company permission to use their work for AI training. The outcry stemmed from creatives who have grown frustrated with the company’s outsize grasp on the creative industry. Even the federal government has taken notice of users’ complaints about Adobe, as the Department of Justice is suing the company for allegedly hiding expensive cancellation fees and making it difficult to cancel their subscriptions.

A lot of user frustration dates back to Adobe’s shift to a subscription-only model in 2012, something Belsky acknowledged as a point of contention. “I think that that was a change for some customers that probably rubbed them negatively,” Belsky said. “I think that when something like this [the terms of service update] happens, my observation is that we see a bit of a resurgence of that frustration. That may have been seeded back when we made that model change.”

It’s great that Adobe’s tweaking its terms of service to make them more transparent, but this may just serve as a small patch on top of a much larger wound that will likely take more time — and close attention — to heal.

Read More 

An artist’s concept of what the Netflix House retail destinations could look like. | Image: Netflix

Today, Netflix revealed more details about its upcoming permanent retail destinations that were first announced eight months ago, including where the first two Netflix House venues will open in 2025: Dallas, Texas, and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania — a city located 15 miles outside of Philadelphia.
The initial Netflix House locations will open in “two of the most popular shopping centers in America,” according to Netflix, the Galleria Dallas and the King of Prussia Mall, and will take over the sites of former department stores, providing each venue with over 100,000 square feet of space.
The decision to open the first locations in shopping centers should resonate with Stranger Things fans, given season 3 of the series prominently featured the ’80s-themed Starcourt Mall, which was recreated inside a real shopping center that has since been torn down. Although the mall was not open to the public during filming, Netflix has previously opened other themed pop-up experiences, whose popularity has seemingly convinced the company it needs permanent locations.
Details on what exactly will fill all that space and draw fans to the streaming giant’s first two permanent venues remain thin, but they will include “regularly updated immersive experiences” and “unique food and drink offerings,” according to Marian Lee, Netflix’s chief marketing officer.

Image: Netflix
“Netflix House” concept.

Netflix also hasn’t shared what either of these venues will look like aside from conceptual drawings, but today’s announcement did reveal that, on the outside, “fans will be treated to some eye-popping sculptures and a mural mash-up of characters from their favorite Netflix titles.” If there’s one thing that can save the nation’s dying shopping malls, it’s statues of terrifying demogorgons out front.

An artist’s concept of what the Netflix House retail destinations could look like. | Image: Netflix

Today, Netflix revealed more details about its upcoming permanent retail destinations that were first announced eight months ago, including where the first two Netflix House venues will open in 2025: Dallas, Texas, and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania — a city located 15 miles outside of Philadelphia.

The initial Netflix House locations will open in “two of the most popular shopping centers in America,” according to Netflix, the Galleria Dallas and the King of Prussia Mall, and will take over the sites of former department stores, providing each venue with over 100,000 square feet of space.

The decision to open the first locations in shopping centers should resonate with Stranger Things fans, given season 3 of the series prominently featured the ’80s-themed Starcourt Mall, which was recreated inside a real shopping center that has since been torn down. Although the mall was not open to the public during filming, Netflix has previously opened other themed pop-up experiences, whose popularity has seemingly convinced the company it needs permanent locations.

Details on what exactly will fill all that space and draw fans to the streaming giant’s first two permanent venues remain thin, but they will include “regularly updated immersive experiences” and “unique food and drink offerings,” according to Marian Lee, Netflix’s chief marketing officer.

Netflix also hasn’t shared what either of these venues will look like aside from conceptual drawings, but today’s announcement did reveal that, on the outside, “fans will be treated to some eye-popping sculptures and a mural mash-up of characters from their favorite Netflix titles.” If there’s one thing that can save the nation’s dying shopping malls, it’s statues of terrifying demogorgons out front.

Read More 

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Apple may no longer be working on a new high-end Vision headset amid slowing sales of the Vision Pro, according to a new report from The Information. Instead, Apple has apparently been finding ways to reduce the cost of components for the first model and is working on a cheaper Vision headset that it aims to ship by the end of 2025.
The first Vision Pro came out earlier this year, and while it’s a very good VR headset, it has a lot of flaws inherent to many other VR headsets. It’s also quite expensive, starting at $3,499, and — what I noticed most when I tried the Vision Pro at an Apple Store — pretty heavy.

