technology

/ 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 ...

/ 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...

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...

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...

/ 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 ...

/ 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...

/ 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...

/ 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) ...

Gift Guide A selection of great tech and non-tech gifts aimed at the tinkerer, the creative, and the kid in all of us. The holidays can be, without a doubt, one of the most stressful times of the year. People can be picky when it comes to gifts, wishlists can grow long, and time has a way of slipping between our fingers before we even notice the sudden lack of eggnog on store shelves. It doesn’t have to be that way, though. We at The Verge believe that gift-giving shouldn’t be all that tough — that is, so long as you have the right cheat sheet. That’s why our ace team of writers and editors has compiled a treasure trove of clever gift ideas spanning multiple price points and personal tastes, from budget-friendly tabletop games and streaming devices to luxury laptops you can easily upgrade....

/ During The Game Awards, Geoff Keighley failed to acknowledge the prolific and devastating layoffs that have rocked the industry. By Ash Parrish, a reporter who has covered the business, culture, and communities of video games for seven years. Previously, she worked at Kotaku. Share this story Photo by JC Olivera / Getty Images At this point, you cannot talk about how amazing 2023 has been for the quality of games released this year without also mentioning how it’s been utterly disastrous for the people who made them. But that’s exactly what Geoff Keighley did during this year’s Game Awards. The numbers vary, but estimates say anywhere between six and seven thousand workers have lost their jobs just this year. No level of studio size or success has been spared. And those who have been let...

/ The newly-crowned Game of the Year is finally available for Xbox players. 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 If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. Image: Larian Studios Baldur’s Gate 3, which just won Game of the Year at the 2023 Game Awards, is now available to purchase on Xbox Series X and S. You can buy it now for $69.99. The Xbox version of the game has been in the works for a little while. A few weeks after the hugely-successful PC launch of the game in August — and just before the release of the PS5 version — Larian Studios announced that it would be bringing Baldur’s Gate 3 t...

/ A new trial in three cities gives Prime members the option to pay once for unlimited Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods deliveries. 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 Amazon has announced it’s testing a subscription model for unlimited grocery delivery for Prime members. For an additional monthly charge of $9.99, Prime members in three cities can get unlimited delivery on Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods orders over $35. Those who opt-in will also receive unlimited 30-minute pick-up on orders of any size.  It’s the latest in a series of changes that Amazon has made to a division that competes with the likes of Walmart, Postmates, In...