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Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

If you’ve been looking to replace your Android phone’s camera app with one that doesn’t overprocess photos to alter lighting and detail in sometimes extreme ways, now there’s an option. Zerocam is a barebones app that promises to “shoot in RAW and process your photos to remove all artificial effects, delivering soft, pleasant-to-eye images.”
We’ve been talking about the definition of a photo for years, and we’re not the only ones complaining about HDR processing that sometimes makes images seem flat because they lack contrast between light and dark.

This app’s approach is similar to the Process Zero feature Halide offers within its iPhone camera app, but Zerocam goes a few steps further. This app doesn’t even have much of an interface: it’s just a viewfinder with a camera button, leaving no option to fiddle with any settings.

Zerocam Android released on very special date, @novikoff birthday This is version 0.0.0 and many improvements will come, as we did for iOS You can take 5 photos for free every day, or subscribe to get full access and support our work https://t.co/9okRxcRBOR— Zerocam (@zerocam_app) November 11, 2024

Zerocam launched on the iPhone earlier this year — largely in response to all the AI-powered editing tools that have taken over photo apps.
You can download Zerocam for free on the Google Play Store, but you can only take five photos per day without paying for a subscription, which costs $0.99 / month or $10.99 USD / year. It’s also only compatible with phones running Android 14 or later.

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

If you’ve been looking to replace your Android phone’s camera app with one that doesn’t overprocess photos to alter lighting and detail in sometimes extreme ways, now there’s an option. Zerocam is a barebones app that promises to “shoot in RAW and process your photos to remove all artificial effects, delivering soft, pleasant-to-eye images.”

We’ve been talking about the definition of a photo for years, and we’re not the only ones complaining about HDR processing that sometimes makes images seem flat because they lack contrast between light and dark.

This app’s approach is similar to the Process Zero feature Halide offers within its iPhone camera app, but Zerocam goes a few steps further. This app doesn’t even have much of an interface: it’s just a viewfinder with a camera button, leaving no option to fiddle with any settings.

Zerocam launched on the iPhone earlier this year — largely in response to all the AI-powered editing tools that have taken over photo apps.

You can download Zerocam for free on the Google Play Store, but you can only take five photos per day without paying for a subscription, which costs $0.99 / month or $10.99 USD / year. It’s also only compatible with phones running Android 14 or later.

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Illustration: The Verge

The iOS version of Google’s Chrome browser is getting upgraded with several features from the Android iteration, including simultaneous Google Lens image and text search. Chrome for iOS could already use Google Lens to search for a picture on your iPhone or one taken from the camera, but now you can add words along with it to narrow your search in one go.
For instance, you can upload a picture of a t-shirt design you like into Lens and type the name of a color that you prefer into search, and it will try to find the shirt you want. This update comes as Apple launched its own Visual Intelligence search, which only works on iPhone 16 and 16 Pro.

GIF: Google
Search a picture of a snowboard design you like, but see if it comes in purple.

The new iOS Chrome also lets you save images and files (such as PDFs) from the web directly to Google Photos and Google Drive, allowing you to access them elsewhere quickly and not take up your iPhone’s local storage. This could be helpful for those who have already filled up Apple’s paltry 5GB of free iCloud storage or who would prefer to use Google Drive.

GIF: Google
You can save this PDF straight to Google Drive.

Additionally, iOS Chrome is getting Shopping Insights, which can notify you of a “Good Deal Now” in the address bar on products you’re searching for and get access to a price tracker. You’ll have to sync your browsing history with Google and turn on “Make searches & browsing better,” which sends Google URLs of pages you visit.

Image: Google
The “Good deal now” pop-up.

GIF: Google
Tap on an address in websites to get the “mini-map.”

There’s also now a mini-map viewer in Chrome that lets you tap an address on a website and take a peek at where it is on a Google Map — without having to open Google Maps in another tab or switch to the Google Maps app. According to Google, more features will be added to iOS Chrome in the coming months.

Illustration: The Verge

The iOS version of Google’s Chrome browser is getting upgraded with several features from the Android iteration, including simultaneous Google Lens image and text search. Chrome for iOS could already use Google Lens to search for a picture on your iPhone or one taken from the camera, but now you can add words along with it to narrow your search in one go.

For instance, you can upload a picture of a t-shirt design you like into Lens and type the name of a color that you prefer into search, and it will try to find the shirt you want. This update comes as Apple launched its own Visual Intelligence search, which only works on iPhone 16 and 16 Pro.

GIF: Google
Search a picture of a snowboard design you like, but see if it comes in purple.

The new iOS Chrome also lets you save images and files (such as PDFs) from the web directly to Google Photos and Google Drive, allowing you to access them elsewhere quickly and not take up your iPhone’s local storage. This could be helpful for those who have already filled up Apple’s paltry 5GB of free iCloud storage or who would prefer to use Google Drive.

