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Image: Apple

Siri may do more than make the edges of your iPhone a glowy rainbow when iOS 18 drops this fall. Apple Intelligence features won’t be out until 2025 for anyone not testing them in beta this year, but reports suggest that Siri itself will still get natural language updates and other key features before the year is out.
For instance, users will be able to type to Siri without diving into accessibility settings, and it will be more conversational, understanding you even when you trip over your words, according to Mark Gurman in today’s Power On newsletter for Bloomberg.

Image: Apple
Apple could offer instructions for how to do things in iOS this year.

He also writes that Siri will “have greater knowledge of Apple products,” presumably referring to the device support features Apple mentioned during its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote.
For another fun tidbit: Right now, iOS 18 beta testers can change Siri’s wake word to whatever they want using a new accessibility feature called Vocal Shortcuts by going to Settings > Accessibility > Vocal Shortcuts > Set Up Vocal Shortcuts > Siri (not “Siri requests”), as 9to5Mac wrote last week. You have to pause after saying the new wake word or your phone won’t acknowledge it, and the change doesn’t extend to your HomePods. But crucially, the new wake word works even if you turn off “Hey Siri” in the current developer beta. That’s great news if you’re tired of your iPhone activating when you’re trying to talk to your HomePod.

Apart from direct Siri improvements, Apple has also said ChatGPT will be available for free in iOS 18 later this year, though Gurman writes that it may not make the first version of iOS 18. When it comes, Siri will offer to punt requests it can’t handle to a GPT-4o-powered ChatGPT, giving users the opportunity to agree or decline (along with a disclaimer about its trustworthiness).
We won’t know until any of this rolls out if Siri is actually getting good now, but there are at least signs that we could finally get the digital assistant we’ve been waiting for. It’s not clear if the upgraded Siri won’t come to HomePods or iPhones other than the iPhone 15 Pro, though, like Apple Intelligence. Hopefully, the Siri improvements stand apart from the new generative AI features, and less-capable devices like the iPhone 15 and iPads without Apple’s M-series chips will get at least some of them.

Image: Apple

Siri may do more than make the edges of your iPhone a glowy rainbow when iOS 18 drops this fall. Apple Intelligence features won’t be out until 2025 for anyone not testing them in beta this year, but reports suggest that Siri itself will still get natural language updates and other key features before the year is out.

For instance, users will be able to type to Siri without diving into accessibility settings, and it will be more conversational, understanding you even when you trip over your words, according to Mark Gurman in today’s Power On newsletter for Bloomberg.

He also writes that Siri will “have greater knowledge of Apple products,” presumably referring to the device support features Apple mentioned during its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote.

For another fun tidbit: Right now, iOS 18 beta testers can change Siri’s wake word to whatever they want using a new accessibility feature called Vocal Shortcuts by going to Settings > Accessibility > Vocal Shortcuts > Set Up Vocal Shortcuts > Siri (not “Siri requests”), as 9to5Mac wrote last week. You have to pause after saying the new wake word or your phone won’t acknowledge it, and the change doesn’t extend to your HomePods. But crucially, the new wake word works even if you turn off “Hey Siri” in the current developer beta. That’s great news if you’re tired of your iPhone activating when you’re trying to talk to your HomePod.

Apart from direct Siri improvements, Apple has also said ChatGPT will be available for free in iOS 18 later this year, though Gurman writes that it may not make the first version of iOS 18. When it comes, Siri will offer to punt requests it can’t handle to a GPT-4o-powered ChatGPT, giving users the opportunity to agree or decline (along with a disclaimer about its trustworthiness).

We won’t know until any of this rolls out if Siri is actually getting good now, but there are at least signs that we could finally get the digital assistant we’ve been waiting for. It’s not clear if the upgraded Siri won’t come to HomePods or iPhones other than the iPhone 15 Pro, though, like Apple Intelligence. Hopefully, the Siri improvements stand apart from the new generative AI features, and less-capable devices like the iPhone 15 and iPads without Apple’s M-series chips will get at least some of them.

Read More 

Image: David Pierce / The Verge

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 42, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, so psyched you found us, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)
This week, I’ve been writing about Excel, reading about tin foil hats and the song “Smooth,” obsessing over Francis Ford Coppola’s note-taking system, watching Anyone But You, Hit Man, and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol because I had a bunch of plane rides, and debating buying Jabra headphones even though Jabra is quitting the headphone game.
I also have for you a new minimalist phone, a book to read, a documentary to watch, a fun hack for your Rabbit R1, and much more. Let’s get into it.
(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you playing, reading, downloading, buying, or bedazzling this week? What are you into that everyone else should be into? Tell me everything: installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, tell them to subscribe here.)

The Drop

The Light Phone 3. The new version of one of the best minimalist phones comes with a better screen, a camera, an NFC chip, and some big ambitions about replacing your phone. I don’t think I’m physically capable of ditching my smartphone, but I want this thing so badly.

Apple Passwords. We’ll talk a lot more about all of Apple’s WWDC announcements as they start to roll out, but this one’s worth thinking about now: Apple’s cross-platform, presumably well-integrated passwords app looks really good. Might be time to start compiling all your passwords and passkeys.

Moonbound. Robin Sloan is one of my favorite writers on the internet, and both of his previous books were excellent. This one, a deeply meta science fiction epic, seems to be the weirdest one yet — and I mean that in a good way.

How Music Got Free. For people of a certain age, this Paramount Plus doc is going to feel like reliving some formative years — remember Napster and Kazaa and LimeWire and the way the internet completely broke the music industry? So many fun stories in this one.

House of the Dragon season 2. I confess I didn’t really get into House of the Dragon last season, but so many people have told me they’re excited about the new one starting this weekend that I feel like I have to catch up to be ready. Feels like everyone’s going to be talking about this on Monday.

“I installed Android on Rabbit R1 & Made it Useful.” The top comment on this video just says, “They accidentally made a great dumbphone.” It’s kind of true! The R1 is a fun gizmo running crappy software; as a tiny Android tablet, I confess I kind of love it again. I even got mine out of the drawer to try this for myself.

Yahoo News. Yahoo bought and shut down Artifact earlier this year. That was sad. This is better: some of that recommendation tech is back in the new Yahoo News, which has lots of personalization and streaks and badging and all kinds of good stuff. I’m using Yahoo again! Who woulda thunk!

“Inside Disney’s ‘Area 51,’ Where Lightsabers and Other Tech Are Invented.” Lanny Smoot seems like an extremely cool person with an extremely cool job, and this video does a great job of showing all the wild, futuristic stuff he and Disney are working on for the company’s theme parks and other products. Give me that omnidirectional treadmill now.

Fantasmas. This is a week old, but like 100 of you recommended it this week, so I’m making an exception. (Thanks to everyone who told me about it!) It’s a really unusually structured show, and you definitely can’t half-watch this one, but I’m digging it so far.

