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Image: Beats

If there’s one product that Beats has taken its sweet time upgrading, it’s the Powerbeats Pro. Released back in 2019, these wireless earbuds (and their signature ear hooks) have sat in the company’s product lineup ever since with no meaningful hardware changes. But the time has finally come for an all-new model. Today, Beats released a teaser for the Powerbeats Pro 2, which will be released sometime in 2025.
In the clip, we see the in-ear fit of the revamped design showcased by baseball sensation Shohei Ohtani. Fans of the ear hooks will be happy to see that they haven’t gone anywhere; if you want a hook-free design, Beats offers plenty of other options, including the Beats Fit Pro, Studio Buds Plus, and Solo Buds.

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In 2020, the company also released the short-lived Powerbeats (minus the Pro), a pair of neckbuds that were quietly discontinued only a year later. Turns out, customers really preferred the fully wireless approach.
At the time of their debut, I was a big fan of the Powerbeats Pro. But they had a frustrating tendency to get finicky when it came to charging, with the earbuds often failing to recharge unless you seated them in the (very big) case just right. I’m hoping Beats has made some refinements for the sequel. The bar for sound quality has also been raised considerably since 2019, so you can expect some upgrades on that front.
The timing of this teaser is certainly interesting; Beats’ parent company, Apple, is widely expected to announce two new sets of AirPods next week — one of which will reportedly feature active noise cancellation. But if you were planning to use them at the gym or on runs, maybe this is Beats’ way of saying “not so fast” on those upcoming preorders.

Image: Beats

If there’s one product that Beats has taken its sweet time upgrading, it’s the Powerbeats Pro. Released back in 2019, these wireless earbuds (and their signature ear hooks) have sat in the company’s product lineup ever since with no meaningful hardware changes. But the time has finally come for an all-new model. Today, Beats released a teaser for the Powerbeats Pro 2, which will be released sometime in 2025.

In the clip, we see the in-ear fit of the revamped design showcased by baseball sensation Shohei Ohtani. Fans of the ear hooks will be happy to see that they haven’t gone anywhere; if you want a hook-free design, Beats offers plenty of other options, including the Beats Fit Pro, Studio Buds Plus, and Solo Buds.

In 2020, the company also released the short-lived Powerbeats (minus the Pro), a pair of neckbuds that were quietly discontinued only a year later. Turns out, customers really preferred the fully wireless approach.

At the time of their debut, I was a big fan of the Powerbeats Pro. But they had a frustrating tendency to get finicky when it came to charging, with the earbuds often failing to recharge unless you seated them in the (very big) case just right. I’m hoping Beats has made some refinements for the sequel. The bar for sound quality has also been raised considerably since 2019, so you can expect some upgrades on that front.

The timing of this teaser is certainly interesting; Beats’ parent company, Apple, is widely expected to announce two new sets of AirPods next week — one of which will reportedly feature active noise cancellation. But if you were planning to use them at the gym or on runs, maybe this is Beats’ way of saying “not so fast” on those upcoming preorders.

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Intel’s chipmaking business may have run into a bit of a snag, as recent tests using the company’s next-gen manufacturing process have failed, according to Reuters.
To carry out the tests, Intel reportedly sent Broadcom’s silicon wafers — or the components used as a semiconductor’s base — through its more efficient 18A manufacturing process. After examining the results, Broadcom found that the process isn’t ready for high-volume production, Reuters reports.
The 18A process is a key part of Intel’s plan to reestablish itself as a leading chipmaker. Intel has been developing this technology for a few years now, and it plans to start producing chips using the process with major partners like Microsoft starting next year. However, the company has had a troubled past few months, as it reported $1.6 billion in losses in the second quarter of 2024 and announced layoffs affecting more than 15,000 workers. It’s also dealing with widespread issues affecting its 13th and 14th Gen CPUs.

“Intel 18A is powered on, healthy and yielding well, and we remain fully on track to begin high volume manufacturing next year,” an Intel spokesperson told Reuters. “There is a great deal of interest in Intel 18A across the industry but, as a matter of policy, we do not comment on specific customer conversations.” The Verge reached out to Intel with a request for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.
Over the weekend, Reuters reported that Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger will soon pitch his plans to overhaul the company’s spending and cut down on unnecessary assets. The company is reportedly considering selling off Altera, an Intel-owned business that creates programmable logic devices, and may pause work on its chipmaking factory in Germany. Intel has already delayed the $20 billion plant it has planned in Ohio.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Intel’s chipmaking business may have run into a bit of a snag, as recent tests using the company’s next-gen manufacturing process have failed, according to Reuters.

To carry out the tests, Intel reportedly sent Broadcom’s silicon wafers — or the components used as a semiconductor’s base — through its more efficient 18A manufacturing process. After examining the results, Broadcom found that the process isn’t ready for high-volume production, Reuters reports.

The 18A process is a key part of Intel’s plan to reestablish itself as a leading chipmaker. Intel has been developing this technology for a few years now, and it plans to start producing chips using the process with major partners like Microsoft starting next year. However, the company has had a troubled past few months, as it reported $1.6 billion in losses in the second quarter of 2024 and announced layoffs affecting more than 15,000 workers. It’s also dealing with widespread issues affecting its 13th and 14th Gen CPUs.

“Intel 18A is powered on, healthy and yielding well, and we remain fully on track to begin high volume manufacturing next year,” an Intel spokesperson told Reuters. “There is a great deal of interest in Intel 18A across the industry but, as a matter of policy, we do not comment on specific customer conversations.” The Verge reached out to Intel with a request for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.

