Technology

/ Section 207 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which would have expired this month, gives broad data collection powers to US spy agencies. By Wes Davis, a weekend editor who covers the latest in tech and entertainment. He has written news, reviews, and more as a tech journalist since 2020. Share this story Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Congress has extended Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for a few more months to April 2024. According to The New York Times, the program was included in the $886 billion National Defence Authorization Act, which passed the House by a vote of 310 to 118, with support from the majority of both parties, on December 14th. FISA was due to expire on December 31st, 2023. Senator Ron Wyden wrote in a press re...

/ You can also grab Google’s excellent Pixel Watch 2 at a discount, along with a turntable that lets you beam vinyl straight to your Sonos system. By Brandon Widder, a senior editor overseeing deals, gift guides, and commerce. He spent six years spearheading buying guides and consumer tech coverage at Digital Trends. Share this story If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. Opal’s latest webcam makes for a nice carry-on companion, one that packs a bigger, better sensor than Opal’s first offering.Image: Opal Happy Saturday, dear readers! It’s been a relatively quiet week on the deals front — well, aside from the return of Walmart’s $349 Xbox Series X deal and a smattering of well-timed discounts on smart holiday string lights. Today,...

/ Apple announced it’s piloting “contingent pricing for subscriptions,” which lets app developers offer discounts to customers subscribed to a competitor’s app. By Wes Davis, a weekend editor who covers the latest in tech and entertainment. He has written news, reviews, and more as a tech journalist since 2020. Share this story Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple announced a pilot program called “contingent pricing for subscriptions” yesterday that will let App Store developers automatically offer discounted subscriptions for users of other apps. Developers, the company says, will be able to base this on subscriptions “from one developer or two different developers,” which lets them not only to entice customers they already have to their other apps, but also compete by offering d...

/ How is Google running an illegal monopoly with the Play store — while Apple’s App Store is in the clear? By Sean Hollister, a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget. Share this story Image: Epic Games Apple rules the iPhone’s App Store with an iron fist — sideloading outside it is not allowed. Google lets anyone install any app on an Android phone. But guess which one of these two companies has an illegal monopoly, according to the courts? As you probably already know, Google is the one that lost its fight against Epic Games this week. It’s a fight that Apple previously (mostly) won in a similar trial in 2021, beating claims that it had violated antitrust laws by charging manda...

/ Netflix dropped its most extensive viewing data yet, and while its not perfect, it does reveal that what we talk about online is not necessarily what people are watching. By Alex Cranz, managing editor and co-host of The Vergecast. She oversaw consumer tech coverage at Gizmodo for five years. Her work has also appeared in the WSJ and Wired. Share this story The two women are the stars of one of the most watches shows on Netflix this year.Image Amanda Matlovich/Netflix Stop me if you’ve heard this one. You’re at a holiday gathering and some very offline family member starts chatting about the show Yellowstone. Pretty soon after a very online family member looks up in confusion and asks either what the show is or why they keep hearing about it when no one they know seems to watch it. But m...

/ The streaming series on Max pulls from a lot of disparate influences, including nature, DIY YouTubers, and The Jungle Book. By Andrew Webster, an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories. Share this story If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. Image: Max Though there are a handful of human survivors at the core of its story, the real star of Scavengers Reign isn’t a person; it’s a planet. The animated series features a group of astronauts stranded on a bizarre alien world and follows them as they contend with the harsh, confusing, and downright odd environment around them. There are flying creatures that can double as...

/ The case that set in motion Microsoft’s eventual acquisition of Activision Blizzard is coming to an end. By Jay Peters, a news editor who writes about technology, video games, and virtual worlds. He’s submitted several accepted emoji proposals to the Unicode Consortium. Share this story Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge A California regulator has settled its blockbuster lawsuit that alleged a culture of sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard. Now under the ownership of Microsoft, the gaming company will pay about $54 million as part of the settlement, according to a press release from California’s Civil Rights Department (CRD). The CRD (formerly known as the Department of Fair Employment and Housing or DFEH) filed this lawsuit in July 2021, alleging that Activision Blizzard had a...

/ The smart lighting brand’s parent company, Signify, says it will remain focused on customer-centric products. By Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, a smart home reviewer who’s been testing connected gadgets since 2013. Previously a writer for Wirecutter, Wired, and BBC Science Focus. Share this story If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. Signify, the company which owns Philips Hue, is restructuring its business to focus on four key areas.Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Signify, the company that owns smart lighting brands Philips Hue and WiZ, is restructuring in the face “of ongoing market volatility and uncertainty.” In a press release on its website published earlier this month, Signify announced a “new customer-centr...

/ iPhones running iOS 17.2 no longer crash when hit with a barrage of pop-ups from the Flipper Zero. By Emma Roth, a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO. Share this story Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Apple has blocked a Bluetooth attack carried out with the Flipper Zero that sent a barrage of pop-ups to iPhones, causing them to lock up and crash. While Apple hasn’t formally announced the change, it appears the company has rolled out a fix in iOS 17.2, according to tests from ZDNET and 9to5Mac. The attack, which allowed users to crash nearby iPhones running iOS 17.0, involved the Flipper Zero, a tiny, jack-of-all-trades hacking device. A third-party firmware called Flipper Xtreme in...

/ The head of Instagram says a full integration with the fediverse could take ‘the better part of a year.’ By Jay Peters, a news editor who writes about technology, video games, and virtual worlds. He’s submitted several accepted emoji proposals to the Unicode Consortium. Share this story Illustration: The Verge On Friday, two days after Threads finally started publicly testing ActivityPub integration, Instagram head Adam Mosseri shared a thread on Threads detailing the company’s plans for its continued integration with the fediverse. Right now, it’s possible to follow a few Threads accounts (including Mosseri’s) from other platforms, but Meta has much bigger plans for Threads interoperability that Mosseri says will take “the better part of a year” to realize. Here’s what’s in the works, a...

We’ve pulled together a king’s ransom of fun and unique gift ideas for all the dads in your life so you can spoil them no matter your budget. By Antonio G. Di Benedetto, a writer covering tech deals and The Verge’s Deals newsletter, buying guides, and gift guides. Previously, he spent 15 years in the photography industry. It’s once again that time of year when you notice the holidays are fast approaching and you have no idea what to get your pops. I mean, what is he even into these days that isn’t some random junk being sold on Facebook Marketplace, right? Thankfully, you’ve got some friends in Verge places to help you out. We’ve pulled together a small truckload of gift ideas for all kinds of dads, from geeky tinkerers to adventurous weekend warriors. Some of these gifts, like Hoto’s hand...