Screen share
Andrew Liszewski has long been one of my favorite bloggers on the internet. He spent years at Gizmodo writing about the weirdest, funniest, silliest, coolest stuff on the web, and I’ve definitely spent thousands of dollars on stuff just because he wrote about it.
Now, Andrew works for The Verge! This was his first week, and he’s already in Slack causing chaos. It’s the best. I asked him to share his homescreen with us to see if I could get any tips on how he scours the web. He didn’t reveal all his secrets, but I do know more about the weather in Canada now, so that’s something.
Here’s Andrew’s homescreen, plus some info on the apps he uses and why:

The phone: iPhone 12 Pro (with a battery that’s feeling its age).
The wallpaper: I like a very minimalist wallpaper under my apps, but because I find solid black makes the screen too reflective, I created a custom subtle blue gradient I’ve been using for the past five years. (For my lock screen, I’m using one of Mikael Gustafsson’s dreamy nature scenes.)
The apps: Google Calendar, Clock, Photos, Camera, Google Home, Google Photos, Find My, Instagram, Google Maps, WeatherCAN, Nest, Google Chat, Settings, Watch, Chrome, Apple Books, 1Password, App Store, Apple Notes, Phone, Gmail, Messages, Apple Photos.
My iPhone’s main homescreen is where all my daily driver apps live. This includes Instagram, Google Home, the aging Nest app (which includes functionality for my Nest thermostat I can’t find elsewhere), Chrome, 1Password (which all but solved my password anxiety once I finally switched over), IMDb, Paprika 3, countless smart home remotes, and most importantly, the Environment Canada weather app so I know when to get the grass cut before it rains. I’m obsessive about clearing notifications on my primary homescreen but am happy for them to pile up on the second screen, where I like to keep all other installed apps accessible.
I also asked Andrew to share a few things he’s into right now. Here’s what he sent back:

I’m a big fan of retro gaming and recently added the tiny Anbernic RG28XX to my ever-growing collection of handheld emulators. The Game Boy Micro remains one of my favorite handhelds of all time, but with the RG28XX, I can leave all the cartridges at home.
Our house is mildly obsessed with the reality series Alone, and we’re quite excited to dive into the season 11 premiere this week.
I just finished reading Bill Hammack’s (also known as the “Engineer Guy” on YouTube) book, The Things We Make, which includes fascinating deep dives into the engineering of everything from medieval cathedrals to how the microwave was invented.
When I’m struggling to fall asleep, nothing calms my brain faster than the Joe DIY Instagram account, which features videos of detailed restorations of classic die-cast toys. Give it a shot. Watching a rusted dump truck turn back into a bright yellow Tonka toy is immensely satisfying.

Crowdsourced
Here’s what the Installer community is into this week. I want to know what you’re into right now as well! Email installer@theverge.com or message me on Signal — @davidpierce.11 — with your recommendations for anything and everything, and we’ll feature some of our favorites here every week. For more recommendations than I could fit here, check out the replies to this post on Threads.
“I just recently came across this Australian company called Juicy Crumb that specializes in creating custom motherboard replacements for old iMacs, which lets people easily repurpose them as monitors. And they made one for the iMac G4! Believe me when I tell you I’ve never hit a ‘buy’ button so quickly (lol). Anyway, I ordered one a few months back and recently swapped it into my 20-inch G4, and it worked like a charm! I plugged it into a M1 Mac Mini I had, and now I’m using an iMac G4 like it’s 2004 again.” – Ryan
“I LOVE the Surface kickstand, enjoy typing onscreen (have done it for 14 years, tbf), and hate cases on my Apple devices. I’m obsessed with this magnet-back cover with a kickstand for my iPad. Could only source it from Amazon Germany, but they shipped to New Zealand for free. Wicked result.” – Brendon
“Your mention of Inbox Ten makes me think you’d appreciate Tony Hsieh’s Yesterbox method, which I’ve used successfully for years!” – Deb
“I’ve been loving journaling in Diarium, especially since it’s completely private and local. If you want to sync between devices, you can use a cloud sync of your choosing — it can even read-only sync with apps like Fitbit, Instagram, Strava, etc. to add everything you’ve done in the day into your journal entry.” – Michael
“I recently subscribed to Scott Belsky’s Implications newsletter, and I’m convinced everyone who is interested in the future of tech and culture should, too.” – Ricky
“I just discovered the app Crouton for recipe collection, and it’s by far the best at scrubbing a URL for the actual recipe. You can even take a photo of a cookbook page, and it’ll generate the recipe. Probably the best example of a real-world use for AI I’ve encountered yet.” – JT
“I’m enjoying the new MLB Morning Lineup podcast. Each episode is 10 minutes or less, and it recaps the previous day’s box scores and news. It’s been a very nice way to catch up on the best sport.” – Mario
“Been trying out Star Wars: Hunters on iOS after it finally launched. It’s a PVP arena combat game, and I’m loving it so far. The hunters are all unique and fun, it’s not too heavy on the pay-to-play stuff, and it’s remarkably good for a quick game. It’s not perfect (the UI is atrocious), but it’s a good start.” – Matt
“Puzzmo just added a new game to their catalog, Pile-Up Poker, and it is stellar.” – Luke
“My friends introduced me to this Call of Duty-like shooter that’s apparently very popular in India. It’s called Free Fire Max. The reason for its popularity is its ability to run on any device.
You should give it a try. The graphics are mediocre, but the experience is great.” – Rudrajit

Signing off
I posted on Threads a few days ago that my number one productivity hack is to take a 25-minute nap in the middle of the day. This made a lot of people have feelings and ask questions, even though I’m totally right. (It’s just science. I don’t make the rules.) But for all the people who asked for tips, here are mine.
The perfect 25-minute nap involves three things. First, realizing that even if you don’t sleep, lying there with your eyes closed for 25 minutes is still very restful; not stressing about sleeping makes it easier to sleep. Second, an episode of a TV show I’ve seen before (I do a lot of Parks and Recreation) can make it easier to quiet my brain and fall asleep. Third, I put on my smartwatch and set an alarm there; waking up from a wrist buzz is infinitely better than a blaring sound. Naps are great, naps forever, happy napping, everybody.
See you next week!

Image: David Pierce / The Verge

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 42, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, so psyched you found us, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)

This week, I’ve been writing about Excel, reading about tin foil hats and the song “Smooth,” obsessing over Francis Ford Coppola’s note-taking system, watching Anyone But You, Hit Man, and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol because I had a bunch of plane rides, and debating buying Jabra headphones even though Jabra is quitting the headphone game.

I also have for you a new minimalist phone, a book to read, a documentary to watch, a fun hack for your Rabbit R1, and much more. Let’s get into it.

(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you playing, reading, downloading, buying, or bedazzling this week? What are you into that everyone else should be into? Tell me everything: installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, tell them to subscribe here.)

The Drop

The Light Phone 3. The new version of one of the best minimalist phones comes with a better screen, a camera, an NFC chip, and some big ambitions about replacing your phone. I don’t think I’m physically capable of ditching my smartphone, but I want this thing so badly.

