verge-rss

Illustration: The Verge

Google and the Justice Department are set for a rematch of sorts on Monday when they return to court to argue about Google’s alleged monopolistic behavior over how ads are bought and sold on the internet.
The DOJ is fresh off a win in its search antitrust case against Google, where a federal judge in Washington, DC, agreed that Google had illegally monopolized the online search market. This time, the two parties will argue before a different judge in Virginia about whether Google has also illegally monopolized markets for advertising technology.
“This is kind of a one-two punch,” says Vanderbilt Law School antitrust professor Rebecca Haw Allensworth. “Google is probably licking its wounds from having lost the last one. And it would be bad for it to lose this one, for sure.”
A loss in either case still wouldn’t mean the “end of Google,” Allensworth says. But for the government, “a second win could be real momentum in their project of going after Big Tech monopolies.” And in particular, she adds, it would validate the DOJ’s focus on vertical integration: the way that different business lines can be leveraged to grow a company’s dominance.
What the case is about
The DOJ is arguing that Google illegally monopolized the market for ad tech tools across the ecosystem. That includes the demand side of ad networks for buying space on websites, the supply side of publisher ad servers for hawking advertising inventory, and the exchanges like Google AdX that sit between the two.
The government says that Google exerted “a campaign to condition, control, and tax digital advertising transactions over 15 years” by illegally tying its tools together and excluding rivals from being able to fairly compete. The suit describes it as a ripple effect that began when Google built advertiser demand through its dominance in search. Then, Google bought publisher ad server DoubleClick in 2009, giving it a large publisher base that sought to connect with advertisers in its ad network, plus a nascent ad exchange. Once Google controlled all sides of the market, the DOJ alleges, it took exclusionary action to mutually reinforce its monopolies, including by manipulating ad auctions to give itself an advantage and placing unfair conditions on accessing its tools.
Google, on the other hand, says the government is basically looking to punish it for creating valuable tools with efficiencies that benefit publishers and advertisers who use them. It says the government’s view of the market doesn’t reflect reality and ignores vigorous competition it faces and the innovations it’s created to make its tools attractive to customers.
The case involves a highly technical market with lots of complicated tools and processes that most regular consumers — likely including the judge — don’t encounter every day. For that reason, Allensworth says, “a lot of it’s going to come down to who’s the best storyteller.”

The trial was initially going to be heard by a jury, but it’s now a bench trial after Google cut a reportedly $2.3 million check for what it said was the “maximum amount of damages” the government claimed in an effort to moot the jury demand. Google notably lost a recent antitrust jury trial to Epic Games in California.
The case is expected to last several weeks and will feature witnesses across the advertising and publishing industries. Some of the witnesses the DOJ said it could call include YouTube CEO Neal Mohan (who used to work on Google display ads), The Trade Desk chief revenue officer Jed Dederick, and BuzzFeed chief business officer Ken Blom. (Ryan Pauley, president of revenue and growth at The Verge’s parent company, Vox Media, is also listed as a potential witness.)
What Google and the government will argue
A key point of contention is whether the government is seeking to force Google to deal with its competitors. In Verizon Communications, Inc. v. Law Offices of Curtis V. Trinko, the Supreme Court said that generally US antitrust law does not require firms to deal with rivals. When it comes to a duty to deal and litigating Google’s product design choices, Allensworth says, “the law there is very unfavorable for the government.”
Because of that, Allensworth says, “the government is sort of desperate to not frame this as a duty to deal, product design case when it comes to the conduct that’s being alleged.” Instead, the government will seek to “highlight the kind of shenanigans that Google got up to” and the short-term sacrifices it made to solidify its dominance.
The government will seek to “highlight the kind of shenanigans that Google got up to”
One of those “shenanigans” is how Google handled a strategy known as header bidding. Through header bidding, publishers figured out that they could send their ad calls to other ad exchanges before going to Google’s to maximize the bids on their inventory. Recognizing this as an “existential” threat, according to the DOJ, Google created “Open Bidding,” which required publishers and ad exchanges to give it visibility into how rival exchanges bid. The DOJ alleges that Open Bidding actually gave Google more insight into auctions, helped it extract more fees, and “disintermediated rival ad exchanges from their own publisher customers.”
Google “did its darnedest to … make it really hard to simultaneously have header bidding and also still get the most out of your relationship with Google as a publisher,” says Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf, a senior analyst at Emarketer who covers the US digital ad market.
To explain why Google’s refusal to play with rivals’ products is wrong, the government may try to align its arguments with a different Supreme Court case, known as Aspen Skiing. In that case, a company bought three of four mountains in Aspen, Colorado, then discontinued a pass arrangement that gave skiers access to all four mountains. While there’s no duty to deal, the court found that the company sacrificed short-term profits to hurt its rival and grow its own dominance.
“Google will try to say, we never dealt with these other companies, our rivals, in any way that we changed,” Allensworth said. “And then the government’s going to try to come back and point to various things and frame them as a change in policy.”
For the publishers and advertisers who rely on Google’s tools, a ruling against the company (depending on the kinds of remedies determined) could lead to a very different way of doing business. Mitchell-Wolf says there could be plenty of “logistical headaches” if the Google ad tech stack were broken up, as these players would need to find alternatives that work well together in the short term. The longer-term hope of the government would be that such an action would revive competition in the industry. And some advertisers and publishers would “breathe a little bit of a sigh of relief,” Mitchell-Wolf says, to be able to loosen their reliance on Google.

Illustration: The Verge

Google and the Justice Department are set for a rematch of sorts on Monday when they return to court to argue about Google’s alleged monopolistic behavior over how ads are bought and sold on the internet.

The DOJ is fresh off a win in its search antitrust case against Google, where a federal judge in Washington, DC, agreed that Google had illegally monopolized the online search market. This time, the two parties will argue before a different judge in Virginia about whether Google has also illegally monopolized markets for advertising technology.

“This is kind of a one-two punch,” says Vanderbilt Law School antitrust professor Rebecca Haw Allensworth. “Google is probably licking its wounds from having lost the last one. And it would be bad for it to lose this one, for sure.”

A loss in either case still wouldn’t mean the “end of Google,” Allensworth says. But for the government, “a second win could be real momentum in their project of going after Big Tech monopolies.” And in particular, she adds, it would validate the DOJ’s focus on vertical integration: the way that different business lines can be leveraged to grow a company’s dominance.

