NASCAR shows off an EV prototype Is now the right time to say “ka-chow,” or should I wait? | Image: NASCARNASCAR showed off a new EV prototype stock car at the Chicago Street Race today as part of a presentation on its sustainability initiatives, which it has a new partner for in Swedish electrification firm ABB. The car, which looks more like a performance crossover like the F…

Epic says its EU iOS app store is approved but that Apple wants a change Illustration: Alex Castro / The VergeThe Epic Games Store app for EU iPhones has passed Apple’s notarization process, putting the alternative app store a step closer to selling apps directly to iOS users outside of the App Store. AppleInsider reports that while Apple confirmed the app had passed, it has asked Epic to “fix the buttons” in a futur…

Police pulled over a Waymo car that drove in the oncoming lane in Phoenix Photo: Andrej Sokolow / Picture Alliance via Getty ImagesOn June 19th, a Phoenix police officer pulled over a Waymo vehicle that had been driving in an oncoming traffic lane. The car was apparently confused by some construction signs, and reportedly ran a red light before pulling over in a parking lot to let the officer talk to one of Waymo’s su…

This is the summer’s coolest new smart kitchen gadget — literally GE Profile’s newest nugget ice maker is an expensive upgrade to your summer drinks, but, for some, it may be worth it.Some smart home gadgets could be considered essential. A smart thermostat can save you money, and a smart door lock can prevent you from getting locked out. But, unlike those gadgets, it’s hard to argue you need the smart GE Prof…

Electric bikepacking: lessons learned over four days and 250 miles E-bikes open up cycling sports to more people, and not just the cheaters. Continue reading…

How to create PDFs on iPhones using Notes Illustration by Samar Haddad / The VergeIt may sound funny to say this, but PDF files — electronic copies of printed documents — are still around and are still very useful. Short for Portable Document Format, PDFs allow you to create a digital version of a paper document, letting you store and access them a lot easier than having to rifle throug…

At just over $20, Half-Life: Alyx is essential playing for VR headset owners I can hear the eerie, garbled radio chatter of the Combine soldiers just by looking at this. | Image: ValveThe Steam Summer Sale is raging on, offering significant discounts on the Steam Deck and hundreds of PC games. While we rounded up a bunch of our top Summer Sale picks last week, one title that should definitely not fly under your radar is …

Why Redbox has been powering down Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge. Getty ImagesThe bankruptcy of Redbox’s parent company came after months of chaos, cash crunch, and corporate upheaval. Continue reading…

The Playdate makes a surprisingly good e-reader Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The VergeFrom the Boox Palma to the Light Phone 2, it seems that everyone is looking for distraction-free reading, if only they had the right device. I don’t blame them: every time I pull out my phone to mindlessly scroll, I know my time could be put to better use. But as the owner of many fine gadgets, I also don’t reall…

YouTube’s improved eraser tool easily removes copyrighted music from videos Illustration by Samar Haddad / The VergeYouTube has launched an improved eraser tool that lets creators remove copyrighted music from their videos while keeping other audio intact. The revamped tool, which was released this week, was first reported by TechCrunch. The Erase Song feature lets creators silence copyrighted music in their content, th…

Meta’s Threads is thriving one year in, but X is still in the fight Image: The VergeThreads, Meta’s X competitor, is officially one year old. While the site was rushed into existence with a bare-bones set of features, Meta has steadily improved upon the app to make it a decent place for people looking to post on a platform that isn’t X. The site arrived at the right moment. By last summer, Elon Musk’s takeover …

Here’s how Qualcomm’s new laptop chips really stack up to Apple, Intel, and AMD If all the benchmarks we did had a physical form, it’d look something like this.We tested every Snapdragon X chip against the Intel Core Ultra, AMD Ryzen 8000, and Apple M3. Continue reading…

The Polar Grit X2 Pro is a smartwatch that feels adrift You’re not getting enough for the $750.This is meant to be the best Polar’s got, but it has no business being this expensive. Continue reading…

Amazon Kindle book downloads are broken Photo by Sheena Vasani / The VergeAn ongoing outage is preventing Amazon Kindle users from downloading both new and previously purchased books to their e-readers. According to moderators responding to users reporting the issue on Amazon’s support forums, the company is aware of the issue and is “currently working to resolve it.” Attempting other…

Google might fix its fingerprint scanner woes with the Pixel 9 It should be less of a farce to unlock the next generation of Google Pixel phones. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeGoogle’s upcoming Pixel 9 lineup will reportedly feature a faster, more reliable ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, according to Android Authority. It would replace the optical under-display fingerprint sensor that Google…

Nike’s self-lacing Adapt BB sneakers are losing their remote control mobile app After August 6, Nike Adapt owners won’t be able to download the accompanying mobile app any longer. | Photo by Felicia Shivakumar / The VergeDespite the ongoing popularity of the Back to the Future trilogy that inspired the self-lacing tech found in the HyperAdapt 1.0 and Air Mags, Nike has announced that it’s “no longer creating new versions of…

Amazon’s Fire HD 10 tablet is nearly 50 percent off for Prime members Just don’t expect it to rival an iPad in terms of functionality. | Image: AmazonLet’s face it: Apple’s slates seem to get all the attention when talking tablets (and understandably so). However, you don’t necessarily need to spend $1,000 on an iPad Pro or even $350 on an entry-level model if all you need is a cheap entertainment device for watch…

Dear Roku, you ruined my TV Image: Kristen Radtke / The VergeRoku has made my TV unusable. On June 6th, my TCL TV’s Roku OS was updated to version 13.0.0. Ever since, on everything I watch, there is motion smoothing — a TV and film purists’ deepest nightmare. There is no way to turn it off. In the updated OS, Roku added a feature called Roku Smart Picture, which, according…

Microsoft’s Midnight Blizzard source code breach also impacted federal agencies Illustration by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeIn March, Microsoft notified the US Department of Veterans Affairs that it was impacted by the security breach that enabled the Russian hacking group known as “Midnight Blizzard” to steal some of the company’s source code, reports Bloomberg. Already assigned blame for the earlier SolarWinds attac…

It’s another busy summer of streaming sci-fi Sunny. | Image: AppleJust like last year, the hot summer months of 2024 are turning out to be an excellent time for science fiction fans. There are a number of sci-fi series that either just wrapped up, are in the middle of a season, or are set to premiere soon. Perfect for ignoring the heat of the outdoors for the substantially cooler worlds of…