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Device manufacturers have until January 1st, 2026, to comply with Colorado’s new rules. | Screenshot: iFixit via YouTube

Colorado now has some of the broadest right-to-repair laws in the US thanks to a new bill signed by Governor Jared Polis on Tuesday. The HB24-1121 “Consumer Right to Repair Digital Electronic Equipment” rules require all manufacturers to make it easier for consumers and independent electronics businesses to purchase the necessary equipment needed to repair devices themselves.
“Under this bill, when an item is broken, it could be a cellphone like this, a dishwasher, a washing machine, or a laptop, Coloradans will have the information they need to repair their own equipment or use the repair provider of their own choice,” Polis said at the bill signing, as reported by the Colorado Times Recorder.
This builds on Colorado’s right-to-repair laws that were already introduced for agricultural equipment and powered wheelchairs, extending similar protections to almost any consumer electronic device with a chip. Like the repair rules passed in Minnesota last year, Colorado’s law notably covers data center and business-to-business equipment, only without Minnesota’s vague exclusion for “critical infrastructure” equipment.
There are some exclusions, like game consoles (due to lobbying from game console manufacturers over piracy concerns), medical devices, ATVs, and motor vehicles, which are also typical for repair rules introduced in other states like California and New York. Like Oregon’s right-to-repair law, Colorado’s HB24-1121 explicitly prohibits electronics manufacturers from using “parts pairing” to prevent replacement components from working unless approved by company software.
Device manufacturers have until January 1st, 2026, to comply with Colorado’s new rules, which apply to all electronics manufactured on or after July 1st, 2021.

Device manufacturers have until January 1st, 2026, to comply with Colorado’s new rules. | Screenshot: iFixit via YouTube

Colorado now has some of the broadest right-to-repair laws in the US thanks to a new bill signed by Governor Jared Polis on Tuesday. The HB24-1121 “Consumer Right to Repair Digital Electronic Equipment” rules require all manufacturers to make it easier for consumers and independent electronics businesses to purchase the necessary equipment needed to repair devices themselves.

“Under this bill, when an item is broken, it could be a cellphone like this, a dishwasher, a washing machine, or a laptop, Coloradans will have the information they need to repair their own equipment or use the repair provider of their own choice,” Polis said at the bill signing, as reported by the Colorado Times Recorder.

This builds on Colorado’s right-to-repair laws that were already introduced for agricultural equipment and powered wheelchairs, extending similar protections to almost any consumer electronic device with a chip. Like the repair rules passed in Minnesota last year, Colorado’s law notably covers data center and business-to-business equipment, only without Minnesota’s vague exclusion for “critical infrastructure” equipment.

There are some exclusions, like game consoles (due to lobbying from game console manufacturers over piracy concerns), medical devices, ATVs, and motor vehicles, which are also typical for repair rules introduced in other states like California and New York. Like Oregon’s right-to-repair law, Colorado’s HB24-1121 explicitly prohibits electronics manufacturers from using “parts pairing” to prevent replacement components from working unless approved by company software.

Device manufacturers have until January 1st, 2026, to comply with Colorado’s new rules, which apply to all electronics manufactured on or after July 1st, 2021.

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The PSVR 2 headset should have PC support by the end of this year, curtosy of a new adapter. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

PlayStation VR2 headset owners are one step closer to being able to use the virtual reality device with PCs. According to a certification discovered by VR enthusiast Brad Lynch, Sony has developed a PSVR 2 “adapter” that provides PC support for the otherwise PS5-exclusive device.
Sony said that it was working on PC support for PSVR 2 in February, targeting a non-specific 2024 release date, but the company hadn’t previously mentioned what form this support would take. With the adapter certification being filed back on March 27th with South Korea’s regulator, it seems Sony is on track to easily meet its self-imposed PC support deadline.
No other information about this mysterious adapter — including its price, appearance, or specified release date — is currently available. We’ve reached out to Sony to clarify and will update this story if we hear back.

Sony is certifying an adapter to allow PSVR2 hardware to work on PCs pic.twitter.com/JFQDJVW7NP— Brad Lynch (@SadlyItsBradley) May 29, 2024

Still, its existence should be a welcome bit of news for the modding community that’s been attempting to get the PSVR 2 working on PC gaming rigs since the headset was launched in 2023. The $549.99 PSVR 2 went on sale for more than the PS5’s $499.99 launch price, making it a controversial purchase that should be usable beyond Sony’s console.
Enabling PC support should eliminate one of the biggest deterrents keeping people away from the device. The news comes as Sony struggles with falling interest, reportedly pausing PSVR 2 headset production due to a backlog of unsold inventory.

The PSVR 2 headset should have PC support by the end of this year, curtosy of a new adapter. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

PlayStation VR2 headset owners are one step closer to being able to use the virtual reality device with PCs. According to a certification discovered by VR enthusiast Brad Lynch, Sony has developed a PSVR 2 “adapter” that provides PC support for the otherwise PS5-exclusive device.

Sony said that it was working on PC support for PSVR 2 in February, targeting a non-specific 2024 release date, but the company hadn’t previously mentioned what form this support would take. With the adapter certification being filed back on March 27th with South Korea’s regulator, it seems Sony is on track to easily meet its self-imposed PC support deadline.

No other information about this mysterious adapter — including its price, appearance, or specified release date — is currently available. We’ve reached out to Sony to clarify and will update this story if we hear back.

