Technology

Workers at an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island in New York City will hold an election next month to decide whether to unionize, the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) said Wednesday. Workers at the warehouse, called JFK8, will vote between March 25th and March 30th, according to the ALU, which is representing the workers. The election will be held in person at a tent outside the warehouse, the ALU tweeted. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) did not immediately confirm the dates, but said Wednesday afternoon that the parties “have tentatively reached a stipulated election agreement.” A hearing scheduled for Wednesday morning was suspended pending finalization of the tentative agreement, according to an email from NLRB spokesperson Elliott Becker. The NLRB determined last month that unionizati...

Disney has released a trailer for the Disney Plus exclusive movie Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, and it seems it’s following in the grand tradition of Space Jam 2 by being squarely targeted toward the age bracket that remembers the characters from late ’80s and early ’90s cartoons. The movie features Andy Samberg voicing Dale and John Mulaney as Chip, alongside a host of other stars like Will Arnett, Keegan-Michael Key, and Seth Rogan. Based on the trailer, the plot is vaguely about them reuniting after a few decades and teaming up to save the world. [embedded content] Disney does a lot of lampshading in the trailer and in its Twitter post about how this movie totally isn’t a reboot — Chip even shouts “nobody wants a reboot!” But while that argument may hold water for the Disney Plus ...

Epic Games announced Wednesday that there are now more than 500 million Epic Games accounts. It’s a notable milestone as Epic continues to build the Epic Games Store as a competitor to Steam and bring in new players for titles like Fortnite and Rocket League. Epic didn’t share further details about that 500 million, however, so it’s unclear how many of those accounts represent segments like people that only play Epic’s own games (such as Fortnite) or those who have only used Epic’s store. The company has put a huge amount of resources behind growing its PC games store — and therefore, getting more people to sign up for accounts — since it launched in December 2018. One document from the Epic v. Apple trial, for example, showed that Epic had $330 million in unrecouped costs in 2020 alone fr...

Ford is encouraging its customers to 3D-print new accessories for the company’s new 2022 Maverick truck. This week, Ford released CAD files of the Maverick’s storage area under the rear seats and also for its slotted accessories called the Ford Integrated Tether System (FITS). There are a total of eight FITS slots in the vehicle: one behind the center console where a cupholder would normally go in many vehicles and seven under the rear seat bench. It’s designed to be modular, allowing customers to order a set of accessories to fit different needs, like storage dividers to separate cleats and footballs or grocery bag hooks. Ford’s $50 3D-printed FITS accessory pack, available when building a new 2022 Ford Maverick truck.Image: Ford The company sells a FITS accessory kit for $50 that’s avail...

We’re thrilled to announce that Hot Pod Summit — our invite-only event for the people pushing the audio industry forward — is returning to On Air Fest at the gorgeous Wythe Hotel in New York City. The day-long gathering on February 24th will be hosted by The Verge’s senior reporter Ashley Carman and will feature programming on the biggest topics in audio, including podcast subscriptions, competing with big tech, moderation, and more. This is The Verge’s first Hot Pod Summit since acquiring the newsletter in 2021, and we couldn’t be more excited to keep this important event going. We’re putting on the event with our partners at work x work; this marks their 5th consecutive year producing the event. And if you want to see what On Air Fest is all about, tickets are on sale and available at On...

If you’ve decided to delete your TikTok account for whatever reason, there’s good news — it’s relatively easy to do and should only take a few minutes (provided you’re already logged in or remember your password). The process can be done either in the app or on the web — here’s how: Deleting your TikTok through the app TikTok makes it relatively easy to delete your account through the iOS or Android app. Go to your profile, then tap the three lines in the top right corner, which should open the “Settings and privacy” screen. Once you’re there, go to Manage account > Delete account. If you don’t want to answer this question, you are able to skip in. Otherwise, you’ll be presented with some extra information and potentially a support article link pertaining to your choice. The app asks yo...

Realme has announced the Realme 9 Pro and Pro Plus, two new phones that now sit at the top of its extremely popular mid-range numbered series. We reviewed the 8 Pro last year and found it to be one of the best value phones available anywhere — except the US, of course, where Realme doesn’t have a presence. The two new 9 Pro phones are big upgrades on the 8 Pro. The physical design is all new, combining thin flat sides with a curved back panel that, at least on the “sunrise blue” model, uses a photochromic layer that changes color under exposure to sunlight. Take the phone outside on a reasonably sunny day and it’ll change from blue to a reddish tint in a matter of seconds. Vivo, which shares the same BBK ownership as Realme, launched a phone with a similar effect earlier this year. This is...

For the first time, Uber is allowing its customers to see how many five-star ratings they’ve received from drivers — as well as how many shameful one-star reviews they’ve racked up. For years, the two-way rating system has fueled Uber’s power over its riders and drivers. Low-performing drivers — those with an average of four stars or less — were at risk of deactivation. Even some poorly behaved passengers could get kicked off the platform if they received enough one-star ratings. Now, Uber is offering its customers fresh insight into how they are perceived by drivers. Customers will be able to access a breakdown of their average ratings in the Uber app’s new privacy menu, which will be available to customers globally starting today. To access the Privacy Center and ratings breakdown in the...

A month and a half into 2022, Apple Music’s roundup of your listening habits throughout the year is already live, 9to5Mac reports. Unlike Spotify, whose Wrapped feature launches each December, Apple’s competing Music Replay feature is available from now until the end of the year. So if you’re an Apple Music subscriber keen to see what your music tastes have been like over the past 47 days, now’s the time. Of course, there’s a decent chance you haven’t actually listened to enough music this year for Apple Music to generate your Replay summary. As 9to5Mac notes, the summary shows your top 100 most played songs, your top 10 played albums, and your most listened to artists. You can find your stats by heading over to replay.music.apple.com, or the “Listen Now” tab in the Apple Music app. As my ...

Fresh off the back of link-ups with BlackEyePatch, BE@RBRICK and Snoopy, serial collaborator CASETiFY has unveiled its latest and most protective solo project to date: the Bounce Case. Taking its protective iPhone accessories to new heights, the Hong Kong-based label promises its Bounce Case to be the most resilient yet, offering up to 13ft of military-grade drop protection. Crafted using CASETiFY’s proprietary shock-absorbing qìtech™ 2.0 material, each case has a crossover backplate design and four extra corner bumpers to help disperse impact from every angle and is made with 65% recycled, upcycled and plant-based material. The “Triple Black” Bounce Case is available to buy now for $85 USD from the CASETiFY webstore, with more colorways dropping in due course. In other tech news, d...

Expanding on its efforts to help content creators monetize its platform, Snapchat is now incorporating advertisements into users’ Stories. Currently in its beta testing stage, the new feature will place ads within a Snap Stars’ Story, and the subsequent revenue share will be calculated with a formula that measures various metrics including the account’s posting frequency as well as the reach and engagement the video gets. For now, only a small handful of U.S. content creators will have access to the new feature, which is intended only for Snap Stars, a group of verified influencers, celebrities, or public figures boasting large followership. The new plan is one of many ways Snapchat has been trying to monetize its social media platform. Back in October last year, the company introduced Spo...