What the case is about

The DOJ is arguing that Google illegally monopolized the market for ad tech tools across the ecosystem. That includes the demand side of ad networks for buying space on websites, the supply side of publisher ad servers for hawking advertising inventory, and the exchanges like Google AdX that sit between the two.

The government says that Google exerted “a campaign to condition, control, and tax digital advertising transactions over 15 years” by illegally tying its tools together and excluding rivals from being able to fairly compete. The suit describes it as a ripple effect that began when Google built advertiser demand through its dominance in search. Then, Google bought publisher ad server DoubleClick in 2009, giving it a large publisher base that sought to connect with advertisers in its ad network, plus a nascent ad exchange. Once Google controlled all sides of the market, the DOJ alleges, it took exclusionary action to mutually reinforce its monopolies, including by manipulating ad auctions to give itself an advantage and placing unfair conditions on accessing its tools.

Google, on the other hand, says the government is basically looking to punish it for creating valuable tools with efficiencies that benefit publishers and advertisers who use them. It says the government’s view of the market doesn’t reflect reality and ignores vigorous competition it faces and the innovations it’s created to make its tools attractive to customers.

The case involves a highly technical market with lots of complicated tools and processes that most regular consumers — likely including the judge — don’t encounter every day. For that reason, Allensworth says, “a lot of it’s going to come down to who’s the best storyteller.”

The trial was initially going to be heard by a jury, but it’s now a bench trial after Google cut a reportedly $2.3 million check for what it said was the “maximum amount of damages” the government claimed in an effort to moot the jury demand. Google notably lost a recent antitrust jury trial to Epic Games in California.

The case is expected to last several weeks and will feature witnesses across the advertising and publishing industries. Some of the witnesses the DOJ said it could call include YouTube CEO Neal Mohan (who used to work on Google display ads), The Trade Desk chief revenue officer Jed Dederick, and BuzzFeed chief business officer Ken Blom. (Ryan Pauley, president of revenue and growth at The Verge’s parent company, Vox Media, is also listed as a potential witness.)

What Google and the government will argue

A key point of contention is whether the government is seeking to force Google to deal with its competitors. In Verizon Communications, Inc. v. Law Offices of Curtis V. Trinko, the Supreme Court said that generally US antitrust law does not require firms to deal with rivals. When it comes to a duty to deal and litigating Google’s product design choices, Allensworth says, “the law there is very unfavorable for the government.”

Because of that, Allensworth says, “the government is sort of desperate to not frame this as a duty to deal, product design case when it comes to the conduct that’s being alleged.” Instead, the government will seek to “highlight the kind of shenanigans that Google got up to” and the short-term sacrifices it made to solidify its dominance.

One of those “shenanigans” is how Google handled a strategy known as header bidding. Through header bidding, publishers figured out that they could send their ad calls to other ad exchanges before going to Google’s to maximize the bids on their inventory. Recognizing this as an “existential” threat, according to the DOJ, Google created “Open Bidding,” which required publishers and ad exchanges to give it visibility into how rival exchanges bid. The DOJ alleges that Open Bidding actually gave Google more insight into auctions, helped it extract more fees, and “disintermediated rival ad exchanges from their own publisher customers.”

Google “did its darnedest to … make it really hard to simultaneously have header bidding and also still get the most out of your relationship with Google as a publisher,” says Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf, a senior analyst at Emarketer who covers the US digital ad market.

To explain why Google’s refusal to play with rivals’ products is wrong, the government may try to align its arguments with a different Supreme Court case, known as Aspen Skiing. In that case, a company bought three of four mountains in Aspen, Colorado, then discontinued a pass arrangement that gave skiers access to all four mountains. While there’s no duty to deal, the court found that the company sacrificed short-term profits to hurt its rival and grow its own dominance.

“Google will try to say, we never dealt with these other companies, our rivals, in any way that we changed,” Allensworth said. “And then the government’s going to try to come back and point to various things and frame them as a change in policy.”

For the publishers and advertisers who rely on Google’s tools, a ruling against the company (depending on the kinds of remedies determined) could lead to a very different way of doing business. Mitchell-Wolf says there could be plenty of “logistical headaches” if the Google ad tech stack were broken up, as these players would need to find alternatives that work well together in the short term. The longer-term hope of the government would be that such an action would revive competition in the industry. And some advertisers and publishers would “breathe a little bit of a sigh of relief,” Mitchell-Wolf says, to be able to loosen their reliance on Google.

Read More 

Snap Groups is basically Snap Layouts for Chromebooks. | Illustration: The Verge

Google is rolling out a new ChromeOS update that makes it easier to keep your on-screen apps organized, copy text from images, and adjust camera and microphone settings on Chromebook devices.
One of the more notable features introduced in ChromeOS 128 is Snap Groups — a feature similar to Windows 11’s Snap layouts that allows you to easily group apps together in a variety of fullscreen layouts. The feature is even triggered the same way as Microsoft does it, by hovering over the maximize app button.
The ChromeOS camera app now supports Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to extract text from captured images of letters or other documents. It allows users to copy or search the text in images, more easily convert images into searchable PDFs, and have the built-in ChromeOS screen reader speak image-based text. Google says its OCR supports both horizontal and vertical detection in 77 languages, and is disabled by default in photo mode.

Image: Google
Yup, this is basically Windows 11 Snap Layouts…which isn’t a bad thing!

Additionally, the Magnifier tool will now work with ChromeVox — allowing the screen magnifier to automatically follow words when text is read aloud, helping visually impaired users to keep their place. This is also disabled by default, and will require both Magnifier and ChromeVox to be enabled in the device settings.
Chromebook cameras and microphones are also getting some quality-of-life improvements — using them requires turning on privacy controls and app permissions in two separate places, but now Google has simplified this by adding software permissions to the apps section of the ChromeOS settings menu. There’s also a new Auto Gain Control (AGC) feature that allows apps like video calling software to automatically optimize microphone volume. This should improve the audio quality on calls and will notify users in the quick settings panel when the feature is overriding manual audio controls.

