Technology

If you still play Pokémon Go on a smartphone or tablet running Android 5.0 “Lollipop” or iOS 10 or 11, you’ll no longer be able to access the game when Niantic pushes an update in October. The Pokémon Go Twitter account confirmed that two popular older phones also won’t make the cut: the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 are being left behind, despite the fact both phones can be upgraded to run iOS 12. All things considered, the performance on those devices probably wasn’t great. Pokémon Go might not be as demanding as some other titles, but it relies heavily on your phone’s cameras, GPS tracking, and general chops to keep up with its 3D visuals, and can be quite a drain on an aging phone battery. All that being said, it’s going to be a loss for a non-trivial amount of people around the globe who don...

Apple accidentally approved common malware disguised as an update for Adobe Flash Player to run on macOS, according to a new report. According to security researcher Patrick Wardle, Apple approved an app that contained code used by a well-known malware called Shlayer. Shlayer is a trojan downloader that spreads through fake applications, bombarding users with an influx of adware. Shlayer is the “most common threat” to Macs, cybersecurity and anti-virus firm Kaspersky said in 2019. Apple announced the macOS notarizing process in 2019 Wardle says this is the first time he knows of that Apple mistakenly notarized malware following the debut of its new notarization process. Apple announced the macOS notarizing process in 2019, requiring every app to be reviewed by Apple and signed by a develop...

This story is part of a group of stories called Only the best deals on Verge-approved gadgets get the Verge Deals stamp of approval, so if you’re looking for a deal on your next gadget or gift from major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and more, this is the place to be. Amazon’s Echo Buds wireless earbuds are $40 off at Amazon, which brings them down to their lowest-yet price of $90. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this deal, but it doesn’t happen regularly. (It happened once before in January 2020.) If you’re in the market for wireless earbuds, these are a particularly good value if you’re seeking a solid set of noise-canceling buds. They utilize Bose noise-reduction technology to help block out sound, and they’re also worth the price, thanks to their excellen...

Federal Bureau of Investigation documents warned that owners of Amazon’s Ring and similar video doorbells can use the systems — which collect video footage sometimes used to investigate crimes — in order to watch police instead. The Intercept spotted the files in the BlueLeaks data trove aggregated from law enforcement agencies. One 2019 analysis describes numerous ways police and the FBI could use Ring surveillance footage, but it also cites “new challenges” involving sensor- and camera-equipped smart home devices. Specifically, they can offer an early warning when officers are approaching a house to search it; give away officer locations in a standoff; or let the owner capture pictures of law enforcement, “presenting a risk to their present and future safety.” These are partly hypothetic...

The latest update to Overcast, a popular iOS podcast app, is bringing new transparency to podcast ads. Listeners who are in the beta can now view the services their favorite podcasts use to serve ads and track listeners. This means listeners will be able to tell when a podcast is using dynamic advertising, which allows networks to swap and target ads based on the specific person listening. For most people, this likely won’t change the shows they enjoy, but for the audience that cares or wants more information about how a podcast serves them ads, it’s a notable transparency feature that isn’t yet available in any of the other major podcasting apps. This distinguishes Overcast particularly from Spotify, which gathers more information than any other platform with little transparency. Because ...

Brands and influencers have locked in a Twitter bidding war for the chance to get a branded costume added to Fall Guys since August 17th, and that bidding war came to an end today. G2 Esports, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, Aim Lab, and Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson, have emerged victorious as a team effort, pledging to donate $1 million to charity. Mediatonic confirmed the news today, calling it “probably the spiciest team up since The Avengers,” with a tweet from Aim Lab. “Crowns should be held in the palms of those who continue to do good,” Aim Lab said on Twitter. It’s unclear what the costume will actually look like or when it will be added to the game. The first official bid was €212 from PC hardware manufacturer Cooler Master, and the pledges quickly escalated into the hundreds of thousands of ...

