The latest tech news about the world's best (and sometimes worst) hardware, apps, and much more. From top companies like Google and Apple to tiny startups vying for your attention, Verge Tech has the latest in what matters in technology daily.
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The AI revolution is about to take over your web browser
Browser makers big and small are betting that, by giving you easy access to chatbots and by giving the chatbots access to your browsing history, they can make your life on the web better.
Meta announces its Quest 3 VR headset, which will cost $499.99
Meta’s next major headset has finally been revealed, and Meta plans to share more at its Connect event on September 27th.
WWDC 2023: what to expect and how to watch Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference
WWDC kicks off on June 5th, and it’s going to be a big one.
Some owners of Google’s first go at a smartwatch are reporting the rear casing falling off — mostly after removing it from the magnetic charging puck.
Android Police gathered several Reddit posts from the last couple of months showing how the backing falls off. We don’t really know how widespread the issue is, but it’s not the first smartwatch to pop off.
Sony’s Across the Spider-Verse isn’t just a breathtaking work of art — it’s a seminal piece of Spider-Man storytelling that rightfully establishes Miles Morales as this generation’s definitive webhead. Across the Spider-Verse’s trailers alone have been tremendous, but check out our review to read more about what makes the movie work so, so well.
This is the ThinkBook Wireless Dock, which you’ll be able to buy later this summer. If you happen to own a Lenovo ThinkBook, you can stick it on this pad, and not only does it charge the laptop, but it connects it to up to two 4K displays as well. The panel on the left side is a universal charger for mobile devices. I tried this out at Computex 2023, and it works impressively well.
I have a very vested interest in this kind of gadget, as someone whose deskside cable management is...you know what, let’s not talk about it.
Meta’s got a new headset. Apple’s almost certainly got a new headset. Can I interest you in a headset? What do you look for in a headset? When I say “headset,” what do you think of? What’s it gonna take to get you into a headset today?
We also spend a lot of time previewing WWDC. But let’s be real: this is the year of the headset.
If you haven’t already got all the controllers you could possibly need for the six year-old Switch (or if you’ve lost any of them to Joy-Con drift), Nintendo has some new controller colors for you. One set comes in pink and yellow, the other comes in purple and green. Both cost $79.99 per pair, which is the same price the controllers launched at back in 2017.
Get a look at the new Motorola Razr Plus, its 3.6-inch cover screen, and the Magenta color option in this quick hands-on video with the foldable phone that’s launching later this month.
And check this page for updates on the Razr line, plus all of the new foldable phones we’re expecting to see for the rest of 2023.
The Wall Street Journal reports on some customers who experienced delays stretching weeks as they attempted to transfer money from the Goldman Sachs savings account attached to their Apple Card, in amounts from $1,700 to as much as $100,000. (I guess they were really enticed by that 4.15 percent APY.)
After contacting Apple, Goldman Sachs VP Nick Carcaterra responded with the same statement given to the WSJ:
The customer response to the new Savings account for Apple Card users has been excellent and beyond our expectations.
While the vast majority of customers see no delays in transferring their funds, in a limited number of cases, a user may experience a delayed transfer due to processes in place designed to help protect their accounts.
While we would not comment on specific customer interactions, we take our obligation to protect our customers deposits very seriously and work to create a balance between a seamless customer experience and that protection.
Moscow-based security firm Kaspersky said it uncovered a new cyberattack delivered via iMessage. Dubbed Operation Triangulation, it apparently infected “dozens” of employees’ iPhones and was detected due to some anomalous traffic on the company’s network.
But, as TechCrunch reports, Russia’s FSB claimed the attack is the work of US intelligence, using vulnerabilities “provided by the manufacturer,” without providing any evidence to back that up. In a statement to the outlet, Apple spokesperson Scott Radcliffe said, “We have never worked with any government to insert a backdoor into any Apple product and never will.”
There’s a bunch of examples here but frankly, the nut of the piece is pretty far down:
Bankers have a fiduciary duty not to trade on unreliable information. That’s an issue as use of AI expands.
If you can’t explain where your information came from, is it reliable? Oh well, the hedge funds are at it, too.
“Isn’t this sort of exciting?” writes Matt Levine. “The widespread use of relatively early-stage AI will introduce new ways of making mistakes into finance.”
EU specialists are touring San Francisco performing “stress tests” of enforcement for the upcoming Digital Services Act, and Twitter is on the roster:
A team of roughly five to 10 digital specialists from the EU plan to put Twitter, and possibly other companies, through their content-policing paces during a visit to San Francisco in late June, Thierry Breton, the bloc’s commissioner for the internal market, said in an interview.
The test is voluntary, he said, and Twitter has agreed to be subjected to it. It won’t carry any fines or other enforcement consequences. It will offer companies a dry run for how the EU’s Digital Services Act, or DSA, will be enforced.
Elon Musk pulled Twitter out of a voluntary anti-disinformation program, but he’s promised to follow the EU’s rules... if Twitter’s skeleton crew can follow through.
Joking aside, it seems they do make huge piles of cash. From this Mark Gurman report in Bloomberg:
Regular stores typically generate more than $40 million annually, while Apple Store+ locations bring in over $45 million, according to internal data. The flagships generate more than $75 million, while the flagship+ sites make over $100 million annually.
Unsurprisingly, Apple is working on a lot more stores, according to Gurman.
That’s Audi’s German-language slogan meaning “advancement through technology.” Today, the automaker is living by these words remotely through its introduction of an in-car Cisco Webex meetings app designed for hybrid work.
Select 2024 Audi and future VW Group vehicles will have Webex available to download from the automaker’s in-car app store (or, you could tell your boss that they aren’t and have a peaceful commute), which includes TikTok as an option. The Cisco-Audi partnership comes after Webex became available on 2024 Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Ford vehicles, plus in-car Zoom in a Tesla.
Reviews
Honor Magic VS review: foldable perks, foldable quirks
Amazon’s Echo speakers are a late capitalism nightmare.
Amazon Echo Pop review: more style, less substance
Sony’s small but mighty XB100 speaker is cheerful and very cheap
The EV charging guide app now has 3.5 million users according to EVgo, which acquired PlugShare in 2021. PlugShare’s been a boon to hundreds of early EV adopters looking for chargers. The interface is showing its age compared to Google Maps, but PlugShare users have logged over 6.5 million checkins worldwide and share useful tips on almost every charging station.