Still, its existence should be a welcome bit of news for the modding community that’s been attempting to get the PSVR 2 working on PC gaming rigs since the headset was launched in 2023. The $549.99 PSVR 2 went on sale for more than the PS5’s $499.99 launch price, making it a controversial purchase that should be usable beyond Sony’s console.

Enabling PC support should eliminate one of the biggest deterrents keeping people away from the device. The news comes as Sony struggles with falling interest, reportedly pausing PSVR 2 headset production due to a backlog of unsold inventory.

Read More 

Using Apple’s RoomPlan Controller for HomeKit has added a map view for Apple Home to its app. | Image: Controller for HomeKit

Controller for HomeKit, a third-party app for controlling your Apple Home smart home, has a new Floor Plan feature that adds a map interface for interacting with connected devices like lights, locks, shades, sensors and more. I got some time with the new feature ahead of its launch this week and it’s a compelling way to control your smart home. A 3D scan of your house becomes an interactive map filled with all your connected devices providing an intuitive way to control them: Just tap the lamp next to the sofa on the map and that light will turn on.
For those unfamiliar, Controller for HomeKit is a well-regarded app that can manage and control any Apple Home and HomeKit compatible devices, scenes, automations, and so on. It uses the HomeKit framework meaning it works exactly like the Apple Home app, but it offers more complex automations and advanced notifications than the Home app. This makes it a good option for those who like Apple Home but find Apple’s own app too limited.
Floor Plan arrives with version 7.0 of Controller for HomeKit (iOS only), which also brings a complete redesign to the app, putting the new control feature front and center. This map-style interface provides an easier way for everyone in your house to control your smart home without having to memorize phrases like, “Siri, turn off left sofa lamp” or scrolling through a list of awkward names in an app.
Because of this ease of use, map view is becoming a popular control method for the home; both Amazon Alexa and Samsung SmartThings added a similar interface to their smart home control apps last year. Controlling gadgets on a map feels more intuitive than the current clunky state of voice control and is more visual than most of today’s app-based controls.

I’ve been playing with the new Floor Plan feature for about a day, and I like how it gives me a quick way to control multiple devices from one screen. I can tap the lamp in my living room, view a livestream from the camera in my kitchen, lock the front door, and see the temperature from the Hue Motion sensor in my dining room all in one place. Without the Floor Plan, that would require multiple taps and swipes, unless I had those devices set as favorites or tiles in my Control Panel on my iPhone.
I’ve also tried Amazon’s Map View feature and in practice it’s very similar. The biggest difference I’ve noticed so far is that I couldn’t add my HomePods to the Floor Plan, whereas I could add Amazon’s Echo speakers to the Alexa map view and control volume and playback directly from there.

Setting up Floor Plan was simple. The scanning feature is powered by Apple’s RoomPlan, a Swift API that uses the camera and LIDAR scanner on certain iPhone and iPad models to create a 3D floor plan (this is the same for the Amazon Alexa version).
Using my iPhone 15 Pro, I walked through my house, slowly guiding my camera around each room, watching as the app filled in digital walls and furniture with white lines. The developers behind Controller for HomeKit say all data processing is done locally on the iPhone and that the photos used to generate the floor plan are not being sent to the cloud.
It took 15 to 30 seconds to map each room and about five minutes to scan my entire split level downstairs area. The app then stitched the rooms together into a floor plan — I did two floor plans in total, you can do multiple. The floor plans include furniture, windows, doors, and dimensions, which made it easy to see where to add the icons for each device I wanted to place on the map.
I had given the app permission to access my HomeKit data, so it knew which devices I had. Once the floor plan was complete, I could select my accessories from a list — lights, locks, thermostats, cameras, sensors, and so on — and add them to the map reflecting where they are in the real world. I could also add HomeKit scenes to each room to control multiple devices with one tap.
The Floor Plan feature is free, but requires a LIDAR-enabled iPhone or iPad.
There’s a free version as well as a paid Pro version of Controller for HomeKit, the latter adds a backup and restore function among other benefits (it costs $2.99 monthly, $14.49 for one year, or $29.99 for a lifetime license).
The Floor Plan feature is free, but requires a LIDAR-enabled iPhone or iPad (iPhone 12 Pro, iPad Pro 11 third-gen or newer, or iPad Pro 12.9 fifth-gen or newer) to create it. If you don’t own one but know someone who does, the developers have created an AppClip that lets you create the Floor Plan on a friend’s device and import it to your device.

The Controller for HomeKit iPad app supports the new Floor Plan feature and is a better screen size for interacting with the map than an iPhone.

I’m a big proponent of developing new and more intuitive ways to control our smart home devices; it’s too easy for them to become the responsibility of the one person in the house who knows how everything works and has all the control apps on their phone.
Of course, the natural place for this type of map interface is on a communal device with a large screen, like an iPad or tablet mounted on a wall or a TV. Controller for HomeKit has an iPad app that works with Floor Plan, Samsung’s SmartThings map view is available on its tablets and TVs; and Amazon has said it will bring its map view to its wall-mountable Echo Hub smart home controller this year.
While a map view is a seriously fun tool for smart home nerds like me — it’s like playing with a digital doll house! — the more accessible a feature like Floor Plan is to everyone in the house the more useful I think it will be. I would love to see Apple add a floor plan / map view to the Home app and bring it to Apple TV. Point and click with your remote to turn the lights off? That’s smart.
Screenshots by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Using Apple’s RoomPlan Controller for HomeKit has added a map view for Apple Home to its app. | Image: Controller for HomeKit

Controller for HomeKit, a third-party app for controlling your Apple Home smart home, has a new Floor Plan feature that adds a map interface for interacting with connected devices like lights, locks, shades, sensors and more. I got some time with the new feature ahead of its launch this week and it’s a compelling way to control your smart home. A 3D scan of your house becomes an interactive map filled with all your connected devices providing an intuitive way to control them: Just tap the lamp next to the sofa on the map and that light will turn on.