Snap Groups is basically Snap Layouts for Chromebooks. | Illustration: The Verge

Google is rolling out a new ChromeOS update that makes it easier to keep your on-screen apps organized, copy text from images, and adjust camera and microphone settings on Chromebook devices.

One of the more notable features introduced in ChromeOS 128 is Snap Groups — a feature similar to Windows 11’s Snap layouts that allows you to easily group apps together in a variety of fullscreen layouts. The feature is even triggered the same way as Microsoft does it, by hovering over the maximize app button.

The ChromeOS camera app now supports Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to extract text from captured images of letters or other documents. It allows users to copy or search the text in images, more easily convert images into searchable PDFs, and have the built-in ChromeOS screen reader speak image-based text. Google says its OCR supports both horizontal and vertical detection in 77 languages, and is disabled by default in photo mode.

Image: Google
Yup, this is basically Windows 11 Snap Layouts…which isn’t a bad thing!

Additionally, the Magnifier tool will now work with ChromeVox — allowing the screen magnifier to automatically follow words when text is read aloud, helping visually impaired users to keep their place. This is also disabled by default, and will require both Magnifier and ChromeVox to be enabled in the device settings.

Chromebook cameras and microphones are also getting some quality-of-life improvements — using them requires turning on privacy controls and app permissions in two separate places, but now Google has simplified this by adding software permissions to the apps section of the ChromeOS settings menu. There’s also a new Auto Gain Control (AGC) feature that allows apps like video calling software to automatically optimize microphone volume. This should improve the audio quality on calls and will notify users in the quick settings panel when the feature is overriding manual audio controls.

Read More 

The most welcome upgrade on the Xgimi Aura 2 is a retractable lens protector. | Image: Xgimi

Xgimi has announced an upgraded version of its ultra-short throw projector. The new Aura 2 is smaller and lighter than its predecessor while delivering more brightness, but the most welcome improvement is an automatic sliding cover on top that protects the projector’s lens and helps minimize dust buildup.

Image: Xgimi
The Aura 2 can project an image up to 150 inches in size while sitting close to a wall.

Xgimi says the Aura 2 produces 2,300 ISO lumens of brightness from its “Dual Light 2.0” light source that uses a combination of lasers and LEDs. That’s up from 1,800 ISO lumens for the original Xgimi Aura, which should improve the Aura 2’s performance when used in rooms where ambient light can’t be completely eliminated. Xgimi claims the Aura 2 can project an image between 90 and 150 inches in size (measured diagonally) depending on how far it’s positioned from a wall.
The Aura 2 is thinner and narrower, making it easier to integrate into a home theater setup, and weighs just shy of 20 pounds, which is about five pounds lighter than the previous model. Sound is delivered through four front-firing 15W Harman Kardon speakers, while HDR support includes Dolby Vision, HDR10, HLG, and IMAX Enhanced formats.

Image: Xgimi
The Aura 2 protects and keeps dust off its lens with a sliding cover.

Setting up the projector is streamlined through Xgimi’s automatic image alignment tools, including detecting and fitting the projection to a screen mounted on a wall or correcting the image when projecting on plain walls that aren’t entirely flat. When powered down, the Aura 2 also has a motorized cover that slides over the top of the projector to help minimize the amount of dust and dirt that collects on the lens. That’s a common pain point with ultra-short throw projectors whose lenses typically point straight up.
The Xgimi Aura 2 is available now for $2,699, which is about $200 more expensive than the original Aura cost when it debuted in 2021.

Image: Xgimi
The MoGo 3 Pro has a new pivoting design, making it easier to set up and reposition.

Alongside the Aura 2, Xgimi also announced a new version of its MoGo portable projectors with an entirely new design. The 2.43-pound MoGo 3 Pro looks roughly the same size as a Stanley tumbler but incorporates an LED-based pivoting projector head that can generate 1080p images with 450 ISO lumens of brightness.
It’s got streaming apps like Netflix built in through Google TV, but it can also be used with a streaming dongle if you don’t mind dealing with an adapter, as the projector only has a micro HDMI port. You can also use it as just a speaker, with an option music visualizer that projects “vibrant colors that dance with every note.”

Image: Xgimi
The MoGo 3 Pro can be powered by an optional stand featuring an integrated battery.

A pair of 5W Harman Kardon speakers in the base should provide adequate sound for a small audience, but unlike most portable projectors, the MoGo 3 Pro lacks a built-in battery. To make it truly portable, it needs to be paired with a portable charger. One isn’t included, but Xgimi has created an optional multipurpose accessory called the Powerbase stand featuring its own rechargeable battery that can power the projector.
The Xgimi MoGo 3 Pro projector sells for $449, while the Powerbase stand is $129, but the two are available in a cheaper bundle for $499.

The most welcome upgrade on the Xgimi Aura 2 is a retractable lens protector. | Image: Xgimi

Xgimi has announced an upgraded version of its ultra-short throw projector. The new Aura 2 is smaller and lighter than its predecessor while delivering more brightness, but the most welcome improvement is an automatic sliding cover on top that protects the projector’s lens and helps minimize dust buildup.

Image: Xgimi
The Aura 2 can project an image up to 150 inches in size while sitting close to a wall.

Xgimi says the Aura 2 produces 2,300 ISO lumens of brightness from its “Dual Light 2.0” light source that uses a combination of lasers and LEDs. That’s up from 1,800 ISO lumens for the original Xgimi Aura, which should improve the Aura 2’s performance when used in rooms where ambient light can’t be completely eliminated. Xgimi claims the Aura 2 can project an image between 90 and 150 inches in size (measured diagonally) depending on how far it’s positioned from a wall.

The Aura 2 is thinner and narrower, making it easier to integrate into a home theater setup, and weighs just shy of 20 pounds, which is about five pounds lighter than the previous model. Sound is delivered through four front-firing 15W Harman Kardon speakers, while HDR support includes Dolby Vision, HDR10, HLG, and IMAX Enhanced formats.

Image: Xgimi
The Aura 2 protects and keeps dust off its lens with a sliding cover.

Setting up the projector is streamlined through Xgimi’s automatic image alignment tools, including detecting and fitting the projection to a screen mounted on a wall or correcting the image when projecting on plain walls that aren’t entirely flat. When powered down, the Aura 2 also has a motorized cover that slides over the top of the projector to help minimize the amount of dust and dirt that collects on the lens. That’s a common pain point with ultra-short throw projectors whose lenses typically point straight up.

