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Tech Archive

Archives for January 2024

Wes Davis
Wes Davis
Master Chief starts bearing the weight in the latest Halo trailer.

With the next season of Halo is just around the corner on February 8th, Paramount Plus has released a new, more compact trailer than the one we got earlier this month.

In a brief series of action shots, things feel desperate for humanity and no better for Master Chief, who, as the trailer says, everyone needs.

Wes Davis
Wes Davis
“Hooman. Stereo. 1957.”

Jack Stratton took a break from laying down funky guitar riffs for his band, Vulfpeck, to don a dark turtleneck and pitch Apple on a plan to “take back the belt from Spotify” by moving to a 90 / 10 split for artists on Apple Music.

Could Stratton’s pitch change minds at Apple? Maybe not, but it’s a nice chance to remind you about that time Vulfpeck made $20K from Spotify by uploading, and asking fans to listen to, a totally silent album.

Wes Davis
Wes Davis
NASA lost contact with its Mars helicopter.

The Ingenuity helicopter, which has been fluttering around the red planet for almost three years now, fell out of contact with Perseverance, the rover that brought it to the planet (and that it communicates with using Zigbee!).

NASA wrote yesterday that the flight, its 72nd, was a test of its systems after it was forced to land it early during its previous flight. The agency is working toward reestablishing contact.

While we wait, here’s a recent video of the helicopter in action.

Wes Davis
Wes Davis
Is this what the 12.9-inch iPad Air will look like?

91Mobiles published CAD renders of Apple’s rumored larger iPad Air, based on “industry sources.” Apart from size, it looks like the biggest difference will be a changed camera bump on the back.

That probably means Face ID stays exclusive to the iPad Pro for another year, assuming the leak is accurate. Still, a 12.9-inch Air could be a good upgrade if you want a big iPad without the big “Pro” price.

A CAD render of a 12.9-inch iPad Air.
The back of the 12.9-inch iPad Air, according to 91Mobiles’ new render.
Image: 91Mobiles / Screenshot: The Verge
Wes Davis
Wes Davis
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is talking to TSMC about fabricating AI chips.

That’s according to a Financial Times story this morning, putting a name to yesterday’s Bloomberg report on Altman’s search for investors to realize an AI chip venture.

TSMC, or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, is the massive chip fabricator responsible for chips like those you’d find in Apple’s laptops and phones, along with many ARM and AMD devices.

Wes Davis
Wes Davis
Google is making it easier to unsubscribe from emails.

The unsubscribe option now shows up when hovering over emails in Gmail on the web, rather than after opening them. Meanwhile, you’ll find the option at the top of opened emails in the iOS and Android Gmail app, rather than tucked away behind the three dots menu. Hooray, discoverability!

Also, reporting spam doesn’t offer a “Report spam & unsubscribe” option anymore, and instead invites you to simply “Unsubscribe” to legitimate senders.

A screenshot of the new unsubscribe option in Gmail on the web.
Unsubscribe, right from your inbox. It’s the little things.
Screenshot: Wes Davis / The Verge
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
MKBHD weighs in on the trend of YouTubers “quitting.”

Don’t worry: he’s sticking around. But he has an interesting perspective on the trend of big names like MatPat and Tom Scott stepping back and what it means to actually be a full time YouTuber.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
MagSafe chargers and S-Pens don’t play well together.

If you try to use an S-Pen on a Galaxy Ultra phone that’s attached to a MagSafe charger, “users can expect to encounter a large ‘dead zone’ in the shape of the magnetic ring,” according to a post from Dbrand on Reddit.

Dbrand also says that you “may observe a negligible reduction in S-Pen accuracy when drawing directly over the magnetic array within a MagSafe-enabled case.” If you’ve purchased one of Dbrand’s MagSafe cases for your Galaxy Ultra, the company is offering non-MagSafe replacements.

Samsung S23 Ultra standing upright on a table top with S Pen showing a colorful home screen wallpaper.
Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Elon Musk’s xAI is halfway to its $1 billion funding goal.

The AI company is also discussing an eye-watering valuation of between $15 billion and $20 billion, Bloomberg reports. (AI companies have been seeking huge valuations as of late.) xAI had raised $137.4 million toward that $1 billion goal as of early December.

However, Musk called the report “simply not accurate” in a reply to a post that linked Bloomberg’s story last night.

Update January 20th, 2024, 10:45AM ET: Added Elon Musk’s comment on the matter.

Victoria Song
Victoria Song
Huzzah! The Pixel Watch 3 might come in two sizes.

One of the biggest complaints that reviewers — myself included — had with the Pixel Watch 2 was that it only came in one size: 41mm. That’s fine if you’re petite-wristed like me, but it’s not great if you’ve got a larger frame. Well, 9to5 Google cites an unnamed Google source as saying the company is working on two sizes for the next Pixel Watch. That’s about all we know but if true, it’s a step in the right direction. After all, Apple, Samsung, and Garmin all offer their flagships in multiple sizes.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
The Cybertruck’s 11,000-pound towing limit just got put to the test.

We’ve already seen range tests with the Cybertruck carrying 6,000 pounds, but JerryRigEverything maxed out the Cybertruck’s 11,000-pound capacity in a new video that has the EV pickup pulling a Hummer.

The trip, which was done in sub-freezing temperatures, lasted 90 miles before the Cybertruck’s battery ran out of juice. To compare, one Cybertruck owner towing 6,000 pounds got around 111 miles of range.