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This is probably how the fool would look thinking they’re getting away with a steal. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Google is now testing Android 15’s automatic theft detection features announced at the I/O developer conference in May. The company tapped Brazil to play host for the initial testing grounds on account of local feedback from users in the country, which is an apparent hotbed for smartphone snatching. You can sign up to try the feature right now if you happen to live there.

Theft Detection Lock, as it’s called, uses AI to determine whether certain jerky movements are indicative of an ongoing theft attempt. In addition to relying on motion, it can also use other tells, such as someone attempting to use it on a different network or if it notices it’s off a frequently used network for an extended time.
Google announced the automatic antitheft feature as part of the larger privacy and security improvements it’s planning for Android 15, which also include a password-locked vault called “private space” that stores sensitive apps and data. Theft detection will be backported to older versions, however.
In lighter news, Android users in Brazil aren’t just getting to test a new security feature. They will also soon find it easier to contact businesses — you can message them directly via WhatsApp by tapping a dedicated button that appears in the business’s search listing. They’ll also be able to set appointments with local businesses such as doctors and cosmetologists right from the search results. For now, both features are exclusive to those in the country.

This is probably how the fool would look thinking they’re getting away with a steal. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Google is now testing Android 15’s automatic theft detection features announced at the I/O developer conference in May. The company tapped Brazil to play host for the initial testing grounds on account of local feedback from users in the country, which is an apparent hotbed for smartphone snatching. You can sign up to try the feature right now if you happen to live there.

Theft Detection Lock, as it’s called, uses AI to determine whether certain jerky movements are indicative of an ongoing theft attempt. In addition to relying on motion, it can also use other tells, such as someone attempting to use it on a different network or if it notices it’s off a frequently used network for an extended time.

Google announced the automatic antitheft feature as part of the larger privacy and security improvements it’s planning for Android 15, which also include a password-locked vault called “private space” that stores sensitive apps and data. Theft detection will be backported to older versions, however.

In lighter news, Android users in Brazil aren’t just getting to test a new security feature. They will also soon find it easier to contact businesses — you can message them directly via WhatsApp by tapping a dedicated button that appears in the business’s search listing. They’ll also be able to set appointments with local businesses such as doctors and cosmetologists right from the search results. For now, both features are exclusive to those in the country.

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The URSA Cine Immersive might be what the Vision Pro needs. | Image: Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic announced a new camera yesterday that it says is part of a new Vision Pro-specific workflow that involves its DaVinci Resolve software. Called the URSA Cine Immersive, Blackmagic says this camera, that’s built on its URSA Cine platform, will let cinematographers shoot 90fps video in stereoscopic 3D video for the Vision Pro.
That and updates in the DaVinci Resolve video editing software will let filmmakers monitor footage right in Apple’s headset, export native Vision Pro video files, and more.
Blackmagic doesn’t say how much the camera will cost, but you and I won’t be able to just go buy one. (What we could likely buy is Canon’s upcoming stereoscopic camera lens.) Still, this thing’s existence in tandem with Blackmagic’s editing software updates could mean more filmmakers making content for the headset, which, so far, has had very little to tout.
That’s all well and good, but what I really want is for you to look at this thing. I mean, look at that picture up at the top — that’s the camera in all its assembled glory, with its matte black housing and early ’90s camcorder aesthetic. Then, come back down here and soak this camera up.

Image: Blackmagic Design

Here’s a version of the camera with all the exterior stuff taken off.

Image: Blackmagic Design

Now it just looks like part of a bizarre alien bug.

Image: Blackmagic Design

A close-up on those lenses — I swear, this thing could double as a miniature for a sci-fi movie. It’s not clear if this is a render, but look at this thing!

Image: Blackmagic Design

Another look at the camera from above.

Image: Blackmagic Design

And it’s drone-ready! You’d need something particularly beastly to get it airborne (which is very much what Blackmagic is doing here), but then again, if you can afford this camera, you can probably afford the industrial, maybe even custom-built drone it would take to let it fly.

The URSA Cine Immersive might be what the Vision Pro needs. | Image: Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic announced a new camera yesterday that it says is part of a new Vision Pro-specific workflow that involves its DaVinci Resolve software. Called the URSA Cine Immersive, Blackmagic says this camera, that’s built on its URSA Cine platform, will let cinematographers shoot 90fps video in stereoscopic 3D video for the Vision Pro.

That and updates in the DaVinci Resolve video editing software will let filmmakers monitor footage right in Apple’s headset, export native Vision Pro video files, and more.

Blackmagic doesn’t say how much the camera will cost, but you and I won’t be able to just go buy one. (What we could likely buy is Canon’s upcoming stereoscopic camera lens.) Still, this thing’s existence in tandem with Blackmagic’s editing software updates could mean more filmmakers making content for the headset, which, so far, has had very little to tout.

That’s all well and good, but what I really want is for you to look at this thing. I mean, look at that picture up at the top — that’s the camera in all its assembled glory, with its matte black housing and early ’90s camcorder aesthetic. Then, come back down here and soak this camera up.

