Technology

When Crytek announced that a remaster for the original Crysis would launch this year, fans were excited to see how much the game’s legendary graphics would improve — but a leaked trailer has left so many fans disappointed with the graphical changes that Crytek has now pushed the game’s release by several weeks. A trailer showing some gameplay and a July 23rd release date was leaked on YouTube, and the visuals left a bad taste in some fan’s mouths. Several commented how the game’s graphics remained significantly unchanged from the 2007 original; one fan even said the remaster “looks like original Crysis but with the lowest settings.” You can decide for yourself if the game looks too similar to a 10+ year-old game: [embedded content] Crysis, a sci-fi first-person shooter series originally re...

Popular weather app Dark Sky, now owned by Apple, is keeping its doors open on Android for a little longer. The company said on Wednesday in an update on its website that it plans to keep the Android version going until August 1st, after initially announcing it would shut it down today, on July 1st. Presumably, the Wear OS version is still functioning as well, but we’ve been unable to check that. Both apps appear to have been removed from the Play Store, however, so you need to have the app downloaded or have downloaded it at least once in the past to be able to continue using it for another month, according to 9to5Google. On August 1st, all existing subscribers to Dark Sky’s Android version will receive a full refund — Dark Sky has charged Android users $2.99 a year for access to the serv...

Google has discontinued its mid-range Pixel 3A and 3A XL smartphones, the company announced today (via Android Police). “Google Store has sold through its inventory and completed sales of Pixel 3A,” Google said in a statement to The Verge. “For people who are still interested in buying Pixel 3A, the product is available from some partners while supplies last.” That might be disappointing to hear for people who were on the market for a more affordable Google-made phone. In his review last year, my colleague Dieter Bohn found the 3A had an excellent camera, especially for its low price. The 3A is, in fact, listed as out of stock on the Google Store. However, as of this writing, there’s stock available on Amazon of both the 3A and 3A XL, if you still want to pick one up. With the discontinuat...

Even a favorite stay-at-home activity like watching TV can get lonely sometimes, especially if you’re used to hanging out with your friends and watching together. Although you can stream and text, FaceTime, or share your screen on Zoom, sometimes that just doesn’t cut it. If you’re looking for a way to make your social-distancing series binge more, well, social, there are browser extensions that let you host watch parties digitally. Here are several apps you can use to host movie nights with friends online, along with step-by-step instructions on how to start watching. To use these apps, you will need your own subscription for each service, and everyone watching will have to be signed onto their own account. These extensions work on top of your existing subscription to sync the videos with...

Lincoln is ending production of the famed Continental sedan at the end of 2020, just four years after reintroducing the vehicle following a 14-year hiatus. Why? Because Americans have fallen irretrievably in love with SUVs and trucks over the last few years. As Automotive News first reported, Lincoln will continue to sell the car in the US and Chinese markets into next year. Lincoln has long been rumored to be interested in building vehicles in China but would not say if it plans to shift production of the Continental there. “Sedans continue to be important to the luxury market in China, and we will have more to say about our plans in the future,” a company spokesperson told The Verge on Wednesday. Lincoln will soon only sell SUVs The decision to pull the Continental from the US market so ...

Microsoft is introducing a new Windows 10 Start menu design that will de-emphasize its Live Tiles. The software giant first hinted at the refreshed design earlier this year, and it’s arriving for Windows 10 testers today. “We are freshening up the Start menu with a more streamlined design that removes the solid color backplates behind the logos in the apps list and applies a uniform, partially transparent background to the tiles,” explains Microsoft in a blog post. Essentially, the reduction in the color of the blocky tiled interface on the Start menu will simplify it slightly and make it easier to scan for the apps you use on a daily basis. It’s a subtle change, but it certainly makes the Start menu look a little less chaotic and avoids many tiles sharing a similar blue color. The old Sta...

UK regulators are scrutinizing a longstanding deal between Apple and Google over the default search engine in the iPhone maker’s mobile Safari browser, reports Reuters. According to an updated report compiled by the UK government’s Competition and Markets Authority, Google pays Apple a “substantial majority” of the £1.2 billion (roughly $1.5 billion) it pays every year in the UK alone for so-called default positions, in other words when Google pays a company to make its search engine the go-to one in a browser or other platform. The report says the deal creates a “significant barrier to entry and expansion” for Google competitors. The report also suggests either limiting Apple’s ability to monetize such deals or to give users a choice of search engine upon setup. “The scale of these paymen...

It’s been three years since Search Party last aired on TBS, where tragically few people watched it. An immediate cult hit, Search Party won ardent fans across its brief two-season run by being an unexpected mix of thriller and satire. The series was a bait-and-switch: it begins with a mystery about a missing woman, but mostly used that in the service of a withering takedown of white millennial life. Now, the show has returned with a third season on a new platform, HBO Max, where it is one of the few must-watch original series and a terrific weekend binge. In its new third season, now available to stream in its entirety, Search Party gets meaner than ever while maintaining the relentless pacing of both thrills and comedy. This remains as impressive a high-wire act now as it was in 2016, esp...

Samsung may have just leaked its next flagship phone, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, with renders of an unreleased Galaxy Note device appearing on the company’s official Russian website, via Ishan Agarwal on Twitter. While it’s not confirmed yet that the images of the copper-colored phone are actually of Samsung’s new flagship, they definitely do depict an unreleased Galaxy Note phone, with a camera array that features a folded zoom lens and a very similar design to the Galaxy S20 Ultra released earlier this year. The Verge has confirmed that the images do currently appear on Samsung’s Russian website for the Galaxy Note 8, as the background for a section that reads “Discover the next generation Note” — which links out to the Galaxy Note 10, not a new phone. Given the mismatched colors, it seem...

Microsoft is improving its OneDrive upload limit and sharing integration with Microsoft Teams for businesses and finally bringing a dark mode to the web version. The software giant is increasing the upload file size limit from 15GB to 100GB for all OneDrive and SharePoint users today. It’s a useful addition for business users of OneDrive who have been restricted to 15GB files, making it difficult to sync some large file types like CAD or video files. OneDrive for Business users will also soon be getting better Teams sharing integration. You’ll be able to share a file within Teams and be presented with an option to create a shared link that allows files and documents to be shared strictly within a company or to anyone. Microsoft will also soon support address bar file sharing, so you can co...

Lego’s next line of sets offers builders multiple ways to recreate pop culture icons, including Darth Vader and Marilyn Monroe. Lego Art is a lineup of portrait creations designed for adult builders. Each set features small, bead-size pieces and a canvas that you use to piece together a pop art poster. There are four sets currently in the Lego Art lineup: Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe, portraits of the members of The Beatles, a set featuring various versions of Iron Man’s suit, and a Star Wars set based on popular villains. There isn’t just one way to create these portraits, either — Lego says each set can be reimagined “in a number of different ways.” For example, if you purchase The Sith set, you can recreate one of three members from the dark side of the force: Darth Vader, Darth Maul, o...

Marshall’s new $149 Emberton Bluetooth speaker gives the beloved Logitech Ultimate Ears Boom a run for its money. For starters, it charges over USB-C for quick, no-fuss charging, and it borrows the excellent joystick-like controls from Marshall’s recent lineup of headphones. Instead of having to learn a few combinations of buttons to change the song, or check the battery’s level, everything is dead-simple here. The remaining battery life is conveniently displayed at all times in an LED-lit window. To navigate, simply tilt the gold, spiralized nub in one of four labeled directions to adjust the volume or find the song you want. As some companies try to find clever ways to let you control your devices, such as swipes or gestures, there’s something to be said for physical buttons being easy, ...