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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Trump administration is apparently considering a ban on Chinese social media apps, including the popular video app TikTok. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned the possibility on July 7th , saying it was “something we’re looking at” in a Fox News interview with Laura Ingraham — and on July 31st, President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he planned to personally ban the app using his own authority, instead of potentially forcing its Chinese owner to divest it . The comments could easily have been bluster. But Pompeo also compared TikTok to Huawei and ZTE, two companies that have suffered very real consequences after drawing US government ire. With tension rising between the US and China, Trump trying to ban TikTok... Continue reading…

Image: Fisker Inc. Fisker Inc. has hit a snag in the plan to power its electric vehicles with Volkswagen’s modular EV platform, as negotiations over a “cornerstone agreement” that were supposed to end this month are now delayed until at least September. In a scripted presentation to investors filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) early Friday morning, founder Henrik Fisker says his company has “not achieved our goal of signing a cornerstone agreement with VW by the end of July 2020 as we previously anticipated.” The agreement is supposed to lock in costs, production capacity, and a production timeline. Fisker says he “look[s] forward to continuing discussions with VW again in September after the traditional European summer holidays,” but... Continue reading…

Oppo has announced international release plans for its first smartwatch, the Oppo Watch. The device was launched in China earlier this year with a customized version of Android, but Oppo is shipping the global model with Google’s Wear OS on board. Oppo describes the Oppo Watch as the world’s first smartwatch with a dual-curved display, meaning the OLED panel curves on two edges like many of the company’s phones. It’s available in 46mm and 41mm sizes with optional LTE connectivity in the larger model. The 430mAh battery charges in 75 minutes and gets half full in 15. I’ve already tested the Chinese version of the Oppo Watch, and I found the hardware to be pretty good, but it’s impossible to avoid the fact that it looks an... Continue reading…

If you wanted to buy yourself or someone you loved an Apple gift card, it used to be a bit complicated. Apple offered two separate gift cards: an iTunes card, which you could use for purchases on the App Store, iTunes Store, and / or to increase your iCloud storage; and an Apple Store card, which was used on purchases made at the company’s retail or online stores. But now, Apple has merged the two gift cards into a single gift card called “Everything Apple.” Spotted by MacRumors , Everything Apple is a new single gift card available in the US and used to buy anything Apple-related. Apple has launched a dedicated page on its website, noting that Everything Apple can be used to buy any of its products, from games on Apple Arcade to... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube plans to discontinue its community captions feature, which allowed viewers to add subtitles to videos, because it was “rarely used and had problems with spam/abuse,” the company announced. It says it’s removing the captions and will “focus on other creator tools.” The feature will be removed as of September 28th. “You can still use your own captions, automatic captions and third-party tools and services,” YouTube said in an update on its help page . But deaf and hard-of-hearing creators say removing the community captions feature will stifle accessibility, and they want to see the company try to fix the issues with volunteer-created captions, rather than doing away with them entirely. Deaf YouTuber Rikki Poynter said on her... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge On July 29th, the long-awaited Big Tech antitrust hearing from the House Judiciary’s antitrust subcommittee was held. For several hours, four of the biggest figures in tech — Apple’s Tim Cook, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, and Google’s Sundar Pichai — were grilled by lawmakers. This week on The Vergecast , The Verge ’s Nilay Patel, Makena Kelly, Adi Robertson, and Casey Newson dedicated an entire episode to the important moments from the six-hour hearing, the notable emails and internal documents made available from the investigation, and how effective the panel was in laying out a case for regulating big tech companies in the US. The day after the hearing, all of those companies released their quarterly earnings . The V... Continue reading…

SoftBank has been rumored to be exploring a sale of ARM — the British chip designer that powers nearly every major mobile processor from companies like Qualcomm, Apple, Samsung, and Huawei — and now, it might have found a buyer. Nvidia is reportedly in “advanced talks” to buy ARM in a deal worth over $32 billion, according to Bloomberg . Nvidia is said to be the only company that’s involved in concrete discussions with SoftBank for the purchase at this time, and a deal could arrive “in the next few weeks,” although nothing is finalized yet. If the deal does go through, it would be one of the largest deals ever in the computer chip business and would likely draw intense regulatory scrutiny. SoftBank bought ARM in 2016 for $31 billion,... Continue reading…