Over the weekend, Reuters reported that Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger will soon pitch his plans to overhaul the company’s spending and cut down on unnecessary assets. The company is reportedly considering selling off Altera, an Intel-owned business that creates programmable logic devices, and may pause work on its chipmaking factory in Germany. Intel has already delayed the $20 billion plant it has planned in Ohio.

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The new Tado X lineup of products is coming to the UK in November. | Image: Tado

The Tado X range of heating products, which launched in Europe earlier this year with support for the Matter smart home protocol, is coming to the UK in early November.
As a refresher, the Tado X lineup includes wired and wireless versions of the new thermostat, a smart radiator thermostat, a wireless temperature sensor, and a heat pump optimizer that interoperate to create a smart heating system in your home. The X range runs on Matter-over-Thread and includes an optional Bridge X, which acts as a Thread border router (for homes that don’t already have one) to connect each Tado X device to your home’s Wi-Fi and ethernet network.
Tado is using an upcoming energy price increase in the UK as a selling point for its new X range. “October’s price cap rise of 10 per cent is unwelcome news for all households and another indicator of why it is important to take control of your heating consumption and bills,” says Tado in a press release. “With savings of 19 per cent on average in the UK, the new Tado X products will pay for themselves within a few months and then go on to save customers money as well as cutting their carbon footprint.”
For homes with heat pumps, Tado says its new Heat Pump Optimizer X can help increase savings further. But that requires a subscription to Tado’s Balance service (£3.99 per month or £29.99 per year) and setting up a contract with your energy provider for dynamic tariffs. With that in place, Tado will prioritize energy use for room and water heating when electricity prices are at their lowest.
Pricing will be as follows when the X range launches in the UK at the beginning of November:

Wireless Smart Thermostat X Starter Kit (with built-in Thread border router) — £159.99
Wired Smart Thermostat X Starter Kit (with Bridge X) — £159.99
Smart Radiator Thermostat X Starter Kit (with Bridge X) — £139.99
Smart Radiator Thermostat X — £79.99 / Smart Radiator Thermostat X Quattro pack — £260.99
Wireless Temperature Sensor — £89.99
Heat Pump Optimizer X — £229.99
Bridge X Thread border router — £59.99

The new Tado X lineup of products is coming to the UK in November. | Image: Tado

The Tado X range of heating products, which launched in Europe earlier this year with support for the Matter smart home protocol, is coming to the UK in early November.

As a refresher, the Tado X lineup includes wired and wireless versions of the new thermostat, a smart radiator thermostat, a wireless temperature sensor, and a heat pump optimizer that interoperate to create a smart heating system in your home. The X range runs on Matter-over-Thread and includes an optional Bridge X, which acts as a Thread border router (for homes that don’t already have one) to connect each Tado X device to your home’s Wi-Fi and ethernet network.

Tado is using an upcoming energy price increase in the UK as a selling point for its new X range. “October’s price cap rise of 10 per cent is unwelcome news for all households and another indicator of why it is important to take control of your heating consumption and bills,” says Tado in a press release. “With savings of 19 per cent on average in the UK, the new Tado X products will pay for themselves within a few months and then go on to save customers money as well as cutting their carbon footprint.”

For homes with heat pumps, Tado says its new Heat Pump Optimizer X can help increase savings further. But that requires a subscription to Tado’s Balance service (£3.99 per month or £29.99 per year) and setting up a contract with your energy provider for dynamic tariffs. With that in place, Tado will prioritize energy use for room and water heating when electricity prices are at their lowest.

Pricing will be as follows when the X range launches in the UK at the beginning of November:

Wireless Smart Thermostat X Starter Kit (with built-in Thread border router) — £159.99
Wired Smart Thermostat X Starter Kit (with Bridge X) — £159.99
Smart Radiator Thermostat X Starter Kit (with Bridge X) — £139.99
Smart Radiator Thermostat X — £79.99 / Smart Radiator Thermostat X Quattro pack — £260.99
Wireless Temperature Sensor — £89.99
Heat Pump Optimizer X — £229.99
Bridge X Thread border router — £59.99

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Photo by John Lamparski / AFP via Getty Images

Meta’s semi-independent Oversight Board says the company made the right call in letting Facebook users post pro-Palestine messages with the phrase “from the river to the sea.”
In a decision published today, the board concluded the slogan “has multiple meanings and is used by people in various ways and with different intentions.” Consequently, it shouldn’t be removed under hate speech policies unless it’s accompanied by other violating content — like explicitly antisemitic sentiments or praise for terrorist groups.
Following the October 7th attack on Israel by Hamas and the subsequent retaliation by Israel, online service operators were faced with a flood of posts and videos related to the conflict, particularly posts that supported Palestine with the phrase “from the river to the sea.”
Some, like Etsy and Wix, either openly or secretly banned the phrase; X owner Elon Musk said that it and other terms “necessarily imply genocide” of Israelis and would be grounds for suspension. Others, like Meta, determined that more context was necessary, deciding that while the phrase is used by Hamas in calling for the destruction of Israel, it’s also more broadly employed by activists calling for Palestinian independence or a ceasefire.
A majority of the Oversight Board concurred with this decision. The board examined three pieces of content — one comment and two posts — that contained “from the river to the sea” as either a hashtag, an image, or written text. In all three cases, it found, “there is no language or signal calling for violence or exclusion.” The posts contained either explicit or “contextual signals” of support for Palestinian people and didn’t mention or support Hamas.
The board notes that a minority disagreed with treating the phrase as neutral. Instead, given its use by Hamas, they argued for a policy in which it was “presumed to constitute glorification” of a terrorist group without “clear signals to the contrary.”
The Oversight Board also called attention to concerns about Meta’s decision to shut down CrowdTangle, an analytics tool that was shut down in mid-August. The tool provided data that sometimes revealed embarrassing trends on Facebook, and Meta argued its reports were unrepresentative of the platform’s real dynamics.
But the board says CrowdTangle was key to researching how people actually used “from the river to the sea.” The tool didn’t include content Facebook removed for policy violations; even so, it let researchers conclude the slogan was “generally used in posts raising awareness about the impact of the war on Palestinians, calling for a ceasefire or advocating for rights of Palestinians.”
Meta replaced CrowdTangle with a new system called the Meta Content Library, but researchers have complained that it has limited functionality and is not widely available. “While the Board commends Meta for developing new research tools and working to provide greater functionality, the Board is concerned with the company’s decision to shut down CrowdTangle before these new tools can effectively replace it,” it says, making a nonbinding recommendation that Meta expand the new tool’s capability in the coming months. “Meta should ensure the Meta Content Library is a suitable replacement.”