Apple Passwords. We’ll talk a lot more about all of Apple’s WWDC announcements as they start to roll out, but this one’s worth thinking about now: Apple’s cross-platform, presumably well-integrated passwords app looks really good. Might be time to start compiling all your passwords and passkeys.

Moonbound. Robin Sloan is one of my favorite writers on the internet, and both of his previous books were excellent. This one, a deeply meta science fiction epic, seems to be the weirdest one yet — and I mean that in a good way.

How Music Got Free. For people of a certain age, this Paramount Plus doc is going to feel like reliving some formative years — remember Napster and Kazaa and LimeWire and the way the internet completely broke the music industry? So many fun stories in this one.

House of the Dragon season 2. I confess I didn’t really get into House of the Dragon last season, but so many people have told me they’re excited about the new one starting this weekend that I feel like I have to catch up to be ready. Feels like everyone’s going to be talking about this on Monday.

“I installed Android on Rabbit R1 & Made it Useful.” The top comment on this video just says, “They accidentally made a great dumbphone.” It’s kind of true! The R1 is a fun gizmo running crappy software; as a tiny Android tablet, I confess I kind of love it again. I even got mine out of the drawer to try this for myself.

Yahoo News. Yahoo bought and shut down Artifact earlier this year. That was sad. This is better: some of that recommendation tech is back in the new Yahoo News, which has lots of personalization and streaks and badging and all kinds of good stuff. I’m using Yahoo again! Who woulda thunk!

“Inside Disney’s ‘Area 51,’ Where Lightsabers and Other Tech Are Invented.” Lanny Smoot seems like an extremely cool person with an extremely cool job, and this video does a great job of showing all the wild, futuristic stuff he and Disney are working on for the company’s theme parks and other products. Give me that omnidirectional treadmill now.

Fantasmas. This is a week old, but like 100 of you recommended it this week, so I’m making an exception. (Thanks to everyone who told me about it!) It’s a really unusually structured show, and you definitely can’t half-watch this one, but I’m digging it so far.

Screen share

Andrew Liszewski has long been one of my favorite bloggers on the internet. He spent years at Gizmodo writing about the weirdest, funniest, silliest, coolest stuff on the web, and I’ve definitely spent thousands of dollars on stuff just because he wrote about it.

Now, Andrew works for The Verge! This was his first week, and he’s already in Slack causing chaos. It’s the best. I asked him to share his homescreen with us to see if I could get any tips on how he scours the web. He didn’t reveal all his secrets, but I do know more about the weather in Canada now, so that’s something.

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

The phone: iPhone 12 Pro (with a battery that’s feeling its age).

The wallpaper: I like a very minimalist wallpaper under my apps, but because I find solid black makes the screen too reflective, I created a custom subtle blue gradient I’ve been using for the past five years. (For my lock screen, I’m using one of Mikael Gustafsson’s dreamy nature scenes.)

The apps: Google Calendar, Clock, Photos, Camera, Google Home, Google Photos, Find My, Instagram, Google Maps, WeatherCAN, Nest, Google Chat, Settings, Watch, Chrome, Apple Books, 1Password, App Store, Apple Notes, Phone, Gmail, Messages, Apple Photos.

My iPhone’s main homescreen is where all my daily driver apps live. This includes Instagram, Google Home, the aging Nest app (which includes functionality for my Nest thermostat I can’t find elsewhere), Chrome, 1Password (which all but solved my password anxiety once I finally switched over), IMDb, Paprika 3, countless smart home remotes, and most importantly, the Environment Canada weather app so I know when to get the grass cut before it rains. I’m obsessive about clearing notifications on my primary homescreen but am happy for them to pile up on the second screen, where I like to keep all other installed apps accessible.

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

I’m a big fan of retro gaming and recently added the tiny Anbernic RG28XX to my ever-growing collection of handheld emulators. The Game Boy Micro remains one of my favorite handhelds of all time, but with the RG28XX, I can leave all the cartridges at home.
Our house is mildly obsessed with the reality series Alone, and we’re quite excited to dive into the season 11 premiere this week.
I just finished reading Bill Hammack’s (also known as the “Engineer Guy” on YouTube) book, The Things We Make, which includes fascinating deep dives into the engineering of everything from medieval cathedrals to how the microwave was invented.
When I’m struggling to fall asleep, nothing calms my brain faster than the Joe DIY Instagram account, which features videos of detailed restorations of classic die-cast toys. Give it a shot. Watching a rusted dump truck turn back into a bright yellow Tonka toy is immensely satisfying.

Crowdsourced

Here’s what the Installer community is into this week. I want to know what you’re into right now as well! Email installer@theverge.com or message me on Signal — @davidpierce.11 — with your recommendations for anything and everything, and we’ll feature some of our favorites here every week. For more recommendations than I could fit here, check out the replies to this post on Threads.

“I just recently came across this Australian company called Juicy Crumb that specializes in creating custom motherboard replacements for old iMacs, which lets people easily repurpose them as monitors. And they made one for the iMac G4! Believe me when I tell you I’ve never hit a ‘buy’ button so quickly (lol). Anyway, I ordered one a few months back and recently swapped it into my 20-inch G4, and it worked like a charm! I plugged it into a M1 Mac Mini I had, and now I’m using an iMac G4 like it’s 2004 again.” – Ryan

“I LOVE the Surface kickstand, enjoy typing onscreen (have done it for 14 years, tbf), and hate cases on my Apple devices. I’m obsessed with this magnet-back cover with a kickstand for my iPad. Could only source it from Amazon Germany, but they shipped to New Zealand for free. Wicked result.” – Brendon

“Your mention of Inbox Ten makes me think you’d appreciate Tony Hsieh’s Yesterbox method, which I’ve used successfully for years!” – Deb

“I’ve been loving journaling in Diarium, especially since it’s completely private and local. If you want to sync between devices, you can use a cloud sync of your choosing — it can even read-only sync with apps like Fitbit, Instagram, Strava, etc. to add everything you’ve done in the day into your journal entry.” – Michael

“I recently subscribed to Scott Belsky’s Implications newsletter, and I’m convinced everyone who is interested in the future of tech and culture should, too.” – Ricky

“I just discovered the app Crouton for recipe collection, and it’s by far the best at scrubbing a URL for the actual recipe. You can even take a photo of a cookbook page, and it’ll generate the recipe. Probably the best example of a real-world use for AI I’ve encountered yet.” – JT

“I’m enjoying the new MLB Morning Lineup podcast. Each episode is 10 minutes or less, and it recaps the previous day’s box scores and news. It’s been a very nice way to catch up on the best sport.” – Mario

“Been trying out Star Wars: Hunters on iOS after it finally launched. It’s a PVP arena combat game, and I’m loving it so far. The hunters are all unique and fun, it’s not too heavy on the pay-to-play stuff, and it’s remarkably good for a quick game. It’s not perfect (the UI is atrocious), but it’s a good start.” – Matt

“Puzzmo just added a new game to their catalog, Pile-Up Poker, and it is stellar.” – Luke

“My friends introduced me to this Call of Duty-like shooter that’s apparently very popular in India. It’s called Free Fire Max. The reason for its popularity is its ability to run on any device.