With a cheaper Vision headset, which is reportedly codenamed N109, Apple aims to keep the high-res displays that make the Vision Pro stand out but remove some features and make it “at least one-third lighter,” according to The Information. The company apparently wants to price the cheaper Vision headset at a price that’s in line with a high-end iPhone; Bloomberg reported in October that Apple was aiming for a price point between $1,500 and $2,500. And The Information reports that Apple has had trouble cutting costs without compromising too much on features, so this cheaper headset may not make that 2025 goal.
Apple didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
The company is still putting muscle behind the Vision Pro: it plans to begin releasing the headset internationally at the end of June and add a bunch of new features with visionOS 2 this fall. But we’ll have to wait and see if the company ends up releasing another high-end Vision device down the line or if it will focus long-term on a more affordable product.

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Apple may no longer be working on a new high-end Vision headset amid slowing sales of the Vision Pro, according to a new report from The Information. Instead, Apple has apparently been finding ways to reduce the cost of components for the first model and is working on a cheaper Vision headset that it aims to ship by the end of 2025.

The first Vision Pro came out earlier this year, and while it’s a very good VR headset, it has a lot of flaws inherent to many other VR headsets. It’s also quite expensive, starting at $3,499, and — what I noticed most when I tried the Vision Pro at an Apple Store — pretty heavy.

With a cheaper Vision headset, which is reportedly codenamed N109, Apple aims to keep the high-res displays that make the Vision Pro stand out but remove some features and make it “at least one-third lighter,” according to The Information. The company apparently wants to price the cheaper Vision headset at a price that’s in line with a high-end iPhone; Bloomberg reported in October that Apple was aiming for a price point between $1,500 and $2,500. And The Information reports that Apple has had trouble cutting costs without compromising too much on features, so this cheaper headset may not make that 2025 goal.

Apple didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

The company is still putting muscle behind the Vision Pro: it plans to begin releasing the headset internationally at the end of June and add a bunch of new features with visionOS 2 this fall. But we’ll have to wait and see if the company ends up releasing another high-end Vision device down the line or if it will focus long-term on a more affordable product.

Read More 

The current promo means you won’t have to pay extra for local storage. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

’Tis the season of travel, and if you want to beef up your home security ahead of your vacation, today might be a good time to do so. Right now, you can pick up a Blink Video Doorbell with a Sync Module 2 at Best Buy, The Home Depot, and Kohl’s for just $41.99 ($28 off), which is one of the lowest prices we’ve seen on the entry-level smart home bundle.

If you’re looking for a budget-friendly video doorbell, the battery-powered Blink Video Doorbell is one of our favorite models. The 1080p doorbell delivers all the basics, including support for motion detection, two-way video, and night vision. What’s most notable about this deal, though, is that the bundle includes Blink’s Sync Module 2, which is an optional $49.99 add-on that allows for free local storage and on-demand live views. Those are features you’d otherwise have to pay a subscription fee for, which makes some of the tradeoffs — including the doorbell’s lack of smart alerts and the fact it only works with Amazon Alexa — a little easier to overlook, especially at this price.

Four more deals worth a peek

Speaking of summer travel, the AeroPress Original is great for caffeine addicts on the go, as it’s small enough to pack and relatively easy to clean. And now through June 25th, Woot is selling the portable coffee and espresso maker for $29.99 ($10 off), which is one of its best prices to date. The AeroPress is one of our favorite coffee gadgets, one that combines elements of three brewing methods — French press, pour-over, and espresso — so you can make rich, delicious coffee even when you’re on the move.
Now through July 7th, OnePlus is offering a $300 discount on the OnePlus Open, meaning you can potentially pick up the foldable for as low as $599.99 ($1,100 off) when you trade in a rival phone like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, S23 Ultra, or Google Pixel Fold. OnePlus’ lightweight foldable features a great camera system with solid performance, and unlike the Z Fold 5 and Pixel Fold, it’s relatively easy to use as a normal phone. It’s not IP-rated for full-immersion water resistance and lacks wireless charging like its aforementioned rivals, but the omissions are more forgivable at this price point. Read our review.
If you’re looking for a charger that can power up multiple devices simultaneously, Anker’s 747 Charger is matching its all-time low of $69.99 ($40 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and Anker (with promo code WS7DV2OLATC2). The compact GaNPrime charger can deliver up to 150W of power across three USB-C ports and a single USB-A port, so you can use it to juice up laptops, tablets, smartphones, gaming handhelds, and plenty of other gadgets.
Now through June 23rd, you can pick up a Eufy SmartTrack Card — one of our favorite Bluetooth trackers — directly from Eufy for $19.88 ($10 off) when you use offer code WS24T87B2011. Eufy’s slim location tracker easily slips into wallets so you can keep tabs on your credit cards and cash, but it comes with a clip, too, so you can attach it to your laptop case and other important belongings. Most notably, though, the tracker works with Apple’s vast Find My network, so iPhone owners can take advantage of more precise tracking.

