Verge Archives

The company is rebranding Office as “365.” Sure, there’s precedent for the brand, but there’s also external precedent. Lots of companies have used “365,” including Whole Foods, which uses the number as its official product brand for stuff like organic beans and kale. It’s a sad day for a legendary brand, in my opinion.

I’ve dropped my phone on my face in bed enough times for this joke gadget to seem downright practical. Put it on Kickstarter — I dare you.

Call it what you will, but Amazon’s 48-hour sale is set to end tonight at 11:59PM PT. The Verge’s deals team will continue to update our main deals roundup until then, however, there’s still time to save on budget-friendly picks like the Jabra Elite 3, the third-gen Echo Dot, and SooPii’s power meter-equipped charging cable, among others.

Here are the main things the company announced today at its big Connect conference: the Quest Pro, a big partnership with Microsoft, and legs are maybe coming to VR one day.

For the second time this year, Amazon is hosting a 48-hour deal blitz. The retailer’s Prime Early Access Sale features a lot of not-so-great deals, but it’s still a great chance to save on Apple’s new AirPods Pro, Amazon devices like the latest Kindle Paperwhite and Amazon Smart Plug, and a host of other discounted tech featured in our main deals roundup.

In a poignant personal essay, Jean Guerrero looks back at her youthful desire to upload her consciousness into a computer, and what it says about the current Silicon Valley fad for immortality. If only it were so easy!

This web game couldn’t be simpler: it times how quickly you can knock out the ABCs on your keyboard. That’s it! (Mitchell tells me that this game is a favorite of Marques Brownlee’s.) Anyway, in two attempts I got 4.337 seconds. Try and beat that!

The European Parliament has given its approval to the bloc’s new USB-C legislation, which intends to mandate the use of the universal charging port on all new smartphones, as well as other devices like tablets and headphones. Laptops are expected to be covered later, in early 2026.

October 26th is the official launch date for the Ear Stick. If leaks are to be believed, we should expect a similar overall design to the old Ear 1 earbuds, minus the silicon ear tips but with a new, slimline charging case.

And it’s thanks to one man: Stanislav Petrov, a USSR military officer who, on September 26th, 1983, took the decision not to launch a retaliatory nuclear attack against the US. Petrov correctly guessed that satellite readings showing inbound nukes were faulty, and so likely saved the world from nuclear war. As journalist Tom Chivers put it on Twitter, “Happy Stanislav Petrov Day to those who celebrate!” Read more about Petrov’s life here.

Good morning to everyone, except for the intern or whoever prevented us from seeing how Microsoft’s Surface held up to yet another violent NFL incident.

Some Churches are asking congregants to install so-called “accountability apps” to prevent sinful behavior. A Wired investigation found that they monitor almost everything a user does on their phone, including taking regular screenshots and flagging LGBT search terms.

For days, Iran has been gripped by major protests after the death of 22 year old Mahsa Amini at the hands of the “morality police.” The latest data from NetBlocks shows how the regime is responding: by making it all but impossible to access Instagram and WhatsApp, some of the only major social media apps accessible in the country.

Hello, night Verge. The admins are asleep, so I’m going to post one of my favorite streams.

So we put together a how-to on customizing your iPhone’s lock screen and wallpaper with widgets and design options, and even linking them to Focus modes. It’s easier than you’d think.

In my article about Apple dropping the physical SIM on the iPhone 14, I said it was “probably fine” for people on major US carriers. I also mentioned that my iPhone 11 had a physical Verizon SIM and an eSIM from a carrier in the Netherlands. This weekend I upgraded to an iPhone 14 Pro. The Verizon SIM transferred without a hitch. The other one? Not so much. Guess it’s time to admit to myself that I’m never moving back to Amsterdam.

Got a handy tip via 9to5Google: if you want to keep an Incognito Chrome tab hidden on your Android phone, you’ll soon be able to fingerprint-protect it by going to Settings > Privacy and Security > Lock Incognito tabs when you leave Chrome. If you don’t see that setting yet, either wait or try chrome://flags/#incognito-reauthentication-for-android. I tried it myself (see below), and it works like a charm.

Nearly five years ago, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, killing thousands and causing the worst blackout in US history. Reuters reports that the island is without power once again after Hurricane Fiona struck early Sunday.

Even though Biden also said that COVID-19 is still a problem, expect this 60 Minutes soundbite to become the center of a heated political argument about whether the pandemic is really over. As Verge health reporter Nicole Wetsman explained last year, the “end” of the pandemic won’t come from one person declaring it so — even if that person is a world leader.