GIF: Google
You can save this PDF straight to Google Drive.

Additionally, iOS Chrome is getting Shopping Insights, which can notify you of a “Good Deal Now” in the address bar on products you’re searching for and get access to a price tracker. You’ll have to sync your browsing history with Google and turn on “Make searches & browsing better,” which sends Google URLs of pages you visit.

Image: Google
The “Good deal now” pop-up.

GIF: Google
Tap on an address in websites to get the “mini-map.”

There’s also now a mini-map viewer in Chrome that lets you tap an address on a website and take a peek at where it is on a Google Map — without having to open Google Maps in another tab or switch to the Google Maps app. According to Google, more features will be added to iOS Chrome in the coming months.

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Donald Trump participates in a roundtable discussion with former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) on October 29th, 2024, in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. | Photo by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Artificial intelligence is top of mind for President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY). Zeldin plans to help “unleash US energy dominance” and “make America the AI capital of the world,” he said in a post on X today.
The EPA regulates emissions that pollute the air and cause climate change, giving it a huge role to play in how much the rise of energy-hungry AI leads to a jump in power plant pollution. From the looks of it, though, the EPA’s incoming leader is prioritizing making sure environmental protections don’t get in the way of doing business — particularly when it comes to expanding AI data centers.
Environmental advocates are already concerned about Trump’s plans for the EPA. “We can meet demand for data centers without scrapping EPA rules to clean up dirty power plants and cut climate pollution,” Manish Bapna, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), said in a statement responding to Zeldin’s appointment. “We count on the EPA to protect clean air and water and public health and that’s what we’ll hold the next administrator accountable to do.”

Looking forward to getting straight to work as part of President Trump’s Cabinet to unleash US energy dominance, make America the AI capital of the world, bring American auto jobs back home, and so much more. pic.twitter.com/zGGLIRMrd6— Lee Zeldin (@leezeldin) November 12, 2024

If he makes good on campaign promises, Trump’s next term in office is sure to be a deregulation spree. The last time Trump was in the White House, his administration rolled back more than 100 environmental regulations and stacked the Supreme Court with justices whose decisions have curbed the ability of federal agencies to regulate industry.
Zeldin will “ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards,” Trump posted on Truth Social yesterday.
During a three-hour interview with Joe Rogan on October 25th, Trump also complained about environmental impact studies that he said made it more difficult to complete his own building projects in the past. “The environmental stuff was always horrible. They could slow a project down 10 years, 15 years,” he said. “Remember this, it costs much more to do things environmentally clean.”
Zeldin has also faced off with environmental groups over the years. The League of Conservation Voters (LCV), which rates lawmakers’ environmental track records, has given Zeldin an abysmal 14 percent lifetime score. He has accepted more than $269,000 from the oil and gas industry and close to $1.5 million from real estate while running for Congress, according to the nonprofit OpenSecrets that tracks campaign contributions. (Trump picked fossil fuel lobbyists to lead the EPA when he was last in office.)
“Remember this, it costs much more to do things environmentally clean.”
Some environmental advocates are holding out hope that they’ll be able to salvage long-standing environmental rules with Zeldin, rather than seeing a worst-case scenario outlined in Project 2025 that would all but dismantle the EPA. (Although Zeldin voted to slash the EPA’s budget by 25 percent in 2017, which could have eliminated 3,200 staff positions at the agency.)
“While we did not always see eye to eye with Rep. Zeldin, we did work to find common ground on several issues during his time in office,” Julie Tighe, New York League of Conservation Voters president, said in an email. She pointed to Zeldin’s opposition to offshore drilling during Trump’s previous administration as an example.
Data centers, which tend to gobble up more energy when used for training AI, have become a hot-button environmental topic. Until recently, gains in energy efficiency have allowed data center power use to stay relatively flat. Now, with the popularity of AI and efficiency gains waning, data center power demand could climb 160 percent by 2030, according to Goldman Sachs Research. The US has more data centers than any other country, and their growing appetite for electricity could lead to more pollution from the power sector.
To their credit, American tech companies have been among the biggest purchasers of renewable energy. Big tech companies, including Google and Microsoft, have also signed a slew of new agreements this year to try to revive the nuclear energy industry in a bid to shore up another source of carbon pollution-free power. Nevertheless, both Google and Microsoft have seen their carbon footprints grow as they develop new AI tools.