GoPro may be adding one of its most useful new features to its main camera line with the upcoming Hero 9: a front-facing color screen. The feature, revealed in leaked renders obtained by WinFuture, wouldn’t be a first for GoPro; the company added such a screen to last year’s GoPro Max camera. But that device is a 360 camera costing $500, so adding one to the presumably cheaper Hero 9 — so filmmakers (and especially vloggers) can see in full color what the shot looks like as they record — is a nice touch. The leaks indicate the new front-facing screen would remain the same size as the current monochrome status display, which sits on the front next to the lens. That screen typically displays information like frame rate, resolution, and other recording info, but in this context could showcase...

Asus has taken the wraps off its new ZenBook S, a slim ultrabook that can be equipped with up to Intel’s Core i7-1065G7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of fast PCIe-based storage. Asus gave its flagship laptop a glow-up in the screen department, going from a 16:9 aspect ratio in last year’s model to a taller 3:2 aspect ratio for this year’s 3300 x 2200 touchscreen. What’s more, the bezels surrounding it are thin, and the display is Pantone-validated with 100 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut. The ZenBook S has plenty of other traits that might make it a worthy contender for your next laptop. It features two Thunderbolt 3 ports that can be used for fast data transfer, connecting to an external monitor, or charging its battery. Speaking of which, Asus claims the 67Wh battery within ...

If you’re serious about fighting games, 8BitDo has announced a mod-friendly, wireless arcade stick that may interest you. It’s designed to work with PC and Nintendo Switch, and you can easily toggle between two sets of controls depending on the platform you’re using. It costs $89.99 and ships October 20th, but preorders are open now from the company’s site and Amazon. Grid View The wireless arcade stick supports Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless via a receiver hidden in its underside, though you can wire it directly with a USB-C cable (which you’ll need to do on occasion to recharge its 1,000mAh built-in battery). 8BitDo claims that it can last 40 hours per charge while using the 2.4GHz wireless receiver or up to 30 hours via Bluetooth. Wireless range is over 30 feet. With PC software, you can...

On Thursday night in the Students For Markey’s Zoom phone bank, a group of prolific pro-Markey posters called @edsreplyguys rallied the troops. “Everyone here is absurdly attractive without exception cause they support Markey,” one person wrote in the Zoom chat under the handle “Shrek for Markey.” “PERIOODDDDD SHREK,” another replied under the name “harry styles stans for ed.” By the end of the night, around 70 members of the Markeyverse were able to make 96,000 calls over the course of three hours, all while hyping each other up in the Zoom chat and requesting that the Students For Markey group play their favorite songs as they hit the virtual dialers together. Team Markey hosts inspiring, energizing, nightly GOTV checkout calls and tonight @EdMarkey himself joined our dance party! He is ...

Some of Netflix’s original TV shows and movies, including the Oscar-nominated Two Popes and horror thriller Bird Box, are now available to watch for free without a subscription, Gadgets360 reports. The free content, which also includes the first episode of Stranger Things, can be found here, and is available globally. Netflix confirmed the promotion in a statement given to Gadgets360. “We’re looking at different marketing promotions to attract new members and give them a great Netflix experience,” a spokesperson said. The free content includes a selection of films that can be watched in their entirety, but for TV shows only the first episodes are available. Here’s a full list of the TV shows and films available to watch for free: Stranger Things Murder Mystery Elite The Boss Baby: Back in ...

This evening, SpaceX launched another rocket from Florida, but this vehicle took a very different kind of path than most flights from the East Coast. Rather than head eastward after launch as most Florida missions do, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket headed south after liftoff, skirting over Florida’s southeast coast and heading over Cuba. That’s because this mission was headed to what is known as a polar orbit — a path that runs mostly north-to-south over the Earth’s poles. It’s a type of mission you don’t normally see taking place from Florida. In fact, this will be the first time since 1969 that a rocket taking off from Florida heads southward. Up until now, most polar launches in the US have taken place from the southern coast of California. That way, the rockets fly over open ocean when they ...