Image: Blackmagic Design

Here’s a version of the camera with all the exterior stuff taken off.

Image: Blackmagic Design

Now it just looks like part of a bizarre alien bug.

Image: Blackmagic Design

A close-up on those lenses — I swear, this thing could double as a miniature for a sci-fi movie. It’s not clear if this is a render, but look at this thing!

Image: Blackmagic Design

Another look at the camera from above.

Image: Blackmagic Design

And it’s drone-ready! You’d need something particularly beastly to get it airborne (which is very much what Blackmagic is doing here), but then again, if you can afford this camera, you can probably afford the industrial, maybe even custom-built drone it would take to let it fly.

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Image: Voodoo

BeReal, the app known for its fleeting photo sharing window, has been acquired. On Tuesday, the French app developer Voodoo announced that it purchased the company for €500 million (about $537.23 million).
Launched by French developers Alexis Barreyat and Kévin Perreau in 2020, BeReal started gaining traction in 2022 when more users started partaking in the random, once-per-day opportunity to share photos with friends. But the hype surrounding BeReal quickly died down. Last year, a report from Platformer revealed the app suffered a steep drop in monthly active users, going from 15 million in October 2022 to 6 million in March 2023 as people became less enamored with the concept.

I’m thrilled to announce that @BeReal_App is now part of @VoodooPlatform.@BeReal_App is the most successful social app launched in nearly a decade.They have created a unique behavior: sharing authentic content with true friends, and a visionary app, where every user is an… pic.twitter.com/I2KkM4NWPN— Alexandre Yazdi (@YazdiAlexandre) June 11, 2024

BeReal has since attempted to stay relevant with new features, like private groups and a “bonus” BeReal that lets users post more than once per day, which sort of counters the purpose of the app. It also launched its RealPeople feed in February that’s focused on showing posts from celebrities and brands.
Signs of trouble at BeReal emerged earlier this year. In March, sources told Business Insider that the app’s growth had plateaued, while company leaders began exploring additional rounds of funding or a possible sale. Voodoo claims BeReal currently has more than 40 million monthly active users, half of whom use the app at least six days a week. Voodoo says its acquisition will give BeReal “the opportunity to further innovate around new features and refocus on growth.”
BeReal founder and CEO Barreyat is also stepping down and will be replaced by Aymeric Roffé, the CEO of the Voodoo-owned social app Wizz.

Image: Voodoo

BeReal, the app known for its fleeting photo sharing window, has been acquired. On Tuesday, the French app developer Voodoo announced that it purchased the company for €500 million (about $537.23 million).

Launched by French developers Alexis Barreyat and Kévin Perreau in 2020, BeReal started gaining traction in 2022 when more users started partaking in the random, once-per-day opportunity to share photos with friends. But the hype surrounding BeReal quickly died down. Last year, a report from Platformer revealed the app suffered a steep drop in monthly active users, going from 15 million in October 2022 to 6 million in March 2023 as people became less enamored with the concept.

BeReal has since attempted to stay relevant with new features, like private groups and a “bonus” BeReal that lets users post more than once per day, which sort of counters the purpose of the app. It also launched its RealPeople feed in February that’s focused on showing posts from celebrities and brands.

Signs of trouble at BeReal emerged earlier this year. In March, sources told Business Insider that the app’s growth had plateaued, while company leaders began exploring additional rounds of funding or a possible sale. Voodoo claims BeReal currently has more than 40 million monthly active users, half of whom use the app at least six days a week. Voodoo says its acquisition will give BeReal “the opportunity to further innovate around new features and refocus on growth.”

BeReal founder and CEO Barreyat is also stepping down and will be replaced by Aymeric Roffé, the CEO of the Voodoo-owned social app Wizz.

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Image: Best Buy

Best Buy carried out another round of layoffs and job restructurings last week, with the company cutting some of its sales staff and reducing the pay for others, according to current and former employees who spoke with The Verge. Multiple people said their new pay will be much lower due to the changes.
The layoffs appeared to have mostly targeted in-home sales roles called designers, who would go to customers’ homes to help identify products that would work in their space. It’s not clear how many were let go, but designers who weren’t laid off have been moved into a different, largely in-store role. Also, pay scales for a similar, existing in-store “consultant” position were revamped.
Best Buy confirmed the layoffs in an email to The Verge but declined to share how many people were let go or how pay was changing. “Many of our team members were moved to new areas or roles where our customers need it most,” Best Buy spokesperson Ryan Furlong told The Verge. He said some employees in Best Buy’s “Design and Consult workforce” — the collection of roles with in-store workers (called consultants) and in-home field sales positions (called designers) — will be transitioned into a new “Premium Designer role.”
Best Buy has been drastically restructuring in recent months, responding to factors like falling sales after the pandemic spiked consumer electronics spending. Best Buy CEO Corie Barry told investors in February that they should expect layoffs this year, and two months ago, mass layoffs of Geek Squad employees were reported. Barry repeated similar things during the company’s first quarter earnings call in May, saying that many of Best Buy’s moves to “right size” its business “are being implemented throughout this year.”

