Technology

Apple has hired Josh Elman, a prominent venture capitalist and former vice president of product at stock-trading app Robinhood, to help it improve iOS app discovery in the App Store. Elman announced the news via his Twitter account on Monday, saying he’s also leaving his role as a board partner at the firm Greylock Partners and as a board member of prominent tech companies like Discord and Medium. Elman joining the App Store team may help improve the iPhone maker’s relationship with developers after a rather rough year in which Apple’s stewardship of the App Store has been called into question by critics, rivals, and regulators. For instance, Elman is previously a board member of and investor in Houseparty, the chat app acquired by Fortnite creator Epic Games. 2/ I’m joining Apple to work ...

Zoom is doing pretty well. The company reported $777.2 million in revenue during its third quarter, well over 4x its revenue from the same quarter last year. That’s now two quarters in a row that Zoom’s revenue has quadrupled. Zoom expects to quadruple its revenue year over year once again in the fourth quarter. The immense success should come as no surprise. Zoom became the go-to videoconferencing app at the start of the pandemic, and it’s managed to hold on to that spot even as other services — like Google Meet, Slack, and Microsoft Teams — have increasingly vied for attention. Zoom doesn’t state how many users it has in total, but its metrics around paying customers continue to grow. The company now has 433,700 subscribers with more than 10 employees, up from 370,200 last quarter, and i...

Engineers are racing to fix a failed piece of equipment on NASA’s future deep-space crew capsule Orion ahead of its first flight to space. It may require months of work to replace and fix. Right now, engineers at NASA and Orion’s primary contractor, Lockheed Martin, are trying to figure out the best way to fix the component and how much time the repairs are going to take. In early November, engineers at Lockheed Martin working on Orion noticed that a power component inside the vehicle had failed, according to an internal email and an internal PowerPoint presentation seen by The Verge. Known as a power and data unit, or PDU, the component is a “main power/data boxes,” according to the email, responsible for activating key systems that Orion needs during flight. Orion is a critical part of N...

Developers have now made it possible to emulate PS2 games on the Xbox Series X and S using the RetroArch emulator — something that the PlayStation 5, a successor to the PS2, can’t. Thanks to the Xbox Series X / S consoles’ “Developer Mode,” the emulation software can be added as a Universal Windows Application (UWA), allowing users to download a retail version of the emulation software directly to their console without tricky workarounds, so players don’t have to wait for a re-release to play an older favorite. While RetroArch is able to emulate several different consoles, the compatibility for running PS2 games using the PCSX2 core is particularly notable because of how limited Sony’s PlayStation 5 is when it comes to backwards compatibility compared to the Xbox. The new console is only n...

It was inevitable that Samsung was going to make the switch from “Plus” to “Pro.” Even if there was a “Live” in between. The company has filed the necessary regulatory paperwork with the FCC for its next set of true wireless earbuds. It was already rumored that these would be called the Galaxy Buds Pro, and now it’s right there in documentation directly from Samsung itself. The FCC filing comes with the usual confidentiality protocols in place, so it doesn’t reveal too much more about the Buds Pro. But an image of the regulatory label offers a preview of the charging case’s shape. It seems the Buds Pro will be housed in a case that more closely resembles the case from the Galaxy Buds Live than the Galaxy Buds Plus. Samsung’s FCC filing clearly describes these as the “Buds Pro.”Image: FCC T...

Cyber Monday is here. It’s the last big shopping opportunity of 2020, and if you didn’t already take advantage of some deals that debuted over the weekend, now’s your chance. Every retailer has debuted at least a few new deals earlier than ever, and we’re focused on adding them here — in addition to the great Black Friday deals you can still get. As you’re expecting, there are some great deals on gaming laptops, wireless noise-canceling headphones, earbuds, tablets, and much more. We’ll be doing our best to keep this post updated during Cyber Monday, and stay tuned throughout Cyber Week as we give you as many chances as possible to get everything on your holiday wish list. We’ve put the latest deals right at the top for easy viewing. Latest deals Best Buy is hosting a two-hour special on A...

