Technology

Apple has revived its MagSafe charging brand with a twist: it’s no longer for its MacBook line but instead for the new iPhone 12 line. The announcement, made during the company’s annual iPhone reveal, confirmed rumors from last week that Apple would be bringing back its magnetic charging cable that it began phasing out of its laptop line starting in 2016 with the first USB-C MacBook. The new MagSafe brand will come with a whole new set of accessories. Those include a magnetic wallet that connects to the back of the new iPhones, a new leather cover that switches the phone into what appears to be a new clock mode for iOS with just the time showing, and a combo folding charger for both the iPhone and Apple Watch. Grid View It’s not yet clear what kinds of chargers or cables will be bundled wi...

Apple is announcing a new iPhone 12 mini today. It’s the first time Apple has used the “mini” moniker on its iPhone line, after using it on the iPod mini, iPad mini, and Mac mini previously. The new iPhone 12 mini has a 5.4-inch screen, which means Apple has squeezed a larger display than the 4.7-inch screen found on this year’s iPhone SE into an iPhone 12 mini handset that’s smaller overall. Apple has made the $699 iPhone 12 mini smaller by removing Touch ID and replacing it with Face ID, alongside a significant reduction in bezels around the display. Apple claims it’s the smallest, thinnest, and lightest 5G phone in the world. iPhone 12 mini vs. iPhone SE (2020)Apple Like the iPhone 12, the iPhone 12 mini uses Apple’s A14 Bionic, a 5nm chip with better energy efficiency and performance t...

Netflix has removed the option for potential subscribers in the United States to test the service with a free trial, the company confirmed to The Verge. The company started phasing out the option for US-based subscribers this month, but has spent the last couple of years phasing out the option in a number of countries around the world. To replace the free trial, Netflix is introducing new ways to try and attract potential subscribers, including posting some educational content on YouTube for free and other forms of content sampling. “We’re looking at different marketing promotions in the US to attract new members,” a Netflix spokesperson told The Verge. With the free trial offer gone, Netflix is going to test even more forms of content sampling promotions With the free trial offer gone, Ne...

Apple has officially announced its 2020 flagship iPhones: the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, featuring support for 5G and a new squared-off design that’s reminiscent of the iPhone 4. It’s also the first major redesign for Apple’s full-screen smartphones since it introduced the bezel-less design with the iPhone X in 2017. Both the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro and 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max are bigger than last year’s 5.8-inch iPhone 11 Pro and 6.5-inch iPhone 11 Pro Max. The 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max, in particular, is notable for taking the crown as Apple’s biggest phone to date. The Pro models features a stainless steel design (instead of the aluminum on the iPhone 12), in four colors: gray, stainless steel, gold, and a new blue. The new iPhone 12 Pro models will feature Apple’s A14 Bionic chip...

I don’t hate using the Surface Laptop Go. It didn’t give me any problems. But I do have an issue with it, philosophically. I really liked the Surface Laptop 3; I’m looking forward to an eventual Surface Laptop 4. Microsoft hasn’t announced one, though. Instead, it’s announced the Surface Laptop Go, a smaller, lower-priced laptop. It’s intended to be a budget option that competes with Chromebooks and other student-y offerings. Well, “budget.” There’s an asterisk. Verge Score 6 out of 10 Good Stuff Compact and light 3:2 aspect ratio It has a real processor Bad Stuff No backlit keyboard Low-resolution screen Limited port selection There are three models of the Surface Laptop Go, and I can really only see myself recommending one of them in good conscience. The base model is $549, and it only i...

Photos of Apple’s next smart speaker, the HomePod mini, have leaked hours ahead of the company’s big product event happening today. The images, published by Evan Blass, reveal a smaller device than the original HomePod — though it’s still covered in the familiar mesh fabric and has a small display at the top. The original HomePod was announced at WWDC 2017 and went on sale in early 2018, positioned as a high-end speaker centered on Apple Music and the company’s Siri voice assistant. Since then, Apple has added additional features to the HomePod. But this new version will presumably cost less and help the company better compete against Amazon’s Echo lineup and new products like the Nest Audio from Google. Image: @evleaks It seems Apple won’t be offering new color options beyond the space gr...