Consultants, who previously earned commission on in-store sales, will now be paid based on an average of their previous year’s sales, said one employee who requested anonymity to speak about the changes. Consultants refer some customers to designers, who would go to customers’ homes and help them choose products like Wi-Fi routers or smart home gear to fit their space.
One former employee, who was a designer before being laid off, said people in that role were paid a base $60,000 salary plus commission. Those who weren’t laid off will now earn minimum wage, plus altered commission rates that “won’t make up for the drop in pay.” Before, they said, it was “easy to clear anywhere from $90K – 120K in the role.”
The “in-house advisor” program, which had been going since 2017 according to those I corresponded with, had already been shrinking. One employee said that there was usually one designer per store when it started, but the company gradually reduced designer headcounts. By the time this person was laid off, they were responsible for several stores, they said.
With just over 1,000 stores, the raw number of designers let go is likely low, but others were also affected — one of the employees told me the company also laid off “the majority” of a team that “handled all of our remodels and resets in our stores for redesigns and product launches.”

Some who posted that they were laid off claimed to have been working for Best Buy for more than 10 years — sometimes far more. Employees we spoke with reported having been with the company for over 20 years.
Beyond the layoffs, Best Buy has been pulling back across the board in response to sales slowdowns. The retailer is also getting out of physical media sales, retreating from the Samsung authorized repair program, and starting to use generative AI for customer troubleshooting and order support.

Image: Best Buy

Best Buy carried out another round of layoffs and job restructurings last week, with the company cutting some of its sales staff and reducing the pay for others, according to current and former employees who spoke with The Verge. Multiple people said their new pay will be much lower due to the changes.

The layoffs appeared to have mostly targeted in-home sales roles called designers, who would go to customers’ homes to help identify products that would work in their space. It’s not clear how many were let go, but designers who weren’t laid off have been moved into a different, largely in-store role. Also, pay scales for a similar, existing in-store “consultant” position were revamped.

Best Buy confirmed the layoffs in an email to The Verge but declined to share how many people were let go or how pay was changing. “Many of our team members were moved to new areas or roles where our customers need it most,” Best Buy spokesperson Ryan Furlong told The Verge. He said some employees in Best Buy’s “Design and Consult workforce” — the collection of roles with in-store workers (called consultants) and in-home field sales positions (called designers) — will be transitioned into a new “Premium Designer role.”

Best Buy has been drastically restructuring in recent months, responding to factors like falling sales after the pandemic spiked consumer electronics spending. Best Buy CEO Corie Barry told investors in February that they should expect layoffs this year, and two months ago, mass layoffs of Geek Squad employees were reported. Barry repeated similar things during the company’s first quarter earnings call in May, saying that many of Best Buy’s moves to “right size” its business “are being implemented throughout this year.”

Consultants, who previously earned commission on in-store sales, will now be paid based on an average of their previous year’s sales, said one employee who requested anonymity to speak about the changes. Consultants refer some customers to designers, who would go to customers’ homes and help them choose products like Wi-Fi routers or smart home gear to fit their space.

One former employee, who was a designer before being laid off, said people in that role were paid a base $60,000 salary plus commission. Those who weren’t laid off will now earn minimum wage, plus altered commission rates that “won’t make up for the drop in pay.” Before, they said, it was “easy to clear anywhere from $90K – 120K in the role.”

The “in-house advisor” program, which had been going since 2017 according to those I corresponded with, had already been shrinking. One employee said that there was usually one designer per store when it started, but the company gradually reduced designer headcounts. By the time this person was laid off, they were responsible for several stores, they said.

With just over 1,000 stores, the raw number of designers let go is likely low, but others were also affected — one of the employees told me the company also laid off “the majority” of a team that “handled all of our remodels and resets in our stores for redesigns and product launches.”

Some who posted that they were laid off claimed to have been working for Best Buy for more than 10 years — sometimes far more. Employees we spoke with reported having been with the company for over 20 years.

Beyond the layoffs, Best Buy has been pulling back across the board in response to sales slowdowns. The retailer is also getting out of physical media sales, retreating from the Samsung authorized repair program, and starting to use generative AI for customer troubleshooting and order support.

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Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

