Technology news

Apple may use high-end OLED screens in more of its devices, not necessarily just because it wants to, but also because it may satisfy a penalty it supposedly owes to its OLED supplier, Samsung Display — after reportedly failing to buy enough iPhone screens to make good on its contract. According to a report from ETnews, this repayment might even see Samsung’s OLED screens appearing in Apple products that have never featured them before, including notebooks and tablets (via AppleInsid

The rainbow Pride flag means so much to so many people, regardless of their age.
On June 19, Sal Stow was outside her partner Meghan Stabler's home in Williamson County, Texas, when she noticed a note left on the doorstep. When she opened it, she discovered a heartwarming message written in a youthful scrawl.
“Hello, you don’t know me but my name is [redacted],” the note reads. “We’re moving away today but I wanted to thank you. Seeing a Pride flag waving so proudly

It's not easy to trust your gut.
I received no less than half a dozen emails about the web series Insomnia before deciding, on a lark, to attend a press screening in May. I jogged there from a dance class, hiding under scaffolding to avoid rain, and paused at one crosswalk to wonder why on Earth I was putting myself through this.
But I had a gut feeling. A part of me that I can't even access on command knew that I needed to see this series, which I had previously heard of through word-of-mouth i

If you were planning to ship a Huawei phone to America, you might be in for a surprise. This week, writers at PC Magazine tried to ship a Huawei P30 from a UK office to a US one, and were surprised to find it sent back a few days later. Since the sender had identified the phone down to the IMEI number, it was clear from the beginning that box contained a Huawei phone, but the package was actually shipped all the way from London to Indianapolis — from the UK’s Parcelforce to its US pa

In recent years, small drones have made their way onto battlefields where they’ve been used to surveil US forces or drop bombs on them, prompting the US military to develop new ways to take them down. This week, the US Air Force unveiled a new tool that can be stationed at bases around the world: a high-powered microwave system called Tactical High Power Microwave Operational Responder (THOR), which is designed to protect bases against swarms of drones.The Air Force Research Laboratory at

Nashville is banishing the scooters after its first scooter-related death. The city’s mayor David Briley notified seven scooter companies operating in Nashville he was ending the pilot project and banning electric scooters from the streets, according to a letter he posted to Twitter Friday.“We have seen the public safety and accessibility costs that these devices inflict, and it is not fair to our residents for this to continue,” Briley writes. “If these devices return in

Instead of gas-powered ice cream vans that require generators, Nissan built a prototype with electric batteries for rechargeable, renewable soft-serve.
The e-NV200 all-electric van came out last year, but this week, for UK Clean Air Day, Nissan unveiled how it could be modified to transport, deliver, and chill ice cream.Solar power for your ice cream.Image:nissanThe truck has just under a 125-mile range with a 40kWh battery powering the motor. The precious cargo from Mackie's of Scotland is serv

As Facebook deals with global criticism for its platform’s role in promoting violence, the company says it’s taking new steps to slow the spread of hate. In a blog post published yesterday, the company noted action it’s recently taken in two countries: Sri Lanka and Myanmar, both of which have been hit by social media-fueled conflict.One focus of the company is “borderline content”
In Sri Lanka, where posts on Facebook have spread anti-Muslim violence, the company

Dell’s SupportAssist software, a Windows toolkit designed in part to protect your computer from security vulnerabilities, has yet another vulnerability of its own that makes running older versions of the software a risk to your system. As noted by Gizmodo this morning, this new vulnerability was discovered by security researchers at SafeBreach and disclosed on Monday in a public blog post. Dell has now issued an update to patch it that you should download now.A serious concern here is tha

As a federal investigation into YouTube’s problems with children enters its late stages, the platform needs a solution. But as YouTube struggles to find a fix that addresses policymakers’ concerns, it’s left with a major roadblock: children have become integral to the overarching creator community.Whether it’s six-year-olds reviewing toys and landing on YouTube’s Trending page, kids’ reaction videos attracting millions of views, or top-tier vloggers teaming u

What’s better than watching Netflix? Watching Netflix while also doing productive things at the same time. Fortunately, Netflix may finally be making that a reality, with Engadget reporting that the streaming site is testing a new pop-out player that will allow you to stream videos in a picture-in-picture mode on your computer.To activate the pop-up player, you simply click the button on the bottom toolbar while watching a Netflix show or movie, at which point the floating player will app

Forky is the most prominent of the new characters in Toy Story 4, the latest in the flagship franchise that launched Pixar Animation Studios and eventually won it a Best Animated Feature Film Oscar. Forky is the name of a spork that a kindergartener rescues from the garbage and adorns with pipe-cleaner arms, googly eyes, and popsicle-stick feet. It takes a long time for this dim, flimsy thingamabob to accept his own sentience. He believes he belongs in the trash.Forky is also a symbol of a comp

On Monday, SpaceX is set to launch the third flight of its most powerful rocket, the Falcon Heavy. And this time, it’s carrying a host of new technologies into space, ranging from a new type of atomic clock to a thin sail that moves on sunlight. If they can survive the harsh environment of Earth’s orbit, then these new technologies could evolve into valuable tools for future space missions.
Elon Musk claims that this complicated flight is the company’s “most difficult la

This is the third Vergecast episode of the week, but we’ve still got a lot of news to talk about. Host Nilay Patel warms up the show with some fun-yet-depressing gadget fails and then shifts gears into the larger news events in technology that have been unveiled over the past few days.Our expert panelists break it all down for you. Paul Miller explains what Facebook’s new cryptocurrency, Libra, actually is and how it differs from bitcoin. Adi Robertson expounds upon Sen. Josh Hawley

China’s biggest science fiction novel, The Three-Body Problem, is being developed for a potential television series, according to CX Live. If it happens, it’ll come after the massive success of another big sci-fi adaptation from the country, The Wandering Earth.Chinese entertainment company YooZoo Entertainment holds the rights to the series, and it’s apparently working on an adaptation of the book. CX Live discovered a publicity form submitted to the Chinese government that l

GM likely isn’t the first name you think of when it comes to bicycles. But America’s largest automaker, which is home to Chevy and Cadillac, is hoping to change that with the launch of its Ariv e-bikes (pronounced like “arrive” and stylized as “ARĪV”) in Europe this week. I was able to meet with the Ariv team in Amsterdam to test-ride both the Ariv Meld and the nearly identical-looking foldable Ariv Merge.
As someone who’s currently testing the fir

There are so many streaming options available these days, and so many conflicting recommendations, that it’s hard to see through all the crap you could be watching. Each Friday, The Verge’s Cut the Crap column simplifies the choice by sorting through the overwhelming multitude of movies and TV shows on subscription services and recommending a single perfect thing to watch this weekend.
What to watch
Devil Doll, a 1964 British horror movie that Mike Nelson and his robot pals Tom Serv