Technology

Nothing will launch its debut smartphone this summer, its CEO and former OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei announced today during a live stream. It’ll be called the Phone 1, run Android, and be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. And yes, it was this phone that Carl Pei was photographed showing Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon — albeit wrapped in a privacy-protecting case. The Phone 1 will be the company’s second product following the release of its Ear 1 true wireless earbuds last year. A short teaser trailer released today suggests that the phone could have a series of light strips built into its back, while a previous report claimed it could feature transparent design elements like the company’s earbuds. But Nothing isn’t ready to talk specs or price. During an interview with The Verge ahe...

Players are experiencing a number of issues with the PlayStation Network right now, affecting the PS Store, PS Now cloud gaming services, as well as any games, apps, or features that require a network connection. PlayStation’s status page currently says “some services are experiencing issues” and notes that problems began at around 8:30AM ET this morning. The problem doesn’t seem to be affecting everyone, as some staffers at The Verge had PlayStation Plus errors while trying to play Elden Ring, but for others, things are working just fine. There may be a regional aspect to the problem — so far, everyone we’ve checked in the Midwest and Canada has a fully operational PS5, but in New York, everyone is getting error messages. Among readers, reports are more scattered, there are people across ...

Intel is finally on the right track again. That’s the biggest takeaway of the first year of the company’s reboot, brought on by its new CEO Pat Gelsinger when he took over the reins in early 2021. Intel has a new vision for the future: its “IDM 2.0” approach. Its introduction was exactly a year ago today. That makes today a great time to check in and see how the new Intel — which looks a lot like the old Intel — is shaping up. Intel’s past decade or so prior to its recent reinvention was a series of misplaced bets and product misses, culminating in a disastrous summer in 2020 that saw nearly everything go wrong for the company: another delay for its next major manufacturing node, departures of top executives, and the loss of one of its most premium partners all struck within a few weeks of...

Instagram announced on Wednesday that it’s adding two new modes that change how the main feed works, bringing back the much-awaited reverse-chronological view. The company calls the two new modes “Following” and “Favorites,” and says they’re designed to “give you more choice and control over what you see” while using the app (that is, let you avoid things like suggested posts and algorithmic sorting based on who and what the app thinks you like). Instagram’s description for the “Following” feed is truly something to behold: “See the latest posts from accounts that you follow, in the order they were posted.” And to that, I say yes. That’s exactly what I want every social network to be! Instagram says it’ll go on to make the main feed even less linear Instagram also details the Favorites mod...

Sony is planning to release a Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) feature for the PlayStation 5 “in the coming months.” The long-awaited VRR feature will sync the refresh rate of a display to the PS5’s graphical output, and will reduce visual artifacts, screen tearing, and frame pacing issues. You’ll even be able to use the new VRR feature with games that don’t officially support it. The news comes as Sony announced the availability of new PS5 and PS4 software updates. “Gameplay in many PS5 titles feels smoother as scenes render instantly, graphics look crisper, and input lag is reduced,” says the PlayStation team in a blog post. “Previously released PS5 games can be fully optimized for VRR through a game patch and future games may include VRR support at launch.” The new PS5 VRR feature.Image: Son...

Last week, Ukraine accused DJI — the world’s leading drone maker — of letting Russia target innocent civilians with missiles using DJI drone technology. “Are you sure you want to be a partner in these murders?” tweeted Ukraine Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov last Wednesday. “Block your products that are helping Russia to kill the Ukrainians!” Reading those words, you might imagine DJI is now shipping killer drones to Russia or perhaps that Russia is using DJI drones as spotters for separate missile systems of its own. But that’s not even remotely what Ukraine’s request is about. It’s actually about DJI AeroScope, a system for locating drones and their operators — which Russia is now allegedly using to find Ukrainian drone pilots and wipe them out. DJI AeroScope was originally designed...

Starlink is reportedly raising prices for both its hardware and subscriptions. According to Engadget, a newly obtained email from the SpaceX-run satellite Internet service announced to its clients that prices will be increasing “due to excessive levels of inflation.” The price of the Starlink kit will now be raised from $499 USD to $549 USD for those who have already paid a deposit, while brand new customers will have to pay $599 USD. In terms of the monthly subscription fee, pricing will go up from the current $99 USD to $110 USD starting on April 22. Understanding that this isn’t what its customers originally signed up for, Starlink’s email also notes that those who are still within their first year of service can cancel their subscription for a partial refund of $200 USD, while tho...

In a recent feature for TIME, 28-year-old Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin expressed his concerns about the cryptocurrency world he had a hand in creating. While cryptocurrency continues to soar in volume and in value, Buterin shares with TIME that he feels mixed emotions, experiencing both “pride and dread.” Buterin understands the consequences of Ethereum, which has made many unfathomably rich, while also pumping pollutants into the air. The digital currency has also aided and abated those who wanted to avoid tax, as well as became a vehicle for money laundering and scams. Buterin said, “Crypto itself has a lot of dystopian potential if implemented wrong.” He also adds that he does see the dangers of “overeager investors” as well as the shameless display of wealth that seem to have a neg...

Shazam has unveiled a series of new concert features, allowing users to find concerts and increasing exposure for artists. Users will be able to explore an artist’s upcoming live shows and ticketing information by either Shazaming their songs or searching the tracks on the app or website. The Shazam Artist page will also include dates, times and locations of the live shows, plus additional tour or show details to add to their calendar. Shazam will be utilizing concert information from Bandsintown, which serves more than 68 million fans and 560,000 artists, managers, labels and booking agents. “Shazam has a long history of innovation in music discovery and connecting artists and fans,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple‘s vice president of Apple Music and Beats. “With the reemergence of live music...