Online shopping changed how we buy things — and social media platforms are reshaping shopping again. TikTok Shop, the company’s in-app shopping feature, is quickly becoming a key retailer for the beauty industry, according to a report by Dash Hudson and NielsenIQ.
TikTok Shop is now the ninth-largest online beauty and wellness retailer in the US and the second-largest in the UK, the report found. TikTok Shop’s footprint in the industry has been steadily growing over the past several months, according to prior research. AdWeek reports TikTok Shop has blown past competitors like major department stores, small beauty specialty stores, and direct-to-consumer brands.
TikTok Shop has been available in the US for less than a year and allows brands and influencers to directly sell products in the app by linking them within videos. TikTok also added a dedicated Shop tab to its homescreen, where everything from makeup and shoes to food items is for sale, sometimes at deep discounts.
Since the launch of TikTok Shop last year, users’ feeds have steadily been taken over by e-commerce content: creators earning a commission for every purchase they drive shill products in video after video, and the platform itself has worked to push viewers into the shopping section of the app through buttons and prompts. Though TikTok started as a shortform video entertainment platform, it’s increasingly become a shopping destination, competing with mega-retailers like Amazon to get users to watch a video and buy something.
Beauty content is one of the most popular types of videos on TikTok, with some creators making a living by sharing tips or testing out products. TikTok obviously wants a cut of every purchase people make after seeing a product in a video.
For brands going viral on TikTok, the sudden influx of attention — and orders — isn’t always a blessing. As Business Insider detailed, small businesses getting inundated with new customers might have trouble keeping up with demand. A short burst of virality also doesn’t necessarily translate to a business that’s sustainable in the long term. And then, of course, there’s TikTok’s uncertain future in the US, where it faces a ban if owner ByteDance fails to divest from the company.

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

Online shopping changed how we buy things — and social media platforms are reshaping shopping again. TikTok Shop, the company’s in-app shopping feature, is quickly becoming a key retailer for the beauty industry, according to a report by Dash Hudson and NielsenIQ.

TikTok Shop is now the ninth-largest online beauty and wellness retailer in the US and the second-largest in the UK, the report found. TikTok Shop’s footprint in the industry has been steadily growing over the past several months, according to prior research. AdWeek reports TikTok Shop has blown past competitors like major department stores, small beauty specialty stores, and direct-to-consumer brands.

TikTok Shop has been available in the US for less than a year and allows brands and influencers to directly sell products in the app by linking them within videos. TikTok also added a dedicated Shop tab to its homescreen, where everything from makeup and shoes to food items is for sale, sometimes at deep discounts.

Since the launch of TikTok Shop last year, users’ feeds have steadily been taken over by e-commerce content: creators earning a commission for every purchase they drive shill products in video after video, and the platform itself has worked to push viewers into the shopping section of the app through buttons and prompts. Though TikTok started as a shortform video entertainment platform, it’s increasingly become a shopping destination, competing with mega-retailers like Amazon to get users to watch a video and buy something.

Beauty content is one of the most popular types of videos on TikTok, with some creators making a living by sharing tips or testing out products. TikTok obviously wants a cut of every purchase people make after seeing a product in a video.

For brands going viral on TikTok, the sudden influx of attention — and orders — isn’t always a blessing. As Business Insider detailed, small businesses getting inundated with new customers might have trouble keeping up with demand. A short burst of virality also doesn’t necessarily translate to a business that’s sustainable in the long term. And then, of course, there’s TikTok’s uncertain future in the US, where it faces a ban if owner ByteDance fails to divest from the company.

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Image: Flow Computing

Flow Computing is making a tough to believe claim: it says it can 100x the performance of any CPU by shifting work to a special parallel processing unit (PPU) inside or outside the chip. And, it claims, it can double the performance of any existing computing code overnight, even if programmers don’t lift a finger to optimize for its new tech. The PPU could even fit into phones and watches, it says, dramatically improving their performance and battery life by offloading work from the CPU.
But the company can’t quite show any of that today — because Flow hasn’t built a chip and doesn’t necessarily intend to build one, its co-founders tell The Verge.
The company is a spinoff of the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, and it’s emerging from stealth today with roughly $4.3 million in funding. Like Arm, which builds reusable IP blocks that it sells to major chipmakers, Flow hopes to sign deals with the likes of AMD, Apple, Intel, Nvidia, and Qualcomm to take it from here. At this point, Flow hasn’t validated its claims on genuine silicon but, rather, an FPGA board and some simulations while it works on a design for a PPU core and a compiler that it can license to other firms.
Right now, Flow is just a set of patented techniques, co-founders Martti Forsell and Timo Valtonen explain to me on a call.

The company is simulating three configurations of PPU: a 16-core option for smartwatches, a 64-core option for phones, and a 256-core option for high-end PCs.

Image: Flow Computing
The company says it used an in-house processor alongside an FPGA representing its PPU to achieve these results.

Are those techniques about to change the face of computing? Frankly, I don’t have the background to help figure that out — but I suspect a few Verge readers do. Since Flow Computing provided us with a whole white paper and an extensive FAQ page, I thought you might like to read them yourself in their entirety.
So here they are:

What do you think?

Image: Flow Computing

Flow Computing is making a tough to believe claim: it says it can 100x the performance of any CPU by shifting work to a special parallel processing unit (PPU) inside or outside the chip. And, it claims, it can double the performance of any existing computing code overnight, even if programmers don’t lift a finger to optimize for its new tech. The PPU could even fit into phones and watches, it says, dramatically improving their performance and battery life by offloading work from the CPU.

But the company can’t quite show any of that today — because Flow hasn’t built a chip and doesn’t necessarily intend to build one, its co-founders tell The Verge.

