At their biggest and most expensive, video games all sort of look the same. The reason often comes down to simple economics: More resources means more costs that need to be recouped, and historically the way publishers have done that is by being comically risk-averse. Hence the glut of semi-realistic rocky wastelands that look like…
Joshua Aaron, the developer of the ICEBlock app, is suing Attorney General Pam Bondi, US Homeland Security Secretary Kirsti Noem, acting director of ICE Todd Lyons, White House “Border Czar” Tom Homan, and other federal officials over the Trump administration’s “unlawful threats” made against Aaron and its actions to pressure Apple to pull the app…
It’s easy to think about AI as a sort of existential battle between human and machine. Maybe it will be, someday, in a Skynet sort of way. But there are also lots of people trying to figure out how to use AI not as a replacement for human creativity and thinking but as a tool…
Google didn’t invent the concept of smart glasses, but it did help make them mainstream. In retrospect, 13 years after their launch, this is both a good and bad thing. Glass made a lot of people dream about new ways to use computers without staring down at screens all day. Glass also made a lot…
Year Walk. | Image: Simogo It may be hard to believe now, but the App Store was once a thriving place for inventive indie games. The ubiquity of the iPhone coupled with the relative ease of development for the platform meant that smaller studios were able to get their games in front of huge audiences,…
Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 108, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, hope your holiday shopping is going well, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I’ve been reading about Ariana Grande and pelvic floors and…
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on how to work anywhere, follow Thomas Ricker. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started I’ve worked from home for 20 years. In that time,…
It’s a great time to consider buying Nintendo’s latest console. | Photo: Cameron Faulkner / The Verge Cyber week has just about wrapped up, but there are still some amazing Cyber Monday leftovers that you can save money on. The one deal we can’t stop telling readers about is the unexpected $50 discount on Nintendo’s…
It’s been a few years since the official introduction of the Bluetooth technology Auracast, which allows devices like earbuds, headphones, speakers, and hearing aids to connect to a single source without the need for pairing. Like a radio picks up your local radio stations, all you have to do is connect to the right broadcast….
Everyone had a good laugh at HBO Max this week when the new 4K Mad Men remaster debuted with a number of glaring errors that should have been caught before the show was uploaded to the streamer’s servers. Episodes went live with incorrect titles, and in one instance you could still see members of the…