The current promo means you won’t have to pay extra for local storage. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

’Tis the season of travel, and if you want to beef up your home security ahead of your vacation, today might be a good time to do so. Right now, you can pick up a Blink Video Doorbell with a Sync Module 2 at Best Buy, The Home Depot, and Kohl’s for just $41.99 ($28 off), which is one of the lowest prices we’ve seen on the entry-level smart home bundle.

If you’re looking for a budget-friendly video doorbell, the battery-powered Blink Video Doorbell is one of our favorite models. The 1080p doorbell delivers all the basics, including support for motion detection, two-way video, and night vision. What’s most notable about this deal, though, is that the bundle includes Blink’s Sync Module 2, which is an optional $49.99 add-on that allows for free local storage and on-demand live views. Those are features you’d otherwise have to pay a subscription fee for, which makes some of the tradeoffs — including the doorbell’s lack of smart alerts and the fact it only works with Amazon Alexa — a little easier to overlook, especially at this price.

Four more deals worth a peek

Speaking of summer travel, the AeroPress Original is great for caffeine addicts on the go, as it’s small enough to pack and relatively easy to clean. And now through June 25th, Woot is selling the portable coffee and espresso maker for $29.99 ($10 off), which is one of its best prices to date. The AeroPress is one of our favorite coffee gadgets, one that combines elements of three brewing methods — French press, pour-over, and espresso — so you can make rich, delicious coffee even when you’re on the move.
Now through July 7th, OnePlus is offering a $300 discount on the OnePlus Open, meaning you can potentially pick up the foldable for as low as $599.99 ($1,100 off) when you trade in a rival phone like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, S23 Ultra, or Google Pixel Fold. OnePlus’ lightweight foldable features a great camera system with solid performance, and unlike the Z Fold 5 and Pixel Fold, it’s relatively easy to use as a normal phone. It’s not IP-rated for full-immersion water resistance and lacks wireless charging like its aforementioned rivals, but the omissions are more forgivable at this price point. Read our review.
If you’re looking for a charger that can power up multiple devices simultaneously, Anker’s 747 Charger is matching its all-time low of $69.99 ($40 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and Anker (with promo code WS7DV2OLATC2). The compact GaNPrime charger can deliver up to 150W of power across three USB-C ports and a single USB-A port, so you can use it to juice up laptops, tablets, smartphones, gaming handhelds, and plenty of other gadgets.
Now through June 23rd, you can pick up a Eufy SmartTrack Card — one of our favorite Bluetooth trackers — directly from Eufy for $19.88 ($10 off) when you use offer code WS24T87B2011. Eufy’s slim location tracker easily slips into wallets so you can keep tabs on your credit cards and cash, but it comes with a clip, too, so you can attach it to your laptop case and other important belongings. Most notably, though, the tracker works with Apple’s vast Find My network, so iPhone owners can take advantage of more precise tracking.

Read More 

Image: Nintendo

After years of playing second fiddle to Link in her own franchise, Princess Zelda is finally getting a video game of her own this fall.
During today’s Direct presentation, Nintendo revealed The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, the franchise’s first game to follow as Princess Zelda herself embarks on an adventure to save the world from destruction. After Ganon bests Link in battle, Zelda is left to her own devices to battle hordes of monsters that descend upon the game’s take on Hyrule (which seems heavily inspired by 2019’s Link’s Awakening remake).
According to series producer Eiji Aonuma, Zelda will navigate and fight through the world somewhat differently in Echoes of Wisdom as she wields a magical staff known as the Tri Rod with the assistance of a fairy named Tri. The trailer details how Zelda will be able to use the Tri Rod to create “echoes” of objects and monsters she’s previously encountered and use them to overcome obstacles.

Image: Nintendo

You play as Princess Zelda in Echoes of Wisdom.