You should give it a try. The graphics are mediocre, but the experience is great.” – Rudrajit

Signing off

I posted on Threads a few days ago that my number one productivity hack is to take a 25-minute nap in the middle of the day. This made a lot of people have feelings and ask questions, even though I’m totally right. (It’s just science. I don’t make the rules.) But for all the people who asked for tips, here are mine.

The perfect 25-minute nap involves three things. First, realizing that even if you don’t sleep, lying there with your eyes closed for 25 minutes is still very restful; not stressing about sleeping makes it easier to sleep. Second, an episode of a TV show I’ve seen before (I do a lot of Parks and Recreation) can make it easier to quiet my brain and fall asleep. Third, I put on my smartwatch and set an alarm there; waking up from a wrist buzz is infinitely better than a blaring sound. Naps are great, naps forever, happy napping, everybody.

See you next week!

Read More 

Image: NASA

Voyager 1, the farthest human-made craft from the Earth, is finally sending back data from all four of its scientific instruments, NASA said this week. That means the agency is once more receiving its readings on plasma waves, magnetic fields, and space-bound particles.
Voyager 1 stopped sending back good data in November, and fixing it was fraught as engineers had to wait 45 hours to hear anything back. In April, the agency got it to start sending back health and status information, then science data from two of its instruments in May.
Now, NASA says Voyager 1, which is over 15 billion miles from Earth, is “conducting normal science operations” and the agency just needs to resync its timekeeping software and do some maintenance on a sparingly-used digital tape recorder.

That’s not bad for a probe that has continued to work for the better part of 47 years. Voyager 1 was originally launched in 1977 on a five-year fly-by mission to study Jupiter and Saturn. And despite occasional issues with it and Voyager 2, NASA keeps figuring out ways to squeeze more life out of the probes, like tapping into reserve power or firing up thrusters that hadn’t been used in nearly three decades.

Image: NASA
One of several Voyager posters from NASA’s website.

Now seems like a great time to either remind you of or point you to the sick Voyager posters, like the one above, that NASA has published on its site.

Image: NASA

Voyager 1, the farthest human-made craft from the Earth, is finally sending back data from all four of its scientific instruments, NASA said this week. That means the agency is once more receiving its readings on plasma waves, magnetic fields, and space-bound particles.

Voyager 1 stopped sending back good data in November, and fixing it was fraught as engineers had to wait 45 hours to hear anything back. In April, the agency got it to start sending back health and status information, then science data from two of its instruments in May.

Now, NASA says Voyager 1, which is over 15 billion miles from Earth, is “conducting normal science operations” and the agency just needs to resync its timekeeping software and do some maintenance on a sparingly-used digital tape recorder.

That’s not bad for a probe that has continued to work for the better part of 47 years. Voyager 1 was originally launched in 1977 on a five-year fly-by mission to study Jupiter and Saturn. And despite occasional issues with it and Voyager 2, NASA keeps figuring out ways to squeeze more life out of the probes, like tapping into reserve power or firing up thrusters that hadn’t been used in nearly three decades.

Image: NASA
One of several Voyager posters from NASA’s website.

Now seems like a great time to either remind you of or point you to the sick Voyager posters, like the one above, that NASA has published on its site.

Read More 

The Philips Hue Twilight lamp. | Image: Smartlights.de

Philips Hue’s next smart bedside lamp will reportedly be called the “Twilight.” The lamp will feature two buttons on top for power, scene selection, and sleep automation, and it also has LEDs in the back that will feature a sunrise or sunset effect, according to HueBlog.com.
The rear LED and main light, like the Hue Dymera’s top and bottom lights, will apparently be individually controllable, and when triggering its sleep automation, the site says it will simulate a sunset before turning off. It’s not clear yet when — or for how much — Philips will release the Twilight.

Image: HueBlog.com

HueBlog published leaked images earlier this week that show the lamp’s odd, fixed lampshade. It will apparently come in black or white and stand “around 33 centimetres high.” The article includes images published by the German smart home site Smartlights.de.
Philips might also have a new 5-meter (about 16 feet) lightstrip called the Hue Solo on the way, as it was briefly listed by “a major American retailer” for $89.99 before being taken down, according to a story HueBlog published yesterday. And there is indeed a cached Best Buy Hue Solo product page that describes a “seamless blend of multicolor light in a single LED strip” and says it can be controlled via Bluetooth.

The Philips Hue Twilight lamp. | Image: Smartlights.de

Philips Hue’s next smart bedside lamp will reportedly be called the “Twilight.” The lamp will feature two buttons on top for power, scene selection, and sleep automation, and it also has LEDs in the back that will feature a sunrise or sunset effect, according to HueBlog.com.

The rear LED and main light, like the Hue Dymera’s top and bottom lights, will apparently be individually controllable, and when triggering its sleep automation, the site says it will simulate a sunset before turning off. It’s not clear yet when — or for how much — Philips will release the Twilight.

Image: HueBlog.com

HueBlog published leaked images earlier this week that show the lamp’s odd, fixed lampshade. It will apparently come in black or white and stand “around 33 centimetres high.” The article includes images published by the German smart home site Smartlights.de.

Philips might also have a new 5-meter (about 16 feet) lightstrip called the Hue Solo on the way, as it was briefly listed by “a major American retailer” for $89.99 before being taken down, according to a story HueBlog published yesterday. And there is indeed a cached Best Buy Hue Solo product page that describes a “seamless blend of multicolor light in a single LED strip” and says it can be controlled via Bluetooth.

Read More 

There are many 67W chargers out there, but few are as adorable as Sharge’s travel-friendly Retro 67.

Earlier this week, we published a guide rounding up an assortment of last-minute Father’s Day gifts for those who celebrate. However, if you need a Hail Mary and your dad is the nostalgic type with a penchant for all things Apple, the Sharge Retro 67 is currently on sale for an all-time low of $39 ($30 off) at Amazon and direct from Sharge.

In February, my colleague Sean Hollister penned a personal ode to the Sharge’s three-port USB-C PD and PPS charger (and for good reason). The palm-sized Retro 67 measures 2.2 x 1.5 x 1.5 inches — which is relatively small for what it offers — and can output 67 watts from a single UL-certified port or 45 watts via the primary port while supplying 20 watts across the remaining two. That’s enough juice to charge a combination of devices (phones, earbuds, handhelds, etc.) or a lightweight laptop like the most recent MacBook Air. It can even slow-charge a beefier machine like the MacBook Pro using the main port, assuming you’re not in any particular hurry.
Wattage is only part of the appeal, though. What makes the Retro 67, well, retro, is that it takes its design from the original Macintosh. The travel-friendly charger also sports foldable prongs and a built-in dot-matrix display, which shows you what kind of power your gadgets are receiving at any given moment. The fact it displays the iconic “digital rain” pattern from The Matrix when not in use is just a plus.

