Technology

Google is opening up applications to a new program for developers of media apps that lets them keep more of what they earn — paying a lower 15 percent commission to Google in exchange for supporting certain platforms and features (via 9to5Google). The Play Media Experience Program is another way to get around the company’s 30 percent service fee, and it’s also an admission that the Google had already been cutting deals with some developers behind the scenes; Google is positioning it as the global expansion of a program that was previously invite-only, though it doesn’t seem to have mentioned it before today. If that sounds familiar, you might be thinking of how Amazon managed to evade Apple’s App Store tax. Apple, too, explained that it had an “established” program for premium video apps, ...

According to noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will sell an iPhone with a 6.7-inch screen for less than $900 in 2022 (via 9to5Mac). If this turns out to be the case, iPhone 14 buyers will have a less expensive way to get a screen size that Apple currently only sells on the 12 Pro Max, which starts at $1,099. Kuo predicts that Apple’s 2022 non-pro iPhone lineup includes phones with 6.1 and 6.7-inch screens (the same sizes as the current iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, respectively). Absent is the iPhone Mini with its 5.7-inch screen. Analysts, including Kuo, have said that the Mini will be going away in 2022 due to reportedly low sales. While some may mourn the loss of an actually small phone option, from Apple’s perspective, going big with its line of mainstream phones makes sense. We know f...

Soon, public links to an untold number of items stored on Google Drive and YouTube will stop working. In the name of enhanced security, Google is changing the way it handles link sharing on both services, and while active users may be able to opt out of the switch, files and videos abandoned on unused or inactive accounts may simply slip out of view forever. That’s because shared links are now part of a newer system that Google says increases security. On YouTube, the newer links are apparently more difficult for anyone to guess or access without being explicitly given access. The newer links also have the affect of tying more activity to specific accounts and requiring viewers to log in, which allows access to be tracked and made a part of each user’s profile. [embedded content] On YouTub...

Nearly a year after Peacock’s launch, NBCUniversal’s marquee streaming app is finally coming to Fire TV and Fire tablets. The streaming service will officially arrive on Amazon devices on June 24th, allowing users to access the app without having to sideload it. The companies announced Wednesday that the app would be supported across Fire TV products, including Fire TV Stick Lite, Fire TV Stick 4K, and Fire TV smart TVs. A Peacock spokesperson told The Verge that second-generation Fire TVs and above will have support for the app, as will all Fire Tablets with Fire OS 5 and above. In addition to Peacock, the distribution agreement will see 15 NBCUniversal apps arrive on Amazon devices as well, including various NBC apps and Telemundo. Much of Peacock’s content is available to stream for fre...

One of tech’s biggest problems in the past few months has been due to one of its smallest components: chips. Months into the shortage, the effects have spread far beyond the difficulty of buying an Xbox Series X or PS5. Car companies are being hit the worst, and even home appliances might start to see issues with supply. Earlier this year, companies expected to have supply chains sorted and products more consistently back on shelves by summer — but June is nearly over and there’s seemingly no end in sight. And with the upcoming slate of big tech releases and the holiday shopping season coming up, expect things to get worse before they get better. “We had thought probably six or seven months ago, like everybody else, that it would be relatively short-term.” Jahmy Hindman, chief technology o...

Logitech is releasing a version of its Combo Touch keyboard case, which has a Microsoft Surface-style kickstand and a detachable keyboard with an integrated trackpad, for the fourth-generation iPad Air. The case will cost $199.99, making it $100 cheaper than Apple’s Magic Keyboard that fits the iPad Air, and it will be available in July. The Combo Touch’s keyboard is powered by the iPad’s Smart Connector, meaning that you won’t need to charge up the keyboard on its own, and it offers backlit keys and iPadOS shortcut keys. The case also a handy open spot at the top where you can store a second-gen Apple Pencil, which attaches magnetically to the iPad. This case’s design might feel familiar — it looks nearly identical to the Combo Touch cases that were recently released for the 2021 iPad Pro...

