OnStage

The best features of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS that Apple didn’t announce onstage

Apple had its WWDC keynote on Monday, where it showed off the big new features coming to its platforms, but it didn’t have time to show off everything coming to the new versions of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. So we’ve combed through the preview pages, Twitter, and a good chunk of the internet to see… Read more

Apple Music’s spatial audio is sometimes amazing but mostly inconsistent

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. Late on Monday night, Apple flipped the switch on two new features for its Apple Music subscription service: immersive Dolby Atmos spatial audio and lossless-quality streaming. It feels like the company is really only excited about one… Read more

Cybertruck patent applications show off UI, solar bed cover, ‘armor glass’

New patent applications submitted by Tesla in 2020 but published Thursday have revealed a bit more information about the Cybertruck, which is currently slated to start shipping at the very end of this year or in early 2022. One includes (in rather grainy detail) a bunch of screenshots of the new UI Tesla has been… Read more

Robinhood competitor Public is launching in-app live audio programming

Public, the trading and social networking app, is the next app to get into live audio. Like many apps before it, the company says it’s planning to roll out live audio features starting this week under the name Public Live. Unlike its competitors, like Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces, however, Public will initially program these chats… Read more

Go read iFixit’s damning take on Samsung’s ‘ruined’ upcycling program

In a new blog post, iFixit heavily criticizes Samsung’s recently announced Galaxy Upcycling program (via ArsTechnica), an initiative which the repair specialists helped launch in 2017. It’s a damning look at how the initiative morphed from its ambitious origins to a “nearly unrecognizable” final form, and completely sidelined iFixit in the process. Here’s how iFixit… Read more

Google Maps’ Live View feature now offers more useful information about restaurants and businesses

Google announced a bunch of new features for Google Maps at its 2021 I/O developer conference today, including upgrades to its handy Live View tool, which helps you navigate the world through augmented reality. Live View launched in beta in 2019, projecting walking directions through your camera’s viewfinder, and was rolled out to airports, transit… Read more

Google showed off its next-generation AI by talking to Pluto and a paper airplane

Artificial intelligence is a huge part of Google’s business, and at this year’s I/O conference, the company highlighted its work with AI language understanding. The star of the show was an experimental model called LaMDA, which Google says could one day supercharge the ability of its conversational AI assistants and allow for more natural conversations…. Read more

Go read this look at how Clubhouse’s blocking system is problematic

Anyone who’s spent more than five minutes on social media can tell you that most platforms have plenty of trolls, reply-guys and other people who may just be unpleasant to interact with. On big platforms like Twitter, Faecbook, and Instagram, the option to block another user allows you to keep someone out of your feed…. Read more

Tim Sweeney emailed Tim Cook personally to call for open app sales after WWDC in 2015

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney was asking Apple to open its phones to other app stores as early as 2015, according to new emails made public as part of the companies’ antitrust trial. Under the subject line “iOS as an open platform,” Sweeney emailed Apple CEO Tim Cook directly to make the case for allowing… Read more

The Overwatch League is bringing back some live matches with a trio of events in China

The Overwatch League kicks off its fourth season this week, and while the majority of matches will be played remotely, today the league announced plans to hold multiple live events in China. There will be three events spread across three cities — Hangzhou in June, Shanghai in July, and Guangzhou in August — and the… Read more

Here’s a first look at Mark Cuban’s podcasting platform Fireside

Last month, The Verge broke news of Mark Cuban and Falon Fatemi’s new app Fireside, which promises to deliver a “next-gen podcast platform,” and today, we can provide a better sense of the app’s functionality and interface. It’s currently in beta on iOS with a limited number of testers, most of whom appear to work… Read more

Royal Albert Hall celebrates 150th birthday with film narrated by Mick Jagger

Home News (Image credit: Royal Albert Hall) Hot on the heels of the announcement that public indoor events are set to return to the UK this May, the Royal Albert Hall has released a 90-second clip, entitled Your Room Will Be Ready, to commemorate its 150th anniversary year. Indeed, the timing couldn’t be more apt… Read more

In 2020, live product launches turned into infomercials

In a year when the spread of COVID-19 made bringing large crowds together impossible, companies around the world had to reevaluate their love affair with the live product launch. Packing hundreds of attendees into extravagant venues to hang on every word of company executives was never going to be possible in an era of social… Read more

Lil Nas X brings Old Town Road to Roblox with an elaborate virtual concert

As Lil Nas X moves through the setlist of his next concert, the world will change around him. It’ll transform from an Old West set, complete with wooden saloons and spinning dust devils as he sings “Old Town Road,” into a darker, almost vampiric stage for “Rodeo.” Later, it will morph again into a futuristic… Read more

How Riot used tech from The Mandalorian to build Worlds’ astonishing mixed reality stage

Photo: Riot Games The League of Legends World Championship still feels special, even without a crowd After a hard-fought win over Korean team Gen.G, all five members of Europe’s G2 Esports stood at the edge of a pool of clear, glistening water to take a bow and celebrate their victory. Two members then picked up… Read more