More deals, discounts, and ways to save

I’m still lamenting Jabra’s exit from the earbud business, but there are still plenty of budget-friendly earbuds that nail the basics. Take Sony’s WF-C500, for example. The entry-level wireless earbuds — which are on sale at Walmart right now for an all-time low of $59 ($41 off) — offer a great fit, 10 hours of continuous playback, and well-dialed sound for the price. The big caveat is they don’t offer active noise cancellation or wireless charging, though, at the current sale price, it’s hard to complain. Read our review.
Grovemade makes some truly excellent desk accessories, many of which use metal, wood, and felt for a more premium touch. They’re definitely pricey, but, thankfully, Grovemade is running an anniversary sale through June 29th, allowing you to save on shelving, succulent planters, and other gear. I personally use the Wool Felt Desk Pad (now $48) and Wood Laptop Stand (now $160), both of which I’ve found to elevate the look of my workstation.
This weekend is your last chance to save on Sonos speakers and soundbars, many of which are discounted up to 25 percent through tomorrow, June 16th. The Sonos Era 100 ($199) is your best bet if you’re looking for a smart speaker to get you started with the Sonos ecosystem, though, you can also pick up entry-level soundbars like the latest Sonos Beam ($399) and portable options like the Sonos Move 2 ($336), the latter of which is Sonos’ best speaker dollar for dollar sound-wise. Read our guide to the best Sonos speakers.

There are many 67W chargers out there, but few are as adorable as Sharge’s travel-friendly Retro 67.

Earlier this week, we published a guide rounding up an assortment of last-minute Father’s Day gifts for those who celebrate. However, if you need a Hail Mary and your dad is the nostalgic type with a penchant for all things Apple, the Sharge Retro 67 is currently on sale for an all-time low of $39 ($30 off) at Amazon and direct from Sharge.

In February, my colleague Sean Hollister penned a personal ode to the Sharge’s three-port USB-C PD and PPS charger (and for good reason). The palm-sized Retro 67 measures 2.2 x 1.5 x 1.5 inches — which is relatively small for what it offers — and can output 67 watts from a single UL-certified port or 45 watts via the primary port while supplying 20 watts across the remaining two. That’s enough juice to charge a combination of devices (phones, earbuds, handhelds, etc.) or a lightweight laptop like the most recent MacBook Air. It can even slow-charge a beefier machine like the MacBook Pro using the main port, assuming you’re not in any particular hurry.

Wattage is only part of the appeal, though. What makes the Retro 67, well, retro, is that it takes its design from the original Macintosh. The travel-friendly charger also sports foldable prongs and a built-in dot-matrix display, which shows you what kind of power your gadgets are receiving at any given moment. The fact it displays the iconic “digital rain” pattern from The Matrix when not in use is just a plus.

More deals, discounts, and ways to save

I’m still lamenting Jabra’s exit from the earbud business, but there are still plenty of budget-friendly earbuds that nail the basics. Take Sony’s WF-C500, for example. The entry-level wireless earbuds — which are on sale at Walmart right now for an all-time low of $59 ($41 off) — offer a great fit, 10 hours of continuous playback, and well-dialed sound for the price. The big caveat is they don’t offer active noise cancellation or wireless charging, though, at the current sale price, it’s hard to complain. Read our review.
Grovemade makes some truly excellent desk accessories, many of which use metal, wood, and felt for a more premium touch. They’re definitely pricey, but, thankfully, Grovemade is running an anniversary sale through June 29th, allowing you to save on shelving, succulent planters, and other gear. I personally use the Wool Felt Desk Pad (now $48) and Wood Laptop Stand (now $160), both of which I’ve found to elevate the look of my workstation.
This weekend is your last chance to save on Sonos speakers and soundbars, many of which are discounted up to 25 percent through tomorrow, June 16th. The Sonos Era 100 ($199) is your best bet if you’re looking for a smart speaker to get you started with the Sonos ecosystem, though, you can also pick up entry-level soundbars like the latest Sonos Beam ($399) and portable options like the Sonos Move 2 ($336), the latter of which is Sonos’ best speaker dollar for dollar sound-wise. Read our guide to the best Sonos speakers.

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Got a broken arm? Just play Toss-Up! | Screenshot: YouTube

Nintendo is a gaming juggernaut today, but it wasn’t really on anyone’s radar in the United States in 1980. And what was possibly the first US commercial for hardware produced by the company — a handheld called Toss-Up, from its “Game & Watch” series — certainly didn’t help, as a newly-restored copy shows. That’s because there’s no mention of Nintendo at all, or even Game & Watch.
Game & Watch games were simplistic standalone handheld LCD games not unlike the cheap licensed Tiger Electronics games seemingly every kid had in the 1990s. And in the US, those games were initially licensed to a company called Mego (pronounced “mee-go”), and sold as a series called “Time-Out” instead, according to The Video Game History Foundation in a blog post Time Extension spotted.
The ad was dated June 25th, 1980 — only “a couple of months after Nintendo of America was incorporated,” Gaming historian Chris Kohler, who found the 16mm reel containing the ad on eBay, told the foundation. The hardware was still apparently embossed with a Nintendo logo on the back.
Kohler lent the reel to the foundation, which turned to a company called Movette Film Transfer to digitize the film. It had to be restored because its dyes had faded significantly, leaving it with a magenta hue that will be familiar to anyone that’s seen obscure, unrestored movie prints. (I saw plenty of these in Austin, Texas at Alamo Drafthouse’s once-free-at-midnight “Weird Wednesday” exploitation films series.) The foundation pointed to this “potato quality” version of the commercial that was uploaded to YouTube six years ago to illustrate the differences:

The commercial entreats mostly older, trendy youths (except for the goofy nerdy one because ha, ha, nerds) to enjoy an “electronic sport” when they can’t do real ones. You know, like when you’ve got fallen arches or tennis elbow, or you’re entirely wrapped in a full-body cast. That’s pretty different from Nintendo’s own commercials a few years later! Those tended to focus on kids and families and certainly didn’t have close-ups of butts in skin-tight shorts. Like this one:

The Game & Watch games also came in other form factors besides the one Nintendo resurrected for its standalone collectible versions of the NES Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda games a few years ago. Like this dual-screen one:

The company has referenced those designs in its other handhelds over the years. That one looks a whole lot like the Nintendo DS Lite, for instance. And the Nintendo 20th anniversary edition of the Game Boy Micro bore a strong resemblance to the gold and red design used by Toss-Up.