We won’t spoil the word, but around The Verge, we got our butts kicked. “Ludicrous,” says Tristan; Jake declares he is “mourning”; meanwhile, Adi isn’t sure she’s ever heard this word before; Andy got yesterday’s Wordle in one try — only to fail today’s. “It’s been a rollercoaster,” he says.

After hunting for a data plan in Australia this week, I’m excited by Apple’s move to drop the physical SIM tray from the iPhone — it could put pressure on global eSIM adoption. But eSIMs are still pretty clunky since you need to scan a QR code or download a carrier app to activate them. Data is the most important thing on any phone, so shouldn’t it be the easiest thing to shop for? I hope someday clicking “Add Cellular Plan” on the iPhone brings you to a centralized menu of carrier plans that are rated by speed and price.

Roads have been blocked across the capital Port-Au-Prince, preventing engineers from fixing damaged cables.

I’ll take the L on this: back when Ford first filed the patent on a new technology that would allow vehicle owners to rev their engines remotely by using a key fob, I predicted we wouldn’t see it in a production car anytime soon. How wrong I was! “Remote Rev” is coming to the seventh generation pony car next year. Why would anyone want to do this, you might ask? TBD!

A group of scientists have joined together (with help from NASA) to search for chemical and electromagnetic markers that do not occur naturally and so could indicate the presence of intelligent life on other planets. Called CATS (Categorizing Atmospheric Technosignatures), the group is planning a number of projects using current and next-gen telescopes.

Meta was fined around $22 million and Google around $50 million — a fraction of their revenue, but part of a protracted global crackdown on lax privacy policies. Meta says it’s considering fighting the decision in court.

According to an article in the journal Palaios, paleontologists are enthusiastically examining a bunch of bones apparently regurgitated from a predator in Utah 150 million years ago. The fossil they found contains the remains of an unlucky frog or tadpole that was some predator’s lunch back in prehistoric times.

Gizmodo reports that Uber will pay $100 million in back taxes to the state of New Jersey in response to an audit that concluded the company was misclassifying its drivers as independent contractors. But here’s the thing: Uber will pay any amount of money necessary to continue misclassifying drivers, because reclassifying them as employees would cause Uber to cease to exist.

The Drive’s Kevin Williams has made what could be one of the greatest EV archeological discoveries of a generation: a 1987 Chevy Corvette EV built by cell-phone pioneer Motorola.

We have new comments! And probably my favorite feature so far is the “Discussions” tab. Check it out when you open comments on any story — it will show you the most active discussions across the entire site, and also where you’ve most recently posted.

Twitter whistleblower Peiter “Mudge” Zatko will give testimony to the House Judiciary Committee today, his first public appearance since his disclosures on Twitter’s alleged security lapses. The Verge will have more coverage as the hearing goes on.

The Union of Concerned Scientists says that the US electrical grid is up to the EV challenge, even in states like California with a lot of grid problems and a lot of EVs. The group even has high hopes for the future, as EVs grow more prevalent on the road. Utilities and grid operators will need to invest in more capacity and better transmission, though, if and when EVs become the dominant vehicle type on the road.

The new iPhone’s always-on display will apparently turn off if you walk away from it while wearing an Apple Watch. That could save some battery in the long run.

According to the Android Developers Blog, starting with Android 13, you’re going to need at least 2GB RAM to run even Android Go, the lightweight version of the OS. (Since version 11, the minimum has been 1GB.)

First we lost the headphone jack, now the iPhone is eliminating the SIM drawer. How soon before it’s decided that wireless charging makes power ports unnecessary? But don’t stop there. On/off buttons and volume controls can be replaced by long presses and swiping, leaving only cameras & speakers to contend with.

Lithium is a key ingredient in EV batteries, and the gulf coast of Texas could become the site of a major processing facility for Tesla. Whether the state approves the company’s request for tax breaks, though, could be a deciding factor.

And we know that because Elon Musk’s lawyers brought it up in court, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. The company reached a settlement with its former security chief, Pieter “Mudge” Zatko, in June over his lost potential compensation, “days before” he filed an explosive complaint accusing it of security flaws and misleading practices.

The company is also expanding its international 5G coverage to 26 more countries.

I understand why people prefer large phones to smaller ones like the iPhone Mini — after all, I really like my Pixel 6. But many of us still have to deal with the unnecessarily small pockets designed for women’s slacks. And who do I blame when my phone inevitably falls out and breaks?

The small European country is a NATO member — and the Whitehouse suggested as yet unspecified consequences for Iran.