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Thursday’s top tech news: another Cybertruck delay

Remember the Cybertruck? The cyberpunk-inspired pickup truck that Tesla announced all the way back in 2019? It’s been delayed again. Last year CEO Elon Musk said he hoped deliveries would start in the middle of 2023, but as of Tesla’s earnings call yesterday the company now doesn’t expect the vehicle to enter mass production until 2024. Here’s our full writeup on the company’s earnings release.

After banning Donald Trump from its platforms in 2021, Meta has now announced it plans to allow the former president back on Instagram and Facebook. Trump has also been unbanned from Twitter, although as of this writing he is yet to resume tweeting and instead favors communicating via his own social media platform Truth Social.

Now, here’s a silly tweet to start your day:

Stay tuned, as we continue to update this list with the most important news of today: Friday, January 26th, 2023.
  • Jan 27, 2023

    Tom Warren and Andrew Webster

    GoldenEye 007 is now available on Nintendo Switch and Xbox

    GoldenEye 007 has finally landed on Xbox and Nintendo Switch in a simultaneous dual-release of two titles with some important differences.

    On Xbox, GoldenEye 007 is a remastered version of the legendary Nintendo 64 title that first launched in 1997. The remaster includes 4K resolution, smoother frame rates, and split-screen local multiplayer, similar to a 2008-era bound-for-Xbox 360 version that was canceled amid licensing and rights issues but leaked out in 2021.

    Read Article >
  • Jay Peters

    Jan 27, 2023

    Jay Peters

    Bloomberg profiled Ella Irwin, Twitter’s head of trust and safety under Elon Musk.

    Irwin has become one of the most prominent execs at the company under Musk’s turbulent tenure. Bloomberg reporter Davey Alba shared some of the highlights of the piece in a Twitter thread, which I also recommend reading.


  • Mitchell Clark

    Jan 26, 2023

    Mitchell Clark

    Google’s expanding Chrome’s Incognito lockdown on mobile and Safety Check

    Google logo with colorful shapes
    Keep your Incognito tabs away from prying eyes.
    Illustration: The Verge

    Google is rolling out access to a feature that lets you lock your Chrome Incognito sessions behind biometric authentication, making it so someone using your phone won’t be able to open your browser and see what you were looking at privately, according to a Thursday blog post. The feature has been available in the iOS version of Chrome for a while now, but now it’s becoming more widely available on Android (read: won’t require activating via a flag).

    The Lock Incognito tabs when you close Chrome feature does what its name suggests — you can open Incognito tabs normally, but if you switch to another app, you’ll have to unlock Chrome when you return to get at the hidden tabs. You can do that via your phone’s unlock pin or through biometrics like your fingerprint or face. However, someone can still see your regular tabs without an unlock.

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  • Umar Shakir

    Jan 26, 2023

    Umar Shakir

    Ford focuses on mobile services to help more customers escape dealership trips

    a white ford mobile service truck is parked on the street in front of a brick and stone home with a red ford vehicle in the driveway. A woman wearing a burnt Sienna blazer is gesturing towards her car for a man in automobile service uniform. She’s holding a laptop, probably because she works from home.
    A Ford owner getting service at home — and looking ecstatic to not need to drive to the dealership they probably hate.
    Image: Ford

    Ford is ramping up its remote service offerings to save customers a trip to their dealership for things like oil changes and recall repairs. The updated program promises that more Ford owners nationwide can get access to complimentary pickup and delivery of their vehicles, as well as mobile repair options.

    Mobile services from Ford won’t operate from a central location, though. It will still be up to dealerships to offer remote services and to choose what services to provide at a customer’s home or business. Ford is, however, lending dealers a hand to get the services up and running. “We’ve been working with multiple teams at Ford to offer our customers more ways to personalize vehicle service,” stated Ford National Dealer Council chairman and dealership owner Tim Hovik in a press release.

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  • Andrew J. Hawkins

    Jan 26, 2023

    Andrew J. Hawkins

    New York City will require Uber and Lyft to go 100 percent electric by 2030

    Times Square in NYC
    Image: Noam Galai/Getty Images for Uber Eats

    In his State of the City speech Thursday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that Uber and Lyft will be required to be zero emission by 2030. The decision by one of the world’s largest markets for app-based ridehailing has the potential to affect an estimated 100,000 for-hire vehicles.