Typical data centers still plug into the local power grid, and the US gets 60 percent of its electricity from fossil fuels. Trump previously repealed an Obama-era plan to slash power plant emissions and replaced it with weaker regulations, a decision the EPA estimated would lead to thousands more deaths and “exacerbated” asthma cases from pollution. The Biden administration introduced tougher standards for coal-fired power plants but punted a decision on emissions from the nation’s existing fleet of gas-fired plants until after the election. Now, with Trump headed back to the White House, these rules are in jeopardy.
“The two things we know for certain are that Trump has tried to cripple EPA in the past and he has tasked his new pick to head EPA with rolling back dozens of clean air and water regulations,” Jeremy Symons, senior adviser to Environmental Protection Network and former EPA climate adviser, said in an email to The Verge. “Hopefully Zeldin can rise above his alarming EPA voting record and will recognize there is broad and bipartisan public support for EPA’s work to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink,” Symons added.

Donald Trump participates in a roundtable discussion with former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) on October 29th, 2024, in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. | Photo by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Artificial intelligence is top of mind for President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY). Zeldin plans to help “unleash US energy dominance” and “make America the AI capital of the world,” he said in a post on X today.

The EPA regulates emissions that pollute the air and cause climate change, giving it a huge role to play in how much the rise of energy-hungry AI leads to a jump in power plant pollution. From the looks of it, though, the EPA’s incoming leader is prioritizing making sure environmental protections don’t get in the way of doing business — particularly when it comes to expanding AI data centers.

Environmental advocates are already concerned about Trump’s plans for the EPA. “We can meet demand for data centers without scrapping EPA rules to clean up dirty power plants and cut climate pollution,” Manish Bapna, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), said in a statement responding to Zeldin’s appointment. “We count on the EPA to protect clean air and water and public health and that’s what we’ll hold the next administrator accountable to do.”

If he makes good on campaign promises, Trump’s next term in office is sure to be a deregulation spree. The last time Trump was in the White House, his administration rolled back more than 100 environmental regulations and stacked the Supreme Court with justices whose decisions have curbed the ability of federal agencies to regulate industry.

Zeldin will “ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards,” Trump posted on Truth Social yesterday.

During a three-hour interview with Joe Rogan on October 25th, Trump also complained about environmental impact studies that he said made it more difficult to complete his own building projects in the past. “The environmental stuff was always horrible. They could slow a project down 10 years, 15 years,” he said. “Remember this, it costs much more to do things environmentally clean.”

Zeldin has also faced off with environmental groups over the years. The League of Conservation Voters (LCV), which rates lawmakers’ environmental track records, has given Zeldin an abysmal 14 percent lifetime score. He has accepted more than $269,000 from the oil and gas industry and close to $1.5 million from real estate while running for Congress, according to the nonprofit OpenSecrets that tracks campaign contributions. (Trump picked fossil fuel lobbyists to lead the EPA when he was last in office.)

Some environmental advocates are holding out hope that they’ll be able to salvage long-standing environmental rules with Zeldin, rather than seeing a worst-case scenario outlined in Project 2025 that would all but dismantle the EPA. (Although Zeldin voted to slash the EPA’s budget by 25 percent in 2017, which could have eliminated 3,200 staff positions at the agency.)

“While we did not always see eye to eye with Rep. Zeldin, we did work to find common ground on several issues during his time in office,” Julie Tighe, New York League of Conservation Voters president, said in an email. She pointed to Zeldin’s opposition to offshore drilling during Trump’s previous administration as an example.

Data centers, which tend to gobble up more energy when used for training AI, have become a hot-button environmental topic. Until recently, gains in energy efficiency have allowed data center power use to stay relatively flat. Now, with the popularity of AI and efficiency gains waning, data center power demand could climb 160 percent by 2030, according to Goldman Sachs Research. The US has more data centers than any other country, and their growing appetite for electricity could lead to more pollution from the power sector.

To their credit, American tech companies have been among the biggest purchasers of renewable energy. Big tech companies, including Google and Microsoft, have also signed a slew of new agreements this year to try to revive the nuclear energy industry in a bid to shore up another source of carbon pollution-free power. Nevertheless, both Google and Microsoft have seen their carbon footprints grow as they develop new AI tools.

Typical data centers still plug into the local power grid, and the US gets 60 percent of its electricity from fossil fuels. Trump previously repealed an Obama-era plan to slash power plant emissions and replaced it with weaker regulations, a decision the EPA estimated would lead to thousands more deaths and “exacerbated” asthma cases from pollution. The Biden administration introduced tougher standards for coal-fired power plants but punted a decision on emissions from the nation’s existing fleet of gas-fired plants until after the election. Now, with Trump headed back to the White House, these rules are in jeopardy.