Battletoads will make its way back to the Xbox One and PC. Rare is announcing today that Battletoads will be available on August 20th on Steam, the Microsoft Store, and as part of Xbox Game Pass. The original game, developed by Rare and released in 1991, was a cult classic, and Microsoft confirmed its return at E3 last year. Much like the original, there will be beat ‘em up, platforming, and even racing stages. The all-new Battletoads has been developed by Dlala Studios in partnership with Rare, and it pays homage to the original with the ‘90s cartoonish style. Rare is promising additional gameplay deep dives ahead of the launch, and the launch trailer teases a large amount of gameplay. Battletoads will launch on August 20th on Steam,... Continue reading…

Photo by Graeme Jennings-Pool/Getty Images Massive tech companies may have been the focus of this week’s antitrust hearing, but one of the most arresting speeches came from a much smaller outfit. Partway through the hearing, Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA) played testimony from a third-party textbook seller on Amazon, who believed the company had started blocking their store as it grew more successful. At the time of the testimony, they hadn’t been able to sell a book for ten months, and despite hundreds of messages to Amazon, they couldn’t get an answer as to why. “I’m concerned this is a pattern of behavior,” McBath told Bezos . “What do you have to say to the small businesses that are talking to Congress because you simply aren’t listening to them?” “I’m concerned this is a pattern of... Continue reading…

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The Nintendo Switch, like everything else that can lighten the mood during this incredibly tough time, is in short supply. And as soon as retailers like Best Buy, Amazon, and Walmart gets it in stock, it quickly sells out. It can be disheartening to miss out on the opportunity to buy a Switch — but fear not! The purpose of this article is to help you do just that without paying more than it would usually cost at retail. We’re keeping a lookout across the web to find where, when, and how you can buy a Nintendo Switch (the one you can dock to your TV or remove for portable use) or a Switch Lite (the portable-only version of the console) as well as any bundles that seem like good deals. Keep in mind that stock — even Switch consoles that... Continue reading…

Samsung is hosting a few discounted bundles at Amazon and Best Buy, one of which includes its Galaxy Z Flip foldable phone and a Galaxy Watch Active 2 44mm smartwatch for $1,380. That’s the normal price for the phone, but the savings come in the form of getting the watch, which costs around $249 right now, for free. Given that there have been very few deals on the unlocked version of the Z Flip, this is a decent value if you were thinking of investing now. This bundle is also active for the Galaxy S20 , and likewise, there’s no price drop below its normal $1,000 price. If you watch our deals coverage regularly, you probably already know that it’s been sold for as low as $800 unlocked. But if you’re in need of a phone right now, at least... Continue reading…

This weekend, two NASA astronauts are slated to return home to Earth inside SpaceX’s new passenger capsule, the Crew Dragon. It’ll be the first time that the Crew Dragon carries passengers back to the planet’s surface, ultimately proving if the vehicle can safely transport people to space and back. Veteran astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be aboard the spacecraft. The duo made history at the end of May when they launched to the International Space Station inside the Crew Dragon, marking the first time a privately made vehicle carried people to orbit. The launch heralded the return of human spaceflight in the US. The last time people flew to orbit from the United States was in 2011, with the last flight of the Space Shuttle.... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twitter has suspended the account of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke for “repeated violations of the Twitter Rules on hateful conduct ,” a spokesperson confirmed to The Verge on Friday. “This enforcement action is in line with our recently-updated guidance on harmful links.” Duke joined Twitter in September 2009, an archived version of his page shows , and his account had more than 53,000 followers. YouTube suspended several white supremacists’ channels last month, including Duke’s, for violating its hate speech policies. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which describes Duke as a neo-Nazi and Holocaust denier, says Duke “built an international reputation as the American face of white nationalism and pseudo-academic... Continue reading…