Battlefield 2042, coming this fall, will offer the series’ largest skirmishes yet; its “All-Out Warfare” modes can fit 128 simultaneous players in a single match on PS5, Xbox Series X and PC. But you won’t always have 128 humans in each match — EA will be backfilling those servers with bots to keep games populated, the company confirms to The Verge, and there’s currently no plan to let you turn that off. Humans will take priority, so you might never encounter an AI soldier at peak playtimes — and if you truly hate bots, you’ll be able to play other modes. But the main event allows up to 64 “AI soldiers” to help fill a game, depending on your region, platform, and how many real-life humans are available to join up. That applies to both the Conquest and Breakthrough modes. In defense of bots...

Whatever the reason, 5G-themed gin is now something that exists in the world, courtesy of T-Mobile. Ostensibly, “Ultra Capacity 5Gin” exists to celebrate a T-Mobile milestone: covering 300 million people with its low-band extended range 5G network and 150 million covered by its better midrange ultra capacity 5G. But maybe it just came down to the company seeing Ryan Reynolds having a good time, selling gin*, and enjoying ownership of a wireless company and it thinking, “Let’s get in on that.” Or perhaps as the Mariners were on the receiving end of yet another no-hitter, some marketing execs out for a night at ol’ T-Mobile Park drowned their sorrows in one too many $20 G&Ts and got to thinking. With notes of pine, citrus, and unfulfilled Sprint acquisition promises The corporate-branded...

The US is only a few days into summer and another heat wave is already coming for the West. “Record shattering” would be an understatement to describe the last heat wave, which lingered over the Southwest last week and has since shifted eastward. Roughly 4,000 new temperature records have already been set this year. More are going to make the books over the next week. A heat dome is a trap Both heat waves are caused by atmospheric conditions called heat domes. In short, a heat dome is a trap. It forms when high pressure in the upper atmosphere creates a sort of lid or cap that stops hot air from escaping, according to NOAA. As the air sinks back down to Earth, it compresses and heats up even more. The heat dome also blocks out clouds and storms, which might otherwise provide some relief fr...

Jerry Seinfeld is perhaps best known for co-writing and starring in Bee Movie (fine, also for co-creating one of the most beloved televised sitcoms). But since that daring project, he hasn’t really returned to feature-length films. That’s about to change — Deadline and Variety report that Seinfeld is co-writing, directing, producing, and starring in Unfrosted, a new film about the origins of Pop-Tarts, for Netflix. Seinfeld’s fascination with the toaster pastry is well-documented, featuring the breakfast food in his stand-up and in a New York Times video interview on joke writing. Seinfeld is penning this film exploration alongside Spike Feresten and Barry Marder — two of Bee Movie’s co-writers — using the classic stand-up bit as a jumping off point. Will it be a humorous spin on a The Fou...

John McAfee, founder of the company behind McAfee Antivirus, has been found dead according to reports from Reuters, El Mundo, and El País. . He was being held in a Barcelona prison, and the Catalan Department of Justice has stated that his death was likely caused by suicide. McAfee was being held in prison, pending extradition to the US, after being arrested in October 2020. He faced charges of tax evasion and had also been charged with securities fraud relating to an alleged cryptocurrency pump and dump scheme. Spanish courts had approved his extradition this morning with opportunity for appeal, according to Reuters and El Mundo. The Verge has reached out to the US Department of Justice for comment. Developing… You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So...

If you’re one of the blessed 8 million-ish people who’s been able to get their hands on a PlayStation 5, you’ve probably run into the controller update process at some point. I got mine on launch day (November 12th, 2020), and I’ve had to update the DualSense controller a few times since, as well as when I got the new red variant. It’s easy, right? Well, maybe not so much. Here’s how to update your PS5 controller automatically Wake the PS5 from sleep See the text on-screen alerting you to the available controller update, which includes the choices to “Notify After 24 Hours” and “Update Now” Plug in a USB cable (because for some reason you can’t do this wirelessly) Highlight the “Update Now button,” and press X on the controller to update But. If you don’t press X at that point — if you pre...