Photo by John Lamparski / AFP via Getty Images

Meta’s semi-independent Oversight Board says the company made the right call in letting Facebook users post pro-Palestine messages with the phrase “from the river to the sea.”

In a decision published today, the board concluded the slogan “has multiple meanings and is used by people in various ways and with different intentions.” Consequently, it shouldn’t be removed under hate speech policies unless it’s accompanied by other violating content — like explicitly antisemitic sentiments or praise for terrorist groups.

Following the October 7th attack on Israel by Hamas and the subsequent retaliation by Israel, online service operators were faced with a flood of posts and videos related to the conflict, particularly posts that supported Palestine with the phrase “from the river to the sea.”

Some, like Etsy and Wix, either openly or secretly banned the phrase; X owner Elon Musk said that it and other terms “necessarily imply genocide” of Israelis and would be grounds for suspension. Others, like Meta, determined that more context was necessary, deciding that while the phrase is used by Hamas in calling for the destruction of Israel, it’s also more broadly employed by activists calling for Palestinian independence or a ceasefire.

A majority of the Oversight Board concurred with this decision. The board examined three pieces of content — one comment and two posts — that contained “from the river to the sea” as either a hashtag, an image, or written text. In all three cases, it found, “there is no language or signal calling for violence or exclusion.” The posts contained either explicit or “contextual signals” of support for Palestinian people and didn’t mention or support Hamas.

The board notes that a minority disagreed with treating the phrase as neutral. Instead, given its use by Hamas, they argued for a policy in which it was “presumed to constitute glorification” of a terrorist group without “clear signals to the contrary.”

The Oversight Board also called attention to concerns about Meta’s decision to shut down CrowdTangle, an analytics tool that was shut down in mid-August. The tool provided data that sometimes revealed embarrassing trends on Facebook, and Meta argued its reports were unrepresentative of the platform’s real dynamics.

But the board says CrowdTangle was key to researching how people actually used “from the river to the sea.” The tool didn’t include content Facebook removed for policy violations; even so, it let researchers conclude the slogan was “generally used in posts raising awareness about the impact of the war on Palestinians, calling for a ceasefire or advocating for rights of Palestinians.”

Meta replaced CrowdTangle with a new system called the Meta Content Library, but researchers have complained that it has limited functionality and is not widely available. “While the Board commends Meta for developing new research tools and working to provide greater functionality, the Board is concerned with the company’s decision to shut down CrowdTangle before these new tools can effectively replace it,” it says, making a nonbinding recommendation that Meta expand the new tool’s capability in the coming months. “Meta should ensure the Meta Content Library is a suitable replacement.”

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Image: Warner Bros. Pictures

Move over, Detective Pikachu, there’s an even stranger live-action video game movie on the way. And by that, I mean Warner Bros. just released the first teaser trailer for A Minecraft Movie. The film features actual humans and a slightly realistic CG take on Minecraft. But when you mix the game’s iconic blocky style with real life, you get, well, this:

Image: Warner Bros. Pictures

Unsettling imagery aside, A Minecraft Movie looks like some silly family fun, with lots of one-liners, large-scale battles, and Jack Black exclaiming “I am Steve!” very proudly. And obviously, there’s both mining and crafting. Aside from Black, the movie also stars Jason Momoa, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Eugene Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. It’s directed by Jared Hess of Napoleon Dynamite fame and is hitting theaters in North America on April 4th.
Of course, we now live in a time when video game adaptations are no longer expected to be bad, so A Minecraft Movie will be released into a world with The Super Mario Bros. Movie and the Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy as competition. (The less said about Borderlands, the better.) It’s also not the only Minecraft adaptation in the works; Netflix is working on an animated series as well.

Image: Warner Bros. Pictures

Move over, Detective Pikachu, there’s an even stranger live-action video game movie on the way. And by that, I mean Warner Bros. just released the first teaser trailer for A Minecraft Movie. The film features actual humans and a slightly realistic CG take on Minecraft. But when you mix the game’s iconic blocky style with real life, you get, well, this:

Image: Warner Bros. Pictures

Unsettling imagery aside, A Minecraft Movie looks like some silly family fun, with lots of one-liners, large-scale battles, and Jack Black exclaiming “I am Steve!” very proudly. And obviously, there’s both mining and crafting. Aside from Black, the movie also stars Jason Momoa, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Eugene Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. It’s directed by Jared Hess of Napoleon Dynamite fame and is hitting theaters in North America on April 4th.