The company is a spinoff of the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, and it’s emerging from stealth today with roughly $4.3 million in funding. Like Arm, which builds reusable IP blocks that it sells to major chipmakers, Flow hopes to sign deals with the likes of AMD, Apple, Intel, Nvidia, and Qualcomm to take it from here. At this point, Flow hasn’t validated its claims on genuine silicon but, rather, an FPGA board and some simulations while it works on a design for a PPU core and a compiler that it can license to other firms.

Right now, Flow is just a set of patented techniques, co-founders Martti Forsell and Timo Valtonen explain to me on a call.

Are those techniques about to change the face of computing? Frankly, I don’t have the background to help figure that out — but I suspect a few Verge readers do. Since Flow Computing provided us with a whole white paper and an extensive FAQ page, I thought you might like to read them yourself in their entirety.

So here they are:

What do you think?

Read More 

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

YouTube is finally rolling out the ability for creators to test and compare how multiple video thumbnails perform, the company announced on Tuesday. The feature was first announced last June, but at the time, it was only available to a few hundred creators.
With the new tool, which YouTube calls “Thumbnail Test & Compare,” creators can test up to three thumbnails for a video. “YouTube will show your chosen thumbnails evenly across your video’s viewers, and then will select a winning thumbnail based on which one generates the most watch time share,” according to a post bylined from “Meaghan” on the YouTube team. (This idea is also known as A / B testing.)
Creators will be able to see data about how thumbnails performed, though “it may take a few days or up to two weeks to get finalized test results from your thumbnails,” Meaghan says. The final report can show a “Winner” label for the thumbnail that “clearly outperforms” the others, but creators might also see a “Preferred” label that “means the thumbnail *likely* outperformed other thumbnails based on watch time share,” according to Meaghan.

Creators aren’t locked into whichever thumbnail the tool determines is best; they can still manually select thumbnails if they want.
YouTube expects that all eligible creators will have access to the tool “in the coming weeks,” according to Meaghan. The tool will only be available in YouTube Studio on a computer, and you’ll need to have access to advanced features.
Despite the fact that only a limited number of creators have had access to thumbnail testing up to this point, it’s arguably already had a big impact on the platform. MrBeast, who runs the platform’s most-subscribed channel, said in September that watch time went up on videos when he tested thumbnails where his mouth was closed. Looking at his channel today, most of the thumbnails still feature him with a closed mouth.
YouTube shared a few additional updates in a Tuesday video. Last month, YouTube started testing a feature that uses AI to help you skip to the good part of a video. That feature is now officially available on Android for YouTube Premium subscribers. The company is also experimenting with QR codes for creators as well as the ability to mention a channel in comments using the @ symbol.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

YouTube is finally rolling out the ability for creators to test and compare how multiple video thumbnails perform, the company announced on Tuesday. The feature was first announced last June, but at the time, it was only available to a few hundred creators.

With the new tool, which YouTube calls “Thumbnail Test & Compare,” creators can test up to three thumbnails for a video. “YouTube will show your chosen thumbnails evenly across your video’s viewers, and then will select a winning thumbnail based on which one generates the most watch time share,” according to a post bylined from “Meaghan” on the YouTube team. (This idea is also known as A / B testing.)

Creators will be able to see data about how thumbnails performed, though “it may take a few days or up to two weeks to get finalized test results from your thumbnails,” Meaghan says. The final report can show a “Winner” label for the thumbnail that “clearly outperforms” the others, but creators might also see a “Preferred” label that “means the thumbnail *likely* outperformed other thumbnails based on watch time share,” according to Meaghan.

Creators aren’t locked into whichever thumbnail the tool determines is best; they can still manually select thumbnails if they want.

YouTube expects that all eligible creators will have access to the tool “in the coming weeks,” according to Meaghan. The tool will only be available in YouTube Studio on a computer, and you’ll need to have access to advanced features.

Despite the fact that only a limited number of creators have had access to thumbnail testing up to this point, it’s arguably already had a big impact on the platform. MrBeast, who runs the platform’s most-subscribed channel, said in September that watch time went up on videos when he tested thumbnails where his mouth was closed. Looking at his channel today, most of the thumbnails still feature him with a closed mouth.

YouTube shared a few additional updates in a Tuesday video. Last month, YouTube started testing a feature that uses AI to help you skip to the good part of a video. That feature is now officially available on Android for YouTube Premium subscribers. The company is also experimenting with QR codes for creators as well as the ability to mention a channel in comments using the @ symbol.

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Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images

X is rolling out private likes as soon as today, according to a source at the company. That means what users like on the platform will be hidden by default, which is already an option for X’s Premium subscribers.
A few weeks ago, the company’s director of engineering, Haofei Wang, said the change is meant to protect users’ public image — because “many people feel discouraged” to like “edgy” content. The Likes tab on user profiles will be gone. Users will still be able to see who liked their posts and the like count for all posts, but they will not see the people who liked someone else’s post, according to X senior software engineer Enrique Barragan. (He also hinted at the launch today in a post.)
“Soon you’ll be able to like without worrying who might see it,” Wang said in a post.
Late last year, X owner Elon Musk told the platform’s engineers that he wanted to get rid of the tweet action buttons altogether and instead place a stronger emphasis on post views (also called “impressions”). Musk’s goal was to remove the section that contained the like and repost buttons entirely because Musk believed likes weren’t important, a source told me at the time.
“Social media in general is shifting away from like counts, so this makes sense,” the source said. “Part of me thinks [Musk] just wants to disassociate from Twitter more and more.”