News of the game comes at a rather booming time for the Zelda franchise. Last year finally saw the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the expansive sequel to Breath of the Wild. (If you want to learn more about Tears of the Kingdom’s mind-blowing physics, check out our overview of Nintendo’s Game Developers Conference 2024 talk.) And following the smashing popularity of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Nintendo is developing a live-action Legend of Zelda movie in partnership with Sony.
It’s not yet clear how Echoes of Wisdom will fit into the franchise’s larger timeline or just how different the game’s combat will be from previous top-down Zelda installments. But given how long we’ve been waiting to see the princess front and center as the protagonist in the story she’s named after, it’s going to be fantastic to finally see it happen when The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom hits the Switch systems on September 26th.

Image: Nintendo

After years of playing second fiddle to Link in her own franchise, Princess Zelda is finally getting a video game of her own this fall.

During today’s Direct presentation, Nintendo revealed The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, the franchise’s first game to follow as Princess Zelda herself embarks on an adventure to save the world from destruction. After Ganon bests Link in battle, Zelda is left to her own devices to battle hordes of monsters that descend upon the game’s take on Hyrule (which seems heavily inspired by 2019’s Link’s Awakening remake).

According to series producer Eiji Aonuma, Zelda will navigate and fight through the world somewhat differently in Echoes of Wisdom as she wields a magical staff known as the Tri Rod with the assistance of a fairy named Tri. The trailer details how Zelda will be able to use the Tri Rod to create “echoes” of objects and monsters she’s previously encountered and use them to overcome obstacles.

Image: Nintendo

You play as Princess Zelda in Echoes of Wisdom.

News of the game comes at a rather booming time for the Zelda franchise. Last year finally saw the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the expansive sequel to Breath of the Wild. (If you want to learn more about Tears of the Kingdom’s mind-blowing physics, check out our overview of Nintendo’s Game Developers Conference 2024 talk.) And following the smashing popularity of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Nintendo is developing a live-action Legend of Zelda movie in partnership with Sony.

It’s not yet clear how Echoes of Wisdom will fit into the franchise’s larger timeline or just how different the game’s combat will be from previous top-down Zelda installments. But given how long we’ve been waiting to see the princess front and center as the protagonist in the story she’s named after, it’s going to be fantastic to finally see it happen when The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom hits the Switch systems on September 26th.

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Image: Nintendo

Nintendo finally shared gameplay footage of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond during Tuesday’s Nintendo Direct. The brief video was classic Metroid Prime, featuring intense first-person gunfighting and scanning stuff in the environment. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait a little while until we can play it for ourselves, as the company gave a vague 2025 release window for the title.
We’ve been waiting a very long time for any scraps of information about the next entry in the beloved Metroid Prime series. The game was first revealed on June 13th, 2017, with just a logo, and when Nintendo announced that it was rebooting the title in January 2019, its video didn’t contain any footage of the game itself. When it said it was restarting development, Nintendo revealed that the original developers of the series, Retro Studios, would be taking over.
Since the announcement of Prime 4, however, there has been lots of new Metroid to play. Metroid Dread was an excellent return to the series’ 2D roots, and Metroid fans got a treat in 2023 when Nintendo shadow-dropped Metroid Prime Remastered. Remastered turned out to be an incredible remake of my favorite game of all time, and it got me very excited for Prime 4.

Image: Nintendo

Nintendo finally shared gameplay footage of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond during Tuesday’s Nintendo Direct. The brief video was classic Metroid Prime, featuring intense first-person gunfighting and scanning stuff in the environment. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait a little while until we can play it for ourselves, as the company gave a vague 2025 release window for the title.

We’ve been waiting a very long time for any scraps of information about the next entry in the beloved Metroid Prime series. The game was first revealed on June 13th, 2017, with just a logo, and when Nintendo announced that it was rebooting the title in January 2019, its video didn’t contain any footage of the game itself. When it said it was restarting development, Nintendo revealed that the original developers of the series, Retro Studios, would be taking over.

Since the announcement of Prime 4, however, there has been lots of new Metroid to play. Metroid Dread was an excellent return to the series’ 2D roots, and Metroid fans got a treat in 2023 when Nintendo shadow-dropped Metroid Prime Remastered. Remastered turned out to be an incredible remake of my favorite game of all time, and it got me very excited for Prime 4.