Of course, we now live in a time when video game adaptations are no longer expected to be bad, so A Minecraft Movie will be released into a world with The Super Mario Bros. Movie and the Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy as competition. (The less said about Borderlands, the better.) It’s also not the only Minecraft adaptation in the works; Netflix is working on an animated series as well.

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Image: Acer

At IFA today, Acer announced it’s expanding its Swift AI laptop line with models featuring Intel’s new Lunar Lake chips, Qualcomm’s just-announced eight-core Snapdragon X Plus and AMD’s Ryzen AI 300. And, it claims, each of them can theoretically last over 24 hours playing back video, or over 17 hours in productivity tests.
If you buy them with their IPS panels and 65 watt-hour batteries, Acer claims the new $1,199 Swift 14 AI and $999 Swift 14 Go AI can last:

Intel: 23 hours of web browsing, 29 hours of video playback
AMD: 19 hours of web browsing, 27 hours of video playback
Qualcomm: 19.5 hours of web browsing, 28 hours of video playback

Those sorts of quotes aren’t unusual in late 2024! Dell just boasted its XPS 13 can get 26 to 27 hours of Netflix streaming with a new Intel or Qualcomm chip, and we expect real-world life to be less. But it’s more than these manufacturers have typically claimed in years past.
Just note that though Acer’s new laptops are all called “Swift 14,” they aren’t quite the same.
Swift 14 AI
The 14-inch Swift AI can be configured with either a new Intel Core Ultra 5 or 7 processor (model SF14-51), or an AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 chip (model SF14-61).
Both optionally offer premium OLED screens instead of the IPS screen, and support up to 32GB of RAM, but the Intel model has 3K or 2K OLED options at 90Hz and a 2K IPS screen, while the AMD model only has a 3K OLED screen alongside 3K 120Hz and 2K IPS options.
The AMD model can also be configured with up to 2TB of storage space, while the Intel model only gets a maximum of 1TB. And while both laptops offer two USB-C ports, the Intel model gets Thunderbolt 4 ports as usual while the AMD one has generic USB4 — though both sets allow for charging. Both also have two USB-A 3.2 ports, an audio jack, an HDMI 2.1 port, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 5.4.

Image: Acer
The new Swift 14 AI comes with either an Intel or AMD processor.

All have a 1440p webcam, with IR depth sensing for Windows Hello facial recognition login, a privacy shutter, and proximity sensors to lock the screen when you move away.
Both Swift 14 AI laptops start at $1,200 and should be available this month.
Swift Go 14 AI
If you’re looking for Qualcomm Snapdragon and a lower starting price, that’s where Acer’s Swift Go comes in. The 2.91-pound laptop also has a slightly larger 14.5-inch screen, your choice between a 2560 x 1600 IPS panel with a maximum brightness of 350 nits, or a 1920 x 1200 that maxes out at 300 nits. Both are dimmer than the Intel and AMD options, but they do support up to 120Hz refresh rate.

Image: Acer
The new Swift Go 14 AI.

Otherwise, the Go similarly offers up to 32GB of RAM, has a 1440p webcam with IR depth sensing and a privacy shutter as well as fingerprint reader, two USB4 type C ports that support charging, two USB-A 3.2 ports, an audio jack, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 5.4.
The new Swift Go 14 AI starts at $999 and should be available this month.
Swift 16 AI
Acer is also announcing a 16-inch model too, one that weighs 3.3 pounds and is only available with a new Intel Lunar Lake processor, either a Core Ultra 5, 7, or 9. You get up to 2TB of storage space and only one display option: a 3K touchscreen OLED. All of that is powered by a 75Wh battery, though here Acer is notably not quoting its battery life.

Image: Acer
The Swift 16 AI only comes with a new Intel processor.

There are also two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports for charging and display output, two USB-A ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, an audio jack, a Wi-Fi 7 adapter, and Bluetooth 5.4.
Acer’s Swift 16 AI starts at $1,200, just like the 14-inch model, and should be available in October 2024.
By the way: Acer’s new Intel and AMD-configured Swift AI laptops will join the Copilot Plus PC family in November 2024 via a free update, giving users access to the same Microsoft AI features currently only available on Qualcomm Snapdragon X PCs.

Image: Acer

At IFA today, Acer announced it’s expanding its Swift AI laptop line with models featuring Intel’s new Lunar Lake chips, Qualcomm’s just-announced eight-core Snapdragon X Plus and AMD’s Ryzen AI 300. And, it claims, each of them can theoretically last over 24 hours playing back video, or over 17 hours in productivity tests.

If you buy them with their IPS panels and 65 watt-hour batteries, Acer claims the new $1,199 Swift 14 AI and $999 Swift 14 Go AI can last:

Intel: 23 hours of web browsing, 29 hours of video playback
AMD: 19 hours of web browsing, 27 hours of video playback
Qualcomm: 19.5 hours of web browsing, 28 hours of video playback

Those sorts of quotes aren’t unusual in late 2024! Dell just boasted its XPS 13 can get 26 to 27 hours of Netflix streaming with a new Intel or Qualcomm chip, and we expect real-world life to be less. But it’s more than these manufacturers have typically claimed in years past.

Just note that though Acer’s new laptops are all called “Swift 14,” they aren’t quite the same.

Swift 14 AI

The 14-inch Swift AI can be configured with either a new Intel Core Ultra 5 or 7 processor (model SF14-51), or an AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 chip (model SF14-61).