It didn’t surprise James Gilmore to hear that the NBA was turning to smart rings to help manage the risk of COVID-19 inside its “bubble” at Disney World, where the league hopes to finish the rest of the season. “The NBA, and the NBA Players Association, has been at the forefront of embracing wearable technology for individual players,” says Gilmore, an assistant professor who studies the use of wearable technology in daily life at Clemson University. All players inside the bubble have the option of wearing an Oura ring, normally marketed as a sleep and activity tracker. Health data collected by the ring, the league says, will be used to flag changes that could indicate someone has symptoms of COVID-19, even if they don’t feel sick. The... Continue reading…

Everything you’ll need and want when you start school Continue reading…

You’ll be able to use security options like a fingerprint to enter credit card details. | Image: Google Google is updating its Chrome browser to let you automatically enter saved passwords and credit card details into forms more easily and securely, the company has announced . The browser will now use biometric authentication like a fingerprint to autofill credit card details without having to ask for your three-digit CVC each time, and a new dialog box will let you pick from a list of saved account credentials to sign into a website without having to tap into individual form fields. As well as offering convenience, both features are designed to make transactions more secure on the web. Biometric security makes it harder for someone to make an online purchase if they have access to your device. You’ll still need to enter your CVC the first... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Programming note: It’s time for our summer vacation! The stretch between January and today is the longest uninterrupted period we have ever written The Interface, and so we’re taking a break to recharge. We return August 17th. On any other day, the memo that Kevin Mayer published Wednesday might have been the talk of the tech world. TikTok’s new CEO, who was thrust into a crisis over the future of the Chinese-owned app from the moment he took the job, has quickly emerged as the company’s top diplomat. In his blog post, he came bearing economic gifts for the country that is currently blocking his app from federal and military devices, and threatening to ban it completely — as India recently did. Mayer promised to expand a fund for... Continue reading…

An Irish retailer has revealed that Halo Infinite ’s multiplayer mode will be free-to-play and support up to 120fps. Smyths Toys Superstores briefly posted details ( Google Cache ) about Halo Infinite multiplayer on a promotional page this week before quickly removing them once the internet discovered the references. “The legendary Halo series returns with the most expansive Master Chief campaign yet and a groundbreaking free-to-play multiplayer experience,” read the listing. “Enjoy up to 120 FPS and greatly reduced load times creating seamless gameplay with Xbox Series X.” The listing on Smyths Toys Superstores. Klobrille, an Xbox leaker that accurately revealed previous Halo Infinite details, backed up the claims that... Continue reading…

Image: Otterbox There are plenty of things I could tell you about Otterbox’s new stand for the third-generation Amazon Echo Dot smart speaker. I could tell you about its “durable materials” or how it’s designed to “securely” hold on to your Echo device. The Amazon listing even claims its “precision-fit, non-slip base” is “engineered for optimal audio output.” But you and I both know that none of that really matters, because what’s really important here is that this base adds little tiny Emmy-nominated Baby Yoda* ears to the sides of your Echo Dot. If you want to pretend that you’re actually speaking to The Mandalorian character every time you ask Alexa to set a timer, then this is (probably) the easiest way to do it. Image: Otterbox ... Continue reading…

Oppo has announced the Reno 4 Pro for international release. It’s a mid-range phone that isn’t a million miles away from sister company OnePlus’ new Nord in specs, design, and pricing. The Reno 4 Pro has a matte back panel with a gradient design and a glossy finish on the quad camera bump. It feels very thin and light by today’s standards, at 7.7mm thick and 161g. The camera bump bears the legend “INNOVATIVE QUADCAM” in capital letters, which is a pretty amusing thing to write on a camera bump, but otherwise this is an attractive device. The phone looks good from the front, too, with a 6.5-inch 90Hz 1080p AMOLED screen with the slightest of curves on the edges. Unlike other curved screens, this panel doesn’t stretch right... Continue reading…

Google is launching a new tool that allows businesses to identify themselves as Black-owned through the company’s Maps and Search listings. The new feature is part of the company’s pledge announced last month to support the Black community with “initiatives and product ideas that support long-term solutions.” When searching for a business through Google.com or Google Maps, you’ll now be able to see a new badge to represent Black-owned businesses — it’s a black heart over an orange three-striped background, like the one you can see in these images. They need to claim their business on Google and verify they own it by mail, phone or email before they can apply for the badge; it’s not clear how or whether Google can actually tell if... Continue reading…

Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge Twitter provided an update about the unprecedented July 15th attack that allowed hackers to tweet from some of the most high-profile accounts on the service, in a blog post and a series of tweets published Thursday evening. Twitter now says that a few employees were targeted in a phone spear phishing attack. While Twitter doesn’t quite say, that presumably means hackers called up Twitter employees while posing as colleagues or members of Twitter’s own security team, and got them to reveal the credentials they use to access internal systems. Twitter had previously said its own tools were compromised in the attack, but up until this point, the company hadn’t specified how that had happened. “This attack relied on a significant and... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge From a pure entertainment perspective, I am genuinely sorry that the House’s antitrust hearing targeting the big four tech companies — Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google — took place Wednesday instead of next week. Because literally a day after a meeting attempting to determine if Big Tech was too big, three of the four companies in the hearing got bigger . (Google’s parent company, Alphabet, had a decline in revenue of about 2 percent, mostly due to a decline in search ads — but this was still better than analysts predicted .) None of these companies wanted their earnings numbers read aloud to them before questioning began The hearing was about how tech companies have consolidated their power . The coronavirus seems to be making that... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft’s new Edge browser is randomly crashing when users type into the address bar tonight. The issues appear to be affecting Edge users who have selected Google as the default search engine. Microsoft says it’s aware of the problems and the company’s Edge team is investigating. Microsoft recommends turning off Search Suggestions in edge://settings/search. The Verge has tested this workaround and it solves the problem if you have Google set as your default search engine. Are you seeing Edge crash when trying to type into the address bar? The team is looking into it! In the meantime, as a workaround, please turn off Search Suggestions here: edge://settings/search. We'll follow up once we have more! — Microsoft Edge Dev (@MSEdgeDev) J... Continue reading…

Well, we had an antitrust hearing. A long one, too. The House Judiciary Committee’s investigation into the market power of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google ran to nearly six hours, accounting for a handful of delays and intermissions. Alternating Democrats and Republicans asked the CEOs of those companies a combined 217 questions, ranging from pointed questions about how Facebook intimidates smaller competitors ( from Rep. Pramila Jayapal ) to comically self-interested inquiries into why members’ fundraising emails are going to the spam folder ( thank you, Rep. Greg Steube .) In its lunatic whipsawing between companies, issues, and conspiracy theories , Wednesday’s antitrust hearing resembled nothing so much as an endlessly scrolling social... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge During a hearing before the House antitrust subcommittee on Wednesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook testified that “we apply the rules to all developers evenly” when it comes to the App Store. But documents revealed by the subcommittee’s investigation show Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue offered Amazon a unique deal in 2016: Apple would only take a 15 percent fee on subscriptions that signed up through the app, compared to the standard 30 percent that most developers must hand over. An email from Cue to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos lists the terms negotiated: Now we know how Apple convinced Amazon to finally put Prime Video on the App Store in 2017: Apple agreed to only take 15% of revenue from Prime Video subscriptions made on iOS, versus the... Continue reading…

Verizon Verizon has announced a new home internet service that uses its 4G LTE wireless network. The service will target rural communities that aren’t currently served by Verizon’s Fios or 5G Home options. The new “broadband” service is now available in Savannah, Georgia; Springfield, Missouri; and the Tri-Cities region of Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky. The plan will cost $40 per month for customers who already have a Verizon mobile plan and $60 for everyone else. (You’ll also need an LTE Home router, which costs $240.) “With LTE Home Internet, our most awarded 4G LTE network will provide Internet connectivity for customers in more rural parts of America who may not have access to broadband Internet service - a critical need, especially... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twitch is partnering with Cxmmunity, a nonprofit organization aimed at increasing minority youth participation in esports and gaming, to create an esports league for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), the company announced Thursday. Students at HBCUs will receive scholarship and educational support through its Twitch Student program, and Twitch will help the schools expand esports programs. Cxmmunity co-founder Chris Peay says, as a graduate of an HBCU, he knows firsthand about the gaming industry’s lack of representation. “Growing up we’re often taught you get good grades so that you can get into a good college, graduate from that college, and find a good job,” Peay said in a statement. “Very seldom do we talk about... Continue reading…