“The two things we know for certain are that Trump has tried to cripple EPA in the past and he has tasked his new pick to head EPA with rolling back dozens of clean air and water regulations,” Jeremy Symons, senior adviser to Environmental Protection Network and former EPA climate adviser, said in an email to The Verge. “Hopefully Zeldin can rise above his alarming EPA voting record and will recognize there is broad and bipartisan public support for EPA’s work to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink,” Symons added.

Read More 

The Verge

Microsoft is planning to no longer support the Windows Mail, Calendar, and People apps later this year. The software giant has been moving existing users of these apps over to the new Outlook for Windows app in recent months, and now it has set an end of support date for the Mail, Calendar, and People apps of December 31st.
Once the apps reach end of support later this year, Microsoft warns that users who haven’t moved to the new Outlook app “will no longer be able to send and receive email using Windows Mail and Calendar.”
Microsoft has been rolling out the new Outlook for Windows app for years, with it officially reaching the general availability stage in August. The new web-based Outlook is designed to eventually replace the full desktop version of Outlook too, and Microsoft plans to provide enterprise customers a 12-month notice before it starts to move people away from the desktop version of Outlook.
Existing installs of classic Outlook through perpetual and subscription licenses will continue to be supported until at least 2029, so it’s going to take some time for Microsoft to fully move all Outlook users to this new app. It’s starting with the Mail and Calendar apps in Windows later this year, followed by an opt-out phase for Outlook on Windows. You can read more about Microsoft’s timeline for the new Outlook for Windows here.

The Verge

Microsoft is planning to no longer support the Windows Mail, Calendar, and People apps later this year. The software giant has been moving existing users of these apps over to the new Outlook for Windows app in recent months, and now it has set an end of support date for the Mail, Calendar, and People apps of December 31st.

Once the apps reach end of support later this year, Microsoft warns that users who haven’t moved to the new Outlook app “will no longer be able to send and receive email using Windows Mail and Calendar.”

Microsoft has been rolling out the new Outlook for Windows app for years, with it officially reaching the general availability stage in August. The new web-based Outlook is designed to eventually replace the full desktop version of Outlook too, and Microsoft plans to provide enterprise customers a 12-month notice before it starts to move people away from the desktop version of Outlook.

Existing installs of classic Outlook through perpetual and subscription licenses will continue to be supported until at least 2029, so it’s going to take some time for Microsoft to fully move all Outlook users to this new app. It’s starting with the Mail and Calendar apps in Windows later this year, followed by an opt-out phase for Outlook on Windows. You can read more about Microsoft’s timeline for the new Outlook for Windows here.

Read More 

Logitech’s Circle View is one of only a handful of security cameras that work with Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video service. The rumor is Apple is now developing its own. | Photo: Logitech

It appears Apple’s rumored push into the smart home will include an Apple smart security camera. Supply-chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports the company is planning to start production of a smart home IP camera in 2026 and aims to sell over 10 million units a year.
Kuo also reports that the camera is “designed to integrate seamlessly with other Apple hardware products via wireless connectivity” and speculates it will integrate deeply with Apple Intelligence and Apple’s Siri voice assistant.
Apple’s competitors, Amazon and Google, both have first-party security camera hardware products for their respective smart home platforms and have already started integrating generative AI. Amazon’s Ring launched a new AI search feature in October, and Google announced Gemini-powered features coming to its Nest cameras. With generative AI, smart home cameras have the potential to go beyond just a security device and provide context for your smart home, for example, by knowing who is at the house and when.
Security cameras make a lot of sense as Apple looks to the smart home for its next big hardware hit. They’re among the fastest-growing device types in the home, have obvious benefits and potential uses in every household, not just single-family residences, and offer the biggest opportunity for ecosystem lock-in of all the smart home device categories.
For example, if you have an Apple Home security camera, you’d benefit from also having additional Apple devices, such as a HomePod or Apple TV to act as a home hub for recording footage and streaming a live view to an Apple TV. This is also where a rumored Apple Smart Display would fit neatly into the picture.

Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Aqara’s G3 camera works with Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video, although it offers more features, including higher video quality and pan and tilt, in Aqara’s app.

Additionally, along with revenue from premium hardware, cameras offer potential ongoing revenue from subscriptions. Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video service (HKSV), which is included in Apple’s iCloud plan, stores recorded footage from cameras securely on the iCloud account — the number of cameras covered depends on your subscription, going up as high as $11 a month. The service also requires an Apple Home Hub, such as a HomePod or AppleTV, which can analyze footage and send you specific alerts for people, animals, vehicles, and packages.
Currently, Apple’s smart home platform, Apple Home, supports integration with third-party cameras from several companies for live streaming footage to the app, but only a handful of cameras support HKSV, including models from Aqara, Eve, and Logitech. Many other popular companies in this space, such as Ring, Arlo, and Blink, don’t work with HKSV, preferring instead to use their own subscription services for recorded video and smart alerts.

Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Belkin developed this WeMo video doorbell exclusive for Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video service.

The other question is what type of camera Apple will start with: an indoor camera like the Eve Cam, an indoor/outdoor camera like the Logitech Circle View, an outdoor camera like the Eve Floodlight Cam, or a video doorbell like the WeMo Smart Video Doorbell.
It’s perhaps surprising that Apple is only now moving into developing smart home devices. While the original intent of Apple HomeKit was to provide a software framework for third-party manufacturers, ten years later, there are still relatively few devices that work with Apple’s smart home platform.
This is one reason Apple helped develop the new smart home standard Matter, which was built on some of the foundations of HomeKit, including its focus on security. Matter is now the main infrastructure for Apple Home and it has already started to bring more products into the ecosystem. With support for security cameras in Matter possibly arriving next year, a new Apple Home camera from Cupertino landing around the same time would make sense.

Logitech’s Circle View is one of only a handful of security cameras that work with Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video service. The rumor is Apple is now developing its own. | Photo: Logitech

It appears Apple’s rumored push into the smart home will include an Apple smart security camera. Supply-chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports the company is planning to start production of a smart home IP camera in 2026 and aims to sell over 10 million units a year.

Kuo also reports that the camera is “designed to integrate seamlessly with other Apple hardware products via wireless connectivity” and speculates it will integrate deeply with Apple Intelligence and Apple’s Siri voice assistant.

Apple’s competitors, Amazon and Google, both have first-party security camera hardware products for their respective smart home platforms and have already started integrating generative AI. Amazon’s Ring launched a new AI search feature in October, and Google announced Gemini-powered features coming to its Nest cameras. With generative AI, smart home cameras have the potential to go beyond just a security device and provide context for your smart home, for example, by knowing who is at the house and when.

Security cameras make a lot of sense as Apple looks to the smart home for its next big hardware hit. They’re among the fastest-growing device types in the home, have obvious benefits and potential uses in every household, not just single-family residences, and offer the biggest opportunity for ecosystem lock-in of all the smart home device categories.

For example, if you have an Apple Home security camera, you’d benefit from also having additional Apple devices, such as a HomePod or Apple TV to act as a home hub for recording footage and streaming a live view to an Apple TV. This is also where a rumored Apple Smart Display would fit neatly into the picture.

Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Aqara’s G3 camera works with Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video, although it offers more features, including higher video quality and pan and tilt, in Aqara’s app.

Additionally, along with revenue from premium hardware, cameras offer potential ongoing revenue from subscriptions. Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video service (HKSV), which is included in Apple’s iCloud plan, stores recorded footage from cameras securely on the iCloud account — the number of cameras covered depends on your subscription, going up as high as $11 a month. The service also requires an Apple Home Hub, such as a HomePod or AppleTV, which can analyze footage and send you specific alerts for people, animals, vehicles, and packages.

Currently, Apple’s smart home platform, Apple Home, supports integration with third-party cameras from several companies for live streaming footage to the app, but only a handful of cameras support HKSV, including models from Aqara, Eve, and Logitech. Many other popular companies in this space, such as Ring, Arlo, and Blink, don’t work with HKSV, preferring instead to use their own subscription services for recorded video and smart alerts.

Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Belkin developed this WeMo video doorbell exclusive for Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video service.

The other question is what type of camera Apple will start with: an indoor camera like the Eve Cam, an indoor/outdoor camera like the Logitech Circle View, an outdoor camera like the Eve Floodlight Cam, or a video doorbell like the WeMo Smart Video Doorbell.

It’s perhaps surprising that Apple is only now moving into developing smart home devices. While the original intent of Apple HomeKit was to provide a software framework for third-party manufacturers, ten years later, there are still relatively few devices that work with Apple’s smart home platform.

This is one reason Apple helped develop the new smart home standard Matter, which was built on some of the foundations of HomeKit, including its focus on security. Matter is now the main infrastructure for Apple Home and it has already started to bring more products into the ecosystem. With support for security cameras in Matter possibly arriving next year, a new Apple Home camera from Cupertino landing around the same time would make sense.

Read More 

Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images

Waymo is ditching its waitlist in Los Angeles, much like it did before in Phoenix and San Francisco, making its fully autonomous vehicles available to anyone who downloads the company’s Waymo One app.
There are still some geographic limitations with which to contend: Waymo only operates within 80 square miles of Los Angeles County, which includes neighborhoods such as Hollywood, Chinatown, Westwood, Marina del Rey, Mar Vista, and Playa Vista.
Still, it was a sign of the company’s growing confidence in its technology, especially after securing a record $5.6 billion investment round, led by its parent company, Alphabet, to help fund its next phase of growth. Waymo recently said it was conducting 150,000 paid trips and driving over 1 million fully autonomous miles every week.