Both optionally offer premium OLED screens instead of the IPS screen, and support up to 32GB of RAM, but the Intel model has 3K or 2K OLED options at 90Hz and a 2K IPS screen, while the AMD model only has a 3K OLED screen alongside 3K 120Hz and 2K IPS options.

The AMD model can also be configured with up to 2TB of storage space, while the Intel model only gets a maximum of 1TB. And while both laptops offer two USB-C ports, the Intel model gets Thunderbolt 4 ports as usual while the AMD one has generic USB4 — though both sets allow for charging. Both also have two USB-A 3.2 ports, an audio jack, an HDMI 2.1 port, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 5.4.

Image: Acer
The new Swift 14 AI comes with either an Intel or AMD processor.

All have a 1440p webcam, with IR depth sensing for Windows Hello facial recognition login, a privacy shutter, and proximity sensors to lock the screen when you move away.

Both Swift 14 AI laptops start at $1,200 and should be available this month.

Swift Go 14 AI

If you’re looking for Qualcomm Snapdragon and a lower starting price, that’s where Acer’s Swift Go comes in. The 2.91-pound laptop also has a slightly larger 14.5-inch screen, your choice between a 2560 x 1600 IPS panel with a maximum brightness of 350 nits, or a 1920 x 1200 that maxes out at 300 nits. Both are dimmer than the Intel and AMD options, but they do support up to 120Hz refresh rate.

Image: Acer
The new Swift Go 14 AI.

Otherwise, the Go similarly offers up to 32GB of RAM, has a 1440p webcam with IR depth sensing and a privacy shutter as well as fingerprint reader, two USB4 type C ports that support charging, two USB-A 3.2 ports, an audio jack, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 5.4.

The new Swift Go 14 AI starts at $999 and should be available this month.

Swift 16 AI

Acer is also announcing a 16-inch model too, one that weighs 3.3 pounds and is only available with a new Intel Lunar Lake processor, either a Core Ultra 5, 7, or 9. You get up to 2TB of storage space and only one display option: a 3K touchscreen OLED. All of that is powered by a 75Wh battery, though here Acer is notably not quoting its battery life.

Image: Acer
The Swift 16 AI only comes with a new Intel processor.

There are also two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports for charging and display output, two USB-A ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, an audio jack, a Wi-Fi 7 adapter, and Bluetooth 5.4.

Acer’s Swift 16 AI starts at $1,200, just like the 14-inch model, and should be available in October 2024.

By the way: Acer’s new Intel and AMD-configured Swift AI laptops will join the Copilot Plus PC family in November 2024 via a free update, giving users access to the same Microsoft AI features currently only available on Qualcomm Snapdragon X PCs.

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Acer has so far stayed out of the handheld gaming PC race, but that’s about to change. It’s just announced its first Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally competitor, the Acer Nitro Blaze 7, which looks like it fits somewhere between last year’s Asus ROG Ally and the newer ROG Ally X.
Like Asus — but unlike most rivals — it features a 7-inch 1080p variable refresh rate IPS screen to keep things smooth, one that refreshes slightly faster at 144Hz. (Acer tells The Verge it’s a landscape-native screen.) It’s also got a newer Ryzen 7 8840HS chip, albeit with the same Radeon 780M integrated GPU as most other Windows handhelds.

With 16GB of 7500 MT/s memory and a 50 watt-hour battery, it’s a step ahead of the original Ally’s 6400 MT/s memory and 40Wh pack, and it comes with up to 2TB worth of SSD storage. But with 24GB of memory and an 80Wh pack, the $800 Asus ROG Ally X is currently the Windows handheld to beat, so I suspect this Acer will need to cost quite a bit less to compete.

Image: Acer
I’m getting a bit of a black widow spider vibe from the shiny black and red.

The Nitro has no touchpads, but it also unusually has no back buttons; most PC handhelds now have at least two macro keys around back. But I suspect some will be happy that it not only has two USB4 ports, but that one of them is on the bottom. Hopefully, we’ll get our choice of whether to charge and dock from top or bottom with this portable PC.

Image: Acer
Lots of dedicated keys on this system.

Acer says it didn’t partner with Microsoft for this one, so I wouldn’t expect this one to roll out with any major UI improvements for Windows handheld gaming PCs. That said, it does come with more dedicated mode switch buttons than most rivals, including a dedicated key to bring up the virtual keyboard.
Here’s the whole spec sheet:

Image: Acer
The Blaze’s spec sheet.

Acer isn’t yet sharing prices or release dates.

Acer has so far stayed out of the handheld gaming PC race, but that’s about to change. It’s just announced its first Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally competitor, the Acer Nitro Blaze 7, which looks like it fits somewhere between last year’s Asus ROG Ally and the newer ROG Ally X.

Like Asus — but unlike most rivals — it features a 7-inch 1080p variable refresh rate IPS screen to keep things smooth, one that refreshes slightly faster at 144Hz. (Acer tells The Verge it’s a landscape-native screen.) It’s also got a newer Ryzen 7 8840HS chip, albeit with the same Radeon 780M integrated GPU as most other Windows handhelds.

With 16GB of 7500 MT/s memory and a 50 watt-hour battery, it’s a step ahead of the original Ally’s 6400 MT/s memory and 40Wh pack, and it comes with up to 2TB worth of SSD storage. But with 24GB of memory and an 80Wh pack, the $800 Asus ROG Ally X is currently the Windows handheld to beat, so I suspect this Acer will need to cost quite a bit less to compete.

Image: Acer
I’m getting a bit of a black widow spider vibe from the shiny black and red.