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Image: Nintendo

To start off Nintendo’s Summer Game Fest-adjacent Direct, the company debuted a new Mario & Luigi game: Mario & Luigi: Brothership. It’s been nine years since the last Mario & Luigi game, Bowser’s Inside Story, which debuted in 2009 on the Nintendo DS before being rereleased with extra content and a whole new side story on the 3DS in 2018.
In Brothership, the Mario Bros commandeer their own sailing ship to explore an all-new world dotted with islands in their quest to return to the Mushroom Kingdom. The two must work together using their powers of brotherly love to overcome obstacles and beat bosses.
Mario has had a string of big releases as of late. May saw the long-awaited remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, which, taken alongside November’s Super Mario RPG remake and 2020’s The Origami King, rounded out the Switch as an excellent Mario RPG machine. Nintendo released a Mario vs. Donkey Kong remake in February. And Super Mario Bros. Wonder was one of the best games of 2023.
And, of course, there’s the juggernaut that was The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which earned more than $1 billion at the box office. Unsurprisingly, a sequel is in the works, and it’s scheduled to release in April 2026.
You won’t have to wait long to play the newest Mario game as Mario & Luigi: Brothership launches on the Nintendo Switch on November 7th.

Image: Nintendo

To start off Nintendo’s Summer Game Fest-adjacent Direct, the company debuted a new Mario & Luigi game: Mario & Luigi: Brothership. It’s been nine years since the last Mario & Luigi game, Bowser’s Inside Story, which debuted in 2009 on the Nintendo DS before being rereleased with extra content and a whole new side story on the 3DS in 2018.

In Brothership, the Mario Bros commandeer their own sailing ship to explore an all-new world dotted with islands in their quest to return to the Mushroom Kingdom. The two must work together using their powers of brotherly love to overcome obstacles and beat bosses.

Mario has had a string of big releases as of late. May saw the long-awaited remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, which, taken alongside November’s Super Mario RPG remake and 2020’s The Origami King, rounded out the Switch as an excellent Mario RPG machine. Nintendo released a Mario vs. Donkey Kong remake in February. And Super Mario Bros. Wonder was one of the best games of 2023.

And, of course, there’s the juggernaut that was The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which earned more than $1 billion at the box office. Unsurprisingly, a sequel is in the works, and it’s scheduled to release in April 2026.

You won’t have to wait long to play the newest Mario game as Mario & Luigi: Brothership launches on the Nintendo Switch on November 7th.

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Image: FromSoftware

Playing Erdtree was a lesson in humility I needed. In my first moments with Shadow of the Erdtree, I found myself in a graveyard dotted with incorporeal gravestones… and puddles of glowing blood. By the time I remembered what those bloodstains meant and the imminent danger I was in, I was ripped to shreds by a man I did not see or hear coming, leaving behind a new little blood puddle to mark the occasion.
I have not stopped grinning since.
Shadow of the Erdtree is the long-awaited expansion of 2022’s game of the year, Elden Ring. According to FromSoftware, this will be the only DLC for the game, giving Tarnished one last crack at the Lands Between.
Most of my time with the DLC has been wrapped up in exploring Belurat, Tower Settlement, one of the legacy dungeons that dot the map that game director Hidetaka Miyazaki described as being as big as Elden Ring’s Limgrave. Belurat is a labyrinthine place, filled with lovely blind corners from which enemies can ambush me and attractive puke-brown waterfalls that lead to at least one of the DLC’s poison swamps.

Image: FromSoftware / Ash Parrish
“Ahh, this poison swamp smells like home.”

Despite that enticing description, Belurat is a really pretty place. It’s cast in the same pallor of pale gold as any location in the base game. And I loved looking up at the skybox and seeing what looked like billowing fabric cascading down from the sky as though the whole dungeon were covered in a gauzy funeral shroud.
The dungeon’s inhabitants, though, are less pretty to look at and not pretty at all to fight. The most basic enemies I faced were shadowy humanoid creatures, scorpions, and huge scraggly birds. Most of the time, the humans didn’t bother me unless I got too close or ventured into their line of sight. However, there was a hardier version of the humanoids who kicked the living crap out of me up and down the dungeon.
Despite their strength, though, the humanoids were easy to kill — most creatures in the dungeon were. This, in turn, led me into a whole mess of problems of my own making.
Playing Elden Ring successfully means keeping this in mind at all times: if you see one enemy, in reality, there are four coming up right behind you. And if, by some chance, you see the four, there are actually 12 of them, and congratulations, you are now dead.
Ad nauseam, ad infinitum.
This lesson is pretty easily learned once you’ve spent more than an hour in the Shadow Lands. However, the reason I died so many times — and the reason I haven’t been able to make much headway in the DLC — is that I let myself get lured in by how deceptively easy the enemies were to kill. Everything went down in one or two swings of my upgraded sword. If I was lucky enough to sneak up behind an enemy, the resulting surprise attack one-shot them. This built an unearned confidence in me that took a long time to dismantle. I was essentially saying to myself, “Yes, I am surrounded, but one more hit and I’ll be — oh, heck, there’s 12 of them.”