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images

X is rolling out private likes as soon as today, according to a source at the company. That means what users like on the platform will be hidden by default, which is already an option for X’s Premium subscribers.

A few weeks ago, the company’s director of engineering, Haofei Wang, said the change is meant to protect users’ public image — because “many people feel discouraged” to like “edgy” content. The Likes tab on user profiles will be gone. Users will still be able to see who liked their posts and the like count for all posts, but they will not see the people who liked someone else’s post, according to X senior software engineer Enrique Barragan. (He also hinted at the launch today in a post.)

“Soon you’ll be able to like without worrying who might see it,” Wang said in a post.

Late last year, X owner Elon Musk told the platform’s engineers that he wanted to get rid of the tweet action buttons altogether and instead place a stronger emphasis on post views (also called “impressions”). Musk’s goal was to remove the section that contained the like and repost buttons entirely because Musk believed likes weren’t important, a source told me at the time.

“Social media in general is shifting away from like counts, so this makes sense,” the source said. “Part of me thinks [Musk] just wants to disassociate from Twitter more and more.”

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The Apple HomePod will soon support SharePlay with Apple Music. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Apple’s SharePlay is expanding to include speakers in your home. Soon, the HomePod, HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and any Bluetooth speaker will work with SharePlay and Apple Music, meaning you can share control of the music in your home with friends and family. Apple’s music service is also getting Music Haptics to allow those with hearing difficulties to experience music on iPhone. Both new features were announced at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference this week and should arrive with the tvOS and iOS updates this fall.
Similar to the way SharePlay works in Apple CarPlay, this new SharePlay ability will let you give other people access to what’s playing on the speakers in your home. It’s the same concept as Spotify Jams, which lets multiple people contribute to and control a Spotify playlist.
While the person launching the SharePlay session will need to have an Apple Music subscription, the people joining won’t. They’ll just need to bring their iPhone next to the iPhone of the subscriber or scan a QR code in the Apple Music SharePlay window. Once approved, they can then control what’s playing on the HomePod, Apple TV, or Bluetooth speaker and add tracks to the playlist through the Apple Music app.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because Apple first planned to bring SharePlay to HomePods with the iOS 17.4 Beta, but the feature was removed before the full release.
SharePlay first launched for iPhones in iOS 15 as a service that let you stream music, online videos, and movies with friends over FaceTime. The CarPlay implementation followed in iOS 17, and now with iOS 18, you will finally be able to share that DJ control with friends in your home.

Apple Music Haptics is a new feature to let users experience sound through taps and vibrations.

A new Music Haptics feature for Apple Music uses the iPhone’s Taptic Engine to “play taps, textures, and refined vibrations to the audio of the music,” giving users with hearing difficulties a different way to sense the sound.
Apple says Music Haptics will work across millions of songs in the Apple Music catalog and will also be available as an API so developers can add the feature to their apps. It is scheduled to arrive this fall with iOS 18.

The Apple HomePod will soon support SharePlay with Apple Music. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Apple’s SharePlay is expanding to include speakers in your home. Soon, the HomePod, HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and any Bluetooth speaker will work with SharePlay and Apple Music, meaning you can share control of the music in your home with friends and family. Apple’s music service is also getting Music Haptics to allow those with hearing difficulties to experience music on iPhone. Both new features were announced at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference this week and should arrive with the tvOS and iOS updates this fall.

Similar to the way SharePlay works in Apple CarPlay, this new SharePlay ability will let you give other people access to what’s playing on the speakers in your home. It’s the same concept as Spotify Jams, which lets multiple people contribute to and control a Spotify playlist.

While the person launching the SharePlay session will need to have an Apple Music subscription, the people joining won’t. They’ll just need to bring their iPhone next to the iPhone of the subscriber or scan a QR code in the Apple Music SharePlay window. Once approved, they can then control what’s playing on the HomePod, Apple TV, or Bluetooth speaker and add tracks to the playlist through the Apple Music app.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because Apple first planned to bring SharePlay to HomePods with the iOS 17.4 Beta, but the feature was removed before the full release.

SharePlay first launched for iPhones in iOS 15 as a service that let you stream music, online videos, and movies with friends over FaceTime. The CarPlay implementation followed in iOS 17, and now with iOS 18, you will finally be able to share that DJ control with friends in your home.

A new Music Haptics feature for Apple Music uses the iPhone’s Taptic Engine to “play taps, textures, and refined vibrations to the audio of the music,” giving users with hearing difficulties a different way to sense the sound.

Apple says Music Haptics will work across millions of songs in the Apple Music catalog and will also be available as an API so developers can add the feature to their apps. It is scheduled to arrive this fall with iOS 18.