The Nitro has no touchpads, but it also unusually has no back buttons; most PC handhelds now have at least two macro keys around back. But I suspect some will be happy that it not only has two USB4 ports, but that one of them is on the bottom. Hopefully, we’ll get our choice of whether to charge and dock from top or bottom with this portable PC.

Image: Acer
Lots of dedicated keys on this system.

Acer says it didn’t partner with Microsoft for this one, so I wouldn’t expect this one to roll out with any major UI improvements for Windows handheld gaming PCs. That said, it does come with more dedicated mode switch buttons than most rivals, including a dedicated key to bring up the virtual keyboard.

Here’s the whole spec sheet:

Image: Acer
The Blaze’s spec sheet.

Acer isn’t yet sharing prices or release dates.

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The GoPro Hero 13 Black with some attachments. | Image: GoPro

GoPro has announced two new action cameras, the GoPro Hero 13 Black and a smaller GoPro Hero. The Hero 13 Black will cost $399 while the Hero will go for $199. Both are up for preorder now and will be released on September 10th and September 22nd, respectively.
Some of the new features GoPro is adding to the 13 Black include magnetic mounting and charging, three new lenses, and a redesigned battery that the company says has a 10 percent higher capacity than its predecessor.

The Hero 13 Black comes with in-camera noise reduction and can record HLG HDR video and 10-bit video in G-Log. It also sports a new burst slo-mo mode that can record 720p video at up to 400 frames per second, 900p at 360fps, and 5.3K at 120fps. The camera also got a bump to Wi-Fi 6, rather than the older Wi-Fi 5 protocol, enabling “up to 40% quicker content transfer speeds.”
Otherwise, as The Verge’s Vjeran Pavic notes in his video above, the camera still has many of the same specs as the previous model, the 12 Black, including the same 8:7 sensor.
New lenses for the Hero 13 Black
GoPro is releasing a new set of HB-Series lenses to go with the Hero 13 Black. The Ultra Wide Lens Mod ($99.99) captures a 177-degree field of view with a 1:1 aspect ratio; its new Macro Lens Mod ($129.99) can grab close-ups, though it can’t focus nearer than 4.3 inches; finally, a new Anamorphic Lens Mod ($129.99) will offer a 21:9 aspect ratio recording and movie-style lens flaring when it’s released next year. (The Ultra Wide and Macro Lens Mods will be out on September 10th.)
A smaller GoPro
As for the Hero, GoPro’s new miniature action camera is 35 percent smaller and 46 percent lighter, at 86 grams, than the Hero 13 Black. The company says its built-in battery can run for up to about 155 minutes when recording 1080p video at 30fps. It also captures 4K video at 30fps and can do 2.7K slow-motion captures at 60fps.

The GoPro Hero 13 Black with some attachments. | Image: GoPro

GoPro has announced two new action cameras, the GoPro Hero 13 Black and a smaller GoPro Hero. The Hero 13 Black will cost $399 while the Hero will go for $199. Both are up for preorder now and will be released on September 10th and September 22nd, respectively.

Some of the new features GoPro is adding to the 13 Black include magnetic mounting and charging, three new lenses, and a redesigned battery that the company says has a 10 percent higher capacity than its predecessor.

The Hero 13 Black comes with in-camera noise reduction and can record HLG HDR video and 10-bit video in G-Log. It also sports a new burst slo-mo mode that can record 720p video at up to 400 frames per second, 900p at 360fps, and 5.3K at 120fps. The camera also got a bump to Wi-Fi 6, rather than the older Wi-Fi 5 protocol, enabling “up to 40% quicker content transfer speeds.”

Otherwise, as The Verge’s Vjeran Pavic notes in his video above, the camera still has many of the same specs as the previous model, the 12 Black, including the same 8:7 sensor.

New lenses for the Hero 13 Black

GoPro is releasing a new set of HB-Series lenses to go with the Hero 13 Black. The Ultra Wide Lens Mod ($99.99) captures a 177-degree field of view with a 1:1 aspect ratio; its new Macro Lens Mod ($129.99) can grab close-ups, though it can’t focus nearer than 4.3 inches; finally, a new Anamorphic Lens Mod ($129.99) will offer a 21:9 aspect ratio recording and movie-style lens flaring when it’s released next year. (The Ultra Wide and Macro Lens Mods will be out on September 10th.)

A smaller GoPro

As for the Hero, GoPro’s new miniature action camera is 35 percent smaller and 46 percent lighter, at 86 grams, than the Hero 13 Black. The company says its built-in battery can run for up to about 155 minutes when recording 1080p video at 30fps. It also captures 4K video at 30fps and can do 2.7K slow-motion captures at 60fps.

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Image: Zillow

Zillow is upgrading its AI search feature with the ability to find homes or rentals based on how far away they are from your office, school, or other points of interest. Instead of narrowing your search by selecting specific locations or filters, you can now simply enter, “Homes 30 min drive from Millennium Park.”
This will be very handy for people like me. I’m always searching for dream homes in spots that I’m not familiar with. Now, I’ll be able to search for “homes near Disney World” rather than casting a huge net over the entirety of Orlando.
Zillow will also let you search for homes to buy or rent based on affordability, such as “Seattle homes under $4,000 monthly.” Zillow first rolled out AI search last year, allowing you to look for homes by describing their layout, location, style, condition, and more. But this update gives you more specific ways to peruse listings based on proximity to certain locations and pricing.
Zillow says its enhanced search feature “takes users’ queries and scans millions of listing details to bring relevant results to the surface” while also training AI models to “better respond to search queries that use natural, human-like sentences.” It’s rolling out to Zillow’s iOS and Android apps now, with support on Zillow’s website coming soon.