The Xgimi Aura 2 is available now for $2,699, which is about $200 more expensive than the original Aura cost when it debuted in 2021.

Image: Xgimi
The MoGo 3 Pro has a new pivoting design, making it easier to set up and reposition.

Alongside the Aura 2, Xgimi also announced a new version of its MoGo portable projectors with an entirely new design. The 2.43-pound MoGo 3 Pro looks roughly the same size as a Stanley tumbler but incorporates an LED-based pivoting projector head that can generate 1080p images with 450 ISO lumens of brightness.

It’s got streaming apps like Netflix built in through Google TV, but it can also be used with a streaming dongle if you don’t mind dealing with an adapter, as the projector only has a micro HDMI port. You can also use it as just a speaker, with an option music visualizer that projects “vibrant colors that dance with every note.”

Image: Xgimi
The MoGo 3 Pro can be powered by an optional stand featuring an integrated battery.

A pair of 5W Harman Kardon speakers in the base should provide adequate sound for a small audience, but unlike most portable projectors, the MoGo 3 Pro lacks a built-in battery. To make it truly portable, it needs to be paired with a portable charger. One isn’t included, but Xgimi has created an optional multipurpose accessory called the Powerbase stand featuring its own rechargeable battery that can power the projector.

The Xgimi MoGo 3 Pro projector sells for $449, while the Powerbase stand is $129, but the two are available in a cheaper bundle for $499.

Read More 

A capacious battery allows the Reolink Altas PT Ultra to be easily installed anywhere without the need for access to power. | Image: Reolink

Reolink’s new Altas PT Ultra is the company’s first battery-powered security camera that is capable of all-day continuous recording. It doesn’t need power access, so it can be installed almost anywhere, and since it captures 4K video to a microSD card instead of the cloud, there are fewer security risks and no subscription fees.
There are already many battery-powered security cameras that streamline installation, but they’re limited by small batteries that can’t record for more than a day before needing a charge. Reolink’s Altas PT Ultra’s solution to that problem is a built-in 20,000mAh battery the company says has enough power to record for 12 hours per day for up to eight days or four days when recording nonstop around the clock.
Having to charge the camera every week does negate some of the convenience of it being battery-powered, but through desktop and mobile apps, the Altas PT Ultra can be programmed to only capture video when motion is detected by its passive infrared sensor, or on a specific schedule, to extend its battery life. When set to its “standard working mode,” Reolink says the camera can run for up to 16 months on a single charge.

Image: Reolink
An optional solar panel accessory can keep the Altas PT Ultra’s battery charged with just 10 minutes of light per day.

For consumers with more demanding recording needs, Reolink does sell an optional six-watt solar panel accessory that can be mounted near the camera. The company says that a 10-minute charge from the solar panel is enough to power the camera for 24 hours, while a full day of charging can extend the battery life to 120 days, but that’s dependent on what features are being used.
Video is captured at 4K at 15fps through a wide-angle lens, but the Altas PT Ultra can pan its camera 355 degrees horizontally and tilt it 90 degrees vertically, allowing it to track and keep moving subjects in-frame during a recording. It also features full-color night vision capabilities, two-way audio with a built-in speaker and microphone, and support for Wi-Fi 6, allowing footage from a 512GB microSD card to be streamed from the camera over a wireless network.

Image: Reolink
Reolink’s first battery-powered doorbell captures 2K footage to a microSD card.

Reolink has also announced the company’s first battery-powered smart doorbell. Like the Altas PT Ultra security camera, it captures footage locally to a microSD card up to 256GB in size, so there are no subscription fees for storing recordings in the cloud.
Installation doesn’t require any wires, but the doorbell can be connected to wiring for continuous power delivery or to use it with existing door chimes. On a full charge, the company estimates the doorbell’s 7,000mAh battery will keep it running for up to five months with “typical usage,” but if you’ve got a busy neighborhood constantly triggering motion-detected recordings, that could be significantly less.
Video is recorded at 2K at 15fps but in a perfectly square aspect ratio, ensuring the doorbell’s wide-angle camera captures visitors from head to toe, including delivered packages on a front porch. It also has two-way audio communications with a speaker and microphone and Wi-Fi for streaming video to its desktop or mobile app.
Both the Reolink Altas PT Ultra and Battery Doorbell will be available for sale starting on September 25th, with pricing details to be revealed at that time.

A capacious battery allows the Reolink Altas PT Ultra to be easily installed anywhere without the need for access to power. | Image: Reolink

Reolink’s new Altas PT Ultra is the company’s first battery-powered security camera that is capable of all-day continuous recording. It doesn’t need power access, so it can be installed almost anywhere, and since it captures 4K video to a microSD card instead of the cloud, there are fewer security risks and no subscription fees.

There are already many battery-powered security cameras that streamline installation, but they’re limited by small batteries that can’t record for more than a day before needing a charge. Reolink’s Altas PT Ultra’s solution to that problem is a built-in 20,000mAh battery the company says has enough power to record for 12 hours per day for up to eight days or four days when recording nonstop around the clock.

Having to charge the camera every week does negate some of the convenience of it being battery-powered, but through desktop and mobile apps, the Altas PT Ultra can be programmed to only capture video when motion is detected by its passive infrared sensor, or on a specific schedule, to extend its battery life. When set to its “standard working mode,” Reolink says the camera can run for up to 16 months on a single charge.

Image: Reolink
An optional solar panel accessory can keep the Altas PT Ultra’s battery charged with just 10 minutes of light per day.

For consumers with more demanding recording needs, Reolink does sell an optional six-watt solar panel accessory that can be mounted near the camera. The company says that a 10-minute charge from the solar panel is enough to power the camera for 24 hours, while a full day of charging can extend the battery life to 120 days, but that’s dependent on what features are being used.

Video is captured at 4K at 15fps through a wide-angle lens, but the Altas PT Ultra can pan its camera 355 degrees horizontally and tilt it 90 degrees vertically, allowing it to track and keep moving subjects in-frame during a recording. It also features full-color night vision capabilities, two-way audio with a built-in speaker and microphone, and support for Wi-Fi 6, allowing footage from a 512GB microSD card to be streamed from the camera over a wireless network.