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Doom: The Dark Ages. | Image: Bethesda Softworks

Doom, Dragon Age, Civilization, Star Wars, and a whole lot more. Summer Game Fest can be hard to keep track of. The sprawling event is spread out across several days, ranging from blockbuster keynotes like SGF Live and the Xbox Games Showcase to smaller indie focused streams like Devolver Direct and Day of the Devs. Some games even have their own dedicated showcases. That means there’s a lot to see, which also means it’s tough to see it all. So we’ve combed through each event and pulled out the best trailers to give you a good overview of what went down and what the next few months of video game releases will look like.

Alan Wake 2: Night Springs
Not only did Remedy show off the first expansion for Alan Wake 2, but the studio also launched it: so if you’re interested in the very Twin Peaks-inspired new storylines (which include lots of coffee), you can play them right now.

Arranger
A puzzle game crossed with an RPG, Arranger is about, well, arranging things. It also looks incredible, with visuals from Braid artist David Hellman.

Avowed
We might not know exactly when this fantasy RPG from Obsidian will launch, but it’s certainly shaping up to be a worthy follow-up to Pillars of Eternity.

Cairn
Despite how stressful mountain climbing can be, Cairn looks almost cozy in this new trailer, in which a climber goes an adventure to be the first to reach a summit.

Citizen Sleeper 2
The sequel to a tabletop-style cyberpunk RPG, the next Citizen Sleeper puts players in the role of an escaped android in a stolen ship, who also happens to have no memory. No pressure.

Civilization 7
As a teaser, this clip doesn’t show all that much, but it does confirm that Civilization 7 is coming next year, which is more than enough.

Doom: The Dark Ages
Doom meets dark fantasy, which means not only medieval-inspired weaponry but also apparently a mech suit and a dragon you can fly on. It looks as brutal as ever, though.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Just a few days after getting a new name, the next Dragon Age got its first gameplay trailer that gave a deep dive into the early moments of the upcoming RPG.

Fear the Spotlight
Blumhouse Games made its debut at SGF, and one of its first games is a PSOne-inspired survival horror title that looks delightfully retro. It’s shaping up to be a good year for old-school horror.

Gears of War: E-Day
The best way to introduce a new Gears game is with the classic “Mad World” by Gary Jules. The next entry in the franchise will be a prequel, which makes the callback very fitting.

Lego Horizon Adventures
Sony didn’t have much of a presence at the event, but the company did reveal a Lego version of Horizon that makes the post-apocalypse playful.

Life is Strange: Double Exposure
It’s not surprising that a new Life is Strange is in the works, but it’s nice to hear that Double Exposure will bring back original hero Max.

Lok Digital
What makes this word game particularly unique is that it involves discovering a new language as you solve puzzles, which each have a strange effect on the world.

Metaphor: ReFantazio
Developed by an all-star cast of former Persona creators, Metaphor looks like it will be taking all of the style of that RPG series and translating it directly to a new fantasy universe.

Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind
The retro experts at Digital Eclipse are crafting a side-scrolling Power Rangers beat ‘em up that looks like a long-lost arcade classic.

Monster Hunter Wilds
It’s tough to follow-up a massive, series-altering hit like Monster Hunter: World, but the next MonHun looks like it’ll build on its predecessor in some exciting ways.

Neva
Gris is one of the prettiest games I’ve ever played, and it turns out a way to make it even prettier is by adding a wolf companion in the follow-up Neva.

Perfect Dark
Years after it was first announced, we finally got our first glimpse of Perfect Dark gameplay. The futuristic spy thriller is a co-production between The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics.

Possessor(s)
It’s from the creators of Hyper Light and Solar Ash, so you know the action will be excellent in this 2D side-scroller about escaping a “sprawling, flooded city overrun with surreal interdimensional horror.”

Screenbound
I’ve watched this trailer a few times, and I still can’t wrap my head around Screenbound’s mixture of 2D and 3D gameplay. But it seems confusing in a good way.

Skate
This doesn’t show much of the game, but the Tim Robinson-led video does imply that the next Skate will be a lot funnier and weirder than I anticipated.

Slitterhead
The bizarrely-named horror game comes straight from the mind of Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, which explains just how disturbing this new trailer is.

Star Wars Outlaws
There was a lot of footage of Ubisoft’s open-world Star Wars game, and thankfully most of it focused on the GTA-style gameplay.

Starfield: Shattered Space
More than a year out from launch, many Starfield players are looking for something new to explore — and it looks like the game’s first major expansion will deliver just that.

Tenjutsu
This brutal, pixelated action game calls to mind Hotline Miami, only you play as a “renegade yakuza.” Even more impressive: it’s the work of a one-person development studio.

Thank Goodness You’re Here
This trailer for the slapstick comedy game reveals an August 1st release date but, more importantly, confirms that Matt Berry will be featured.

Wanderstop
This seems like a cozy little tea shop simulator about a retired warrior, but the end of Wanderstop’s reveal trailer implies that there’s something more sinister at work.

While Waiting
If you have the patience to make it this far into this list, your reward is… a game about being patient.