Image: Waymo
Waymo’s service map in Los Angeles.

Looking back, it took Waymo less than a year to open the service up to everyone after first launching its waitlist for select customers in Los Angeles. Waymo started testing the waters in LA back in the fall of 2023. The service went live in March 2024, and in April, the company started charging customers for trips.
Of course, Waymo is now in direct competition with human-powered transportation services like Uber and Lyft, both of which operate without any pesky geographic restrictions. Those services are often cheaper than Waymo’s vehicles, and customers can expect shorter wait times for rides.

Also, Waymo doesn’t provide airport trips to LAX, nor does it allow its vehicles to travel on highways yet. In a city as reliant on private autos as Los Angeles, it remains to be seen how useful Angelinos will find Waymo without being able to travel on the highway. The company hasn’t said when it hopes to eventually expand service to include airport and highway trips.
But Waymo has novelty on its side — and its customers often give it high marks for the ability to customize their rides, such as playing their own music and setting the temperature to their liking.
“Now is an exciting time to welcome everyone in Los Angeles along for the ride,” Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO of Waymo, said in a statement. “Our service has matured quickly and our riders are embracing the many benefits of fully autonomous driving. We’re so grateful to all of our first riders in LA, and we can’t wait to serve more riders soon.”

Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images

Waymo is ditching its waitlist in Los Angeles, much like it did before in Phoenix and San Francisco, making its fully autonomous vehicles available to anyone who downloads the company’s Waymo One app.

There are still some geographic limitations with which to contend: Waymo only operates within 80 square miles of Los Angeles County, which includes neighborhoods such as Hollywood, Chinatown, Westwood, Marina del Rey, Mar Vista, and Playa Vista.

Still, it was a sign of the company’s growing confidence in its technology, especially after securing a record $5.6 billion investment round, led by its parent company, Alphabet, to help fund its next phase of growth. Waymo recently said it was conducting 150,000 paid trips and driving over 1 million fully autonomous miles every week.

Image: Waymo
Waymo’s service map in Los Angeles.

Looking back, it took Waymo less than a year to open the service up to everyone after first launching its waitlist for select customers in Los Angeles. Waymo started testing the waters in LA back in the fall of 2023. The service went live in March 2024, and in April, the company started charging customers for trips.

Of course, Waymo is now in direct competition with human-powered transportation services like Uber and Lyft, both of which operate without any pesky geographic restrictions. Those services are often cheaper than Waymo’s vehicles, and customers can expect shorter wait times for rides.

Also, Waymo doesn’t provide airport trips to LAX, nor does it allow its vehicles to travel on highways yet. In a city as reliant on private autos as Los Angeles, it remains to be seen how useful Angelinos will find Waymo without being able to travel on the highway. The company hasn’t said when it hopes to eventually expand service to include airport and highway trips.

But Waymo has novelty on its side — and its customers often give it high marks for the ability to customize their rides, such as playing their own music and setting the temperature to their liking.

“Now is an exciting time to welcome everyone in Los Angeles along for the ride,” Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO of Waymo, said in a statement. “Our service has matured quickly and our riders are embracing the many benefits of fully autonomous driving. We’re so grateful to all of our first riders in LA, and we can’t wait to serve more riders soon.”

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Image: Epic Games

Fortnite is going old school once again. Epic has announced that the throwback mode Fortnite OG, which brings back the battle royale’s original island, will become a permanent fixture of the game starting on December 6th.
OG first launched last November as a limited-time event, which turned out to be a big hit and was designed explicitly to bring back lapsed players to the game ahead of the release of Lego Fortnite. Its return means iconic Fortnite elements like Tilted Towers and the Baller will now be a standard part of the experience.

Epic is currently attempting to replicate the success of OG. Fortnite is in the midst of Chapter 2 Remix, which — as the name implies — takes the game’s second chapter and tweaks it. The big shift this time is a huge musical connection, in which various artists ranging from Snoop Dogg to Ice Spice, “remix” the island each week. So far that has included possibly the game’s most absurd gun.
Fortnite isn’t the only live service shooter banking on nostalgia, either. Both Apex Legends and Overwatch have followed Fortnite OG with similar events that harken back to their origins.

Image: Epic Games

Fortnite is going old school once again. Epic has announced that the throwback mode Fortnite OG, which brings back the battle royale’s original island, will become a permanent fixture of the game starting on December 6th.

OG first launched last November as a limited-time event, which turned out to be a big hit and was designed explicitly to bring back lapsed players to the game ahead of the release of Lego Fortnite. Its return means iconic Fortnite elements like Tilted Towers and the Baller will now be a standard part of the experience.