For those unfamiliar, Controller for HomeKit is a well-regarded app that can manage and control any Apple Home and HomeKit compatible devices, scenes, automations, and so on. It uses the HomeKit framework meaning it works exactly like the Apple Home app, but it offers more complex automations and advanced notifications than the Home app. This makes it a good option for those who like Apple Home but find Apple’s own app too limited.

Floor Plan arrives with version 7.0 of Controller for HomeKit (iOS only), which also brings a complete redesign to the app, putting the new control feature front and center. This map-style interface provides an easier way for everyone in your house to control your smart home without having to memorize phrases like, “Siri, turn off left sofa lamp” or scrolling through a list of awkward names in an app.

Because of this ease of use, map view is becoming a popular control method for the home; both Amazon Alexa and Samsung SmartThings added a similar interface to their smart home control apps last year. Controlling gadgets on a map feels more intuitive than the current clunky state of voice control and is more visual than most of today’s app-based controls.

I’ve been playing with the new Floor Plan feature for about a day, and I like how it gives me a quick way to control multiple devices from one screen. I can tap the lamp in my living room, view a livestream from the camera in my kitchen, lock the front door, and see the temperature from the Hue Motion sensor in my dining room all in one place. Without the Floor Plan, that would require multiple taps and swipes, unless I had those devices set as favorites or tiles in my Control Panel on my iPhone.

I’ve also tried Amazon’s Map View feature and in practice it’s very similar. The biggest difference I’ve noticed so far is that I couldn’t add my HomePods to the Floor Plan, whereas I could add Amazon’s Echo speakers to the Alexa map view and control volume and playback directly from there.

Setting up Floor Plan was simple. The scanning feature is powered by Apple’s RoomPlan, a Swift API that uses the camera and LIDAR scanner on certain iPhone and iPad models to create a 3D floor plan (this is the same for the Amazon Alexa version).

Using my iPhone 15 Pro, I walked through my house, slowly guiding my camera around each room, watching as the app filled in digital walls and furniture with white lines. The developers behind Controller for HomeKit say all data processing is done locally on the iPhone and that the photos used to generate the floor plan are not being sent to the cloud.

It took 15 to 30 seconds to map each room and about five minutes to scan my entire split level downstairs area. The app then stitched the rooms together into a floor plan — I did two floor plans in total, you can do multiple. The floor plans include furniture, windows, doors, and dimensions, which made it easy to see where to add the icons for each device I wanted to place on the map.

I had given the app permission to access my HomeKit data, so it knew which devices I had. Once the floor plan was complete, I could select my accessories from a list — lights, locks, thermostats, cameras, sensors, and so on — and add them to the map reflecting where they are in the real world. I could also add HomeKit scenes to each room to control multiple devices with one tap.

There’s a free version as well as a paid Pro version of Controller for HomeKit, the latter adds a backup and restore function among other benefits (it costs $2.99 monthly, $14.49 for one year, or $29.99 for a lifetime license).

The Floor Plan feature is free, but requires a LIDAR-enabled iPhone or iPad (iPhone 12 Pro, iPad Pro 11 third-gen or newer, or iPad Pro 12.9 fifth-gen or newer) to create it. If you don’t own one but know someone who does, the developers have created an AppClip that lets you create the Floor Plan on a friend’s device and import it to your device.

The Controller for HomeKit iPad app supports the new Floor Plan feature and is a better screen size for interacting with the map than an iPhone.

I’m a big proponent of developing new and more intuitive ways to control our smart home devices; it’s too easy for them to become the responsibility of the one person in the house who knows how everything works and has all the control apps on their phone.

Of course, the natural place for this type of map interface is on a communal device with a large screen, like an iPad or tablet mounted on a wall or a TV. Controller for HomeKit has an iPad app that works with Floor Plan, Samsung’s SmartThings map view is available on its tablets and TVs; and Amazon has said it will bring its map view to its wall-mountable Echo Hub smart home controller this year.

While a map view is a seriously fun tool for smart home nerds like me — it’s like playing with a digital doll house! — the more accessible a feature like Floor Plan is to everyone in the house the more useful I think it will be. I would love to see Apple add a floor plan / map view to the Home app and bring it to Apple TV. Point and click with your remote to turn the lights off? That’s smart.

