Technology news

T-Mobile has wasted no time consolidating Sprint’s network and spectrum with its own. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge As reported by Light Reading and confirmed to The Verge, T-Mobile has committed to a June 30, 2022 shutdown date for Sprint’s LTE network. It’s an expected move as T-Mobile continues to absorb Sprint’s network and customers into its own base, and comes six months after its contentious planned January 1, 2022 shutdown of Sprint’s 3G CDMA net

Photo Illustration by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images AT&T announced earlier this year that it would spin its video properties DirecTV, AT&T TV, and U-verse into a new company it would co-manage with private equity firm TPG Capital. That transaction is finally complete, and the services will now operate as a single company under the name DirecTV.
As outlined earlier this year when the company initially announced plans to off-load its struggling DirecTV business, AT&T will

Photo by Joey Roulette / The Verge SpaceX’s Starlink mobile app got a refreshing upgrade this week that makes it easier to find clear patches of sky and monitor connection outages — and adds a new dark mode for its user interface. The app improvements came out yesterday as SpaceX reported 90,000 active users in its open “better than nothing” beta phase, which spans rural regions across 12 different countries so far.
The “completely updated and renovated” versi

An image from Google’s online store that shows off a new Nest Cam and Nest Doorbell. | Image: Google Google has apparently leaked some unannounced Nest security cameras right on its own online store (thanks for the tip, Eric!). Google confirmed in January that it would be releasing a new lineup of security cameras this year, and it seems like the company’s store may have just revealed what’s on the way.
As far as we can tell, the new devices include a combined outdoor / indoor

HBO Max is offering free content to potential users. | Image: HBO Max HBO Max is offering free episodes to potential new subscribers in-app and free of charge so they can take its more popular series for a test drive before committing to yet another streaming service.
The company announced that, starting today, new viewers mulling a subscription can watch a selection of 13 pilots from HBO and HBO Max without having to sign up for the service. Normally, subscribers would pay $10 per month for HBO

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge Sony released its first PS5 software beta last Thursday, and with it came the much-anticipated support for adding an M.2 SSD, letting you install more PS5 games than the fairly restrictive 825GB built-in SSD allows. Alongside the beta, Sony provided a list of requirements, making it clear that you wouldn’t necessarily be able to just grab any SSD and chuck it in your PS5.Which SSDs work with the PS5?
Sony’s main requirements are that the SSD be PCIe Ge

Image: WhatsApp WhatsApp is rolling out its “View Once” feature today, which deletes photos or videos from your chat after they’ve been opened by the recipient. When sending a photo or video, you can make it view once by tapping the “1” button to the left of the send button. After the recipient opens it, it’ll be deleted. The recipient will be able to see that it’s a disappearing photo, so it’s still the type of thing you’d only want to use f

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Despite how things may seem, Snapchat hasn’t learned your birthday or birthplace on its own — you likely told it yourself. The app’s exact knowledge of the exact time, date, and location of a user’s birth has been an issue of some concern for users on Twitter and TikTok over the last few days, but it’s due to Snapchat’s Astrological Profile feature and not some nefarious new skill the app has gained as it’s soared

Just five days after Nikola founder Trevor Milton was indicted, in part, for allegedly misleading investors with footage of a moving truck that was secretly rolling downhill, the hydrogen-trucking startup released footage of a newer prototype driving uphill.The startup showed the video during a presentation of its second quarter financial results on Tuesday. (It also published the footage on YouTube.) While it may be a moral victory for the company to show its truck climbing a 12 percent grade

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Blizzard president J. Allen Brack isn’t the only executive leaving the company today after presiding over a culture now accused of fostering “constant sexual harassment.” Jesse Meschuk, the company’s head of global human resources, has also now departed, an Activision Blizzard spokesperson confirmed to Bloomberg and to The Verge.
While Brack oversaw the entire Blizzard brand and was named in the state of California’s lawsuit a

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Thunderbolt 4 is still relatively early on, but that isn’t stopping Intel from working on its next version of the connectivity standard, Thunderbolt 5. And thanks to a hastily deleted tweet from Intel executive Gregory Bryant that was caught by Anandtech, we’ve already gotten a sneak preview at the next-generation Thunderbolt standard, which could offer twice the speed of Thunderbolt 4 while maintaining physical USB-C plugs.The most notable

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Today, NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio announced details of the “Key to NYC Pass,” a plan to require proof of vaccination against COVID-19 before entering locations like fitness centers, restaurants, or entertainment venues. New Yorkers can meet those requirements by carrying their vaccination card or scanning and storing it in one of two authorized mobile apps. While some businesses and events have already begun to require proof of vaccination or a r

Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images Epic Games only released the v17.30 update for Fortnite early Tuesday morning, but data miners have apparently found a new file within it: audio for an emote based on the Migos song “AM to PM” that features DaBaby, a rapper who has received widespread criticism for homophobic comments toward people with HIV and AIDS he made last week. A file being found in the game doesn’t guarantee that it will be available for players, but it can be a hint abou