When it first appeared, Tesla’s tequila was an April Fools’ joke on Elon Musk’s Twitter account. It was also called “Teslaquila.” But that name, ultimately, wouldn’t make it to the final product — which was very, very real. See, “Teslaquila” isn’t possible due to tequila industry regulations. The word “tequila” is a designation of origin; it means the rights of using this word belong only to the tequila agribusiness. That also means no one can register the word as their property. Because “Teslaquila” evokes the word tequila, it cannot be registered as a brand The problem with the branding is “Teslaquila’’ is too similar to the word tequila, according to the Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT), the entity responsible for regulating and authorizing all of the processes related to the manufactur...

In line with bad things happening in 2020, Disney has digitally removed a lone crew member who accidentally appeared in the background of a recent Mandalorian episode. The crew member, who the internet lovingly dubbed “Jeans Guy,” appeared at the 18:54 mark in season 2, episode 4. Back flat against the wall, the crew member was not in the shot for very long, but they made an impact on Star Wars fans everywhere. People even made mock designs for action figures based on the crew member! You can’t buy that kind of love. The Verge has reached out to Disney about the digital erasure. Upon revisiting the scene, however, the crew member is nowhere to be found, something I was worried would happen. The beauty of digital editing technology is that shows and movies can be worked on in homes around t...

The Italian Competition Authority, Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato or AGCM, has fined Apple €10 million (around $12 million) for making misleading claims about the waterproofing of its iPhones, Reuters reports. Affected iPhone models go back to 2017’s iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. In a press release, the AGCM criticized Apple for not being clear enough about its water resistance claims. It said that claims about iPhones being water resistant for up to 30 minutes at depths of up to four meters only apply in certain circumstances like controlled lab tests with pure water. The regulator also criticized Apple’s disclaimer that said water damage is not covered as part of the iPhone’s warranty, despite marketing the phones’ water resistance. This latest fine comes a little over two years...

Elago AW5 AirPods Case for AirPods It can be a little overwhelming to see the same white AirPods cases lying around and having to wonder which pair is yours. This Game Boy-inspired case by Elago will allow your friend or relative to know which case is theirs. Also, it looks really cool. Price: ~$15 Walmart Hades video game All the fun of a good-looking, fast-paced roguelike about Greek mythology, minus a lot of the frustrating feeling of getting stuck with no progress, thanks to a fun narrative and characters you just want to hang out with. One of the best games of the year so far. Price: ~$25 Epic Games Logitech G733 gaming headset The Logitech G733 is a rare breed of wireless gaming headsets: it isn’t too expensive, yet sounds great and is comfortable to wear. Better yet, you can g...

Two of the year’s most anticipated public listings — DoorDash and Airbnb — will seek higher than expected valuations for their IPOs, new filings show. Each company has seen its fortunes affected by the coronavirus pandemic, with DoorDash surging and Airbnb seeing its business drop off sharply. But both have priced their IPOs in roughly the same range. Food delivery platform DoorDash is seeking to raise $2.8 billion in its IPO, at a valuation of up to $30 billion. Its most recent valuation pegged it at $16 billion, following a fundraising round of $400 million in June. DoorDash will list 33 million shares priced between $75 and $85. DoorDash’s star has risen during the pandemic, as restaurants closed to in-person dining. Its IPO prospectus showed it had $1.9 billion in revenue for the nine ...

The UK government is banning the installation of new Huawei 5G equipment from September 2021 as part of its plans to phase out the Chinese firm’s technology by 2027, The Financial Times reports. The decision follows the government’s announcement in July that firms would be barred from buying new equipment from January 2021 over national security concerns. The announcement means that any telecoms companies who have stockpiled Huawei equipment ahead of the January cutoff will now not be able to use this for long-term 5G rollouts. The Financial Times reports that some companies have been stockpiling this equipment since summer. Firms will still be allowed to maintain old equipment after September, according to BBC News. Firms have reportedly been stockpiling Huawei’s equipment New legislation...