Screenshots by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

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Image: GPD

GPD has been creating handheld gaming PCs and miniature mobile PCs for years, but it’s now turning its attention to regular-sized laptops. After teasing a dual-screen laptop last week, GPD has now published an image of its upcoming GPD Duo — complete with two 13.3-inch OLED displays, a range of ports, and stylus support.
While we’ve seen new dual-screen laptops emerge over the past year, the GPD Duo looks like it might be the most practical yet. GPD is stacking the two 13.3-inch OLED panels so you get an extra screen on top. That’s similar to Asus’ new Zenbook Duo, but GPD is aiming to do this without a removable keyboard and kickstand, so the second display can fold behind the main one in what looks like a regular laptop form factor.
The second display on the GPD Duo can also fold down into a tablet form factor with support for stylus input. “When folded, the device is the size of an A4 sheet of paper, and when both screens are fully extended, it measures 18 inches,” says GPD in a post on X. The screens support 10-point touch, 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity for a stylus, and the Microsoft Pen Protocol for compatibility with the Surface Pen.

GPD DUO high definition pictureThe GPD DUO features dual 13.3-inch OLED screens, utilizing Samsung’s original AM-OLED panels. When folded, the device is the size of an A4 sheet of paper, and when both screens are fully extended, it measures 18 inches. It supports 10-point… pic.twitter.com/PrF0gVyMJr— GPD Game Consoles (@softwincn) May 29, 2024

While GPD doesn’t list the ports on the Duo, it looks like there will be an Ethernet port at the rear, alongside an OcuLink port for eGPU connectivity. There are at least two USB ports on the side, and what appears to be some form of card reader along the left-hand side of the laptop. There are several other ports visible in the image, but determining exactly which ports are included is challenging due to its low resolution.
The GPD Duo will have a full-size keyboard and regular trackpad, which will set it apart from Lenovo’s Yoga Book 9i that shipped with a separate Bluetooth keyboard you placed on top of its second display.
It’s also not immediately clear what processor will be powering GPD’s Duo laptop. There’s a vague mention of a 35-watt TDP and that this will be an “AI PC,” but nothing to indicate this might be a new Copilot Plus PC with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon chips inside. Given Computex is less than a week away, I’m hoping we’ll hear a lot more about the GPD Duo soon.

Image: GPD

GPD has been creating handheld gaming PCs and miniature mobile PCs for years, but it’s now turning its attention to regular-sized laptops. After teasing a dual-screen laptop last week, GPD has now published an image of its upcoming GPD Duo — complete with two 13.3-inch OLED displays, a range of ports, and stylus support.

While we’ve seen new dual-screen laptops emerge over the past year, the GPD Duo looks like it might be the most practical yet. GPD is stacking the two 13.3-inch OLED panels so you get an extra screen on top. That’s similar to Asus’ new Zenbook Duo, but GPD is aiming to do this without a removable keyboard and kickstand, so the second display can fold behind the main one in what looks like a regular laptop form factor.

The second display on the GPD Duo can also fold down into a tablet form factor with support for stylus input. “When folded, the device is the size of an A4 sheet of paper, and when both screens are fully extended, it measures 18 inches,” says GPD in a post on X. The screens support 10-point touch, 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity for a stylus, and the Microsoft Pen Protocol for compatibility with the Surface Pen.

While GPD doesn’t list the ports on the Duo, it looks like there will be an Ethernet port at the rear, alongside an OcuLink port for eGPU connectivity. There are at least two USB ports on the side, and what appears to be some form of card reader along the left-hand side of the laptop. There are several other ports visible in the image, but determining exactly which ports are included is challenging due to its low resolution.

The GPD Duo will have a full-size keyboard and regular trackpad, which will set it apart from Lenovo’s Yoga Book 9i that shipped with a separate Bluetooth keyboard you placed on top of its second display.

It’s also not immediately clear what processor will be powering GPD’s Duo laptop. There’s a vague mention of a 35-watt TDP and that this will be an “AI PC,” but nothing to indicate this might be a new Copilot Plus PC with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon chips inside. Given Computex is less than a week away, I’m hoping we’ll hear a lot more about the GPD Duo soon.

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Image: OnLeaks / SmartPrix

It looks like the not-yet-announced Galaxy Z Flip 6 is getting a tiny boost in battery capacity compared to the Z Flip 5, according to FCC testing records spotted by MySmartPrice. The Galaxy Ring’s size ranges and battery ratings showed up, too, revealing good news for the small-of-finger, as it’s been tested as low as size 5.
The Z Flip 6’s battery is rated at 3,790mAh, based on screenshots shared by the outlet. That’s a touch higher than the 3,700mAh capacity that Samsung advertises for the Z Flip 5. Assuming that translates to increased battery life — which is not safe to assume — it could be a slight if welcome change for a phone that may not be changing all that much otherwise, at least judging from Z Flip 6 renders that leaked earlier this year.
Or, if you’ve been following those earlier leaks, 3,790mAh may come as a disappointment: that previous set of rumor suggested Samsung was testing a larger 4,000mAh battery instead.

As for the Galaxy Ring, it appears to range from size 5 to size 12. That’s in line with the Evie Ring’s sizes. But it’s different than the Oura Ring Gen 3, which starts at 6 and goes to 13, as well as the Ultrahuman Ring Air, which you can get in sizes 5 to 14.
The Galaxy Ring’s battery capacity looks typical, ranging from 17mAh to 22mAh, depending on the size. For comparison, the latest Oura Ring ranges from 15mAh to 22mAh and gets as much as seven days between charges, while Samsung officials have said its ring will get up to nine. As always, when it comes to battery life claims, “I’ll believe it when I see it” is the right attitude to take.