Epic is currently attempting to replicate the success of OG. Fortnite is in the midst of Chapter 2 Remix, which — as the name implies — takes the game’s second chapter and tweaks it. The big shift this time is a huge musical connection, in which various artists ranging from Snoop Dogg to Ice Spice, “remix” the island each week. So far that has included possibly the game’s most absurd gun.

Fortnite isn’t the only live service shooter banking on nostalgia, either. Both Apex Legends and Overwatch have followed Fortnite OG with similar events that harken back to their origins.

Read More 

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

Netflix’s subscription plan with ads has reached a new milestone: it hit 70 million monthly users since its launch two years ago. That’s a big jump compared to the 40 million monthly ad-supported users Netflix reported in May.
Additionally, the streaming service said that the ad-supported plan accounted for 50 percent of all new signups in countries where it’s available. Netflix rolled out its ad-supported tier in the US, Australia, Brazil, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and others in November 2022.
It’s no surprise that the ad-supported plan has seen such growth, as the streamer has started nudging users toward the $6.99 per month option by discontinuing its cheapest ad-free tier. The company has also started to build out the plan’s features, adding better resolution and the ability to watch up to two streams simultaneously.

Netflix has launched its own advertising technology platform in Canada as well, with plans to launch it globally throughout next year. The streamer currently partners with Microsoft to sell ads that not only appear across its basic plans but will also show up during the live football games it’s streaming on Christmas Day.
As part of its earnings results last month, Netflix reported an increase of 5 million subscribers, bringing its global total to 282.7 million. The company is also set to air its live boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul this week, which all subscribers will have access to for free.

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

Netflix’s subscription plan with ads has reached a new milestone: it hit 70 million monthly users since its launch two years ago. That’s a big jump compared to the 40 million monthly ad-supported users Netflix reported in May.

Additionally, the streaming service said that the ad-supported plan accounted for 50 percent of all new signups in countries where it’s available. Netflix rolled out its ad-supported tier in the US, Australia, Brazil, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and others in November 2022.

It’s no surprise that the ad-supported plan has seen such growth, as the streamer has started nudging users toward the $6.99 per month option by discontinuing its cheapest ad-free tier. The company has also started to build out the plan’s features, adding better resolution and the ability to watch up to two streams simultaneously.

Netflix has launched its own advertising technology platform in Canada as well, with plans to launch it globally throughout next year. The streamer currently partners with Microsoft to sell ads that not only appear across its basic plans but will also show up during the live football games it’s streaming on Christmas Day.

As part of its earnings results last month, Netflix reported an increase of 5 million subscribers, bringing its global total to 282.7 million. The company is also set to air its live boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul this week, which all subscribers will have access to for free.

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Image: The Verge

Earlier this year Microsoft’s Edge browser automatically started up on my PC and imported my Chrome tabs without consent. Microsoft refused to explain why this behavior had occurred, and then quietly addressed the problem in a Microsoft Edge update. Microsoft hasn’t given up on trying to get your Chrome data though, as a new update is rolling out that automatically starts Edge and offers to import your Chrome tabs.
My colleague Richard Lawler noticed that Edge started automatically on his PC last week at boot and offered up a new prompt to “enhance your browsing experience.” The pop-up has a “bring over your data from other browsers regularly” option ticked by default, and encourages people to confirm and continue with a big blue button. If you want to dismiss this prompt there’s a tiny white X button that looks similar to the sparkles Microsoft is using in the background of the prompt.

Screenshot by Richard Lawler / The Verge
The new Microsoft Edge prompt to import Chrome data and tabs.

If you simply hit confirm and continue then Microsoft Edge will import your Chrome data and continually import your tabs if you have Chrome set as default. The prompt seems to mainly appear on PCs with Chrome installed, suggesting that Microsoft is once again targeting Chrome users.
Microsoft confirmed the new “feature” to The Verge. “This is a notification giving people the choice to import data from other browsers,” explains Microsoft spokesperson Caitlin Roulston. “There is an option to turn it off.”
So Microsoft clearly isn’t bothered that it’s automatically starting up Edge on people’s PC and then trying to trick them into importing their Chrome data. That’s not too surprising though since Microsoft has been pulling tricks like this for more than four years now.
Shortly after releasing its Chromium-based version of Edge in 2020, Microsoft started launching Edge automatically on people’s PCs in an effort to migrate them away from Chrome. Microsoft then blocked the EdgeDeflector tool to force Windows 11 users into Edge, started using prompts to stop people downloading Chrome, and made it really difficult to switch browser defaults in Windows 11.
We’ve also seen fake AI answers in Bing search results for Chrome, malware-like prompts in Windows 11 to get people to ditch Google, and even polls being injected into the Chrome download page.
Microsoft’s behavior here makes many people distrust Edge, Windows 11, and even the company’s AI efforts. The controversy around Recall should be a wake up signal to Microsoft that its Edge pop-ups in Windows 11 will make it difficult for consumers to trust what it’s doing with AI integration into Windows.