    Adams said the move will build on efforts his administration has made to electrify the city’s fleet of vehicles while installing charging infrastructure to power those vehicles throughout the five boroughs. The mayor will likely implement his plan through the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, which regulates the for-hire vehicle industry, including Uber and Lyft.

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  • Andrew J. Hawkins

    Jan 26, 2023

    Andrew J. Hawkins

    Audi’s latest concept car is a luxury coupe that transforms into a truck

    Audi Activesphere concept
    Image: Audi

    Audi’s been on a run lately with some interesting concept cars, tackling everything from a giant urban people mover to a villainous sedan that drives itself. The latest is the Activesphere, an extremely sleek-looking electric luxury coupe that can transform into a pickup truck with off-roading capabilities.

    With some truly impressive ground clearance, big 22-inch wheels, and a hatchback that can transform into an open cargo bed at the touch of a button, the Activesphere is described as Audi’s most versatile concept. When you’re tired of cruising the mean streets of whatever city you live in, you can take this rugged spaceship of a car onto the open road without any concern about leaving the pavement behind.

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  • Jan 26, 2023

    Chris Person

    Wait, maybe we can afford to buy a classic Sony CRT.

    Artist Retroldtech produces and sells tiny scale models of retro gaming consoles, and they decided to take a crack at a model from Sony’s iconic video monitor line.

    Is the screen real? Can you plug your MiSTer or old consoles into it? No, but it looks fun and comes with your choice of six swappable screens. Get this and save money so you can buy a VGA monitor and maybe a Retrotink 5x instead.


  • James Vincent

    Jan 26, 2023

    James Vincent

    BuzzFeed says it will use AI tools from OpenAI to personalize its content

    A photograph of a laptop screen showing the BuzzFeed Quizzes homepage.
    BuzzFeed is the latest digital publisher to adopt the latest AI tools for producing content.
    Image: Getty Images

    BuzzFeed says it’s going to use AI tools provided by ChatGPT creator OpenAI to “enhance” and “personalize” its content, according to a memo sent this morning to staff by CEO Jonah Peretti and statements given to The Verge.

    In the memo, Peretti says AI will be one of the two major trends defining the future of digital media (the other being “creators”). Peretti says that in 2023, BuzzFeed’s “AI inspired content” will launch on the site, “enhancing the quiz experience, informing our brainstorming, and personalizing our content for our audience.” News of the memo was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

    Read Article >
  • Jay Peters

    Jan 26, 2023

    Jay Peters

    Yes, Twitter changed its font

    A blue Twitter bird logo with a repeating pattern in the background
    It’s not just you.
    Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

    As I was browsing Twitter.com this morning, I refreshed the page, and something jumped out at me: the font was different.

    The change was minor — Twitter hadn’t suddenly switched to a serif font or anything like that. But a quick Twitter search showed that I wasn’t the only one who noticed the shift, and my co-workers did, too.

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  • Dan Seifert

    Jan 26, 2023

    Dan Seifert

    AirPods are earplugs now

    A person holds two AirPods Pro earbuds in their hand.
    Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 and numerous other wireless earbuds have active noise-cancellation features to block unwanted outside noise.
    Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

    Lately, I’ve been using my AirPods to hear nothing.

    My usage of Apple’s AirPods Pro and other noise-canceling wireless earbuds has changed from when I first started wearing them half a decade or so ago. Back then, I’d pop in earbuds to listen to music, stream a podcast, or watch video on my phone or tablet while in a public place. I’d take meetings and calls with them or put them in when doing yard work for some motivational metal. On walks around the neighborhood, my earbuds would accompany me with audio to keep me entertained and moving.

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  • Allison Johnson

    Jan 26, 2023

    Allison Johnson

    If it’s not a meteorite, it’s a meteor wrong.

    Antarctica is a great place to find meteorites because they stand out against the ice so well.

    In just four minutes, cosmochemist Maria Valdes tells NPR the delightful story of finding a rare cantaloupe-sized meteorite on the frozen continent, and how to spot the difference between actual space rock and — this is the scientific term — a meteor wrong.


  • Jess Weatherbed

    Jan 26, 2023

    Jess Weatherbed

    This free watermark removal tool is surprisingly effective against stock images

    A 3D render of an android looking out of a window. The image is split, with watermarks shown on the left, while the right is clear.
    Stock image platforms like Shutterstock and Adobe Stock may be content with AI while it generates cash for them, but they likely won’t be so keen on it being used to steal their assets.
    Image: Shutterstock / Phonlamai Photo

    The already-contentious relationship between AI and the creative industry might soon get even more complicated thanks to a free-to-use service that can completely remove watermarks from images. Watermark Remover.io (as seen via Creative Bloq) is a tool offered by Pixelbin.io that removes identifiable watermarks with a single click and has sparked conversations surrounding copyright protections since being listed on Product Hunt last year.