Image: FromSoftware
Beware, there are probably three more monsters lurking just off frame in this picture.

I was too greedy and too cocky, lacking the humility necessary to navigate Erdtree safely. And I think such a lesson is vital as lots of players prepare themselves for Erdtree. Taking down Mohg, Lord of Blood — one of the bosses required to access Erdtree — is one of the harder accomplishments in the game (something not a lot of players have done according to Steam charts). And beating him or any of the other harder bosses, like Malenia, might instill in players the same undeserved arrogance I had — the kind that made me think I could just waltz through the new DLC untouched.
Tarnished, as you embark on your journey, learn from my mistakes and do not be deceived. You will die — a lot. Be slow, be methodical, be patient… upgrade your Mimic Tear ashes.
And while it was frustrating to die so much at the hands of things I knew I could easily defeat, I never felt cheated by any of my fifty ‘leven demises because I understood they were all my fault.
By the time I got to Belurat’s boss, I figured I was in for another lesson. I wondered how many times I’d die before learning the boss’s patterns and tricks. But then another beautiful moment happened: I cheesed my way through it. I used one of the game’s summons, called up my Mimic Tear ally, and stayed back, pelting the boss with the hardest working damage spell in the Lands Between: the Glintstone Pebble.
Shadow of the Erdtree will humble the living daylights out of you, and you will thank the game for the pleasure. But you, too, have the ability to shame it back — use it.
Playing Shadow of the Erdtree is like visiting that strict grandma you love but don’t get to see very often. Whenever you see her again after a long absence, it takes a moment for you to get reacquainted with her quirky but tough-ass customs. And when you finally do get back into the rhythm, it feels like you’ve never left.
Shadow of the Erdtree launches June 21st on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC.

Image: FromSoftware

Playing Erdtree was a lesson in humility I needed.

In my first moments with Shadow of the Erdtree, I found myself in a graveyard dotted with incorporeal gravestones… and puddles of glowing blood. By the time I remembered what those bloodstains meant and the imminent danger I was in, I was ripped to shreds by a man I did not see or hear coming, leaving behind a new little blood puddle to mark the occasion.

I have not stopped grinning since.

Shadow of the Erdtree is the long-awaited expansion of 2022’s game of the year, Elden Ring. According to FromSoftware, this will be the only DLC for the game, giving Tarnished one last crack at the Lands Between.

Most of my time with the DLC has been wrapped up in exploring Belurat, Tower Settlement, one of the legacy dungeons that dot the map that game director Hidetaka Miyazaki described as being as big as Elden Ring’s Limgrave. Belurat is a labyrinthine place, filled with lovely blind corners from which enemies can ambush me and attractive puke-brown waterfalls that lead to at least one of the DLC’s poison swamps.

Image: FromSoftware / Ash Parrish
“Ahh, this poison swamp smells like home.”

Despite that enticing description, Belurat is a really pretty place. It’s cast in the same pallor of pale gold as any location in the base game. And I loved looking up at the skybox and seeing what looked like billowing fabric cascading down from the sky as though the whole dungeon were covered in a gauzy funeral shroud.

The dungeon’s inhabitants, though, are less pretty to look at and not pretty at all to fight. The most basic enemies I faced were shadowy humanoid creatures, scorpions, and huge scraggly birds. Most of the time, the humans didn’t bother me unless I got too close or ventured into their line of sight. However, there was a hardier version of the humanoids who kicked the living crap out of me up and down the dungeon.

Despite their strength, though, the humanoids were easy to kill — most creatures in the dungeon were. This, in turn, led me into a whole mess of problems of my own making.

Playing Elden Ring successfully means keeping this in mind at all times: if you see one enemy, in reality, there are four coming up right behind you. And if, by some chance, you see the four, there are actually 12 of them, and congratulations, you are now dead.

Ad nauseam, ad infinitum.

This lesson is pretty easily learned once you’ve spent more than an hour in the Shadow Lands. However, the reason I died so many times — and the reason I haven’t been able to make much headway in the DLC — is that I let myself get lured in by how deceptively easy the enemies were to kill. Everything went down in one or two swings of my upgraded sword. If I was lucky enough to sneak up behind an enemy, the resulting surprise attack one-shot them. This built an unearned confidence in me that took a long time to dismantle. I was essentially saying to myself, “Yes, I am surrounded, but one more hit and I’ll be — oh, heck, there’s 12 of them.”