Got a broken arm? Just play Toss-Up! | Screenshot: YouTube

Nintendo is a gaming juggernaut today, but it wasn’t really on anyone’s radar in the United States in 1980. And what was possibly the first US commercial for hardware produced by the company — a handheld called Toss-Up, from its “Game & Watch” series — certainly didn’t help, as a newly-restored copy shows. That’s because there’s no mention of Nintendo at all, or even Game & Watch.

Game & Watch games were simplistic standalone handheld LCD games not unlike the cheap licensed Tiger Electronics games seemingly every kid had in the 1990s. And in the US, those games were initially licensed to a company called Mego (pronounced “mee-go”), and sold as a series called “Time-Out” instead, according to The Video Game History Foundation in a blog post Time Extension spotted.

The ad was dated June 25th, 1980 — only “a couple of months after Nintendo of America was incorporated,” Gaming historian Chris Kohler, who found the 16mm reel containing the ad on eBay, told the foundation. The hardware was still apparently embossed with a Nintendo logo on the back.

Kohler lent the reel to the foundation, which turned to a company called Movette Film Transfer to digitize the film. It had to be restored because its dyes had faded significantly, leaving it with a magenta hue that will be familiar to anyone that’s seen obscure, unrestored movie prints. (I saw plenty of these in Austin, Texas at Alamo Drafthouse’s once-free-at-midnight “Weird Wednesday” exploitation films series.) The foundation pointed to this “potato quality” version of the commercial that was uploaded to YouTube six years ago to illustrate the differences:

The commercial entreats mostly older, trendy youths (except for the goofy nerdy one because ha, ha, nerds) to enjoy an “electronic sport” when they can’t do real ones. You know, like when you’ve got fallen arches or tennis elbow, or you’re entirely wrapped in a full-body cast. That’s pretty different from Nintendo’s own commercials a few years later! Those tended to focus on kids and families and certainly didn’t have close-ups of butts in skin-tight shorts. Like this one:

The Game & Watch games also came in other form factors besides the one Nintendo resurrected for its standalone collectible versions of the NES Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda games a few years ago. Like this dual-screen one:

The company has referenced those designs in its other handhelds over the years. That one looks a whole lot like the Nintendo DS Lite, for instance. And the Nintendo 20th anniversary edition of the Game Boy Micro bore a strong resemblance to the gold and red design used by Toss-Up.

Read More 

This should fold in half. It just should. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Folding an iPad in half is a very bad idea if you want to keep using your iPad. But hear me out: it should fold in half. Why? Because it would make an absolute banger of a folding phone.
First of all, what’s even going on here anyway? The Pro iPhones have more processing power than they know what to do with. The iPad Pro is an incredible computer that nobody can use as a computer. The iPad Mini still exists (TIL airplane pilots love the iPad Mini), the iPad Air is heavier than the iPad Pro, and Apple can’t figure out what to do with the non-standard-sized iPhone. There are entirely too many SKUs, and I think Apple can condense, like, four of them down into one category-straddling product.
I’m thinking of something like an iPad Mini that doubles as a phone in the style of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 or the Google Pixel Fold. Apple seems to have all kinds of ideas about folding things in half, including a big iPad that’s kind of like a MacBook and a clamshell-style iPhone. (Honestly, those both sound pretty rad, too.) But I’ve come around to the idea that the iPad makes a lot more sense when you imagine it as a folding phone.
Apple has already achieved optimal thinness. The iPad Pro is thinner than most phones (and every other computer Apple makes). What’s the point, if not to fold it in half? Was anyone complaining about the iPad being too thick? The slimmest iPad Pro is 5.1mm — fold that in half, and it’s only a couple of millimeters thicker than an iPhone 15 Pro Max. Mission accomplished. And if Apple is going to insist that things like a floating tab bar are good enough multitasking tools for people to get things done on an iPad, then it may as well just turn the thing into a phone.

And speaking of iOS 18 — excuse me, iPadOS 18 — have you seen the new handwriting features? They look amazing. With an Apple Pencil, you can write out a note and a feature called Smart Script will neaten up your writing automatically. But here’s the great part: you can erase some of your handwritten note or scratch something out, and the text will flow to fill the empty space. That solves one of the issues I run into with stylus writing on phones — adding text is easy, but once you erase something from your grocery list, it gets ugly real fast.
But, let’s be honest, I am not writing out a list on an iPad and then taking it grocery shopping so I can cross things off as I wander around Trader Joe’s. But what if you wrote out those notes on a big, tablet-like screen, then folded the whole thing in half to take it with you? It makes so much more sense. Apple doesn’t want to admit that the iPad is a stay-at-home device; if it could fold in half, maybe we’d be more inclined to take it to go.
It’s possible that executives at Apple fully enjoy selling people a phone and a tablet and have no intention of selling them one product instead. I didn’t go to business school or whatever, but fine. All I’m saying is that it’s hard to get excited about an iPad when I already have a phone and a computer, but an iPad that folds in half? Now we’re talking.

This should fold in half. It just should. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Folding an iPad in half is a very bad idea if you want to keep using your iPad. But hear me out: it should fold in half. Why? Because it would make an absolute banger of a folding phone.

First of all, what’s even going on here anyway? The Pro iPhones have more processing power than they know what to do with. The iPad Pro is an incredible computer that nobody can use as a computer. The iPad Mini still exists (TIL airplane pilots love the iPad Mini), the iPad Air is heavier than the iPad Pro, and Apple can’t figure out what to do with the non-standard-sized iPhone. There are entirely too many SKUs, and I think Apple can condense, like, four of them down into one category-straddling product.

I’m thinking of something like an iPad Mini that doubles as a phone in the style of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 or the Google Pixel Fold. Apple seems to have all kinds of ideas about folding things in half, including a big iPad that’s kind of like a MacBook and a clamshell-style iPhone. (Honestly, those both sound pretty rad, too.) But I’ve come around to the idea that the iPad makes a lot more sense when you imagine it as a folding phone.

Apple has already achieved optimal thinness. The iPad Pro is thinner than most phones (and every other computer Apple makes). What’s the point, if not to fold it in half? Was anyone complaining about the iPad being too thick? The slimmest iPad Pro is 5.1mm — fold that in half, and it’s only a couple of millimeters thicker than an iPhone 15 Pro Max. Mission accomplished. And if Apple is going to insist that things like a floating tab bar are good enough multitasking tools for people to get things done on an iPad, then it may as well just turn the thing into a phone.

And speaking of iOS 18 — excuse me, iPadOS 18 — have you seen the new handwriting features? They look amazing. With an Apple Pencil, you can write out a note and a feature called Smart Script will neaten up your writing automatically. But here’s the great part: you can erase some of your handwritten note or scratch something out, and the text will flow to fill the empty space. That solves one of the issues I run into with stylus writing on phones — adding text is easy, but once you erase something from your grocery list, it gets ugly real fast.

But, let’s be honest, I am not writing out a list on an iPad and then taking it grocery shopping so I can cross things off as I wander around Trader Joe’s. But what if you wrote out those notes on a big, tablet-like screen, then folded the whole thing in half to take it with you? It makes so much more sense. Apple doesn’t want to admit that the iPad is a stay-at-home device; if it could fold in half, maybe we’d be more inclined to take it to go.