Image: Zillow

Zillow is upgrading its AI search feature with the ability to find homes or rentals based on how far away they are from your office, school, or other points of interest. Instead of narrowing your search by selecting specific locations or filters, you can now simply enter, “Homes 30 min drive from Millennium Park.”

This will be very handy for people like me. I’m always searching for dream homes in spots that I’m not familiar with. Now, I’ll be able to search for “homes near Disney World” rather than casting a huge net over the entirety of Orlando.

Zillow will also let you search for homes to buy or rent based on affordability, such as “Seattle homes under $4,000 monthly.” Zillow first rolled out AI search last year, allowing you to look for homes by describing their layout, location, style, condition, and more. But this update gives you more specific ways to peruse listings based on proximity to certain locations and pricing.

Zillow says its enhanced search feature “takes users’ queries and scans millions of listing details to bring relevant results to the surface” while also training AI models to “better respond to search queries that use natural, human-like sentences.” It’s rolling out to Zillow’s iOS and Android apps now, with support on Zillow’s website coming soon.

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Image: Nintendo

Zelda’s first mainline game feels like a clever crystallization of the franchise’s recent experimental era. Every Legend of Zelda game has had its quirky innovations, but Breath of the Wild revolutionized the franchise in ways that felt monumental and reflective of Nintendo being ready to try something — a number of things, really — new with Link. Breath of the Wild’s openness made its take on Hyrule feel unlike anything we’d ever seen from the series, and its story brought Link to life by building a big, rich world around him that you were meant to spend hours exploring.
Breath of the Wild’s innovative gameplay mechanics worked so well that it wasn’t shocking to see them return in Tears of the Kingdom, which was more of a direct sequel than an entirely new legend. But it’s rather surprising how strongly you can see the influence of those games in Echoes of Wisdom, Nintendo’s newest mainline Zelda entry — the first to let you play as the princess herself. During the time I recently spent hands-on with the game, almost everything about Echoes of Wisdom made it feel like a crystallization of the Zelda franchise’s recent era of experimentation. And while it’s a little hard to imagine at first how a Breath of the Wild-esque openness could lend itself to a more traditional, top-down Zelda game, Nintendo seems to have found a way to make it work beautifully.
After years of waiting on the sidelines while Link hacked and slashed his way through Hyrule, Echoes of Wisdom turns Princess Zelda into the hero as she sets out to stop Ganon. When we first meet this Zelda, it’s clear that she isn’t a stranger to the dangers Ganon poses and the important role Link typically plays in the grand battle between light and dark. But with Link and many other Hylians swallowed up by one of Echoes of Wisdom’s strange portals, Zelda’s left to her own devices to keep her kingdom from plunging into total chaos.

Lots of things about Echoes of Wisdom — like its assortment of monsters and focus on puzzle-centric dungeon crawling — make it feel like a classic Zelda game at first blush. But one of the most novel things about the new title is how much of a Zelda (the character) game it feels like compared to its predecessors outside of the fact that you can finally play as the princess. Zelda is a very different person than her trusted knight. He’s a warrior who runs around yelling and spinning at his enemies, but she’s a thinker who knows that her wits can be sharper than a blade. Echoes of Wisdom tries to make you feel that difference as soon as you’re given the game’s new signature key item, the Tri Rod.
By waving the Tri Rod at certain objects and defeated monsters, Zelda and her companion Tri can create duplicates of them called echoes. Early into my demo, the echoes I learned were of ordinary things you’d find in any top-down Zelda, like a small table and a bed. But rather than simply existing as visual detail, the echoes give you a variety of ways to tackle Echoes of Wisdom’s various puzzles. A single table doesn’t seem like much at first, but a stack of them is perfect for getting Zelda up high enough to sneak out of a prison cell. And in moments when Zelda might need to hide, being able to conjure a large pot she can climb into is very handy.
Even though the puzzles I played through were relatively simple, there were a handful of ways they could have been solved by using different echoes. One approach might make other onscreen characters behave in a certain way that opened up a previously blocked path, and another method could give me an entirely different route to take by creating walkways. Some of that variability comes from the way that echoes interact with their environments by default — one monster, for example, immediately started hopping around and setting things on fire after I called it out. But much of it boils down to the way Echoes of Wisdom encourages you to experiment.

The number of echoes you can create at any given time is determined by the number of triangles floating behind Tri and a point system that assigns different costs to things you can create. While a table echo costs a single triangle, a Moblin echo requires two. The game will automatically delete old echoes in the order you created them as you make new ones, so it requires you to put some thought into what you’re doing as battles become more complicated.
I had a ball summoning a swarm of Keese to sic on Moblins once I was able to get out into the open world, but it wasn’t long before I realized that brute force isn’t the easiest way to play when you start out. With just a few heart containers, it doesn’t take much to knock Zelda out, meaning that you have to be somewhat strategic in how to deploy echoes to fight for you while also taking care to avoid incoming attacks. And because your echoes sustain damage as well, you often have to be ready to conjure new ones at just the right time in order to take out difficult enemies. But the princess does have some other options at her disposal.
Because echoes are such a huge part of the game, it was surprising to see Zelda pick up Link’s sword and gain the ability to fight (and dress) the way he does. In her swordfighter form, Zelda’s more nimble and able to block attacks using a magically manifested shield. But Zelda’s transformations are temporary and tied to a magic meter that quickly depletes if you leave it running for too long. Echoes of Wisdom’s first boss battles did an impressive job of teaching me that as powerful as Zelda’s swordfighter form is, it’s not something you can just default to — at least not when you first start playing the game. The sword is important, but it’s just one of many tools you’re supposed to use strategically as the game pushes you to think about the multiple ways its challenges can be overcome.
Based just on the small chunk of Echoes of Wisdom I was able to get through, it feels like Nintendo’s supercharged the classic top-down Zelda formula by infusing it with many of the franchise’s cleverest innovations. It’s not exactly an open world or classic Zelda, but it’s something new — and it’s a perfect fit for the princess.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom launches on the Nintendo Switch on September 26th.