Master Chief can now tell you when to turn left or continue straight, thanks to Microsoft and Google teaming up to add Halo Infinite-themed content inside Waze. The promotion will also let you get directions from Escharum, the leader of Halo Infinite’s antagonists, the Banished. There are also a few other settings that let you make your navigation experience more Halo-y, including the ability to have your vehicle show up as a Warthog or Ghost.
To enable the Halo experience, open the Waze

Image: OtterBox OtterBox’s latest gaming controller clip is MagSafe-compatible for iPhone 12 devices, and it costs $39.99. Compared to its previous $30 gaming clip that we reviewed earlier this year, it streamlines the process of connecting your phone to a controller clip by letting it snap on seamlessly with the help of magnets — in other words, MagSafe technology (TM). This solution is preferable to traditional controller clips that clamp around the edges of your phone’s disp

On Tuesday, chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission Gary Gensler called on Congress to expand the agency’s authority in regulating cryptocurrency trading, lending, and platforms.
“Right now, we just don’t have enough investor protection in crypto. Frankly, at this time, it’s more like the Wild West,” Gensler said in a speech to the Aspen Security Forum Tuesday. “We have taken and will continue to take our authorities as far as they go.”
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Photo by Avery White for The Verge Apple is updating to the Mac Pro with new graphics card modules on Tuesday, featuring options based on the AMD Radeon Pro W6000 series. The company claims the new Radeon Pro W6800X MPX Module, Radeon Pro W6800X Duo MPX Module, and Radeon Pro W6900X MPX module should give a boost to performance for the graphics-heavy tasks Apple designed the Pro around. Continuing to support the Pro by bringing new GPU options to Apple’s custom Mac Pro Expansion Module (MP

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge On Sunday, a bipartisan group of Senators published draft text of a massive new bipartisan infrastructure bill, proposing more than a trillion dollars in spending and a vast array of far-reaching provisions. But a little-noticed section in the bill could have significant implications in the fight against drunk driving, eventually mandating a new in-car safety technology to actively prevent Americans from driving while impaired.
Introduced under the heading

Here’s the Google Meet app on Chrome OS. | Google With Chrome OS’s latest update, Google has announced that its Google Meet app will be preinstalled on all Chromebooks. The announcement is part of the company’s larger push to adapt its operating system for remote meetings.The new feature shouldn’t make too much of a difference to long-time Chromebook users who already have a preferred video-chat platform installed. But for new students receiving a Chromebook for the first

Image: Inspiration4/John Kraus The first “all-civilian” mission to space is set to blast off on a SpaceX rocket in mid-September, and the process of getting those astronauts trained and (eventually) into orbit will be documented in a new five-part Netflix series called Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission To Space.Announced Tuesday, Countdown is being billed by Netflix as the first documentary series from the streaming company to cover an event in “near real-time.” Netflix say

Image: Fandango Fandango has announced that it will phase out the branding of its “FandangoNOW” streaming service and focus on Vudu as its lone app for rentals and purchases of movies and TV shows. The change means that Vudu will now become the default portal for rentals and purchases on many Roku devices, where FandangoNOW has long been the digital store for movies and TV content.Fandango says the united service will “offer more than 200,000 new release and catalog movies and

Microsoft’s new Aqua Shift Special Edition Xbox controller. | Image: Microsoft Microsoft has just revealed its newest Xbox controller — the Aqua Shift Special Edition — and it has a striking, shimmery blue finish that makes it perhaps Microsoft’s flashiest controller yet. But the shiny blue color isn’t its only distinctive feature: the controller also has rubberized side grips that have “a unique dual color swirl on every unit,” according to Microsoft.
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Photo by Aubrey Gemignani /NASA via Getty Images Boeing postponed the test launch of its uncrewed Starliner astronaut capsule on Tuesday, the company said in a statement. The delay was caused by a technical issue that popped up after lightning storms on Monday. Mission teams are determining whether the issues can be resolved in time for Starliner’s next launch opportunity on Wednesday around noon.
During routine engineering checks the day before Starliner’s planned launch, engineers

Image: YouTube YouTube will pay creators up to $10,000 per month for making popular videos on its TikTok competitor, YouTube Shorts. The company plans to pay $100 million throughout the next year, with the first payments going out this month.
The fund could mean a whole lot of cash for creators, but payouts aren’t guaranteed. The popularity needed to earn money will depend on just how many people are making and watching Shorts each month, and payouts will also depend on where each creator&

Google Maps’ dark mode on iOS. | Image: Google Google Maps will finally be getting a dark mode on iOS, nearly two years after Apple rolled out dark mode as part of iOS 13. The feature, which is arriving in the coming weeks, should be welcome for when you’re using the app at night or in dark environments. You can get an idea of what dark mode will look like in the picture at the top of this post.
To turn on dark mode, go to the settings menu, tap on dark mode, and then tap “on.&

Microsoft has informed employees that it will require proof of vaccination for anyone entering a Microsoft building in the US starting in September. Employees who have a medical condition or a protected reason, such as religion, that prevents them from getting a vaccine can get a special accommodation. The company has also pushed its full office reopening date from September to “no earlier than October 4th, 2021.”
Here is the company’s full statement, shared with The Verge:
As

Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge Online retailer Antonline is hosting bundles that include Microsoft’s Xbox Wireless Headset and one of the new first-party Xbox wireless controllers for $25 less than it’d cost to purchase each item separately. There’s a bundle with the headset paired with a pulse red controller, a shock blue controller, and one with an electric volt controller. Each are selling for $140 right now, and Antonline suggests acting fast as it told us that deals

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Having already brought it to pretty much every other streaming device and platform, today WarnerMedia announced that HBO Max is now available on LG smart TVs in the United States. The US rollout follows Latin America and the Carribean, where HBO Max came to LG sets in June.
HBO Max can be downloaded from LG’s channel store on TVs running the company’s webOS software. If you’ve enabled voice controls, you can also say “HBO Max”

It’s taken a few months, but Apple is now selling the new, Touch ID-equipped version of its Magic Keyboard for anyone to buy, starting at $149 for the standard version and $179 for a full-sized model with a numpad, as spotted by MacRumors.
The Touch ID keyboard was introduced alongside the M1 iMac earlier this year, but at the time, the only way to get one was to buy a new computer. Now, though, anyone can buy one of the new keyboards, albeit with one key caveat: the standalone models are

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) walks back to his office after a bipartisan group of Senators and White House officials came to an agreement over the Biden administrations proposed infrastructure plan at the U.S. Capitol on June 23, 2021 in Washington, DC.  | Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images A new generation of pipelines could be born out of the bipartisan infrastructure deal making its way through Congress. But instead of hauling oil and gas, the pipelines would carry pl

Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge There are a smattering of deals happening across the web. Some products we’ve covered are seeing some of the lowest prices yet. Like an 11.5-inch tablet with an OLED screen. For a limited time, Lenovo is discounting its Tab P11 Pro tablet that has a vivid OLED screen from its usual $500 price down to just $310 through Lenovo’s official eBay page. This is the base model that has 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.My colleague Dan Seifert mentioned in the

Citizen The crime-tracking app Citizen is now launching its own emergency response service, promising access to agents who can call 911 or keep tabs on a potentially dangerous situation. Protect, which costs $19.99 per month, builds on a beta program that launched earlier this year. It’s part of a larger — and sometimes controversial — expansion effort at the startup, which has built a crime-mapping system into a live broadcasting platform while experimenting with private secur

Boeing’s Starliner capsule sits atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket | NASA/Kim Shiflett Boeing is set to launch its Starliner astronaut capsule to the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, more than a year and a half after its first orbital Starliner test failed to reach the station and returned home earlier than planned. The mission is a test, and there won’t be any humans on board. If all goes well, it’ll mark a crucial step toward Boeing and NASA’s goa

Image: Amazon Amazon and Best Buy are continuing on with their TV partnership that started three years ago. Today, the companies announced new Insignia and Toshiba TVs that run Amazon’s Fire TV software. The latest F50 series improves on previous “Fire TV Edition” sets — Amazon is just calling them “Fire TVs” now — with expanded quantum dot HDR color for a more vivid picture. The new models also feature slimmer bezels, DTS Virtual-X audio from the built-

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge In the last week or so, we’ve learned about the state of California filing a lawsuit against Blizzard citing numerous stories of sexual harassment at the company. The revelations have been followed by even more stories of unacceptable behavior by leaders of the company, and now the president of Blizzard (who was named in the lawsuit) is leaving the company “to pursue new opportunities.”
Employees were informed of J. Allen Brack’s de

As The Verge reported last week, Realme is working on a magnetic wireless charging system for its Android phones, and today it’s revealed a full range of products that’ll use the new technology. Realme is calling the system MagDart, and it’s basically a high-powered take on Apple’s MagSafe system for the iPhone 12 range of phones.
The key product in the lineup is the 50W MagDart charger, which Realme says is the world’s fastest magnetic wireless charger. It has an

Twitter’s added context for content on its platform. | Image: Twitter Twitter is working with news agencies the Associated Press and Reuters to more proactively combat misinformation on its platform, the company has announced. The platform’s internal teams already work to explain and add context to Twitter content, but it says the two news agencies will help provide more authoritative information, especially when facts are in dispute.In particular, Twitter says it wants to be more pr

The X34 1440p monitor sits in the middle of the fleet of new models. | HP HP has gone on a tear and announced seven new gaming monitors in its X lineup, featuring a range of sizes, panel types, and resolutions, as well as some that are curved or flat-screened. It seems like HP is aiming to deliver a flurry of options that have a high refresh rate, low response time, competent design, and crucially, competitive prices. HP is staggering this launch over the next few months, with availability start

Amazon’s delivery drones have gone through many iterations, including the design above.| Image: Amazon A new report from Wired into Amazon’s drone delivery program in the UK says the operation has lost over 100 employees, with insiders saying the project is “collapsing inwards.”Citing testimony from former employees, Wired describes a culture of managerial dysfunction and overwork. In February 2020, for example, Amazon reportedly shut down a team of dozens in the UK dedic