Image: Reolink
Reolink’s first battery-powered doorbell captures 2K footage to a microSD card.

Reolink has also announced the company’s first battery-powered smart doorbell. Like the Altas PT Ultra security camera, it captures footage locally to a microSD card up to 256GB in size, so there are no subscription fees for storing recordings in the cloud.

Installation doesn’t require any wires, but the doorbell can be connected to wiring for continuous power delivery or to use it with existing door chimes. On a full charge, the company estimates the doorbell’s 7,000mAh battery will keep it running for up to five months with “typical usage,” but if you’ve got a busy neighborhood constantly triggering motion-detected recordings, that could be significantly less.

Video is recorded at 2K at 15fps but in a perfectly square aspect ratio, ensuring the doorbell’s wide-angle camera captures visitors from head to toe, including delivered packages on a front porch. It also has two-way audio communications with a speaker and microphone and Wi-Fi for streaming video to its desktop or mobile app.

Both the Reolink Altas PT Ultra and Battery Doorbell will be available for sale starting on September 25th, with pricing details to be revealed at that time.

Read More 

If you have a Hisense TV, you’ll be able to easily link up Yeelight’s lighting — like these smart cubes. | Image: Yeelight

Yeelight’s array of smart lighting products will now automatically sync with Hisense VIDAA TVs. During the IFA tech conference in Berlin, Yeelight revealed that its app now integrates directly with Hisense TVs, allowing it to capture the audio and video on your screen while relaying matching effects across Yeelight’s devices.
That means you can quickly link up Yeelight’s light strip and its stackable cube-shaped lights to your TV (given that you have a Hisense, of course). That makes it even simpler to set up when compared to some other ambient lighting options from brands like Philips, which requires you to either purchase a Hue Play HDMI sync box to sync your lighting or the Hue Sync TV app, that’s only available on some Samsung TVs released in 2022 or later, and you have to pay $3 / month or a flat $130 fee just to get it.

Image: Yeelight
Yeelight’s curtain lights can display things like emoji and GIFs.

Yeelight also announced $129.99 curtains of lights measuring 2 meters (~6.5 feet) tall and 1.5 meters (~5 feet) wide. It features 475 individual light beads that can display a range of custom or preset lighting patterns, as well as IP65 water resistance for outdoor or indoor use.

If you have a Hisense TV, you’ll be able to easily link up Yeelight’s lighting — like these smart cubes. | Image: Yeelight

Yeelight’s array of smart lighting products will now automatically sync with Hisense VIDAA TVs. During the IFA tech conference in Berlin, Yeelight revealed that its app now integrates directly with Hisense TVs, allowing it to capture the audio and video on your screen while relaying matching effects across Yeelight’s devices.

That means you can quickly link up Yeelight’s light strip and its stackable cube-shaped lights to your TV (given that you have a Hisense, of course). That makes it even simpler to set up when compared to some other ambient lighting options from brands like Philips, which requires you to either purchase a Hue Play HDMI sync box to sync your lighting or the Hue Sync TV app, that’s only available on some Samsung TVs released in 2022 or later, and you have to pay $3 / month or a flat $130 fee just to get it.

Image: Yeelight
Yeelight’s curtain lights can display things like emoji and GIFs.

Yeelight also announced $129.99 curtains of lights measuring 2 meters (~6.5 feet) tall and 1.5 meters (~5 feet) wide. It features 475 individual light beads that can display a range of custom or preset lighting patterns, as well as IP65 water resistance for outdoor or indoor use.

Read More 

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

Telegram has quietly removed language from its FAQ page that said private chats were protected from moderation requests. The change comes nearly two weeks after its CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France for allegedly allowing “criminal activity to go on undeterred on the messaging app.”
Earlier today, Durov issued his first public statement since his arrest, promising to moderate content more on the platform — a noticeable change in tone after the company initially said he had “nothing to hide”. “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,” the company wrote in an unattributed statement posted in August.
Now, Durov appears to have changed his tone.
“Telegram’s abrupt increase in user count to 950M caused growing pains that made it easier for criminals to abuse our platform,” he wrote in the statement shared today. “That’s why I made it my personal goal to ensure we significantly improve things in this regard. We’ve already started that process internally, and I will share more details on our progress with you very soon.”

I’m still trying to understand what happened in France. But we hear the concerns. I made it my personal goal to prevent abusers of Telegram’s platform from interfering with the future of our 950+ million users.My full post below. https://t.co/cDvRSodjst— Pavel Durov (@durov) September 5, 2024

Some of those changes appear to be already taking effect: the company’s FAQ page has changed in the last 24 hours. Take one section titled, “There’s illegal content on Telegram. How do I take it down?”
As of September 5th, Telegram’s response to the question read in part, “All Telegram chats and group chats are private amongst their participants. We do not process any requests related to them,” according to a Wayback Machine archive of the page.
But at the time of this writing, that sentence has been removed. Instead, has been replaced with: “All Telegram apps have ‘Report’ buttons that let you flag illegal content for our moderators — in just a few taps,” followed by instructions on how to report content.
Durov’s arrest came as French authorities issued preliminary charges saying the messaging platforms is being used for distributing child sexual abuse material and drug trafficking, and that the company refused to cooperate with investigators, according to the Associated Press. The platform serves as a way for people to get crucial information about Russia’s war in Ukraine, but has historically taken a hands-off approach to moderating content.

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

Telegram has quietly removed language from its FAQ page that said private chats were protected from moderation requests. The change comes nearly two weeks after its CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France for allegedly allowing “criminal activity to go on undeterred on the messaging app.”

Earlier today, Durov issued his first public statement since his arrest, promising to moderate content more on the platform — a noticeable change in tone after the company initially said he had “nothing to hide”. “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,” the company wrote in an unattributed statement posted in August.

Now, Durov appears to have changed his tone.

“Telegram’s abrupt increase in user count to 950M caused growing pains that made it easier for criminals to abuse our platform,” he wrote in the statement shared today. “That’s why I made it my personal goal to ensure we significantly improve things in this regard. We’ve already started that process internally, and I will share more details on our progress with you very soon.”

Some of those changes appear to be already taking effect: the company’s FAQ page has changed in the last 24 hours. Take one section titled, “There’s illegal content on Telegram. How do I take it down?”

