Technology

Microsoft’s Halo-themed Xbox Series X — one of the many announcements to come out of Gamescom Opening Night Live — is set to arrive on November 15th, nearly a month before the confirmed launch of Halo Infinite on December 8th. Preorders for the $549.99, limited-edition bundle went live at the Microsoft Store and Target on Wednesday, with initial preorder stock selling out in a matter of minutes. Thankfully, if you weren’t able to snag the Infinite-ready console earlier, Walmart is giving you another chance Wednesday, August 25th, at 8:30PM ET / 5:30PM PT, according to a Walmart spokesperson who confirmed the details with CNET. Like with all next-gen console restocks, we suggest signing in to Walmart and updating your address and payment information before the preorders go live. You might a...

Google has finally released a Wear OS app for YouTube Music, which could seem like welcome news for people who have been waiting for a way to play their music off Google’s streaming service after the company shut down Google Play Music on Wear OS in August 2020. But the new app comes with a few caveats. The biggest catch is that the new app only works on one of Samsung’s two new watches powered by Wear OS 3, according to Google. Those watches won’t be available until August 27th, so even if you want to try the new app right now, you won’t be able to unless you have a Galaxy Watch 4 or a Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. Even if you have a compatible watch, it sounds like the app has some frustrating limitations If you are lucky enough to have one of the new watches, the YouTube Music Wear OS will le...

Niantic announced Wednesday that it’s going back on at least one of its controversial gameplay changes to Pokémon Go. The company is permanently increasing the distance you can be from the real-world locations of Pokéstops and Gyms and still interact with them. The new base limit is 80 meters (262 feet), the distance Niantic introduced at the start of the pandemic. At the start of August, Niantic reverted the in-game interaction distance back to 40 meters (131 feet) in the US and New Zealand, much to the disappointment of fans who had appreciated the added accessibility benefits and COVID-19 safety the change offered. Now Niantic is promising to keep the increased distance permanently, along with other changes it’s announcing on September 1st. Trainers – we’re looking forward to shar...

Amazon’s upcoming PC MMO, New World, is getting an open beta ahead of its September 28th release date, Amazon Games announced at Gamescom’s Opening Night Live on Wednesday. The open beta will take place from September 9th to September 12th. The public beta will give players a chance to try out the game before its official launch just a few weeks later on September 28th, even if it’s only for a few days. In addition to the open beta, Amazon Games also revealed a new trailer for the upcoming MMO showing off more of the supernatural world of New World. New World’s open beta follows a well-received closed beta and should give more people a chance to try out the game before it officially launches. The game, like others from Amazon Games, has had a troubled history — a recent delay to September ...

Starting September 18th, Microsoft will end support for the Office and Outlook Android apps on Chrome OS and start pushing Chromebook users to its web apps instead, according to a statement it gave About Chromebooks. As recently as July 31st, Microsoft’s support documents recommended installing the Android versions of Office, Outlook, OneNote, and OneDrive, but now those documents say that the apps are unsupported for Chrome OS users. As About Chromebooks’ Kevin Tofel points out, though, the move to web apps makes the offline situation for Office users more complicated. While certain Office web apps, like Outlook, have a dedicated offline mode, Tofel reports not being able to open existing documents using Microsoft’s progressive web app for Chrome OS while offline. While Chrome OS does off...

Panasonic knows that gamers want to be blown away. But maybe not quite this literally? That looks a little painful. So does this: I’m not sure I’d want a dragon breathing fire directly into my ear? But what do you expect from a product called the SoundSlayer? It had better slay or my money back. And because gamers like acronyms, you should know that the SoundSlayer WIGSS (Wearable Immersive Gaming Speaker System) will come with True MAGESS (Majestic Augmented Gaming Environment Sound System) when it arrives this October for $199.99. Wigs and mages? Not quite, because Panasonic snuck in that extra “S”! “feel enveloped by sound in all directions” Panasonic promises its four full-range speakers will create a ”360-degree pocket of sound around the head” so players “feel enveloped by sound in a...