Image: The Verge

Earlier this year Microsoft’s Edge browser automatically started up on my PC and imported my Chrome tabs without consent. Microsoft refused to explain why this behavior had occurred, and then quietly addressed the problem in a Microsoft Edge update. Microsoft hasn’t given up on trying to get your Chrome data though, as a new update is rolling out that automatically starts Edge and offers to import your Chrome tabs.

My colleague Richard Lawler noticed that Edge started automatically on his PC last week at boot and offered up a new prompt to “enhance your browsing experience.” The pop-up has a “bring over your data from other browsers regularly” option ticked by default, and encourages people to confirm and continue with a big blue button. If you want to dismiss this prompt there’s a tiny white X button that looks similar to the sparkles Microsoft is using in the background of the prompt.

Screenshot by Richard Lawler / The Verge
The new Microsoft Edge prompt to import Chrome data and tabs.

If you simply hit confirm and continue then Microsoft Edge will import your Chrome data and continually import your tabs if you have Chrome set as default. The prompt seems to mainly appear on PCs with Chrome installed, suggesting that Microsoft is once again targeting Chrome users.

Microsoft confirmed the new “feature” to The Verge. “This is a notification giving people the choice to import data from other browsers,” explains Microsoft spokesperson Caitlin Roulston. “There is an option to turn it off.”

So Microsoft clearly isn’t bothered that it’s automatically starting up Edge on people’s PC and then trying to trick them into importing their Chrome data. That’s not too surprising though since Microsoft has been pulling tricks like this for more than four years now.

Shortly after releasing its Chromium-based version of Edge in 2020, Microsoft started launching Edge automatically on people’s PCs in an effort to migrate them away from Chrome. Microsoft then blocked the EdgeDeflector tool to force Windows 11 users into Edge, started using prompts to stop people downloading Chrome, and made it really difficult to switch browser defaults in Windows 11.

We’ve also seen fake AI answers in Bing search results for Chrome, malware-like prompts in Windows 11 to get people to ditch Google, and even polls being injected into the Chrome download page.

Microsoft’s behavior here makes many people distrust Edge, Windows 11, and even the company’s AI efforts. The controversy around Recall should be a wake up signal to Microsoft that its Edge pop-ups in Windows 11 will make it difficult for consumers to trust what it’s doing with AI integration into Windows.

Read More 

Following its announcement that the second season of Andor (now subtitled A Star Wars Story) is set to premiere next April, Disney Plus has dropped a new sizzle reel giving us a proper look at the show and a whole bunch of other things coming to the streamer.
Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona) is going to need a pilot in Andor season two, and Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) might just be the man for the job judging from the way the new 2025 preview features footage of him stealing a ship. Cassian’s penchant for taking things that aren’t his seems to be an issue for Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård), but with Stormtroopers mobilizing to attack people elsewhere in the galaxy, the freedom fighters clearly have bigger fish to fry.
The sizzle reel also spotlights a bunch of new moments from Skeleton Crew (out December 3rd), Daredevil: Born Again (out March 4th), Ironheart (out June 24th), and The Handmaid’s Tale’s final season (which doesn’t have a release date yet). There’s also a bit of Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ second season, but what looks really promising are the reel’s brief glimpses of Alien: Earth — FX’s new prequel series to the original 1979 movie. Neither of those last two shows have premiere dates, either, but it probably won’t be too long before we get a chance to check them out.

Following its announcement that the second season of Andor (now subtitled A Star Wars Story) is set to premiere next April, Disney Plus has dropped a new sizzle reel giving us a proper look at the show and a whole bunch of other things coming to the streamer.

Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona) is going to need a pilot in Andor season two, and Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) might just be the man for the job judging from the way the new 2025 preview features footage of him stealing a ship. Cassian’s penchant for taking things that aren’t his seems to be an issue for Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård), but with Stormtroopers mobilizing to attack people elsewhere in the galaxy, the freedom fighters clearly have bigger fish to fry.

The sizzle reel also spotlights a bunch of new moments from Skeleton Crew (out December 3rd), Daredevil: Born Again (out March 4th), Ironheart (out June 24th), and The Handmaid’s Tale’s final season (which doesn’t have a release date yet). There’s also a bit of Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ second season, but what looks really promising are the reel’s brief glimpses of Alien: Earth — FX’s new prequel series to the original 1979 movie. Neither of those last two shows have premiere dates, either, but it probably won’t be too long before we get a chance to check them out.

Read More