Image: FromSoftware
Beware, there are probably three more monsters lurking just off frame in this picture.

I was too greedy and too cocky, lacking the humility necessary to navigate Erdtree safely. And I think such a lesson is vital as lots of players prepare themselves for Erdtree. Taking down Mohg, Lord of Blood — one of the bosses required to access Erdtree — is one of the harder accomplishments in the game (something not a lot of players have done according to Steam charts). And beating him or any of the other harder bosses, like Malenia, might instill in players the same undeserved arrogance I had — the kind that made me think I could just waltz through the new DLC untouched.

Tarnished, as you embark on your journey, learn from my mistakes and do not be deceived. You will die — a lot. Be slow, be methodical, be patient… upgrade your Mimic Tear ashes.

And while it was frustrating to die so much at the hands of things I knew I could easily defeat, I never felt cheated by any of my fifty ‘leven demises because I understood they were all my fault.

By the time I got to Belurat’s boss, I figured I was in for another lesson. I wondered how many times I’d die before learning the boss’s patterns and tricks. But then another beautiful moment happened: I cheesed my way through it. I used one of the game’s summons, called up my Mimic Tear ally, and stayed back, pelting the boss with the hardest working damage spell in the Lands Between: the Glintstone Pebble.

Shadow of the Erdtree will humble the living daylights out of you, and you will thank the game for the pleasure. But you, too, have the ability to shame it back — use it.

Playing Shadow of the Erdtree is like visiting that strict grandma you love but don’t get to see very often. Whenever you see her again after a long absence, it takes a moment for you to get reacquainted with her quirky but tough-ass customs. And when you finally do get back into the rhythm, it feels like you’ve never left.

Shadow of the Erdtree launches June 21st on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC.

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There are clear tradeoffs — like a charging case with no extra battery juice — but the price and Beats’ cultural cachet are likely enough to guarantee success for the Solo Buds. The first under-$100 true wireless earbuds from Beats (and, by extension, Apple) are here. Starting today, you can order the $79.99 Solo Buds online in four different colors — black, purple, red, and gray — and they’ll be in stores on June 20th. The red earbuds come with one advantage over the others: they include a translucent case that’s reminiscent of the one that comes with the Studio Buds Plus. The earbuds themselves are opaque, but it’s still a great look. I’ve been testing the Solo Buds for a few days, and that candy red case really pops. And whatever color you choose, it’s the smallest carrying case for any Beats earbuds yet.
But therein lies one of the tradeoffs that the company made to hit this lower price point. See, unlike basically all competitors on the market, this case doesn’t include a battery for recharging the buds whenever you’ve put them away. Instead, Beats decided to give the earbuds themselves a marathon 18-hour battery life, after which you’ll need to plop them into the case and recharge them over USB-C. In theory, this could help the Solo Buds last longer since they’re likely to go through fewer charge cycles over their lifetime. But it’s an important thing to be aware of.
Note: Beats provided The Verge with a non-mass-production sample of the Solo Buds. As a result, this is an unscored first look. Stay tuned for further coverage on voice call performance and more once we receive the shipping version.

The other feature that’s nowhere to be found is noise cancellation. The Solo 4 headphones lack ANC, and the Solo Buds similarly depend on natural noise isolation from their silicone ear tips to reduce the loudness of your surroundings. Beats bundles four sets of tips with them, including an extra-small size for those who need it. I found the buds plenty comfortable, and each earbud has laser-cut venting to reduce unpleasant ear clogging.

Unlike the AirPods Pro (center) and Studio Buds Plus (right), the Solo Buds case doesn’t have a battery inside.

It really is a teeny-tiny case.

Sound-wise, these are comfortably in third place compared to the Beats Fit Pro and Studio Buds Plus. They tend to come off a little flat across a number of my usual test tracks unless I really twist them into my ears for a tight seal. Every so often, you can find a track (like Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather”) that’s a decent match for their tuning. But “Wreckage” by Pearl Jam didn’t land with much force.
There’s nothing offensive about the Solo Buds; if anything, they’re fairly balanced, offer good channel separation, and are restrained when it comes to bass. They’re very clean; some cheaper wireless buds can sound as though you’re listening through a blanket, but that’s not the case here. Still, despite everything Beats says about their “fully custom acoustic architecture” and “ergonomically angled acoustic nozzles,” the Solo Buds aren’t some miracle pair of $80 earbuds. If they outperform their price, it’s not by much.

