Chris Welch

Former Senior Reviewer

Bose’s new earbuds don’t go inside your ears at all

Chris WelchFeb 15, 2024

Verge Score

Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds are its boldest, most unique earbuds yet

With a design that clings to your outer ear, these earbuds are unlike anything the company has made before.

Chris WelchFeb 15, 2024

Chris WelchFeb 12, 2024

Jon Stewart seems just a bit resentful towards Apple for canceling his show.

Ahead of his return to The Daily Show tonight, Jon Stewart is doing the usual press rounds. And on CBS Mornings, he briefly touched on Apple’s abrupt cancellation of The Problem last year.

“I very much wanted to have some kind of place to unload thoughts as we get into this election season. And I thought I was going to do it over at, they call it Apple TV Plus,” he said before joking about the service’s popularity. “It’s a televison enclave. Very small. It’s like living in Malibu. But they decided that they felt that they didn’t want me to say things that might get me in trouble.”

In October, The New York Times reported that Apple’s decision partly stemmed from Stewart’s plans to cover topics including artificial intelligence and China in the show’s now-scrapped third season.

Verge Score

JBL Authentics 300 smart speaker review: two assistants at once

JBL is the first to make Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant coexist on the same speaker, and it works quite well. But the price you pay for that convenience feels a little uneven.

Chris WelchFeb 8, 2024

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert film is coming to Disney Plus

Chris WelchFeb 7, 2024

I continue to be surprised by how far people will go to perpetrate gift card scams.

404 Media and Court Watch bring us the story of “a legitimate presenting security researcher who has reported multiple vulnerabilities to Apple” (and been thanked by the tech giant for doing so) that’s now been charged with breaking into an Apple-connected backend system all in the name of a poorly concocted gift card scam.

One of the defendants apparently used the stolen credit to buy Final Cut Pro from their own Apple ID — and somehow didn’t expect to get caught?

On or about February 11, 2019, the defendant redeemed two of the gift cards for about $100 each. On or about February 13, 2019, the defendant redeemed a third gift card for about $100. On or around February 26, 2019, the defendant used the $300 in funds obtained from these gift cards to purchase FinalCut Pro on Company A’s app store for about $299.99 using the defendant’s own Company A account.

Security Researcher Allegedly Hacked Apple’s Backend, Scammed $2.5 Million

[404 Media]

Chris WelchFeb 3, 2024

Casey Neistat’s Apple Vision Pro video is a wild ride.

Now that Apple’s “spatial computing” headset is officially out in the world, we’re already starting to see some truly surreal (and wildly entertaining) content. Easily my favorite so far is Casey Neistat’s new video, which sees him taking the Vision Pro through the streets of New York City, onto the subway, and into the heart of Times Square. The reactions are everything.

I burst out laughing at the 3:43 mark, when Casey freezes in the middle of the subway staircase to respond to a text message — using only his eyes and fingers, of course.

(Everyone, please: don’t wear this thing while controlling any type of transportation.)