Image: OnLeaks / SmartPrix

It looks like the not-yet-announced Galaxy Z Flip 6 is getting a tiny boost in battery capacity compared to the Z Flip 5, according to FCC testing records spotted by MySmartPrice. The Galaxy Ring’s size ranges and battery ratings showed up, too, revealing good news for the small-of-finger, as it’s been tested as low as size 5.

The Z Flip 6’s battery is rated at 3,790mAh, based on screenshots shared by the outlet. That’s a touch higher than the 3,700mAh capacity that Samsung advertises for the Z Flip 5. Assuming that translates to increased battery life — which is not safe to assume — it could be a slight if welcome change for a phone that may not be changing all that much otherwise, at least judging from Z Flip 6 renders that leaked earlier this year.

Or, if you’ve been following those earlier leaks, 3,790mAh may come as a disappointment: that previous set of rumor suggested Samsung was testing a larger 4,000mAh battery instead.

As for the Galaxy Ring, it appears to range from size 5 to size 12. That’s in line with the Evie Ring’s sizes. But it’s different than the Oura Ring Gen 3, which starts at 6 and goes to 13, as well as the Ultrahuman Ring Air, which you can get in sizes 5 to 14.

The Galaxy Ring’s battery capacity looks typical, ranging from 17mAh to 22mAh, depending on the size. For comparison, the latest Oura Ring ranges from 15mAh to 22mAh and gets as much as seven days between charges, while Samsung officials have said its ring will get up to nine. As always, when it comes to battery life claims, “I’ll believe it when I see it” is the right attitude to take.

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Verizon is doubling down on efforts to sell you streaming services. Starting May 30th, the company will offer a discounted $10 / subscription to YouTube Premium through its myPlan perks.
YouTube Premium typically costs $13.99, letting you watch videos on the platform ad-free, download content, and access YouTube Music Premium. You can get the perk if you have one of Verizon’s myPlan subscriptions, which lets subscribers tack on services like Disney Plus and Apple One.

In addition to YouTube Premium, Verizon is adding Peacock to its digital content hub on June 5th. Verizon Plus Play lets you sign up and manage subscriptions to Netflix, Max, Paramount Plus, AMC Plus, and more from one place. Like most other services available on Plus Play, Peacock will cost $5.99 per month for Premium or $11.99 for Premium Plus. Both of these plans will get a $2 price hike in July.
Verizon also announced a new Unlimited Phone Upgrade option that will let Unlimited Ultimate customers get the “best” trade-in deals regardless of the condition of their phone. An Unlimited Ultimate plan costs from $100 per month for one line with no discounts to $55 per line each month if you have four lines and an auto-pay discount.
The carrier is pushing toward its goal of becoming a streaming middleman, a setup that allows the company to get a cut of all the subscriptions it sells. So far, Verizon already offers an exclusive bundle with Netflix and Max, along with a $25.99 per month deal with Netflix Premium and Starz. Other bundles are popping up elsewhere, too, including one with Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max, as well as a Netflix, Peacock, and Apple TV Plus bundle offered through Comcast.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Verizon is doubling down on efforts to sell you streaming services. Starting May 30th, the company will offer a discounted $10 / subscription to YouTube Premium through its myPlan perks.

YouTube Premium typically costs $13.99, letting you watch videos on the platform ad-free, download content, and access YouTube Music Premium. You can get the perk if you have one of Verizon’s myPlan subscriptions, which lets subscribers tack on services like Disney Plus and Apple One.

In addition to YouTube Premium, Verizon is adding Peacock to its digital content hub on June 5th. Verizon Plus Play lets you sign up and manage subscriptions to Netflix, Max, Paramount Plus, AMC Plus, and more from one place. Like most other services available on Plus Play, Peacock will cost $5.99 per month for Premium or $11.99 for Premium Plus. Both of these plans will get a $2 price hike in July.

Verizon also announced a new Unlimited Phone Upgrade option that will let Unlimited Ultimate customers get the “best” trade-in deals regardless of the condition of their phone. An Unlimited Ultimate plan costs from $100 per month for one line with no discounts to $55 per line each month if you have four lines and an auto-pay discount.

The carrier is pushing toward its goal of becoming a streaming middleman, a setup that allows the company to get a cut of all the subscriptions it sells. So far, Verizon already offers an exclusive bundle with Netflix and Max, along with a $25.99 per month deal with Netflix Premium and Starz. Other bundles are popping up elsewhere, too, including one with Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max, as well as a Netflix, Peacock, and Apple TV Plus bundle offered through Comcast.

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It dons a familiar look, but you can expect many meaningful upgrades for the 2024 Beats Pill. | Image: 9to5Mac

Leaked renders and celebrity sightings are clues for a likely summer launch of Apple’s upcoming Beats Pill speaker — its first since the Pill Plus, which we called “the best yet” when it launched in 2015 and was discontinued in 2022. A report from 9to5Mac, citing unnamed sources, gives more details about its modernization.

Reported upgrades include up to 24 hours of battery life, IP67 water resistance, faster and more reliable device pairing / switching with Bluetooth 5.3, and integrated Find My tracking on both Apple and Google’s networks. 9to5Mac also says Apple plans to update the Pill’s charge-out and input ports to USB-C, from USB-A out and Lightning in. There’s also a detachable carry strap (as displayed by LeBron James and Daniel Ricciardo).
According to the report, we can also generally expect a richer sound profile thanks to redesigned and repositioned drivers and tweeters. These all sound like fine reasons to upgrade, if true, but we’ll judge that once the real deal is out.

