Technology

Samsung is reportedly working on a double-folding phone to add to its lineup, according to Nikkei Asia (via 9to5Google). According to the article, the phone would fold into three segments using two hinges and could be announced “as early as the end of this year.” The phone would be a third option in Samsung’s foldable lineup, joining the Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip, both of which are also expected to appear in new versions this year. According to the report, the design is still being finalized, but Nikkei’s sources say its screen could have a more standard 16:9 or 18:9 aspect ratio, making it easier for app makers to design for than the 25:9 screen found on the Z Fold. We’ve seen phones with multiple folds before: Xiaomi’s folding phone prototype folded at two points, but the company has repo...

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the first Space Shuttle launch, Lego is releasing a new Space Shuttle Discovery set in collaboration with NASA. Discovery was not the first shuttle to take flight — that would be Columbia, which likely stirs up too many sad feelings for a Lego set — but it was the shuttle that launched the Hubble Space Telescope, which is also included in the set. [embedded content] Available April 1st for $200, the set has 2,354 pieces, including three newly designed pieces for the windscreen and payload bay. It also includes 108 drum lacquered silver pieces, the most of any Lego set yet. At 1:70 scale, the assembled shuttle comes in at around 8.5 inches high, 21 inches long, and 13.5 inches wide. The set comes with two stands so you can display the shuttle and te...

YouTube is always running experiments. One of its latest: testing an automated list of products detected in videos uploaded to the site. As of March 22nd this year, that test is being expanded to “people watching videos in the US,” according to YouTube. (An early version of the feature was tested midway through last year, though that test was very small, reports 9to5Google.) In one of its blogs, a YouTube representative gave a little more detail about how this particular feature will be deployed: We are experimenting with a new feature that displays a list of products detected in some videos, as well as related products. The feature will appear in between the recommended videos, to viewers scrolling below the video player. The goal is to help people explore more videos and information abou...

We all have our favorite stuff. It could be a laptop that you’ve used for several years or the snazzy new one that just arrived last week. It could be the headphones that deliver your favorite music and podcasts, the controller that helps you win your games, or the app that puts a weird background on your Zoom calls. Of course, we’re not just talking tech. We’re also talking about your favorite coffee maker, the TV shows that you binged through the pandemic, the hiking boots that have never given you a blister, and the immersion blender that your friend gave you for your birthday. We’ve talked to the people who work at The Verge and asked them to tell us about their favorite stuff, whether it be for working at home, cooking, or playing. Some of these things may be what you already like to ...

“The world has gone terminally insane,” Monty Python’s John Cleese told Vanity Fair on the topic of getting into NFTs. So naturally, the comic actor known for silly walks is now selling a ludicrously expensive NFT of his own: a Vonnegut-esque drawing of the Brooklyn Bridge made on an iPad Pro. It’s listed on OpenSea and the auction ends in 10 days. Bidding started at $100 and has now made its way up to nearly $36,000. Cleese won’t let his masterpiece go for that cheap, though. Cleese said he wants $69.3 million for the piece, suggesting the illustration won’t sell unless someone bids at least that much. While many artists are making more money than ever by selling NFTs for their digital goods, Cleese wants to make a joke of it. NFTs, he argues to Vanity Fair, are “another investment vehicl...

A new partnership between Fitbit and Tile will now let users of Fitbit’s Inspire 2 locate their devices with Tile’s Bluetooth tracking, the companies announced Monday. The free update is available starting Monday. Users will just have to update their device software in the Fitbit app to add Bluetooth tracking, then download and activate the Tile app. Once the Tile app is enabled, Inspire 2 users should be able to locate their misplaced device (it happens to the best of us) via its most recent location, or they can use Tile’s global crowdsourced network to try to find it. Fitbit Inspire 2 users can also sign up for Tile Premium to get smart alerts and other premium content at a price of $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year. It’s the first official partnership between Tile and a wearable devic...