As of September 5th, Telegram’s response to the question read in part, “All Telegram chats and group chats are private amongst their participants. We do not process any requests related to them,” according to a Wayback Machine archive of the page.

But at the time of this writing, that sentence has been removed. Instead, has been replaced with: “All Telegram apps have ‘Report’ buttons that let you flag illegal content for our moderators — in just a few taps,” followed by instructions on how to report content.

Durov’s arrest came as French authorities issued preliminary charges saying the messaging platforms is being used for distributing child sexual abuse material and drug trafficking, and that the company refused to cooperate with investigators, according to the Associated Press. The platform serves as a way for people to get crucial information about Russia’s war in Ukraine, but has historically taken a hands-off approach to moderating content.

Read More 

Pavel Durov. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

Twelve days after he was arrested in France, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has broken his silence with a 600-word statement on his Telegram account that blames “growing pains that made it easier for criminals to abuse our platform.”
French authorities had charged Durov with enabling various forms of criminal activity on Telegram, including an unnamed person’s distribution of child sexual abuse material on the platform. An unnamed statement from Telegram at the time of his arrest said Durov had “nothing to hide.”
While the vast majority of his statement today paints his arrest as surprising and unfair, he also admits that policing Telegram has become harder. Durov says it’s now his “personal goal” to “significantly improve things in this regard.”
Here’s Durov’s full statement:

❤️ Thanks everyone for your support and love!
Last month I got interviewed by police for 4 days after arriving in Paris. I was told I may be personally responsible for other people’s illegal use of Telegram, because the French authorities didn’t receive responses from Telegram.
This was surprising for several reasons:
1. Telegram has an official representative in the EU that accepts and replies to EU requests. Its email address has been publicly available for anyone in the EU who googles “Telegram EU address for law enforcement”.
2. The French authorities had numerous ways to reach me to request assistance. As a French citizen, I was a frequent guest at the French consulate in Dubai. A while ago, when asked, I personally helped them establish a hotline with Telegram to deal with the threat of terrorism in France.
3. If a country is unhappy with an internet service, the established practice is to start a legal action against the service itself. Using laws from the pre-smartphone era to charge a CEO with crimes committed by third parties on the platform he manages is a misguided approach. Building technology is hard enough as it is. No innovator will ever build new tools if they know they can be personally held responsible for potential abuse of those tools.
Establishing the right balance between privacy and security is not easy. You have to reconcile privacy laws with law enforcement requirements, and local laws with EU laws. You have to take into account technological limitations. As a platform, you want your processes to be consistent globally, while also ensuring they are not abused in countries with weak rule of law. We’ve been committed to engaging with regulators to find the right balance. Yes, we stand by our principles: our experience is shaped by our mission to protect our users in authoritarian regimes. But we’ve always been open to dialogue.
Sometimes we can’t agree with a country’s regulator on the right balance between privacy and security. In those cases, we are ready to leave that country. We’ve done it many times. When Russia demanded we hand over “encryption keys” to enable surveillance, we refused — and Telegram got banned in Russia. When Iran demanded we block channels of peaceful protesters, we refused — and Telegram got banned in Iran. We are prepared to leave markets that aren’t compatible with our principles, because we are not doing this for money. We are driven by the intention to bring good and defend the basic rights of people, particularly in places where these rights are violated.
All of that does not mean Telegram is perfect. Even the fact that authorities could be confused by where to send requests is something that we should improve. But the claims in some media that Telegram is some sort of anarchic paradise are absolutely untrue. We take down millions of harmful posts and channels every day. We publish daily transparency reports (like this or this ). We have direct hotlines with NGOs to process urgent moderation requests faster.
However, we hear voices saying that it’s not enough. Telegram’s abrupt increase in user count to 950M caused growing pains that made it easier for criminals to abuse our platform. That’s why I made it my personal goal to ensure we significantly improve things in this regard. We’ve already started that process internally, and I will share more details on our progress with you very soon.
I hope that the events of August will result in making Telegram — and the social networking industry as a whole — safer and stronger. Thanks again for your love and memes

Pavel Durov. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

Twelve days after he was arrested in France, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has broken his silence with a 600-word statement on his Telegram account that blames “growing pains that made it easier for criminals to abuse our platform.”

French authorities had charged Durov with enabling various forms of criminal activity on Telegram, including an unnamed person’s distribution of child sexual abuse material on the platform. An unnamed statement from Telegram at the time of his arrest said Durov had “nothing to hide.”

While the vast majority of his statement today paints his arrest as surprising and unfair, he also admits that policing Telegram has become harder. Durov says it’s now his “personal goal” to “significantly improve things in this regard.”

Here’s Durov’s full statement:

❤️ Thanks everyone for your support and love!

Last month I got interviewed by police for 4 days after arriving in Paris. I was told I may be personally responsible for other people’s illegal use of Telegram, because the French authorities didn’t receive responses from Telegram.

This was surprising for several reasons:

1. Telegram has an official representative in the EU that accepts and replies to EU requests. Its email address has been publicly available for anyone in the EU who googles “Telegram EU address for law enforcement”.

2. The French authorities had numerous ways to reach me to request assistance. As a French citizen, I was a frequent guest at the French consulate in Dubai. A while ago, when asked, I personally helped them establish a hotline with Telegram to deal with the threat of terrorism in France.

3. If a country is unhappy with an internet service, the established practice is to start a legal action against the service itself. Using laws from the pre-smartphone era to charge a CEO with crimes committed by third parties on the platform he manages is a misguided approach. Building technology is hard enough as it is. No innovator will ever build new tools if they know they can be personally held responsible for potential abuse of those tools.

Establishing the right balance between privacy and security is not easy. You have to reconcile privacy laws with law enforcement requirements, and local laws with EU laws. You have to take into account technological limitations. As a platform, you want your processes to be consistent globally, while also ensuring they are not abused in countries with weak rule of law. We’ve been committed to engaging with regulators to find the right balance. Yes, we stand by our principles: our experience is shaped by our mission to protect our users in authoritarian regimes. But we’ve always been open to dialogue.