It’s possible that executives at Apple fully enjoy selling people a phone and a tablet and have no intention of selling them one product instead. I didn’t go to business school or whatever, but fine. All I’m saying is that it’s hard to get excited about an iPad when I already have a phone and a computer, but an iPad that folds in half? Now we’re talking.

Read More 

One of the affected Intel processors. | Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge

For months, Intel’s highest-end desktop gaming processors have had a strange tendency to occasionally make games crash — and despite what you might have seen earlier today, Intel says it doesn’t have a final fix for its 13th and 14th Gen Intel Core i9 “Raptor Lake” and “Raptor Lake S” chips just yet.

“Contrary to recent media reports, Intel has not confirmed root cause and is continuing, with its partners, to investigate user reports regarding instability issues on unlocked Intel Core 13th and 14th generation (K/KF/KS) desktop processors,” reads a statement via Intel spokesperson Thomas Hannaford.
It continues: “The microcode patch referenced in press reports fixes an eTVB bug discovered by Intel while investigating the instability reports. While this issue is potentially contributing to instability, it is not the root cause.”
Intel’s official statement references (and partially confirms) leaked internal Intel documents obtained by Igor’s Lab earlier today. Those documents suggest that part of the problem is how Intel’s chips have been erroneously overclocking their own cores, using a feature called Enhanced Thermal Velocity Boost (eTVB), even when they should have known they were running too hot to do that.
“Root cause is an incorrect value in a microcode algorithm associated with the eTVB feature,” that leaked document began. It continued:

Failure Analysis (FA) of 13th and 14th Generation K SKU processors indicates a shift in minimum operating voltage on affected processors resulting from cumulative exposure to elevated core voltages. Intel® analysis has determined a confirmed contributing factor for this issue is elevated voltage input to the processor due to previous BIOS settings which allow the processor to operate at turbo frequencies and voltages even while the processor is at a high temperature. Previous generations of Intel® K SKU processors were less sensitive to these type of settings due to lower default operating voltage and frequency.
Intel® requests all customers to update BIOS to microcode 0x125 or later by 7/19/2024.
This microcode includes an eTVB fix for an issue which may allow the processor to enter a higher performance state even when the processor temperature has exceeded eTVB thresholds.

But while Intel confirms eTVB was potentially part of the problem, it’s apparently not the “root cause” of the whole issue.
Here’s hoping we get a full fix soon.

One of the affected Intel processors. | Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge

For months, Intel’s highest-end desktop gaming processors have had a strange tendency to occasionally make games crash — and despite what you might have seen earlier today, Intel says it doesn’t have a final fix for its 13th and 14th Gen Intel Core i9 “Raptor Lake” and “Raptor Lake S” chips just yet.

“Contrary to recent media reports, Intel has not confirmed root cause and is continuing, with its partners, to investigate user reports regarding instability issues on unlocked Intel Core 13th and 14th generation (K/KF/KS) desktop processors,” reads a statement via Intel spokesperson Thomas Hannaford.

It continues: “The microcode patch referenced in press reports fixes an eTVB bug discovered by Intel while investigating the instability reports. While this issue is potentially contributing to instability, it is not the root cause.”

Intel’s official statement references (and partially confirms) leaked internal Intel documents obtained by Igor’s Lab earlier today. Those documents suggest that part of the problem is how Intel’s chips have been erroneously overclocking their own cores, using a feature called Enhanced Thermal Velocity Boost (eTVB), even when they should have known they were running too hot to do that.

“Root cause is an incorrect value in a microcode algorithm associated with the eTVB feature,” that leaked document began. It continued:

Failure Analysis (FA) of 13th and 14th Generation K SKU processors indicates a shift in minimum operating voltage on affected processors resulting from cumulative exposure to elevated core voltages. Intel® analysis has determined a confirmed contributing factor for this issue is elevated voltage input to the processor due to previous BIOS settings which allow the processor to operate at turbo frequencies and voltages even while the processor is at a high temperature. Previous generations of Intel® K SKU processors were less sensitive to these type of settings due to lower default operating voltage and frequency.

Intel® requests all customers to update BIOS to microcode 0x125 or later by 7/19/2024.

This microcode includes an eTVB fix for an issue which may allow the processor to enter a higher performance state even when the processor temperature has exceeded eTVB thresholds.

But while Intel confirms eTVB was potentially part of the problem, it’s apparently not the “root cause” of the whole issue.

Here’s hoping we get a full fix soon.

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Photo by Monica Chin / The Verge

Asus’ reputation for customer support has been tarnished, and the company is now pledging a long list of concrete fixes to Gamers Nexus. Chief among them: if you’ve ever been denied a warranty repair or charged for a service that was unnecessary or should’ve been free, Asus wants to hear from you at a new email address. It claims those disputes will be processed by Asus’ own staff rather than outsourced customer support agents.

And, after failing to even acknowledge the ROG Ally handheld’s SD card reader issues for over a year, the company will be finally be issuing a formal statement about the defect next week, Gamers Nexus is reporting.
One month ago, GN revealed that Asus could in some instances charge customers for unwanted and unneeded repairs, among other issues. Following the company’s tone-deaf response to that investigation and additional pressure by the YouTube channel, Asus customer support higherups sat down face to face with GN this week.
Here’s the list of concrete promises that resulted from that sitdown, according to GN:

ASUS now has a new inbox called “executivecare@asus.com” that they have created specifically to re-process prior RMAs that customers feel were unfairly classified, were misclassified, or charged for a service that should be free
ASUS has published a timeline for improvements: June 14th, today, is the publication of this email and template. ASUS has promised us an email this month with other changes.
ASUS has committed to refunds of service charges for unnecessary repairs which customers felt compelled to accept in order to have a warranted repair covered, such as unrelated or misclassified CID [Customer Induced Damage]
ASUS has committed to refunding shipping charges in scenarios where a warranted repair was part of the RMA. For clarity, if a customer has both an out-of-warranty repair and an in-warranty repair in the same claim, shipping will be covered by ASUS
ASUS has committed to refunding labor and taxes related to these aforementioned qualifying disputes
ASUS has created a Task Force team to retroactively go back through a long history of customer surveys that were negative to try and fix the issues
ASUS has removed the power from the repair centers to claim CID. Now, CID claims must go through ASUS’ team. This will remove some of the financial incentive to fail devices. There still is one, but now it won’t be motivated as much by speed
ASUS is creating a new support center in the US. This will enable customers to choose between a repair of their board or a faster swap with a refurbished board. This solves an issue where refurbs were the only option in some scenarios previously
After over a year of refusing to acknowledge the microSD card reader failures on the ROG Ally, ASUS will be posting a formal statement next week about the defect, resulting from this series
ASUS will publish a more transparent repair report template in September of 2024
ASUS is changing the Advance RMA language to reduce emphasis on physical damage

Also, here’s an email template you can use when emailing that executivecare@asus.com address, as provided by Asus itself:

Your Name (as listed in your RMA):
RMA Number:
Serial Number:
RMA application country:
Please describe your previous RMA dispute:
Supporting Documents (e.g., charged invoice, quotation notification, photos):
Additional Feedback (optional):

Asus says it should respond to emails sent to that address within a week.
The company is also apologizing today for previous experiences you might have had with repairs. “We’re very sorry to anyone who has had a negative experience with our service team. We appreciate your feedback and giving us a chance to make amends.”
Gamers Nexus says it’s not taking Asus at its word. “[W]e already have devices in their RMA centers under pseudonyms and plan to continue sampling them over the next 6-12 months so we can ensure these are permanent improvements,” writes editor-in-chief Steve Burke.
Asus had previously laid out a handful of promised customer support improvements at this link (pdf).