It dons a familiar look, but you can expect many meaningful upgrades for the 2024 Beats Pill. | Image: 9to5Mac

Leaked renders and celebrity sightings are clues for a likely summer launch of Apple’s upcoming Beats Pill speaker — its first since the Pill Plus, which we called “the best yet” when it launched in 2015 and was discontinued in 2022. A report from 9to5Mac, citing unnamed sources, gives more details about its modernization.

Reported upgrades include up to 24 hours of battery life, IP67 water resistance, faster and more reliable device pairing / switching with Bluetooth 5.3, and integrated Find My tracking on both Apple and Google’s networks. 9to5Mac also says Apple plans to update the Pill’s charge-out and input ports to USB-C, from USB-A out and Lightning in. There’s also a detachable carry strap (as displayed by LeBron James and Daniel Ricciardo).

According to the report, we can also generally expect a richer sound profile thanks to redesigned and repositioned drivers and tweeters. These all sound like fine reasons to upgrade, if true, but we’ll judge that once the real deal is out.

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Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, pictured on its current owner’s website. | Image: PleasrDAO

Very few people have heard the only copy of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, the Wu-Tang Clan album that disgraced pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli bought at auction in 2015. Starting next month, though, you’ll be able to hear a curated, 30-minute excerpt of the album, provided you can get to the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart, Tasmania, between June 15th and June 24th, reports The Washington Post.
The MONA’s playback of Shaolin excerpts will be part of a months-long exhibit called “Namedropping” centered on rare and significant pop culture objects. Tasmanian residents can get into the museum for free, but tickets go for as much as AUS$38 for anyone else.

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PleasrDAO, the NFT art collective that paid the US government $4 million for the album in 2021, said it will play the album somewhere else before then, hinting on X that it snuck clues into articles about the Tasmanian exhibit.
Wu-Tang’s seventh studio album has been through a lot. Despite fans’ attempts to raise millions of dollars to buy it, it ended up in the clutches of Shkreli, who is most famous for extortionist pricing of life-saving medication. Wu-Tang member RZA mused about stealing the album back, and the FBI denied rumors that it had confiscated it.
Before he was convicted for securities fraud, Shkreli listed the album on eBay but never seemed to have sold it, as the federal government took possession of it in 2018 before selling it to PleasrDAO. As for Shkreli, he was released from prison in 2022 and banned from the pharmaceutical industry — a ban recently upheld by a federal judge.
PleasrDAO has a website — thealbum.com — where you can register your phone number to get a text message in 79 years, ostensibly to be notified when the album is available. (One of the terms of the album’s sale is essentially an embargo on reproducing it until October 8th, 2103.) However, it seems more likely, based on the group’s linked privacy policy, that it’s collecting your info to share with affiliates or text you about its products and services.

Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, pictured on its current owner’s website. | Image: PleasrDAO

Very few people have heard the only copy of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, the Wu-Tang Clan album that disgraced pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli bought at auction in 2015. Starting next month, though, you’ll be able to hear a curated, 30-minute excerpt of the album, provided you can get to the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart, Tasmania, between June 15th and June 24th, reports The Washington Post.

The MONA’s playback of Shaolin excerpts will be part of a months-long exhibit called “Namedropping” centered on rare and significant pop culture objects. Tasmanian residents can get into the museum for free, but tickets go for as much as AUS$38 for anyone else.

PleasrDAO, the NFT art collective that paid the US government $4 million for the album in 2021, said it will play the album somewhere else before then, hinting on X that it snuck clues into articles about the Tasmanian exhibit.

Wu-Tang’s seventh studio album has been through a lot. Despite fans’ attempts to raise millions of dollars to buy it, it ended up in the clutches of Shkreli, who is most famous for extortionist pricing of life-saving medication. Wu-Tang member RZA mused about stealing the album back, and the FBI denied rumors that it had confiscated it.

Before he was convicted for securities fraud, Shkreli listed the album on eBay but never seemed to have sold it, as the federal government took possession of it in 2018 before selling it to PleasrDAO. As for Shkreli, he was released from prison in 2022 and banned from the pharmaceutical industry — a ban recently upheld by a federal judge.

PleasrDAO has a website — thealbum.com — where you can register your phone number to get a text message in 79 years, ostensibly to be notified when the album is available. (One of the terms of the album’s sale is essentially an embargo on reproducing it until October 8th, 2103.) However, it seems more likely, based on the group’s linked privacy policy, that it’s collecting your info to share with affiliates or text you about its products and services.

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Get a load of this guy. | Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