Sometimes we can’t agree with a country’s regulator on the right balance between privacy and security. In those cases, we are ready to leave that country. We’ve done it many times. When Russia demanded we hand over “encryption keys” to enable surveillance, we refused — and Telegram got banned in Russia. When Iran demanded we block channels of peaceful protesters, we refused — and Telegram got banned in Iran. We are prepared to leave markets that aren’t compatible with our principles, because we are not doing this for money. We are driven by the intention to bring good and defend the basic rights of people, particularly in places where these rights are violated.

All of that does not mean Telegram is perfect. Even the fact that authorities could be confused by where to send requests is something that we should improve. But the claims in some media that Telegram is some sort of anarchic paradise are absolutely untrue. We take down millions of harmful posts and channels every day. We publish daily transparency reports (like this or this ). We have direct hotlines with NGOs to process urgent moderation requests faster.

However, we hear voices saying that it’s not enough. Telegram’s abrupt increase in user count to 950M caused growing pains that made it easier for criminals to abuse our platform. That’s why I made it my personal goal to ensure we significantly improve things in this regard. We’ve already started that process internally, and I will share more details on our progress with you very soon.

I hope that the events of August will result in making Telegram — and the social networking industry as a whole — safer and stronger. Thanks again for your love and memes

Read More 

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

The US, UK, and European Union have signed the first “legally binding” treaty on AI, which is supposed to ensure its use aligns with “human rights, democracy and the rule of law,” according to the Council of Europe.
The treaty, called the Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, lays out key principles AI systems must follow, such as protecting user data, respecting the law, and keeping practices transparent. Each country that signs the treaty must “adopt or maintain appropriate legislative, administrative or other measures” that reflect the framework.

Historic moment! The #CoE opens the first-ever legally binding global treaty on #AI and human rights. Signed by EU , this Framework Convention ensures AI aligns with our values. #HumanRights #Innovation #Democracy #GlobalTreaty— Council of Europe (@coe) September 5, 2024

Andorra, Georgia, Iceland, Norway, the Republic of Moldova, San Marino, and Israel also signed the framework, which has been in the works since 2019.
Over the past several months, we’ve seen a swath of other AI safety agreements emerge — but the majority don’t have consequences for the signatories who break their commitments. Even though this new treaty is supposed to be “legally binding,” the Financial Times points out that “compliance is measured primarily through monitoring, which is a relatively weak form of enforcement.”
Still, the treaty could serve as a blueprint for countries developing their own laws surrounding AI. The US has bills in the works related to AI, the EU already passed landmark regulations on AI, and the UK is considering its own. California is also getting close to passing an AI safety law that giants like OpenAI have pushed back against.
“We must ensure that the rise of AI upholds our standards, rather than undermining them,” Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić says in a statement. “The Framework Convention is designed to ensure just that. It is a strong and balanced text — the result of the open and inclusive approach.” The treaty will come into force three months after five signatories ratify it.

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

The US, UK, and European Union have signed the first “legally binding” treaty on AI, which is supposed to ensure its use aligns with “human rights, democracy and the rule of law,” according to the Council of Europe.

The treaty, called the Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, lays out key principles AI systems must follow, such as protecting user data, respecting the law, and keeping practices transparent. Each country that signs the treaty must “adopt or maintain appropriate legislative, administrative or other measures” that reflect the framework.

Andorra, Georgia, Iceland, Norway, the Republic of Moldova, San Marino, and Israel also signed the framework, which has been in the works since 2019.

Over the past several months, we’ve seen a swath of other AI safety agreements emerge — but the majority don’t have consequences for the signatories who break their commitments. Even though this new treaty is supposed to be “legally binding,” the Financial Times points out that “compliance is measured primarily through monitoring, which is a relatively weak form of enforcement.”

Still, the treaty could serve as a blueprint for countries developing their own laws surrounding AI. The US has bills in the works related to AI, the EU already passed landmark regulations on AI, and the UK is considering its own. California is also getting close to passing an AI safety law that giants like OpenAI have pushed back against.

“We must ensure that the rise of AI upholds our standards, rather than undermining them,” Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić says in a statement. “The Framework Convention is designed to ensure just that. It is a strong and balanced text — the result of the open and inclusive approach.” The treaty will come into force three months after five signatories ratify it.

Read More 

Instead of a boring number or some dots of light to show battery level you get a silly face. | Image: Ugreen

Ugreen has a new collection of iPhone and USB accessories for IFA 2024 that really turn up the charm. The Uno line is a collection of GaN and Qi2 chargers, cables, a power bank, and a USB-C hub — each featuring tiny a screen solely for displaying robot-like emoji faces.
The most endearing ones by far are the $60 Uno Charger 100W four-port USB charger and $70 15W Qi2 magnetic power bank that sticks to MagSafe phones — each looks like a helpful little bot friend you’ve appointed to live on your desk and help with your charging duties. They’re also the most expressive, with their TFT screens showing up to half a dozen different faces to give some idea of the actual charge levels / rates of your device.
For example, the faces on the Qi2 power bank can greet you with a “Hi” message, look concerned when its battery level is below 20 percent, and get exceedingly joyous as it fills up — topping off with some loving heart-eyes at full charge. The 100W charger has similar multi-stage faces to indicate charging speeds.

Have I mentioned that the Qi2 power bank has a small kickstand that makes it look like it has skinny little arms to hold up your phone like a diminutive Atlas trying its best? Adorable.

Image: Ugreen

There’s also the $70 Uno 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charger, which I got to try ahead of time and is sadly a bit more limited. It certainly charges your iPhone and AirPods — just like many options out there from the likes of Anker and other brands, and there’s a small charm to the endearing face on the screen.
But here, it seems Ugreen couldn’t find an effective way to indicate the charge level of two different devices through emoji faces alone. Instead, the 2-in-1 displays just two faces, one to proclaim “I’m plugged in and ready to charge,” and another that confusingly communicates “Hey buddy, your devices are charging. Or maybe they’re full? I don’t know man, why don’t you check? I just work here.”