The $99.99 model has breathable ear pads, the SpeedFlex braided cable and includes the USB sound card. | Razer Razer is launching two models of the BlackShark V2 wired gaming headset today, following up on the original model that was released all the way back in 2012. Of these two models, the $99.99 BlackShark V2 (pictured above) has more features, while the $59.99 BlackShark V2 X is a little stripped down by comparison. Importantly, both feature an excellent tactile knob for adjusting the volume on the left ear cup, cross-compatibility with PC and consoles via their 3.5mm cable, as well as generous sizing options (in case you have a larger-than-usual head). They also both have a mute button to make it easy to cut off comms with your team. What drives up the cost in the more expensive version mostly comes down to the included USB sound card that... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge For the past week, Nintendo fans have resembled digital archaeologists. Following a massive leak of source code and other internal documents — appropriately dubbed the gigaleak — previously unknown details from the company’s biggest games have steadily trickled out. Those poring over the code have uncovered a new Animal Crossing villager , early prototypes for games like Pokémon Diamond , cut characters from Star Fox , a very weird Yoshi , and strange titles like a hockey RPG . Perhaps the biggest discovery has been a Luigi character model from Super Mario 64 . From a historical and preservationist perspective, the leak is an incredible find. It’s a rare look into the process and discarded ideas of one of the most influential — and secretive —... Continue reading…

Image: Razer Razer’s Blade 15 gaming laptop is $500 off at Amazon, dropping the price to a very reasonable $1,100 . This machine is its previous-generation model, which affects the overall design and internal components only in a few minor ways that might not matter to you if you’re just looking for a well-crafted, feature-packed Windows 10 machine. First off, it has Intel’s 9th Gen Core i7-9750H, but it likely won’t show its age since it’s a six-core processor that’s fairly new. More pressing is that the keyboard is Razer’s older design that wedged the up arrow between the forward slash and right Shift keys. I find that arrangement to be annoying, but not necessarily a deal-breaker. Also not so great is the small 256GB NVMe M.2 SSD that comes... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The ultimate autocomplete Continue reading…

Image: TikTok On August 7th at 8:30PM ET, TikTok will play host to a live virtual concert from The Weeknd, where he’ll perform a series of tracks from his latest album, After Hours , the social network announced today . Rather than appearing in person like a typical TikTok video or its previous live-streamed music events , The Weeknd will be represented by a digital avatar in what TikTok is calling its “first-ever in-app cross reality experience.” It says viewers will be able to interact with the singer as he performs. The event is just the latest example of big-name musicians performing virtually. Fortnite ’s recent events, such as Travis Scott earlier this year or Marshmello’s concert from 2019 are two of the highest-profile examples, each drawing in... Continue reading…

A spectacular comeback for a Microsoft icon Continue reading…

Photo by Joel Kowsky / NASA NASA’s latest Mars rover — a six-wheeled SUV-sized robot named Perseverance — successfully launched from Florida this morning, embarking on a nearly seven-month journey to the Red Planet. Once it reaches Mars, it will attempt a harrowing landing to the surface and start exploring the planet’s terrain, hoping to solve the biggest lingering mysteries about Mars’ past. The primary focus of Perseverance’s mission is to find out if Mars ever hosted life some 3.8 billion years ago . The rover is equipped with multiple instruments to search for signs of ancient microbes that may be lurking in the rocks and dirt on Mars. But most important of all, Perseverance is decked out with a sophisticated drilling system, designed to dig up samples of the... Continue reading…