Photo by Monica Chin / The Verge

Asus’ reputation for customer support has been tarnished, and the company is now pledging a long list of concrete fixes to Gamers Nexus. Chief among them: if you’ve ever been denied a warranty repair or charged for a service that was unnecessary or should’ve been free, Asus wants to hear from you at a new email address. It claims those disputes will be processed by Asus’ own staff rather than outsourced customer support agents.

And, after failing to even acknowledge the ROG Ally handheld’s SD card reader issues for over a year, the company will be finally be issuing a formal statement about the defect next week, Gamers Nexus is reporting.

One month ago, GN revealed that Asus could in some instances charge customers for unwanted and unneeded repairs, among other issues. Following the company’s tone-deaf response to that investigation and additional pressure by the YouTube channel, Asus customer support higherups sat down face to face with GN this week.

Here’s the list of concrete promises that resulted from that sitdown, according to GN:

ASUS now has a new inbox called “executivecare@asus.com” that they have created specifically to re-process prior RMAs that customers feel were unfairly classified, were misclassified, or charged for a service that should be free

ASUS has published a timeline for improvements: June 14th, today, is the publication of this email and template. ASUS has promised us an email this month with other changes.

ASUS has committed to refunds of service charges for unnecessary repairs which customers felt compelled to accept in order to have a warranted repair covered, such as unrelated or misclassified CID [Customer Induced Damage]

ASUS has committed to refunding shipping charges in scenarios where a warranted repair was part of the RMA. For clarity, if a customer has both an out-of-warranty repair and an in-warranty repair in the same claim, shipping will be covered by ASUS

ASUS has committed to refunding labor and taxes related to these aforementioned qualifying disputes

ASUS has created a Task Force team to retroactively go back through a long history of customer surveys that were negative to try and fix the issues

ASUS has removed the power from the repair centers to claim CID. Now, CID claims must go through ASUS’ team. This will remove some of the financial incentive to fail devices. There still is one, but now it won’t be motivated as much by speed

ASUS is creating a new support center in the US. This will enable customers to choose between a repair of their board or a faster swap with a refurbished board. This solves an issue where refurbs were the only option in some scenarios previously

After over a year of refusing to acknowledge the microSD card reader failures on the ROG Ally, ASUS will be posting a formal statement next week about the defect, resulting from this series

ASUS will publish a more transparent repair report template in September of 2024

ASUS is changing the Advance RMA language to reduce emphasis on physical damage

Also, here’s an email template you can use when emailing that executivecare@asus.com address, as provided by Asus itself:

Your Name (as listed in your RMA):

RMA Number:

Serial Number:

RMA application country:

Please describe your previous RMA dispute:

Supporting Documents (e.g., charged invoice, quotation notification, photos):

Additional Feedback (optional):

Asus says it should respond to emails sent to that address within a week.

The company is also apologizing today for previous experiences you might have had with repairs. “We’re very sorry to anyone who has had a negative experience with our service team. We appreciate your feedback and giving us a chance to make amends.”

Gamers Nexus says it’s not taking Asus at its word. “[W]e already have devices in their RMA centers under pseudonyms and plan to continue sampling them over the next 6-12 months so we can ensure these are permanent improvements,” writes editor-in-chief Steve Burke.

Asus had previously laid out a handful of promised customer support improvements at this link (pdf).

Read More 

I wonder what this 3D logo could mean… | Image: Yacht Club Games

Shovel Knight might be bouncing into 3D. Developer Yacht Club Games just announced a new mainline game in the hit series that started as a retro-inspired 2D platformer, and the studio says this new game will “launch Shovel Knight into an entirely new dimension of gaming,” according to a blog post.
If that wasn’t enough of a clue about the move to 3D, the Yacht Club Games’ Friday livestream celebrating the 10th anniversary of Shovel Knight featured an even more pointed hint: a 3D version of the Yacht Club Games logo.
The studio is staying mum about many specifics — there’s no release window — but did tease that “the game will bring electrifying action, richer mechanics, and all the timeless charm you expect from a Shovel Knight title.”

While you wait for that new game, Yacht Club Games will have a lot of new things you can play. The studio also announced Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope DX, the “definitive edition” of the original Shovel Knight title that adds things like online multiplayer, stereoscopic 3D, a rewind power, in-game cheats, and the ability to play as 20 different Shovel Knight characters. Yacht Club Games says the game is “coming soon.” Shovel Knight Dig and Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon are also getting free DLC this summer.
The developer also shared new footage of Mina the Hollower, its upcoming game that looks to be heavily inspired by the Game Boy classic The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. Mina also has a vague “coming soon” launch date, and I look forward to a more specific release window — the game looks fantastic.

I wonder what this 3D logo could mean… | Image: Yacht Club Games

Shovel Knight might be bouncing into 3D. Developer Yacht Club Games just announced a new mainline game in the hit series that started as a retro-inspired 2D platformer, and the studio says this new game will “launch Shovel Knight into an entirely new dimension of gaming,” according to a blog post.

If that wasn’t enough of a clue about the move to 3D, the Yacht Club Games’ Friday livestream celebrating the 10th anniversary of Shovel Knight featured an even more pointed hint: a 3D version of the Yacht Club Games logo.

The studio is staying mum about many specifics — there’s no release window — but did tease that “the game will bring electrifying action, richer mechanics, and all the timeless charm you expect from a Shovel Knight title.”

While you wait for that new game, Yacht Club Games will have a lot of new things you can play. The studio also announced Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope DX, the “definitive edition” of the original Shovel Knight title that adds things like online multiplayer, stereoscopic 3D, a rewind power, in-game cheats, and the ability to play as 20 different Shovel Knight characters. Yacht Club Games says the game is “coming soon.” Shovel Knight Dig and Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon are also getting free DLC this summer.

The developer also shared new footage of Mina the Hollower, its upcoming game that looks to be heavily inspired by the Game Boy classic The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. Mina also has a vague “coming soon” launch date, and I look forward to a more specific release window — the game looks fantastic.

Read More