Last Friday, the Fagradalsfjall volcano near Iceland’s capital of Reykjavik began erupting for the first time in 800 years after the island nation was hit by thousands of small earthquakes. Thankfully, the eruption was small and has not put anyone in danger. Instead, it’s gifted the world with some awe-inspiring views of lava flowing from the ground. The sight has been best captured by Icelandic drone pilot Bjorn Steinbekk, who took the straightforward approach of flying right through the eruption. We spotted the footage from Steinbekk (above) via Twitter, and it seems he flew several sorties through the airborne lava — a daring feat that makes us wonder how his drone survived the high temperatures. Það er bara ein fokking regla og það er að negla!!!! Posted by Bjorn Steinbekk on Saturday,...

David Dobrik has parted ways with Dispo, the disposable camera app co-founded by the YouTuber in 2019, after allegations of sexual assault were made against a former member of his Vlog Squad, The Information reports. “David has chosen to step down from the board and leave the company to not distract from the company’s growth,” Dispo said in a statement, “Dispo’s team, product, and most importantly — our community — stand for building a diverse, inclusive, and empowering world.” Dobrik’s decision to leave Dispo follows a report from Insider in which one of the women featured in a 2018 vlog said a former member of Dobrik’s Vlog Squad engaged in sexual activity with her while she was too drunk to consent. She was 20 years old at the time, and said friends of Dobrik supplied her and her friend...

HP has announced two new budget workstations for content creators: an Envy x360 15 and an Envy 17. The 15-inch convertible, starting at $749.99, is available with both AMD Ryzen 7 and Intel 11th Gen processors. The 17-inch clamshell starts at $999.99 and is Intel only. The Envy x360 comes in either “natural silver” or “nightfall black” and includes a magnetic active pen. Its bezels appear to have shrunk slightly since last year’s model. Models have an 88.7 percent screen-to-body ratio and weigh around four pounds. (Not that last year’s model had terrible bezels, but I’ll never say no to more screen real estate.) You can configure it with a 4K OLED display as well as an Nvidia MX450 graphics chip. The top Intel model will include a Core i7-1165G7, while AMD models go up to a Ryzen 7 5700U. ...

A fourth COVID-19 vaccine has shown that it can protect people against the worst effects of the disease in a large United States-based trial. Two doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine were 79 percent effective at preventing people from developing symptomatic COVID-19, according to a press release from the company today. No one in the US trial who received the vaccine was hospitalized for COVID-19, the company said. It’s a good result for a vaccine that’s been dogged by clinical trial issues, poor transparency, and skepticism since last fall. AstraZeneca said the vaccine was up to 90 percent effective in November based on data from the United Kingdom and Brazil, but that number was based on a half-dose of the vaccine given to trial participants by mistake. Additional analyses found that the two-do...

OnePlus is switching to ColorOS, the variant of Android used by Oppo smartphones, for its new OnePlus 9 series in China. The move was announced on OnePlus’ forums by Gary C, the product lead on OxygenOS, which is what OnePlus phones use in the rest of the world. “As a global technology company, we always look for ways to address the different usage habits and preferences among our users worldwide,” Gary C says. “We truly believe this customized new operating system will bring our Chinese users a software experience that is better suited to their liking.” This doesn’t change anything for the global OnePlus 9 series that’s set to be unveiled in full tomorrow — it’ll still run OxygenOS. But it does appear to spell the end for HydrogenOS, which is the China-specific version of Android that One...

If you want to buy Jack Dorsey’s first tweet, you’d better get your bid in. The billionaire co-founder and CEO of Twitter put the tweet up for digital auction as an NFT —non-fungible token— a digital good that lives on the Ethereum blockchain. Dorsey’s 15-year-old tweet is up for sale on a platform called Valuables by Cent that lets people make offers on tweets that are “autographed by their original creators.” On Sunday afternoon, the high bid for Dorsey’s tweet, the succinct “just setting up my twttr,” was at $2.5 million, from Sina Estavi, CEO of Bridge Oracle. Obviously you’re not buying the actual tweet, but as Valuables by Cent’s FAQ page explains, you get a digital certificate of the tweet with your purchase, which is “unique because it has been signed and verified by the creator.” ...