Almost-flagship features at an almost-flagship price Continue reading…

Photo: Riot Games Less than a day after announcing that the controversial Saudi megacity Neom would become a major sponsor of the League of Legends European Championship, Riot has reversed the decision . The news comes after fans, LEC staff, and Riot employees criticized the decision , due largely to the Saudi government’s long history of human right abuses, which extends to the creation of Neom itself , a city billed as a kind of sci-fi wonderland . In a statement, Alberto Guerrero, Riot’s director of esports for the EMEA region, said: As a company and as a league, we know that it’s important to recognize when we make mistakes and quickly work to correct them. After further reflection, while we remain steadfastly committed to all of our players and fans... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Comcast’s new Peacock streaming service has added 10 million customers since its limited launch in April and national launch in mid-July. The announcement was a bright spot in the cable giant’s otherwise mostly grim second quarter earnings report , as it continued to feel the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on its entertainment divisions. Net income for the quarter fell 4.4 percent to $2.99 billion on revenue of $23.7 billion. “NBCUniversal successfully launched Peacock in Cable’s footprint in April, ahead of the streaming service’s U.S. nationwide launch earlier this month, with 10 million sign-ups to date,” Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said in a statement announcing the earnings results. Peacock, considered a relatively... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google’s $2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit will reportedly face greater scrutiny from EU regulators. Reuters reports that the deal will face a full-scale antitrust investigation, which the European Commission will reportedly open next week. Regulators and consumer advocacy groups have shared fears about Google’s planned acquisition of Fitbit, related to the search giant gaining access to sensitive data like fitness activities, heart rates, sleep patterns, and more. Consumer groups from across Europe, the US, Mexico, Canada, and Brazil have labeled Google’s Fitbit deal a “test case” for regulators’ abilities to prevent data monopolies. Google has been trying to appease European regulators by offering not to use Fitbit’s health data to... Continue reading…

Image: Google Google One, the cloud storage service that Google launched back in 2018, will now backup your iOS or Android phone for free with your Google account. The iOS app will be able to backup your photos, videos, contacts and calendar events, consolidating what’s offered by different services like Photos and Drive into one place, Android Authority notes . Meanwhile the Android app, which could already backup a range of files from your phone, will now offer backups without a Google One membership. Along with backing up your files, Google One is also being updated to make it easier to manage which files are being stored. This storage management feature is available from either the app or the web, and will let you manage files saved from Drive,... Continue reading…

On Thursday morning, NASA is scheduled to launch its next rover to Mars, the beginning of a years-long mission to figure out if the Red Planet ever hosted life. The rover, called Perseverance, is equipped with instruments to look for evidence of ancient Martian microbes, but its prime goal is to excavate samples and leave them on Mars — so that one day they can be returned to Earth for study. There’s even a tiny helicopter aboard named Ingenuity. Perseverance’s ride to Mars is the Atlas V rocket, made and operated by the United Launch Alliance. Atlas V rockets have previously flown four NASA missions to Mars, including the Curiosity rover, which landed on the Red Planet in 2012. For this flight, the rocket is equipped with four small... Continue reading…

Image: Samsung Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5G, the 5G version of the foldable phone it released earlier this year , is now available for preorder as an unlocked device on Samsung.com . Prices start at $1,499.99, a $70 premium over the previous LTE version. Along with 5G connectivity, that price gets you a slightly upgraded Snapdragon 865 Plus processor. Otherwise, the two phones are almost identical. Samsung is widely expected to announce a host of new devices at its Galaxy Note 20 Unpacked event on August 5th, including the new Galaxy Z Fold 2 . The Z Fold is a tablet-sized device that folds to become the size of a smartphone, while the Z Flip is a more traditional flip phone device that folds in half to become more compact. The Z Fold 2 will reportedly also... Continue reading…

Photo by Sam Byford / The Verge For the first time ever, Huawei has shipped more smartphones worldwide over a quarter than any other company, according to a new report from analyst firm Canalys. Huawei has long harbored ambitions to overtake Samsung as the world’s biggest smartphone seller, and going by the numbers from Canalys, that’s just what happened during the April-June period this year. That doesn’t mean Huawei will hold onto the top spot for long, as the results were clearly influenced by the ongoing pandemic. Canalys’ figure of 55.8 million Huawei smartphones shipped is actually down 5 percent year-on-year, while Samsung slid 30 percent to 53.7 million. More than 70 percent of Huawei’s devices are now sold in China, which hasn’t been hit as hard by COVID-19 as... Continue reading…

