Technology

DJI’s first-ever FPV (first-person-view) drone hasn’t been much of a secret for months — but an unboxing video now shows off the new quadcopter, controller and FPV goggles from practically every angle (via OsitaLV). While the prominent “NOT FOR SALE” and “DISPLAY DEMO” stickers on the box and controller suggest that some details might change before a rumored March launch, we can clearly see a set of front- and downward-facing cameras that are likely obstacle avoidance sensors, in addition to the large main camera mounted high in the drone’s shell. The battery is a tall rectangular brick that plugs right into the back, and it seems like the kit comes with both a charger and a portable power bank of some sort — though it’s unclear which device plugs into that. The new controller design looks...

Google has provided a bug fix to its iOS YouTube app, the first update to a major Google iOS app since December, 9to5Google reports. Although there’s been speculation that the reason for the lack of updates to iOS versions of Gmail, Docs, Search, and Photos is an attempt to avoid Apple’s new privacy labels, Google has explicitly denied that was the case. The company said in a January 12th blog post it would add the labels to its apps when updates were available: As Google’s iOS apps are updated with new features or to fix bugs, you’ll see updates to our app page listings that include the new App Privacy Details. These labels represent the maximum categories of data that could be collected—meaning if you use every available feature and service in the app. The data you provide to Google prod...

Mercedes-Benz USA is recalling 1.29 million vehicles because of a failure in its eCall software which may not provide a vehicle’s correct location to emergency responders after a crash, Car and Driver reported. The recall covers vehicles sold from model years 2016 to 2021 and includes CLA-Class, GLA-Class, GLE-Class, GLS-Class, SLC-Class, A-Class, GT-Class, C-Class, E-Class, S-Class, CLS-Class, SL-Class, B-Class, GLB-Class, GLC-Class, and G-Class vehicles, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The automaker said it was unaware of any instances of material damages or personal injuries that have resulted from the issue, and plans to provide a free software update to be installed over the air or at dealerships. The recall will begin April 6th. Mercedes-Benz said “a ...

You wouldn’t know it from looking at The Verge’s deals coverage this week, but we’ve been getting so many pitches for deals that are on because of Valentine’s Day on Sunday, February 14th, and Presidents’ Day, which is happening the following day in the US. We haven’t featured any of them because, truthfully, better deals have popped up. But below, you’ll find a mix of the holiday-themed deals you actually need to know about, along with some favorite discounts of the week that are still happening. Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Bose’s refurbished headphones are $150 off until today at 10:55AM ET At eBay, you can save 20 percent on refurbished tech by using the code PREZDAY20 at checkout. I invite you to try it out on anything that strikes your fancy, but I think one of the bes...

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, Robinhood co-CEO Vlad Tenev, and Keith Gill (aka Roaring Kitty) are all on the witness list for an upcoming hearing before the House Financial Services Committee, according to a release from Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA). The hearing, to be conducted virtually, will probe the recent volatility in shares of GameStop following a rally fueled by a group of day traders active on the r/WallStreetBets Reddit board. Over a two-week period that began last month, GameStop’s stock (GME) skyrocketed by 500 percent, hitting a high of $483 on January 28th. Several government entities are now looking into whether there was market manipulation involved, and whether Robinhood and other brokerages that temporarily restricted trading of GME were in compliance with federal regulat...

Last year, the pseudonymous writer behind the SlateStarCodex blog abruptly shut it down, claiming a forthcoming story from The New York Times was going to reveal his real name and potentially put him in danger. Reporter Cade Metz says he was able to easily find the blogger’s real name —Scott Siskind— online. After a farewell post on the blog, Metz says he and his editor were harassed online by its angry fans. Now, Metz’s reporting on SlateStarCodex and the philosophical views that made it so popular is finally here. It’s a compelling look at the mindset among many in Silicon Valley’s tech industry. It was nominally a blog, written by a Bay Area psychiatrist who called himself Scott Alexander (a near anagram of Slate Star Codex). It was also the epicenter of a community called the Rationali...

The Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously on Friday to approve an ordinance banning the use of facial recognition software by its police department and other city agencies, the Star Tribune reported. The ban adds Minneapolis to the list of US cities moving to limit or end the use of such technology by its law enforcement officers and city employees. But Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo said in a statement that the ban was created without feedback from him, and that he believes it’s possible for facial recognition technology to be “utilized in accordance with data privacy and other citizen legal protections,” according to the Star Tribune. Facial recognition software has been found to have age, race, and ethnic biases, and privacy advocates have raised concerns about its use ...

The pandemic has been anything but “the great equalizer” that some people called it when it started more than a year ago. Here in the US, COVID-19 has sickened and killed a disproportionate number of Black, Native American, and Latinx people. Vaccine rollout is proving to be inequitable, too. Black and Latinx elders in Los Angeles, for example, have been vaccinated at a lower rate than their white and Asian American counterparts. Distrust in vaccines has been a challenge across the board. But Black Americans were less inclined than other racial and ethnic groups to want to get vaccinated, according to a Pew Research Center survey from December. To fix a system that isn’t fully serving Black Americans and other people of color, “There really needs to be some healing,” says Melva Thompson-Ro...

Earlier this week, Netflix dropped a surprise announcement that it’s adapting author Brian Jacques’ iconic Redwall books into a new animated movie and TV franchise. Based on the 22-book children’s series that was published from 1986 through 2011, the books span generations of sword-fighting anthropomorphic mice, rabbits, badgers, and other woodland creatures living at the titular Redwall Abbey. While the show was previously made into a TV series back in the late ‘90s, it’s never been adapted with the scale (or presumably, the budget) of a Netflix feature film. Many of us here at The Verge are longtime fans of the series. Here’s how we’re taking the news. What were your initial thoughts on a Redwall adaptation? Chaim Gartenberg: I think my initial reaction was “OMG” followed by a lot of scr...

Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Donald Glover will star in a new Amazon Prime Video series based on the 2005 film Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The movie starred Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt as a pair of married killers-for-hire who are assigned to assassinate each other. I am trying to envision what Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag character would make of this news and whether her Mrs. Smith will make the asides to the camera that Fleabag was known for (please do). And! This not the first time the two stars have been in the same production; both were in the 2018 Disney movie Solo: A Star Wars Story, he as a young becaped Lando Calrissian and she as snarky droid L3-37. Glover made the announcement via a story on his Childish Gambino Instagram page, which was shared by Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke. She called ...

Facebook is building a smartwatch as part of its ongoing hardware efforts, according to a new report from The Information. The device is said to be an Android-based smartwatch, though the report does not say whether Facebook intends for the device to run Google’s Wear OS. It also says Facebook is working on building its own operating system for hardware devices and that future iterations of the wearable may run that software instead. The smartwatch would have messaging, health, and fitness features, the report says, and would join Facebook’s Oculus virtual reality headsets and Portal video chat devices as part of the social network’s growing hardware ecosystem. Facebook is also working on branded Ray-Ban smart glasses to come out later this year and a separate augmented reality research in...

Microsoft’s Edge extensions store appears to be hosting illegal copies of a number of iconic games, including Mario Kart 64, Super Mario Bros., Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Pac-Man, Tetris, Cut The Rope, and even Microsoft’s own smash hit Minecraft. The developers listed on the titles aren’t Microsoft, Nintendo, or any other recognizable game developer, meaning that they almost certainly aren’t official copies of the games. We found 35 listings across 10 different “developers” with names like “GamePro Inc,” “Gamelands,” “StayReal” and “Kday,” including a number of duplicate games. Many listings, even from different developers, had very similar descriptions, indicating that they could be coming from the same source. Here are screenshots of just a few of the games we found: Grid View Oddly, Microso...