Amazon Prime Day 2020 is here, and the retailer has slashed the prices across a slew of items and categories, including Amazon’s own devices. Whether you are looking for a Fire tablet to read ebooks, a Ring device to protect your home, or you simply want to add an Alexa device to a part of your house, here are the best deals on Amazon’s own tech. A standout deal includes the third-gen Echo Device, which is the lowest it has ever been previously. In addition, a lot of the Echo and smart home deals allow you to add an Amazon smart plug or other accessories for just $5 more. Of course, if you are not a fan of the older Echo Dot design, you can also preorder this year’s Echo Dot model, which features a spherical design with a two-pack costing $80 on Amazon right now. Third-generation Amazon Ec...

The newest character to join the fantasy strategy game League of Legends is a pop star who started out as a social media influencer. League developer Riot has officially unveiled Seraphine, a mage described as “the starry-eyed songstress.” You can get a full run-down of her in-game abilities right here. While she looks like a unique addition to the game, one of the most interesting things about the character is how she was revealed. For months, a virtual influencer named Seraphine was posting photos and music on Twitter and Instagram, and fans slowly started to realize she was part of the League universe, though it wasn’t until last month that Riot confirmed it was behind the character. (If you’re wondering how this ties into the ever-expanding League lore, her backstory is particularly in...

Amazon Prime Day 2020 is here, starting right now and lasting until 11:59PM PT on October 14th. We’ve listed the best deals below happening in all of the major tech categories, including phones, gaming, storage, PC, TVs, tablets, drones, headphones, and more. We’ve highlighted particularly good deals. Looking for non-Amazon retailers? Check out our anti-Prime Day deals. Most of what you’ll find below will be on sale throughout both days of Prime Day 2020. However, we’ll be putting limited time Lightning Deals up near the top so you can easily find (and, if you want, buy) those products. For all of our coverage, including what kinds of deals are happening outside of Amazon, you can see it all here. Current Lightning Deals: The next Lightning Deals are coming at 9:15AM ET Phones Samsung’s Ga...

eBay is launching a new sneaker authentication service to verify that shoes sold on the platform match what their listings claim. According to CNN, the service will start the week of October 25th and cover the most popular sneaker styles and brands. But by early 2021 it will expand to cover all sneakers sold for over $100 on eBay in the US. Collectible sneakers are big business. TechCrunch notes that some shoes are limited to just a few thousand or even dozens of pairs, meaning popular editions can sell for up to thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, this means the market is also ripe for counterfeiting. In one incident from last year, US Customs and Border Protection officers seized over 14,000 fake Nikes shipped from China to LA. Sneakers are shipped to an authen...

After an escalating series of viral stunts, internet collective MSCHF is taking on advertising itself. On Monday, the collective posted a series of jingles on TikTok aimed as a broadside against the primary source of funding for social networks. Some of the jingles call out the general concept, while others take on specific brands the group has decided to target: Amazon, Comcast, Facebook, Fashion Nova, the NFL, Palantir, Purdue, and even TikTok itself. “We had our team [do some] digging on them, and found nine that had some form of dirt we didn’t like and wanted to bring to light more,” Daniel Greenberg, MSCHF’s creative strategist, tells The Verge. “Attack TikTok for content suppression. Attack Fashion Nova for stealing designs and using sweatshops. Attack the NFL for disregarding player...

Panasonic has released an official Lumix webcam app, as first spotted by PetaPixel. The software, still in beta since its quiet release late last month, lets you plug your camera into your Mac or Windows machine and have it recognized as a video source in apps like Google Meet and Zoom. Panasonic’s official software replaces the workaround hack the company introduced back in June. Panasonic’s workaround was necessary because of the webcam shortage during early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. But it was far more cumbersome than a native app, requiring you use Panasonic’s hack to remove the tethering app’s overlaid interface and then direct the live feed from the camera through an intermediary like Open Broadcaster Software (OBS). Thankfully, that native app removes all that fuss and you ca...