Technology

Google I/O, the company’s big developer conference, is back after being canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The keynote kicks off on Tuesday, May 18th, at 1PM ET / 10AM PT, and it will likely be packed with news about Google products. In the keynote’s official description, Google is unsurprisingly coy about what might be announced: “Tune in to find out about how we’re furthering our mission to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” But we can make a few educated guesses about what could be shown off at the event. Read on to find out what to expect from the big show. We’ll likely learn a lot more about Android 12 Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge Google often uses its Google I/O keynotes to exhaustively detail its next major ...

Logitech G502 gaming mouse The Logitech G502 Lightspeed is a great gaming mouse for discerning gamers who don’t want to compromise. It’s comfortable, feature-packed, and even though it’s wireless, it’s a fast and accurate performer that doesn’t feel at a disadvantage against opponents using wired mice. Price: ~$104 Amazon Galaxy Book Pro 360 Part PC, part powerful tablet, the Galaxy Book Pro 360 is one of the sleekest 2-in-1 devices for grads. Paired with the S pen, creators can turn the Super AMOLED screen into a blank canvas. And for the grad on the go, the 20 hours on a single charge will ensure that whatever chapter is next in their life, they’ll be prepared. Price: $650 Samsung Logitech G733 Lightspeed wireless gaming headset This lightweight, wireless gaming headset doesn’t take itse...

There’s something about the Nintendo Switch that makes it a great fit for murder mystery stories. Just like a good novel, these are games best enjoyed while curled up in a comfy chair with a warm drink, ideally when it’s dark and rainy outside. That’s one of the reasons why games like Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Murder By Numbers are best enjoyed on Nintendo’s tablet, which lets you play wherever you want. It’s also what makes the Famicom Detective Club series so interesting — a pair of long-lost titles from the ‘80s that have been given a fresh new life. There are two titles launching today: The Missing Heir and a prequel called The Girl Who Stands Behind. Though they look new, these games were first released in 1988 and 1989, respectively. Each game has been given a modern makeover,...

Adorable drone footage came out last week showing two right whales touching bellies and wrapping their flippers around each other — appearing to “hug.” It was a moment rarely caught on camera. Scientists still aren’t exactly sure what that behavior really means, but the moment is a window into the dramatic world of whale sex and conservation. [embedded content] The video that’s been released to the public was just one snippet of a series of footage from two drones that was captured on February 28th in Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts. The team documenting what happened that day included veterinarian and senior scientist Michael Moore from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry, and Amy Knowlton from the New England Aquarium. The Verge spok...

Google has filed an amicus brief to protect a program that allows the spouses of H-1B visa holders to work in the United States. The brief has been signed by numerous tech giants including Apple, Amazon, Twitter, and Microsoft. The tech industry has long relied on foreign talent to fill the gaps in its workforce. In 2020, Google and Amazon were among the top sponsors of H-1B visas, which are reserved for highly skilled workers. Under President Trump, the program came under fire. The former president drastically boosted denial rates of H-1B applications, as reported by the Seattle Times. He also went after H-4 visas, which are reserved for the spouses of people with H-1B status. Trump threatened to ban H-4 visa holders — a group that is 90 percent women — from working in the United States. ...

Balmuda, a Japanese design company known for its stylish appliances, has announced plans to make a smartphone. There aren’t many details on the device itself yet, but it’ll be a 5G handset that’s expected to be released in November. SoftBank will sell it as a carrier model, while Balmuda will also offer an unlocked version. In its announcement, Balmuda notes that since the smartphone business is getting increasingly commoditized, the company wants to provide an experience that only it can. However, the actual manufacturing is out of Balmuda’s wheelhouse, so it’s partnering with Kyocera on the phone. Balmuda’s toaster sells for about $235 in Japan Balmuda has a fairly limited product line for the home including air purifiers, humidifiers, lights, speakers, rice cookers, and so on. Its best ...

Can you imagine being able to actually search Twitter to find a conversation, instead of just scrolling through endlessly to hopefully find what you’re looking for? That could be a reality for Twitter DMs in the near future. First off, the company’s finally bringing a DM search bar to Android today, nearly two years after it first appeared on iOS. More importantly, it’s going to drastically expand how helpful that bar is by surfacing older conversations and even actual words you’ve typed in those conversations sometime “later this year.” (Currently, you can only search for the names of the people you’ve spoken to.) We’ve brought the DM search bar to Android and are rolling out an improved version that lets you search for all of your old convos, not just the most recent ones. Waiting for th...

Disney has confirmed that its upcoming releases Free Guy and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will be the company’s first two films to debut exclusively in theaters (on August 13th and September 3rd, respectively). But when they do hit theaters, it’ll be for a far shorter amount of time, with just 45 days of theatrical exclusivity, instead of the traditional 90 days. Shorter windows are the new standard The studio is by no means the only one: Warner Bros. has already announced that its return to theaters in 2022 will feature a 45-day window; Paramount has said that upcoming blockbuster films like Mission: Impossible 7 will get 45-day windows, while smaller movies will have an even shorter 30-day window. And Universal has signed deals with both AMC and Cinemark: smaller movies (wit...

Sometimes I reflect on my life and wonder where I went wrong, such that I am sitting on a wooden pew in federal court, watching a Google search for Candy Crush Saga on the display monitor. This is a huge trial with major stakes for tech companies. It is also a crashing bore. On the stand is Lorin Hitt, professor of operations, information, and decisions at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton, looking uncomfortable behind his face shield. During his direct examination in the ongoing Epic v. Apple trial, Hitt testified that he didn’t think having to access an app like Candy Crush through a browser instead of the app counted as “friction” for the user — and that it certainly was less friction than “real-world” alternatives, such as leaving a convenience store and then crossing the street t...

Google is rolling out the ability to access Chat messages right from Gmail to more iOS and Android users, after introducing it as a feature for Google Workspace users last July (via 9to5Google). It’s still a test feature, so getting access to it can take a bit of work, and it may not be available to your depending on your account settings (my colleagues and I were able to enable it on personal accounts, but not our work accounts). If you can get it working, though, you’ll be rewarded with a new tab at the bottom of the Gmail app, giving you access to your IMs. To enable the feature on iOS or Android, open the side menu and scroll down to Settings. If you have multiple accounts, select the one you want, then look for “Chat (early access)” under General. Flipping the toggle will turn it on (...

The Google Pixel 3 was one of the best Android phones of 2018, and though it might not be the showstopper it once was, it’s a standout if you can find it for the right price. Thankfully, if you’re looking to upgrade or take the plunge into the Android ecosystem, Woot is currently offering a 64GB, unlocked version of the Pixel 3 for $160 — a discount of $240. Despite its age, the Pixel 3 remains more than capable with its Snapdragon 845 processor. The phone lacks a headphone jack and its bezels aren’t exactly small, but it packs a 5.5-inch OLED display and a terrific 12-megapixel rear camera, one capable of capturing vibrant shots and decent low-light photos. The Pixel 3’s dual front-facing cameras even churn out wide-angle selfies, while its support for wireless charging makes it one of th...