The 100W-capable USB-C to USB-C cable I also tested also has a screen, but with even less to communicate. Its friendly face doesn’t show up until you plug in a device to charge, and then it has just one expression of closed eyes joyously smiling. (Or maybe it’s laughing at me? What is your deal, you little cable goblin?!)
It’s still about as cute as it gets for a charging cord, but more informational screens in cables and fun chargers do exist elsewhere.
Ugreen’s new Uno line has six accessories in total, which ever-so-slightly take the boring out of commoditized tech. One even tries to make a 6-in-1 USB-C Hub a little kawaii. They’re set to launch between mid-September and October. Here’s the price breakdown for each one:

Uno 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charger 15W ($69.99)
Uno Qi2 Magnetic Wireless Power Bank 10000mAh 15W ($69.99)
Uno Charger 100W ($59.99)
Uno Power Bank 10000mAh 30W with built-in USB-C cable ($49.99)
Uno USB-C to USB-C Cable 100W ($8.99 for 0.5m, $12.99 for 1m / 2m, and $15.99 for 3m)
Uno 6-in-1 USB-C Hub ($19.99)

Instead of a boring number or some dots of light to show battery level you get a silly face. | Image: Ugreen

Ugreen has a new collection of iPhone and USB accessories for IFA 2024 that really turn up the charm. The Uno line is a collection of GaN and Qi2 chargers, cables, a power bank, and a USB-C hub — each featuring tiny a screen solely for displaying robot-like emoji faces.

The most endearing ones by far are the $60 Uno Charger 100W four-port USB charger and $70 15W Qi2 magnetic power bank that sticks to MagSafe phones — each looks like a helpful little bot friend you’ve appointed to live on your desk and help with your charging duties. They’re also the most expressive, with their TFT screens showing up to half a dozen different faces to give some idea of the actual charge levels / rates of your device.

For example, the faces on the Qi2 power bank can greet you with a “Hi” message, look concerned when its battery level is below 20 percent, and get exceedingly joyous as it fills up — topping off with some loving heart-eyes at full charge. The 100W charger has similar multi-stage faces to indicate charging speeds.

Have I mentioned that the Qi2 power bank has a small kickstand that makes it look like it has skinny little arms to hold up your phone like a diminutive Atlas trying its best? Adorable.

Image: Ugreen

There’s also the $70 Uno 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charger, which I got to try ahead of time and is sadly a bit more limited. It certainly charges your iPhone and AirPods — just like many options out there from the likes of Anker and other brands, and there’s a small charm to the endearing face on the screen.

But here, it seems Ugreen couldn’t find an effective way to indicate the charge level of two different devices through emoji faces alone. Instead, the 2-in-1 displays just two faces, one to proclaim “I’m plugged in and ready to charge,” and another that confusingly communicates “Hey buddy, your devices are charging. Or maybe they’re full? I don’t know man, why don’t you check? I just work here.”

The 100W-capable USB-C to USB-C cable I also tested also has a screen, but with even less to communicate. Its friendly face doesn’t show up until you plug in a device to charge, and then it has just one expression of closed eyes joyously smiling. (Or maybe it’s laughing at me? What is your deal, you little cable goblin?!)

It’s still about as cute as it gets for a charging cord, but more informational screens in cables and fun chargers do exist elsewhere.

Ugreen’s new Uno line has six accessories in total, which ever-so-slightly take the boring out of commoditized tech. One even tries to make a 6-in-1 USB-C Hub a little kawaii. They’re set to launch between mid-September and October. Here’s the price breakdown for each one:

Uno 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charger 15W ($69.99)
Uno Qi2 Magnetic Wireless Power Bank 10000mAh 15W ($69.99)
Uno Charger 100W ($59.99)
Uno Power Bank 10000mAh 30W with built-in USB-C cable ($49.99)
Uno USB-C to USB-C Cable 100W ($8.99 for 0.5m, $12.99 for 1m / 2m, and $15.99 for 3m)
Uno 6-in-1 USB-C Hub ($19.99)

Read More 

The Osom OV1 smartphone was created by former Essential engineers and designers. | Image: Osom

Osom Products Inc. — the mobile phone company founded by former employees of Essential, which shut down after releasing a single phone — is reportedly shutting down this week, having released a single phone.
The news comes shortly after Osom’s former chief privacy officer sued the company, claiming that it’s out of money after its CEO used business funds to pay for personal trips and exotic cars.
During an internal meeting on Tuesday, Osom executives announced their decision to shutter the company, according to multiple sources who spoke to Android Authority. The report claims that most of the company’s employees will be laid off on Friday but will receive severance pay and be eligible for continued healthcare.
Osom was started by Jason Keats (the allegedly Lambo-loving CEO) and several former executives and employees of Essential after that company shut down in 2020, following poor sales of its Essential Phone and the departure of founder Andy Rubin. Osom’s stated goal was to create privacy-focused products, which included a USB-C cable with a switch to turn off its data transfer capabilities and the Osom OV1 smartphone, which the company revealed in early 2022.
The company partnered with blockchain company Solana later that year to launch a version of the OV1, now called the Saga, with a built-in crypto wallet and other apps that rely on Solana’s blockchain features. A few engineers will reportedly remain on at Osom as contractors to help deliver another security update for the Saga smartphone in December and complete the company’s obligations to Solana.

The Osom OV1 smartphone was created by former Essential engineers and designers. | Image: Osom

Osom Products Inc. — the mobile phone company founded by former employees of Essential, which shut down after releasing a single phone — is reportedly shutting down this week, having released a single phone.

The news comes shortly after Osom’s former chief privacy officer sued the company, claiming that it’s out of money after its CEO used business funds to pay for personal trips and exotic cars.

During an internal meeting on Tuesday, Osom executives announced their decision to shutter the company, according to multiple sources who spoke to Android Authority. The report claims that most of the company’s employees will be laid off on Friday but will receive severance pay and be eligible for continued healthcare.

Osom was started by Jason Keats (the allegedly Lambo-loving CEO) and several former executives and employees of Essential after that company shut down in 2020, following poor sales of its Essential Phone and the departure of founder Andy Rubin. Osom’s stated goal was to create privacy-focused products, which included a USB-C cable with a switch to turn off its data transfer capabilities and the Osom OV1 smartphone, which the company revealed in early 2022.

The company partnered with blockchain company Solana later that year to launch a version of the OV1, now called the Saga, with a built-in crypto wallet and other apps that rely on Solana’s blockchain features. A few engineers will reportedly remain on at Osom as contractors to help deliver another security update for the Saga smartphone in December and complete the company’s obligations to Solana.

Read More