Photo by James Bareham / The Verge Last month Niantic sparked a backlash in the Pokémon Go community when it announced plans to reverse some of the changes it made last year to make the game more playable while staying at home. The company said it would set up a “task force” to figure out
Read MoreWith the iPhone 13 event maybe only 2 weeks away, and the launch just 10 days after that, the rumors are coming in hotter, heavier, and wilder than ever. Including this one from over the weekend — that the iPhone 13 could be a full-on satellite phone, able to make calls and send texts, even
Read MoreA rumored Nintendo Switch Online update could allow you to play Game Boy games on Switch. Allegedly, the service would include a small selection of Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles. Unfortunately, it would likely not include Game Boy Advance titles. As of today, your Nintendo Switch Online subscription gives you unlimited access to
Read MoreIt’s often said that getting into orbit is less about going up, and more about going sideways very fast. So in that sense, the recent launch conducted by aerospace startup Astra could be seen as the vehicle simply getting the order of operations wrong. Instead of going up and then burning towards the horizon, it
Read MoreOver the last month, Twitch users have become increasingly concerned and frustrated with bot-driven hate raids. To protest Twitch’s lack of immediate action to prevent targeted harassment of marginalized creators, some streamers are going dark to observe #ADayOffTwitch today. Per the protest, users are sharing a list of demands for the Amazon-owned Twitch. They want
Read MoreLeft to right: Google Pixel 5, Pixel 5a, Pixel 4a 5G Credit: Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority Google made the jump to flagship pricing with the introduction of the Pixel line in 2016. The Pixel series has only gotten more expensive since then, with many clamoring for an affordable alternative. Google answered the call in
Read MoreHow many of us have not switched insurance carriers because we don’t want to deal with the hassle of comparison shopping? A lot, I’d bet. Today, Insurify, a startup that wants to help make it easier for people to get better rates on home, auto and life insurance, announced that it has closed $100 million
Read MorePhoto by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Microsoft is holding a special Surface hardware event on September 22nd. The software maker has started sending media invites for this fall hardware event, although it will be online-only and not in person. Microsoft’s invite says “the company will talk about devices and Windows 11,” and we’re
Read MoreAmplitude is going public in a direct listing that will see its shares trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “AMPL.” The company first announced its intention to direct list in July and filed its S-1 document in August. The San Francisco-based startup lists major shareholders Battery, Benchmark, IVP, Sequoia and Jasmine Ventures in
Read MoreTom Warren / The Verge: Microsoft announces an online-only Surface hardware event for September 22, where an updated Surface Duo and Laptop are expected — New Surface hardware is on the way — Microsoft is holding a special Surface hardware event on September 22nd. The software maker has started sending media invites …
Read MoreYou read that right, folks. CrunchMatch, our AI-powered platform that simplifies finding and connecting with the people on your must-meet list, is now open for business. TechCrunch Disrupt 2021 takes place on September 21-23, but why wait to get your network mojo working? Granted, networking can sometimes feel like a contact sport, especially at a
Read MorePhotography by Monica Chin / The Verge Google’s custom chips could expand past the Pixel 6 to Chromebook laptops and tablets as early as 2023, according to a new report from Nikkei Asia on the company’s expanding emphasis on designing its own processors. The company is already preparing to release its first major custom chip
Read MoreDave Lee / Financial Times: Report: Amazon runs 164 flights per day on average to move stock in the US, up 17% over the past six months; 70% of Americans live near an Amazon Air presence — Amazon Air’s operations have expanded rapidly during the pandemic — Amazon’s presence in the skies continues to grow
Read MoreBlueprint Title, an insurtech startup working in the title insurance space, announced this morning that it closed a $16 million Series B. The new round was led by Forté Ventures. The startup previously raised an $8.5 million Series A in the final weeks of 2019. While Blueprint is an insurtech startup and therefore fits into
Read MoreCredit: Eric Zeman / Android Authority A new report claims that Samsung is increasing its capacity to make Samsung foldable displays for smartphones. The report says that it is expanding its display production plant in Vietnam later this year. The need for more displays is driven by the high demand for foldable phones. The Samsung
Read MoreSo your ally was slain. Your comrade has fallen. And somehow, that capital F coming from that tiny key is supposed to convey your respect? Please. What you need is a giant, dedicated F key that matches the size of your respect. And [Jaryd_Giesen] is gonna teach you how to build your own. Well, kind
Read MoreImage: CD Projekt Red CD Projekt Red announced that the free next-gen upgrades for Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, meant for the PS5 and Xbox Series X, have target release dates for late 2021 (PDF). The company has been promising that the updates were on their way, but now we have a
Read MoreHurricane Ida and California wildfires are two sides of the same coin: On a warmer planet, it’s getting harder to evacuate from extreme events.
Read MoreZinnia Lee / Forbes: Malaysian used car marketplace Carsome Group raises $170M from MediaTek and others at a $1.3B valuation, making it Malaysia’s largest tech startup — Carsome Group, an online platform for buying and selling used cars, said on Wednesday that it had become Malaysia’s largest tech unicorn …
Read MoreIllustration by Alex Castro / The Verge HBO Max is now available on Vizio SmartCast TVs, meaning users will no longer have to use casting workarounds to access the streaming service. Prior to today’s announcement, Vizio TVs lacked a native app within SmartCast, Vizio’s smart TV interface. Instead, they’d have to cast its content to
Read MoreDeath and passwords: two things we just can’t avoid. With so much of our lives tied up in cloud services nowadays, there’s good reason to worry about what happens to these accounts if we drop dead tomorrow. For many of us, important documents, photos, financial information and other data will be locked behind a login
Read More(Image: NASA/EASA/G. Bacon)The sun won’t consume the earth for another few billion years. This is either good or bad news, depending on how you look at it. But in the meantime, we can look at other sun-like stars and see what they’ve been up to – and even what they’ve eaten recently. Spoiler: a lot
Read MoreBen Thompson / Stratechery: FTC’s refiled Facebook suit does not offer market definitions reflective of reality, misunderstands ad markets, and highlights harms of regulatory interference — It is coming up on two weeks since the FTC refiled its case against Facebook;1 from the Wall Street Journal:
Read MoreSophie Alcorn Contributor Share on Twitter Sophie Alcorn is the founder of Alcorn Immigration Law in Silicon Valley and 2019 Global Law Experts Awards’ “Law Firm of the Year in California for Entrepreneur Immigration Services.” She connects people with the businesses and opportunities that expand their lives. More posts by this contributor Dear Sophie: Can
Read MoreA stealthy startup co-founded by a former senior designer from Apple and one of its ex-senior software engineers has picked up a significant round funding to build out its business. Humane, which has ambitions to build a new class of consumer devices and technologies that stem from “a genuine collaboration of design and engineering” that
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