    The functionality of Watermark Remover.io isn’t new — similar tools already exist, and you can also remove watermarks using things like Adobe Photoshop’s content-aware fill. However, these aren’t as accessible as Watermark Remover.io (they’re often paywalled), which is completely free, available on the web and as an Android app, and does the job with a single click. 

    Read Article >
  • Mitchell Clark

    Jan 26, 2023

    Mitchell Clark

    Uber’s ‘View as Delivery Person’ shows how much of your info couriers get

    Uber company name written on a multicolored background.
    Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

    Uber Eats is introducing a feature that will tell you how much of your personal information a courier has access to throughout the delivery process. The feature, called “View as Delivery Person,” is meant to “provide consumers with additional transparency and peace of mind,” especially after potentially awkward or uncomfortable encounters, according to Zach Singleton, Uber’s head of privacy and equity product.

    The idea is that the Uber Eats app will show you what information a delivery person has about you before they pick your food up, while they’re making the delivery, and afterward. The basic gist, according to Singleton, is that they’ll only have an approximate delivery location until they actually pick up your order. In most cases, they’ll get your address, first name, and last initial, as well as any delivery instructions and notes when they pick up your order. After they make the delivery, the app reverts to only showing them your approximate delivery location. (What “approximate” means can vary by market, according to Singleton.)

    Read Article >
  • Blink’s first wired outdoor camera is now available.

    The smart home camera company known for its battery tech is launching its first hardwired security camera today.

    Announced last September, the $99.99 Blink Wired Floodlight Camera features person detection with local processing, plus local storage (with its Sync Module 2). This is the first camera from Blink — which is owned by Amazon — to offer local processing powered by Amazon’s AZ2 silicon chip.


    The Blink’s new wired floodlight camera is its first with local video processing.
    The Blink’s new wired floodlight camera is its first with local video processing.
    Image: Blink
  • Richard Lawler

    Jan 26, 2023

    Richard Lawler

    Green light.

    Besides Elon Musk, other businesses also have quarterly reports. Today that list includes Intel later this afternoon, and Comcast, which said it shed 440,000 TV subscribers in three months but added 365,000 customers to Xfinity Mobile.

    For now, we’re looking at keyboards and controllers, as Sony’s new $199.99 DualSense Edge gamepad is available, but only directly from Sony. Check out our review to see if it’s worth the high price.


  • Angry Miao’s quirky new keyboard saves space by using a touch panel for arrow keys

    The Angry Miao Compact Touch keyboard in black and white “Mech Love” colorway with see-through smoked keycaps and predistressed metal case. The keyboard is sitting on a desk mat with its colorful RGB lighting on.
    That tiny touch panel at the keyboard’s front is what you use for arrow gestures.

    Angry Miao is at it again with another unique mechanical keyboard that costs a small fortune. This time it thought, “Hey, wouldn’t you love to use perfectly straight swipe gestures instead of physical arrow keys?”

    This new board is called the AM Compact Touch. Angry Miao calls it a 65 percent board, but it doesn’t have arrow keys. Instead, it has a small touchpad on the front for swiping your up, down, left, and right directions. If that sounds tedious and finicky, well, you’re right, though this keyboard is much more than that. It’s also a mixed bag of impeccable build quality, excellent typing feel, and some confounding design decisions. It’s set to launch February 2nd on Indiegogo, ranging in price from $398 to a hefty $615 depending on the chosen build and bundle.

    Read Article >
  • Jon Porter

    Jan 26, 2023

    Jon Porter

    OnePlus’ first tablet might share its upcoming smartphone’s ‘black hole’ camera bump

    The OnePlus Pad from the front and back.
    Unofficial renders suggest the tablet will have an interesting camera bump.
    Image: OnLeaks / MySmartPrice

    Unofficial renders from leaker OnLeaks and MySmartPrice have given us our best idea yet of what OnePlus’ debut tablet might look like when it’s announced alongside the OnePlus 11 next month. The Oppo subbrand has quietly confirmed that it’ll be launching the tablet at its February 7th event by listing the “OnePlus Pad” on the event’s landing page on its Indian website.