Image: Nintendo

Zelda’s first mainline game feels like a clever crystallization of the franchise’s recent experimental era.

Every Legend of Zelda game has had its quirky innovations, but Breath of the Wild revolutionized the franchise in ways that felt monumental and reflective of Nintendo being ready to try something — a number of things, really — new with Link. Breath of the Wild’s openness made its take on Hyrule feel unlike anything we’d ever seen from the series, and its story brought Link to life by building a big, rich world around him that you were meant to spend hours exploring.

Breath of the Wild’s innovative gameplay mechanics worked so well that it wasn’t shocking to see them return in Tears of the Kingdom, which was more of a direct sequel than an entirely new legend. But it’s rather surprising how strongly you can see the influence of those games in Echoes of Wisdom, Nintendo’s newest mainline Zelda entry — the first to let you play as the princess herself. During the time I recently spent hands-on with the game, almost everything about Echoes of Wisdom made it feel like a crystallization of the Zelda franchise’s recent era of experimentation. And while it’s a little hard to imagine at first how a Breath of the Wild-esque openness could lend itself to a more traditional, top-down Zelda game, Nintendo seems to have found a way to make it work beautifully.

After years of waiting on the sidelines while Link hacked and slashed his way through Hyrule, Echoes of Wisdom turns Princess Zelda into the hero as she sets out to stop Ganon. When we first meet this Zelda, it’s clear that she isn’t a stranger to the dangers Ganon poses and the important role Link typically plays in the grand battle between light and dark. But with Link and many other Hylians swallowed up by one of Echoes of Wisdom’s strange portals, Zelda’s left to her own devices to keep her kingdom from plunging into total chaos.

Lots of things about Echoes of Wisdom — like its assortment of monsters and focus on puzzle-centric dungeon crawling — make it feel like a classic Zelda game at first blush. But one of the most novel things about the new title is how much of a Zelda (the character) game it feels like compared to its predecessors outside of the fact that you can finally play as the princess. Zelda is a very different person than her trusted knight. He’s a warrior who runs around yelling and spinning at his enemies, but she’s a thinker who knows that her wits can be sharper than a blade. Echoes of Wisdom tries to make you feel that difference as soon as you’re given the game’s new signature key item, the Tri Rod.

By waving the Tri Rod at certain objects and defeated monsters, Zelda and her companion Tri can create duplicates of them called echoes. Early into my demo, the echoes I learned were of ordinary things you’d find in any top-down Zelda, like a small table and a bed. But rather than simply existing as visual detail, the echoes give you a variety of ways to tackle Echoes of Wisdom’s various puzzles. A single table doesn’t seem like much at first, but a stack of them is perfect for getting Zelda up high enough to sneak out of a prison cell. And in moments when Zelda might need to hide, being able to conjure a large pot she can climb into is very handy.

Even though the puzzles I played through were relatively simple, there were a handful of ways they could have been solved by using different echoes. One approach might make other onscreen characters behave in a certain way that opened up a previously blocked path, and another method could give me an entirely different route to take by creating walkways. Some of that variability comes from the way that echoes interact with their environments by default — one monster, for example, immediately started hopping around and setting things on fire after I called it out. But much of it boils down to the way Echoes of Wisdom encourages you to experiment.

The number of echoes you can create at any given time is determined by the number of triangles floating behind Tri and a point system that assigns different costs to things you can create. While a table echo costs a single triangle, a Moblin echo requires two. The game will automatically delete old echoes in the order you created them as you make new ones, so it requires you to put some thought into what you’re doing as battles become more complicated.

I had a ball summoning a swarm of Keese to sic on Moblins once I was able to get out into the open world, but it wasn’t long before I realized that brute force isn’t the easiest way to play when you start out. With just a few heart containers, it doesn’t take much to knock Zelda out, meaning that you have to be somewhat strategic in how to deploy echoes to fight for you while also taking care to avoid incoming attacks. And because your echoes sustain damage as well, you often have to be ready to conjure new ones at just the right time in order to take out difficult enemies. But the princess does have some other options at her disposal.

Because echoes are such a huge part of the game, it was surprising to see Zelda pick up Link’s sword and gain the ability to fight (and dress) the way he does. In her swordfighter form, Zelda’s more nimble and able to block attacks using a magically manifested shield. But Zelda’s transformations are temporary and tied to a magic meter that quickly depletes if you leave it running for too long. Echoes of Wisdom’s first boss battles did an impressive job of teaching me that as powerful as Zelda’s swordfighter form is, it’s not something you can just default to — at least not when you first start playing the game. The sword is important, but it’s just one of many tools you’re supposed to use strategically as the game pushes you to think about the multiple ways its challenges can be overcome.

Based just on the small chunk of Echoes of Wisdom I was able to get through, it feels like Nintendo’s supercharged the classic top-down Zelda formula by infusing it with many of the franchise’s cleverest innovations. It’s not exactly an open world or classic Zelda, but it’s something new — and it’s a perfect fit for the princess.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom launches on the Nintendo Switch on September 26th.

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