Technology

Google Fi new and existing customers can get the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 for $400 off, a significant discount on its $999 price tag. There are a few caveats, of course, and you have to purchase the phone first and keep it on a Fi plan for 30 days before you get the discount in the form of a bill credit. But if you’re an existing Fi subscriber and had your eye on the Flip 3 anyway, this deal makes a lot of sense. If you’re an existing Google Fi customer on one of its full-service plans — data-only plans are not eligible— buy the phone at fi.google.com and activate it on your plan. You have to keep the phone active for 30 days to receive the discount, which comes in the form of a bill credit. Non-Fi subscribers have to activate the phone on a new full-service plan, and must transfer their...

This story first ran in Buffering, Vulture’s newsletter about the streaming industry. Head to vulture.com/buffering and subscribe today! Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photo by HBO HBO Max execs have had plenty of reasons to celebrate this summer, from an impressive showing in the Emmy nominations and rapid subscriber growth to its first-ever expansion into countries outside the United States. But much as the glitzy exterior at The White Lotus hides some ugly truths, the platform’s strong overall performance has masked a major issue: For a not-insignificant number of customers, actually using the Max app over the past few months has become an experience scarier than a Tony Soprano nightmare. The good news, Buffering has learned, is that ...

Twitter is halting the expansion of its verification program, saying it needs to work on the application and review process that lets people into the blue check mark club. This change, where Twitter won’t be letting new people apply for verification, is coming after Twitter admitted that several fake accounts, which reportedly seemed to be part of a botnet, were incorrectly verified. If you’ve recently applied for verification, there is a chance you’ll get it — Twitter Verified has said that it’ll still be reviewing existing applications, so the freeze is just preventing new people from being able to apply. In other words, if you were able to apply before, Twitter’s lead says you still can. Twitter hasn’t indicated that it’ll be making changes to the criteria that it uses to deem accounts ...

This week hydrogen trucking startup Nikola announced that it won a $2 million grant from the Department of Energy. While the DoE announced the grants in July, Nikola is promoting the news just two weeks after founder and former chairman Trevor Milton was indicted for allegedly committing fraud. The grant is meant to help Nikola research autonomous refueling technologies for hydrogen refilling stations. It was awarded by the DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy transportation office as part of its Hydrogen and Fuel Cells R&D program, which is focused on proving the reliability and sustainability of using hydrogen as a zero-emissions power source. The DOE grant comes at a time when the department is getting ready to ramp up funding activity to help advance the United States’ deve...

A Dogecoin music festival called Dogepalooza is officially set to take place on October 9. According to the community-driven festival’s website, the event was created as an “all-around global celebration and movement of: Do Only Good Everyday (DOGE).” Organizers hope to eventually host the event across multiple cities and countries. While the official lineup has yet to be posted, the event has announced that legendary singer Dione Warwick will serve as headliner, alongside other musical acts like Grammy-award winning producer Damon Elliot and pianist Chloe Flower, who accompanied Cardi B at the Grammys in 2019. In addition to live entertainment, the event will include food and drink, merchandise, vendors, charities and educational resources on the popular cryptocurrency. “Dogecoin has the ...

Apple has filled in more details around its upcoming plans to scan iCloud Photos for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) via users’ iPhones and iPads. The company released a new paper delving into the safeguards it hopes will increase user trust in the initiative. That includes a rule to only flag images found in multiple child safety databases with different government affiliations — theoretically stopping one country from adding non-CSAM content to the system. Apple’s upcoming iOS and iPadOS releases will automatically match US-based iCloud Photos accounts against known CSAM from a list of image hashes compiled by child safety groups. While many companies scan cloud storage services remotely, Apple’s device-based strategy has drawn sharp criticism from some cryptography and privacy expert...

You could be forgiven for forgetting about Motorola’s folding phones in light of new shiny ones announced by the likes of Samsung, but someone at the company must care about them — a new OS update has been released for the 2019 Razr, bringing it from Android 10, to Android 11 (via Droid-Life). Yes, that’s correct — the OS that started hitting Pixels in September of 2020 is the one that became available for the Razr today. Note: The original Razr reboot and the Razr 5G both became available in 2020. However, the first one was announced in 2019, so I’ll refer to it as the 2019 Razr to help avoid confusion between it and the Razr 5G. Getting the update only a few months after its much better successor isn’t too shabby While it may seem like the update for the 2019 Razr is woefully late, consi...

Amplitude Studios’ upcoming strategy game, Humankind, will be the first Stadia release to feature a new touch-focused control scheme when it comes out on August 17th, according to 9to5Google and confirmed to The Verge by Google. “Direct touch” is designed around multitouch finger inputs like a traditional mobile game, rather than the previous way you may have played Stadia on your phone, with a Bluetooth controller or gamepad overlay. The screenshots Google shared give a pretty good idea of how playing with direct touch works in Humankind. A single finger tap selects in-game objects, holding a finger down previews content, two fingers cancel, dragging your fingering around moves your view in-game, and three fingers brings up the pause menu. The touch controls for Humankind with direct touc...

In June, we got wind that DJI was about to release its most affordable drone yet: the $299 DJI Mini SE. It appeared to be a revamped Mavic Mini for $100 less — or depending on how you think, $150 more affordable than the $449 DJI Mini 2, our current fav under the $500 mark. The only question was, would it have any real improvements over the aging Mavic Mini or just be an affordable rebrand? This week, DJI quietly put the Mini SE on sale, and we now have the answer. Here are the only differences between the $399 Mavic Mini and the new $299 Mini SE, as far as we can tell by poring over the company’s spec sheets and FAQ: It uses the DJI Mini 2’s newer chassis, with fewer exposed screws, stronger arms, and increased wind speed resistance It uses the DJI Mini 2’s lighter, more powerful LiPo bat...

Amazon has officially begun operations at its 800,000-square foot facility located at the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport, the company announced in a press release. The Amazon Air Hub will be used as a base for dozens of company-branded aircrafts per day, processing millions of packages weekly — a goal it plans to reach by the year. The space will also employ over 2,000 staff members across a range of jobs. Construction on the hub began in 2019 and cost $1.5 billion USD to build. It’ll serve as the main base for a surrounding network of 40 Amazon Air sites and comes packed with robotics technology that delivers and sorts through packages and “miles of conveyor belts,” according to Business Insider. The outlet adds that industry experts speculate that the massive construc...

Twitter is readjusting the contrast on its buttons following feedback about its design updates from earlier this week. Some people have reported eye strain, headaches, and migraines due to the higher visual contrast in the colors of buttons and links, as well as the new font, Chirp. We’re making contrast changes on all buttons to make them easier on the eyes because you told us the new look is uncomfortable for people with sensory sensitivities. We’re listening and iterating. — Twitter Accessibility (@TwitterA11y) August 13, 2021 The changes in contrast also included a black follow button that’s filled in if you’re not following someone, which has caused confusion for many people who are used to it being the other way around. It’s not clear yet if that change will be reversed. ...