Fine, Vivek Ramaswamy, you wanted my attention and now you have it. Before now, I knew you primarily as the guy who lied so hysterically my hometown police department had to come out and explain that you’d been parked illegally when you were accidentally rear-ended by a lady who was not very good at backing up.
In your quest to unseat Elon Musk as the thirstiest motherfucker alive, you have bought 8 percent of Buzzfeed and sent Jonah Peretti a little nastygram. I am not going to bother with the letter on its merits because you know and I know and the police department of Grinnell, Iowa knows that your word is worth nothing.
There is exactly one thing that is relevant here, and it is that Peretti has founder control. As of December 31, 2023, Jonah Peretti (and affiliates) held 96 percent of the Class B stock, which has 50 times voting rights of your cheap little Class A stock. That’s 64 percent of the votes in any proxy contest, Vivek. I don’t pretend to be good at math, but I’m pretty sure that’s a majority.
What are you actually doing, Vivek?
For the benefit of everyone else reading this: typically, when an activist investor buys into the stock, there’s a laundry list of changes they want done. Usually this involves board seats, structural changes at the company, the ouster of the CEO, things of this nature. If the company does not feel like negotiating with the investor in question, there is then a proxy battle, where the activists attempt to win over enough other shareholders to get their changes implemented.
In this case, the possibility of a proxy battle literally does not matter because you cannot outvote Peretti. So what are you actually doing, Vivek?
Possibility A: You’re going to start selling. News of your buy-in sent the shares up! You bought in at an average price of $1.80 a share, and the shares closed today at $3.00, which is a 66 percent profit in a very short period of time. Lock that shit in, let someone else hold the bag, and have a martini somewhere.
Possibility B: This is how you’re going to do PR now. Let’s be honest, public relations professionals are much less useful than they used to be, right, Vivek? Reporters are wildly outnumbered by flacks, and as a result, it’s hard for any individual PR person to cut through the noise. (My inbox is a disaster zone, Vivek.)
Really piss on your enemies’ graves, right, babe?
But one thing anyone with half a brain knows is that the entire media industry reads media stories. You are creating a media story! It doesn’t matter that we all know pivoting to video is a very bad idea because most media reporters can’t break objectivity keyfabe to point out that you understand literally nothing about our industry.
You’ve picked Buzzfeed because the shares are cheap, and because you have a grudge against a historically liberal outlet. It doesn’t matter that Buzzfeed News no longer exists — you’re still mad that it famously published the Steele dossier and you want to replace a once-respected, Pulitzer-winning brand with a half-assed “creators” plan starring Tucker Carlson and Aaron Rodgers. Really piss on your enemies’ graves, right, babe?
You may be wondering why I seem so openly contemptuous of this plan, and I can tell you right now it’s because you’re not thinking big enough. You know who cares about Buzzfeed? Reporters and exactly no one else. If you wanted to play the real game, you’d have gone after Facebook.
As Rupert Murdoch’s entire career demonstrates, what actually matters in news is distribution. You don’t come at Buzzfeed all “hey release a statement apologizing for the work of your now-dead newsroom” because oh my God, who gives a shit. You come at Facebook and say, “Hey you aren’t adequately distributing right-wing voices and it’s cutting into your profit margins, and your dumb adventures in the metaverse and AI are distractions from profitability. Also, the name Meta is stupid and you should just go back to calling it Facebook.” You know what’s fun about this tactic, Vivek? It fucking works. Conservatives have come at Mark Zuckerberg without chunks of shares and scared him into doing what they want. Imagine what you could do to Zuck with ownership!
Of course, to annoy Mark Zuckerberg instead of Peretti, you’d need to be able to move size
Facebook is a lot less vulnerable than Buzzfeed, which is publicly circling the drain. But who gives a shit? Your traction at both places is zero. The point is to have a megaphone, and Facebook is a much bigger, more important platform. Why go through the lengthy and annoying process of rebranding Buzzfeed, alienating its current audience and potentially not getting another one — ask Musk about how this is going at Twitter, Vivek! — when you can simply publicly badger someone important by virtue of owning a lot of shares.
Of course, to annoy Zuckerberg instead of Peretti, you’d need to be able to move size, and I think that’s the actual issue here. By aiming so low — I mean if you’re going to go after a media outlet, The New York Times would get you a hell of a lot farther! It’s a much more important target of right-wing vitriol! — you’ve exposed that you aren’t really a player. When you aim to bully the weak, you tell the rest of us that you can’t take on the strong.
Best of luck with your Buzzfeed crusade, Vivek. Maybe it’ll work out better for you than parking in a no-parking zone.

Get a load of this guy. | Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

Fine, Vivek Ramaswamy, you wanted my attention and now you have it. Before now, I knew you primarily as the guy who lied so hysterically my hometown police department had to come out and explain that you’d been parked illegally when you were accidentally rear-ended by a lady who was not very good at backing up.

In your quest to unseat Elon Musk as the thirstiest motherfucker alive, you have bought 8 percent of Buzzfeed and sent Jonah Peretti a little nastygram. I am not going to bother with the letter on its merits because you know and I know and the police department of Grinnell, Iowa knows that your word is worth nothing.

There is exactly one thing that is relevant here, and it is that Peretti has founder control. As of December 31, 2023, Jonah Peretti (and affiliates) held 96 percent of the Class B stock, which has 50 times voting rights of your cheap little Class A stock. That’s 64 percent of the votes in any proxy contest, Vivek. I don’t pretend to be good at math, but I’m pretty sure that’s a majority.

For the benefit of everyone else reading this: typically, when an activist investor buys into the stock, there’s a laundry list of changes they want done. Usually this involves board seats, structural changes at the company, the ouster of the CEO, things of this nature. If the company does not feel like negotiating with the investor in question, there is then a proxy battle, where the activists attempt to win over enough other shareholders to get their changes implemented.

In this case, the possibility of a proxy battle literally does not matter because you cannot outvote Peretti. So what are you actually doing, Vivek?

Possibility A: You’re going to start selling. News of your buy-in sent the shares up! You bought in at an average price of $1.80 a share, and the shares closed today at $3.00, which is a 66 percent profit in a very short period of time. Lock that shit in, let someone else hold the bag, and have a martini somewhere.