    However, given the same name isn’t present on the company’s US or UK landing pages, the tablet might be exclusive to India for the time being, much like the company’s lineup of TVs.

    Read Article >
  • James Vincent

    Jan 26, 2023

    James Vincent

    The ‘world’s first robot lawyer’ doesn’t stand up to a fair trial.

    DoNotPay has aggressively marketed itself as the “world’s first robot lawyer” — an easy way to automate small claims and lawsuits using AI. But this fantastic test of the service is mostly damning. As author Kathryn Tewson writes:

    “There is literally nothing AI about this. This is a straight-up plug-and-chug document wizard, and it is not well done at all.”


  • James Vincent

    Jan 26, 2023

    James Vincent

    ChatGPT can’t be credited as an author, says world’s largest academic publisher

    Library In Reading Pennsylvania Stops Charging Fines
    Photo by Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images

    Springer Nature, the world’s largest academic publisher, has clarified its policies on the use of AI writing tools in scientific papers. The company announced this week that software like ChatGPT can’t be credited as an author in papers published in its thousands of journals. However, Springer says it has no problem with scientists using AI to help write or generate ideas for research, as long as this contribution is properly disclosed by the authors.

    “We felt compelled to clarify our position: for our authors, for our editors, and for ourselves,” Magdalena Skipper, editor-in-chief of Springer Nature’s flagship publication, Nature, tells The Verge. “This new generation of LLM tools — including ChatGPT — has really exploded into the community, which is rightly excited and playing with them, but [also] using them in ways that go beyond how they can genuinely be used at present.”

    Read Article >
  • Tom Warren

    Jan 26, 2023

    Tom Warren

    Smartphone sales are so bad even the holidays couldn’t help, says IDC

    Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

    Smartphone shipments have dropped nearly 20 percent year over year during the recent holiday period, as consumer demand softens amid inflation and economic uncertainties. It’s the “largest-ever decline in a single quarter,” according to IDC, and it contributed to 2022 having the lowest annual shipment of smartphones since 2013.

    While there were still 1.21 billion smartphones shipped in 2022, shipments during the all-important holiday quarter were actually down from the previous quarter for the first time ever. “We have never seen shipments in the holiday quarter come in lower than the previous quarter,” says Nabila Popal, research director at IDC. “However, weakened demand and high inventory caused vendors to cut back drastically on shipments.”

    Read Article >
  • Umar Shakir

    Jan 26, 2023

    Umar Shakir

    Tesla Cybertruck mass production won’t start until 2024

    Photo of a prototype Cybertruck.
    Photo by Sean O’Kane / The Verge

    Tesla’s long-anticipated Cybertruck won’t be seeing full volume production until 2024, Elon Musk said during the company’s fourth quarter earnings call today.

    During the call, Musk was asked whether the forthcoming vehicle would meet a mid-2023 production target that was set in Q2 last year. Musk cagily confirmed that Cybertruck manufacturing would start “sometime this summer,” but concluded that mass production of the polarizing pickup won’t start until next year. “I always try to downplay the start of production,” Musk said. “It increases exponentially, but it is very slow at first.”

    Read Article >
  • Makena Kelly

    Jan 25, 2023

    Makena Kelly

    Meta allows Trump back on Facebook and Instagram

    Former U.S. President Donald Trump
    Photo by Joe Raedle / Getty Images

    Meta announced Wednesday that it will allow former President Donald Trump back on Facebook and Instagram two years after his initial suspension. 

    In a Wednesday blog post, Meta announced that it would reinstate Trump’s accounts sometime over the next few weeks. If Trump once again violates Meta’s content policies, the company said that his accounts would be subject to additional suspensions, ranging from one month to two years, “depending on the severity of the violation.”

    Read Article >
  • Andrew J. Hawkins

    Jan 25, 2023

    Andrew J. Hawkins

    Tesla made more money in 2022 than ever before, but its future still looks rocky

    The Tesla logo on a red, black, and white background.
    Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

    Amid flagging demand, steep price cuts, and ongoing drama surrounding Elon Musk’s stewardship of Twitter, Tesla published its fourth quarter earnings report in which the company said it earned $3.7 billion in net income on $24.3 billion in revenue. That represents a 59 percent increase year over year compared to $2.8 billion in revenue in Q4 2021.

    It was also Tesla’s third year ending in the black, with $14.1 billion in net income for 2022, compared to $5.5 billion in profit in 2021 and a mere $721 million in 2020. Tesla turned that profit on over $81.5 billion in revenue. 

    Read Article >