Tech
Epic used Fortnite OG to lure players back to a very different game
/ The nostalgic event was a strategic decision to get players back into the game, before launching a trio of new experiences beyond battle royale. 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 Image: Epic Games You could say that Fortnite is entering a new phase. With the launch of Lego Fortnite, Rocket Racing, and Fortnite Festival, the game is now more than a popular battle royale — it’s a platform designed to house lots of different kinds of experiences. That shift was preceded by an event that brought the game back to its roots with Fortnite OG, which returned to the original battle royale map alongside classic weapons and vehicles. And tha...
The quiet plan to make the internet feel faster
/ Engineers and major companies are pushing a technology called L4S that they say could make the web feel dramatically faster. But how? Illustration by Hugo Herrera / The Verge A few months ago, I downgraded my internet, going from a 900Mbps plan to a 200Mbps one. Now, I find that websites can sometimes take a painfully long time to load, that HD YouTube videos have to stop and buffer when I jump around in them, and that video calls can be annoyingly choppy. In other words, pretty much nothing has changed. I had those exact same problems even when I had near-gigabit download service, and I’m probably not alone. I’m sure many of you have also had the experience of cursing a slow-loading website and growing even more confused when a “speed test” says that your internet should be able to play...
Fortnite Festival is Rock Band without the plastic instruments
/ Harmonix’s latest music game is available inside of Fortnite, following the launches of Lego Fortnite and Rocket Racing. 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 Epic released a trilogy of new games inside of Fortnite this week. It started with Lego Fortnite, continued with Rocket Racing, and is wrapping up today with Fortnite Festival, developed by Guitar Hero studio Harmonix (which Epic acquired in 2021). It’s all part of an ambitious plan to turn Fortnite from a hit battle royale into a platform filled with all kinds of different experiences. And in the case of Fortnite Festival, it’s a full-blown music game inside of Fortnite. Think ...
Apple’s 10th-gen iPad is actually worthwhile when it’s $100 off
/ Black Friday pricing has returned on the latest entry-level iPad, and God of War Ragnarök is on a one-day sale for an all-time low. Plus, more deals for your weekend. Plus, it comes in this awesome yellow color.Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge We’ve found Apple’s latest generation of its base-model iPad to be a bit awkwardly priced from the start. At $449 it’s a little close to the much nicer iPad Air and simultaneously a lot pricier than its ninth-gen predecessor. But that all looks different when you knock a Benjamin off of it — because right now you can get the 10th-gen iPad with base 64GB of storage for $349 ($100 off) or expanded 256GB for $499 (also $100 off) at Best Buy until December 11th. This matches its Black Friday best pricing, making it a much better purchase. The 10.9-inch...
How to build a bike lane in America
Mass Transit Advocates are working across the country to make their communities safer and more accessible for cyclists, but not every effort is successful. 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 Sisi Kim for The Verge When most people in the US need to go somewhere, they reach for their car keys. There are plenty of reasons for this: driving is easy, it’s comfortable, and it requires very little preparation. But also, it’s hard to do anything else, and maybe the hardest of those hard things is cycling. But plenty of people do it anyway. Whether by choice or because it’s their only option, millions of Americans bike to get where they’re going — a...
EcoFlow Glacier review: a solar-powered fridge, freezer, and ice maker
By Thomas Ricker, a deputy editor and Verge co-founder with a passion for human-centric cities, e-bikes, and life as a digital nomad. He’s been a tech journalist for almost 20 years. I don’t know who needs a battery-powered combination refrigerator, freezer, and ice maker on wheels that can be charged by a solar panel, but I like knowing that you’re out there, wandering the planet with a cocktail in hand while bending Mother Nature to your will. The EcoFlow Glacier is pitched at RV and boat owners or anyone looking to bring modern luxuries into the great outdoors. Its list price starts at $1,099 / €1,199, but that’s before adding extras like a 297Wh battery for a day away from the grid, wheels and telescoping handle to make the 50.7-pound (23kg) unit more portable when its 38-liter (40-qua...
Microsoft’s Edge Copilot AI can’t really summarize every YouTube video
/ The chatbot’s summarization feature relies on preprocessed video data or existing subtitles and transcripts. By Amrita Khalid, one of the authors of audio industry newsletter Hot Pod. Khalid has covered tech, surveillance policy, consumer gadgets, and online communities for more than a decade. Share this story Image: The Verge One feature added to Microsoft’s AI Copilot in the Edge browser this week is the ability to generate text summaries of videos. But Edge Copilot’s time-saving feature is still fairly limited and only works on pre-processed videos or those with subtitles, as Mikhail Parakhin, Microsoft’s CEO of advertising and web services, explained. As spotted by MSPowerUser, Parakhin writes, “In order for it to work, we need to pre-process the video. If the video has subtitles ...
JJJJound Engineers $650 USD Vintage-Inspired Mechanical Keyboard
JJJJound is paying homage to the clickety-clack keyboards of the 1970s. The durable, hard plastic keyboards were eventually swapped out with the flattened versions that appear throughout Macs and most other computers today.A few companies, such as Model F Labs, have continued to celebrate the classic versions with remakes of vintage IBM keyboards. JJJJound has teamed up with the company for a designer remake, which they say arrives “twenty-five years after widespread production of the original mechanical keyboard was halted.”The JJJJound Mechanical Keyboard features the same capacitive buckling spring system as the OG keyboard models, providing that crisp key-tapping sound. Keys are covered in a zinc metal die-cast case in shades of grey and white with lettering printed in a serif typeface...
EU reaches provisional agreement on AI Act, paving way for landmark law
/ The set of comprehensive rules that will govern AI in Europe could serve as a benchmark for other countries. By Jess Weatherbed, a news writer focused on creative industries, computing, and internet culture. Jess started her career at TechRadar, covering news and hardware reviews. Share this story The earliest that we will likely see these rules come into force is 2025.The Verge Following a round of intense negotiations this week, lawmakers in Brussels have now reached a “provisional agreement” on the European Union’s proposed Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act). The EU’s AI Act is anticipated to be the world’s first comprehensive set of rules to govern AI and could serve as a benchmark for other regions looking to pass similar laws. According to the press release, negotiators establish...
‘Twisted Metal’ Is Gearing Up For A Second Season At Peacock
Buckle up. We are getting more Twisted Metal on Peacock.
Apple has seemingly found a way to block Android’s new iMessage app
/ Beeper Mini users reported problems sending and receiving blue bubbles on Friday. Maybe it wasn’t so hard for Apple to block the app after all. By Chris Welch, a reviewer specializing in personal audio and home theater. Since 2011, he has published nearly 6,000 articles, from breaking news and reviews to useful how-tos. Share this story If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. Illustration: The Verge It appears that Beeper Mini, an easy iMessage solution for Android, was simply too good to be true — or a short-lived dream, at least. On Friday, less than a week after its launch, the app started experiencing technical issues when users were suddenly unable to send and receive blue bubble messages. The problems grew worse over the co...
Threads is counting down to an EU launch next week
/ European Instagram users can find a ‘ticket’ in the app with a December 14th launch date for Meta’s Twitter-like social media platform. By Jess Weatherbed, a news writer focused on creative industries, computing, and internet culture. Jess started her career at TechRadar, covering news and hardware reviews. Share this story The lengthy delay in Threads European rollout has been attributed to the EU’s DMA rules.Illustration: The Verge Following its rollout in countries like the US and UK this past July, Threads will finally be expanded to users in the European Union on December 14th. Meta hasn’t made an official announcement yet, instead opting to sneakily update the Threads website with an untitled countdown timer (which won’t be viewable in countries where Threads is already available) ...