Possibility B: This is how you’re going to do PR now. Let’s be honest, public relations professionals are much less useful than they used to be, right, Vivek? Reporters are wildly outnumbered by flacks, and as a result, it’s hard for any individual PR person to cut through the noise. (My inbox is a disaster zone, Vivek.)

But one thing anyone with half a brain knows is that the entire media industry reads media stories. You are creating a media story! It doesn’t matter that we all know pivoting to video is a very bad idea because most media reporters can’t break objectivity keyfabe to point out that you understand literally nothing about our industry.

You’ve picked Buzzfeed because the shares are cheap, and because you have a grudge against a historically liberal outlet. It doesn’t matter that Buzzfeed News no longer exists — you’re still mad that it famously published the Steele dossier and you want to replace a once-respected, Pulitzer-winning brand with a half-assed “creators” plan starring Tucker Carlson and Aaron Rodgers. Really piss on your enemies’ graves, right, babe?

You may be wondering why I seem so openly contemptuous of this plan, and I can tell you right now it’s because you’re not thinking big enough. You know who cares about Buzzfeed? Reporters and exactly no one else. If you wanted to play the real game, you’d have gone after Facebook.

As Rupert Murdoch’s entire career demonstrates, what actually matters in news is distribution. You don’t come at Buzzfeed all “hey release a statement apologizing for the work of your now-dead newsroom” because oh my God, who gives a shit. You come at Facebook and say, “Hey you aren’t adequately distributing right-wing voices and it’s cutting into your profit margins, and your dumb adventures in the metaverse and AI are distractions from profitability. Also, the name Meta is stupid and you should just go back to calling it Facebook.” You know what’s fun about this tactic, Vivek? It fucking works. Conservatives have come at Mark Zuckerberg without chunks of shares and scared him into doing what they want. Imagine what you could do to Zuck with ownership!

Facebook is a lot less vulnerable than Buzzfeed, which is publicly circling the drain. But who gives a shit? Your traction at both places is zero. The point is to have a megaphone, and Facebook is a much bigger, more important platform. Why go through the lengthy and annoying process of rebranding Buzzfeed, alienating its current audience and potentially not getting another one — ask Musk about how this is going at Twitter, Vivek! — when you can simply publicly badger someone important by virtue of owning a lot of shares.

Of course, to annoy Zuckerberg instead of Peretti, you’d need to be able to move size, and I think that’s the actual issue here. By aiming so low — I mean if you’re going to go after a media outlet, The New York Times would get you a hell of a lot farther! It’s a much more important target of right-wing vitriol! — you’ve exposed that you aren’t really a player. When you aim to bully the weak, you tell the rest of us that you can’t take on the strong.

Best of luck with your Buzzfeed crusade, Vivek. Maybe it’ll work out better for you than parking in a no-parking zone.

Read More 

Image: The Verge

Browser bloat has long been a problem, but now Microsoft is doing something about it, and not by reducing features but by speeding the browser up. The company is working to make Edge’s user interface more responsive, starting with its Browser Essentials menu.
This menu — which displays information about Edge’s performance — is now 42 percent faster, thanks to a WebUI 2.0 architecture migration. You can see how much faster the Browser Essentials menu loads on WebUI 2.0 compared to React and WebUI with Javascript in the video below. Microsoft says the menu is 76 percent faster on devices without an SSD or with less than 8GB of RAM.

Additionally, Microsoft is giving Edge’s favorites menu a speed boost in build 124, making it 40 percent faster. Edge’s history, downloads, and wallet features will eventually get the WebUI 2.0 upgrade, too.
Microsoft says it built WebUI 2.0 after finding that many of Edge’s components used bundles of code that were “too large.” WebUI 2.0 changes things by shrinking these bundles and using a “more modular” architecture. “We now rely on a repository of web components that are tuned for performance on modern web engines,” Microsoft says.
As someone who prefers using Edge over other browsers, I appreciate the speed boost. But with the Copilot integration and the mountain of other tools Microsoft has stuffed inside its sidebar, it could stand to lose a few features to make the experience as smooth as it used to be.

Image: The Verge

Browser bloat has long been a problem, but now Microsoft is doing something about it, and not by reducing features but by speeding the browser up. The company is working to make Edge’s user interface more responsive, starting with its Browser Essentials menu.

This menu — which displays information about Edge’s performance — is now 42 percent faster, thanks to a WebUI 2.0 architecture migration. You can see how much faster the Browser Essentials menu loads on WebUI 2.0 compared to React and WebUI with Javascript in the video below. Microsoft says the menu is 76 percent faster on devices without an SSD or with less than 8GB of RAM.

Additionally, Microsoft is giving Edge’s favorites menu a speed boost in build 124, making it 40 percent faster. Edge’s history, downloads, and wallet features will eventually get the WebUI 2.0 upgrade, too.

Microsoft says it built WebUI 2.0 after finding that many of Edge’s components used bundles of code that were “too large.” WebUI 2.0 changes things by shrinking these bundles and using a “more modular” architecture. “We now rely on a repository of web components that are tuned for performance on modern web engines,” Microsoft says.

As someone who prefers using Edge over other browsers, I appreciate the speed boost. But with the Copilot integration and the mountain of other tools Microsoft has stuffed inside its sidebar, it could stand to lose a few features to make the experience as smooth as it used to be.

Read More