Xbox kicked off Gamescom a little early, but the show got its proper start with Opening Night Live hosted — as always — by Geoff Keighley. It was a lengthy event clocking in at a hefty two hours, but there was a lot on show, from surprising crossovers to big names like Halo, Horizon Forbidden West, and Death Stranding. If you weren’t able catch the event, here’s all the biggest announcements and best trailers. [embedded content] Firaxis is making a Marvel game One of the biggest surprises was news that XCOM developer Firaxis is dabbling in the Marvel universe with Midnight Suns. It’s described as a tactical RPG — surprise, surprise — and will include a brand-new customizable superhero designed specifically for the game. The studio will show off a gameplay trailer on September 1st, and the ...

Nvidia’s RTX 30-series graphics cards are next to impossible to find in stock, but Best Buy is offering PC gamers an opportunity to buy one on Thursday, August 26th. Select store locations will have stock, and if you find your local store on this page by using the drop-down options, it’ll be among the locations getting some GPUs for Thursday’s restock. You can’t just show up at any time of the day and pick one up. In order to be eligible to buy one, you’ll need to arrive at your store before 7:30AM local time and queue up. That’s the time when Best Buy employees will give one ticket to each person in line until there are no more tickets. If you get a ticket, Best Buy says it guarantees that you can purchase one graphics card, so be early to ensure you get a ticket and that you can get the ...

My friend (and occasional writer for The Verge) JR Raphael has a newsletter in which he recently wrote about cleaning up your Google Contacts list by deleting old and no-longer-wanted entries. What a good idea, I thought. But. Unfortunately, I am something of a hoarder when it comes to contacts. After years as a tech journalist, I have who-knows-how-many business contact listings, many of which are completely out of date. But although it’s likely that a lot of these people have moved to different companies and different email addresses, I feel I should keep the entries — what if I come across them at some point and want to check where I knew them from? Or what if they still work there even though it’s been several years and I want to say hi? There is another reason that I am reluctant to d...

Netflix is hosting its own online fan event for the first time on September 25h. The event is called “Tudum” (as in the onomatopoeia of Netflix’s iconic logo sound), and promises an “exciting day full of exclusives and first looks,” for some of its most popular series and movies. The three-hour event (which starts at 12PM ET) will include “breaking news and … first looks, new trailers and exclusive clips during interactive panels and conversations with the creators and stars from Netflix,” and feature over 70 shows and movies on Netflix, including Stranger Things, Bridgerton, The Witcher, Cowboy Bebop, Red Notice, The Old Guard, and The Umbrella Academy. [embedded content] Additionally, Netflix will be hosting three pre-show events before the main stream starting at 8AM ET: one for K...

Walmart is offering gamers a chance to get a PS5 and Xbox Series X today, Wednesday, August 25th, at 12PM ET / 9AM PT. That’s when the first wave of consoles will be made available, but the retailer has been known to release a few consecutive waves every ten minutes (12:10PM, 12:20PM, etc.) As always, try to sign in before things get started and enter your address and payment info to make the checkout process as speedy as possible. You may have better luck getting a console if you load up the site, and simultaneously have the page open within Walmart’s mobile app. If you’re searching for the Sony PS5, Walmart has the $499.99 version that has a Blu-ray disc drive for game discs and movies, as well as the $399.99 digital version that lacks a disc drive and, as a result, is cheaper and a bit ...

Nike has partnered with biotechnology company Newlight Technologies to reduce its carbon footprint. Specifically, Nike plans to explore the use of AirCarbon, which is Newlight’s carbon-negative biomaterial produced by ocean microorganisms. The creation of the material also utilizes the conversation of greenhouse gasses. Newlight’s goal is to aid in the fight against plastic pollution and climate change by producing this plastic substitute. Currently, the material has been used as a plastic leather substitute for eyewear, bags and wallets. Nike’s goal is to explore the capabilities of AirCarbon with several applications to create more environmentally equitable products. “AirCarbon offers an opportunity to further reduce our impact on the planet,” said Noel Kinder, Chief Sustainability Offic...