The earbuds look and feel similar to recent Beats products.

I also struggled with the physical controls at first until I found and memorized the sweet spot on each earbud, which is above the “b” logo. If you try to press the whole surface, it won’t work.
As has been true of most recent Beats products, the Solo Buds are platform-agnostic, meaning they natively support one-tap pairing and Find My / Find My Device features on both Android and iOS. Those are nice perks to have for the money, even if you don’t get some of the extra frills like head tracking spatial audio. Multipoint connectivity is also absent.
I have a hunch that the Solo Buds are going to sell very well. Even if the sound isn’t exemplary, there’s no denying the allure of their $79.99 sticker tag. And Beats still has lots of brand power with athletes and celebrities. But there are plenty of alternatives worth checking out. Beats faces competition from Anker’s Soundcore brand, JBL, EarFun, and others in this pricing territory, and many of those options include noise cancellation and come with a battery case — albeit without the 18-hour battery life.
Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge

There are clear tradeoffs — like a charging case with no extra battery juice — but the price and Beats’ cultural cachet are likely enough to guarantee success for the Solo Buds.

The first under-$100 true wireless earbuds from Beats (and, by extension, Apple) are here. Starting today, you can order the $79.99 Solo Buds online in four different colors — black, purple, red, and gray — and they’ll be in stores on June 20th. The red earbuds come with one advantage over the others: they include a translucent case that’s reminiscent of the one that comes with the Studio Buds Plus. The earbuds themselves are opaque, but it’s still a great look. I’ve been testing the Solo Buds for a few days, and that candy red case really pops. And whatever color you choose, it’s the smallest carrying case for any Beats earbuds yet.

But therein lies one of the tradeoffs that the company made to hit this lower price point. See, unlike basically all competitors on the market, this case doesn’t include a battery for recharging the buds whenever you’ve put them away. Instead, Beats decided to give the earbuds themselves a marathon 18-hour battery life, after which you’ll need to plop them into the case and recharge them over USB-C. In theory, this could help the Solo Buds last longer since they’re likely to go through fewer charge cycles over their lifetime. But it’s an important thing to be aware of.

Note: Beats provided The Verge with a non-mass-production sample of the Solo Buds. As a result, this is an unscored first look. Stay tuned for further coverage on voice call performance and more once we receive the shipping version.

The other feature that’s nowhere to be found is noise cancellation. The Solo 4 headphones lack ANC, and the Solo Buds similarly depend on natural noise isolation from their silicone ear tips to reduce the loudness of your surroundings. Beats bundles four sets of tips with them, including an extra-small size for those who need it. I found the buds plenty comfortable, and each earbud has laser-cut venting to reduce unpleasant ear clogging.

Sound-wise, these are comfortably in third place compared to the Beats Fit Pro and Studio Buds Plus. They tend to come off a little flat across a number of my usual test tracks unless I really twist them into my ears for a tight seal. Every so often, you can find a track (like Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather”) that’s a decent match for their tuning. But “Wreckage” by Pearl Jam didn’t land with much force.

There’s nothing offensive about the Solo Buds; if anything, they’re fairly balanced, offer good channel separation, and are restrained when it comes to bass. They’re very clean; some cheaper wireless buds can sound as though you’re listening through a blanket, but that’s not the case here. Still, despite everything Beats says about their “fully custom acoustic architecture” and “ergonomically angled acoustic nozzles,” the Solo Buds aren’t some miracle pair of $80 earbuds. If they outperform their price, it’s not by much.

I also struggled with the physical controls at first until I found and memorized the sweet spot on each earbud, which is above the “b” logo. If you try to press the whole surface, it won’t work.

As has been true of most recent Beats products, the Solo Buds are platform-agnostic, meaning they natively support one-tap pairing and Find My / Find My Device features on both Android and iOS. Those are nice perks to have for the money, even if you don’t get some of the extra frills like head tracking spatial audio. Multipoint connectivity is also absent.

I have a hunch that the Solo Buds are going to sell very well. Even if the sound isn’t exemplary, there’s no denying the allure of their $79.99 sticker tag. And Beats still has lots of brand power with athletes and celebrities. But there are plenty of alternatives worth checking out. Beats faces competition from Anker’s Soundcore brand, JBL, EarFun, and others in this pricing territory, and many of those options include noise cancellation and come with a battery case — albeit without the 18-hour battery life.

Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge

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