On Wednesday, lawmakers squared off with the chief executives of the tech industry’s four most powerful players, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google. Even though each company is under antitrust scrutiny for different reasons, the committee used this week’s hearing to point out similarities between all four, making the case for future regulatory reform. Since last June, lawmakers have been engaged in a sweeping antitrust investigation into the tech sector, honing in on how some of the most notable names in the industry have grown too big by allegedly stifling competition. Lawmakers have heard hundreds of hours of testimony and obtained over one million documents throughout their investigation, a process that made it difficult for CEOs... Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Samsung posted better than expected earnings for the second quarter of 2020, with operating profit up 23 percent year-on-year to 8.15 trillion won ($6.84 billion) despite a 6-percent fall in revenue. The Korean conglomerate says it experienced a greater recovery from the impact of COVID-19 than it had initially forecast and managed to optimize its expenditure, even though sales of devices like smartphones were down from last year. Samsung expects smartphone sales to rise next quarter due to the launch of the Galaxy Note 20 and an unnamed foldable phone, likely the leaked Galaxy Z Fold 2 . Its display business, which supplies panels for other device makers, saw demand fall but had earnings boosted due to a “one-time gain.” This is... Continue reading…

Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Spread the word: Netflix has secured the rights to stream some of the best Black sitcoms from the 90s and 2000s — including my personal favorites Moesha , Sister Sister , and The Parkers , all of which I fondly remember watching as a little girl. I still remember running to my room to turn on the TV, singing the R&B theme songs for each show (they were so energetic and catchy that I memorized the lyrics word by word), and how amazing it was to see TV sitcoms targeted to my demographic. There weren’t a ton of black TV shows, with black female leads taking charge, that focused on things I personally struggled with growing up. I was pretty young when these three shows had their initial runs (I was born in 1995), but thanks to reruns... Continue reading…

Photo by: Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards will be an all-virtual event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a representative confirmed to The Verge, and it sounds like the new format could lead to peeks inside the lives of some of your favorite television stars, according to a letter from the executive producers (and host Jimmy Kimmel) that was published by Variety . USA Today also obtained a copy of the letter. “We are assembling a top notch team of technicians, producers and writers to work closely with Jimmy Kimmel and with you and your team to make sure that we can film with you (and loved ones or whomever else you choose to be with) at your home, or another location of your choice,” reads part of the letter, which was reportedly sent to nominees... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The US has filed new and expanded charges against two former Twitter employees and a third individual for allegedly spying on behalf of the government of Saudi Arabia. The three men have now been charged with acting as agents of a foreign government, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud. One individual, former Twitter employee Ahmad Abouammo, was also charged with three counts of money laundering and falsification of records to obstruct the investigation. These new charges are part of a superseding indictment, meaning they’ll replace the charges that were already in place. They come shortly after US prosecutors recommended to have earlier charges dropped. The Twitter employees allegedly accessed private information about... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The CEOs of Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon are testifying in Congress today — trying to convince the House Judiciary Committee that their business practices don’t amount to anti-competitive monopolies. It’s one of the biggest tech oversight moments in recent years, part of a long-running antitrust investigation that has mustered hundreds of hours of interviews and over a million documents from the companies in question. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook, and Google / Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai have all laid out their defense strategies in published testimony. They make the case that their companies are providing beneficial products in a landscape filled with competition and that their massive scale... Continue reading…

Killjoy is the latest character coming to Riot’s team shooter Valorant , and she’s a German hacker with what sounds like some useful skills. She has access to a turret and a nanoswarm grenade that should shake up the game’s meta. The most important part, though, is that she has some adorable robot friends that join her in battle. These include a cute alarmbot that hunts down enemies and explodes once it gets close enough, and the stealth drone, a rolling machine on wheels with a surprisingly expressive face. Just look at its mechanical ears perking up in the concept art below. Even the turret is charming: it reminds me of a friendlier version of the mousers from TMNT . Killjoy will join the cast of Valorant on August 4th.... Continue reading…

Spotify One of Spotify’s biggest original podcast bets, The Michelle Obama Podcas t, premieres today and with it comes the test of a new product feature: shareable quote cards. People in the test will be able to press play on the podcast, and colorful cards with quotes available to share will appear automatically. They can then tap the quote they want to share and select from the sharing options, which cover the main social networks, like Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter. Of course, the idea behind these quote cards is that they amplify Obama’s voice, as well as that of her guests and the show in general. Many podcasting companies have experimented with audiograms, or shareable audio clips with words overlaid. Spotify’s own Anchor i... Continue reading…