Doom: The Dark Ages. | Image: Bethesda Softworks

Doom, Dragon Age, Civilization, Star Wars, and a whole lot more.

Summer Game Fest can be hard to keep track of. The sprawling event is spread out across several days, ranging from blockbuster keynotes like SGF Live and the Xbox Games Showcase to smaller indie focused streams like Devolver Direct and Day of the Devs. Some games even have their own dedicated showcases. That means there’s a lot to see, which also means it’s tough to see it all. So we’ve combed through each event and pulled out the best trailers to give you a good overview of what went down and what the next few months of video game releases will look like.

Alan Wake 2: Night Springs

Not only did Remedy show off the first expansion for Alan Wake 2, but the studio also launched it: so if you’re interested in the very Twin Peaks-inspired new storylines (which include lots of coffee), you can play them right now.

Arranger

A puzzle game crossed with an RPG, Arranger is about, well, arranging things. It also looks incredible, with visuals from Braid artist David Hellman.

Avowed

We might not know exactly when this fantasy RPG from Obsidian will launch, but it’s certainly shaping up to be a worthy follow-up to Pillars of Eternity.

Cairn

Despite how stressful mountain climbing can be, Cairn looks almost cozy in this new trailer, in which a climber goes an adventure to be the first to reach a summit.

Citizen Sleeper 2

The sequel to a tabletop-style cyberpunk RPG, the next Citizen Sleeper puts players in the role of an escaped android in a stolen ship, who also happens to have no memory. No pressure.

Civilization 7

As a teaser, this clip doesn’t show all that much, but it does confirm that Civilization 7 is coming next year, which is more than enough.

Doom: The Dark Ages

Doom meets dark fantasy, which means not only medieval-inspired weaponry but also apparently a mech suit and a dragon you can fly on. It looks as brutal as ever, though.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Just a few days after getting a new name, the next Dragon Age got its first gameplay trailer that gave a deep dive into the early moments of the upcoming RPG.

Fear the Spotlight

Blumhouse Games made its debut at SGF, and one of its first games is a PSOne-inspired survival horror title that looks delightfully retro. It’s shaping up to be a good year for old-school horror.

Gears of War: E-Day

The best way to introduce a new Gears game is with the classic “Mad World” by Gary Jules. The next entry in the franchise will be a prequel, which makes the callback very fitting.

Lego Horizon Adventures

Sony didn’t have much of a presence at the event, but the company did reveal a Lego version of Horizon that makes the post-apocalypse playful.

Life is Strange: Double Exposure

It’s not surprising that a new Life is Strange is in the works, but it’s nice to hear that Double Exposure will bring back original hero Max.

Lok Digital

What makes this word game particularly unique is that it involves discovering a new language as you solve puzzles, which each have a strange effect on the world.

Metaphor: ReFantazio

Developed by an all-star cast of former Persona creators, Metaphor looks like it will be taking all of the style of that RPG series and translating it directly to a new fantasy universe.

Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind

The retro experts at Digital Eclipse are crafting a side-scrolling Power Rangers beat ‘em up that looks like a long-lost arcade classic.

Monster Hunter Wilds

It’s tough to follow-up a massive, series-altering hit like Monster Hunter: World, but the next MonHun looks like it’ll build on its predecessor in some exciting ways.

Neva

Gris is one of the prettiest games I’ve ever played, and it turns out a way to make it even prettier is by adding a wolf companion in the follow-up Neva.

Perfect Dark

Years after it was first announced, we finally got our first glimpse of Perfect Dark gameplay. The futuristic spy thriller is a co-production between The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics.

Possessor(s)

It’s from the creators of Hyper Light and Solar Ash, so you know the action will be excellent in this 2D side-scroller about escaping a “sprawling, flooded city overrun with surreal interdimensional horror.”

Screenbound

I’ve watched this trailer a few times, and I still can’t wrap my head around Screenbound’s mixture of 2D and 3D gameplay. But it seems confusing in a good way.

Skate

This doesn’t show much of the game, but the Tim Robinson-led video does imply that the next Skate will be a lot funnier and weirder than I anticipated.

Slitterhead

The bizarrely-named horror game comes straight from the mind of Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, which explains just how disturbing this new trailer is.

Star Wars Outlaws

There was a lot of footage of Ubisoft’s open-world Star Wars game, and thankfully most of it focused on the GTA-style gameplay.

Starfield: Shattered Space

More than a year out from launch, many Starfield players are looking for something new to explore — and it looks like the game’s first major expansion will deliver just that.

Tenjutsu

This brutal, pixelated action game calls to mind Hotline Miami, only you play as a “renegade yakuza.” Even more impressive: it’s the work of a one-person development studio.

Thank Goodness You’re Here

This trailer for the slapstick comedy game reveals an August 1st release date but, more importantly, confirms that Matt Berry will be featured.

Wanderstop

This seems like a cozy little tea shop simulator about a retired warrior, but the end of Wanderstop’s reveal trailer implies that there’s something more sinister at work.

While Waiting

If you have the patience to make it this far into this list, your reward is… a game about being patient.

Read More