Microsoft shakes up Xbox marketing as key exec departs for Roblox Image: The VergeMicrosoft is losing another key Xbox executive at the end of the month. Xbox chief marketing officer Jerret West is leaving Microsoft to join Roblox as its new CMO and head of market expansion. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer confirmed the move in an internal memo to Xbox employees today, which was obtained by The Verge. West p…

Major Nelson is joining Unity Photo by Chris Welch / The VergeLarry Hryb, aka “Major Nelson,” has his next job. Following his departure from Microsoft last year, where he was a public face for the Xbox brand, Hryb will be joining Unity’s Community team, he announced on Monday. At Microsoft, he, among other things, hosted the Official Xbox Podcast and posted about Xbox to his…

A mystery Google gadget with 60GHz Soli radar just crossed the FCC An artist’s depiction of Google’s Soli radar. | Image: GoogleWe’ve been waiting for Google’s tiny radar to fulfill its potential for years. Now, it looks like the company’s at least giving Soli another chance. According to filings at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Google now has a mystery “wireless device” that features the short-r…

Still Wakes the Deep makes the terror of the ocean more tactile Image: Secret ModeThe sea is basically the blue skin of the world, yet we know so little of its depths. Much like the vastness of space, it is filled with mystery. With both comes the unknown — and, therefore, horror. In Still Wakes the Deep, the latest first-person horror from The Chinese Room, the sea births a mysterious terror that takes over…

YouTube will soon ask audiences to add context to videos Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeYouTube is testing a way for viewers to add community-sourced context to videos. The feature, called notes, will allow people to add bits of information to clarify things like whether a video is a parody or contains older footage presented as a current event. If a note is considered helpful, you might see i…

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are selling for a new all-time low of $119.99 The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are compact and come in Samsung’s excellent purple color (as well as the typical white and black). | Photo by Chris Welch / The VergeSamsung’s excellent Galaxy Buds 2 Pro wireless earbuds have fallen to a new low price, selling for just $119.99 ($110 off) at Woot. That’s a screamer of a deal if I’ve ever seen one, as these …

US sues Adobe for ‘deceiving’ subscriptions that are too hard to cancel Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeThe US government is suing Adobe for allegedly hiding expensive fees and making it difficult to cancel a subscription. In the complaint filed on Monday, the Department of Justice claims Adobe “has harmed consumers by enrolling them in its default, most lucrative subscription plan without clearly disclosing …

Logitech’s first Meta Quest stylus helps artists work in 3D The $130 Logitech MX Ink is compatible with both the Meta Quest 2 and 3, as well as “future” headsets. | Image: LogitechToday, Logitech officially announced its MX Ink stylus, the company’s first mixed reality accessory for the Meta Quest 2 and Quest 3 headsets. The MX Ink will provide artists with a more natural alternative to the Quest’s contr…

Nikon’s new $2,500 Z6 III has the world’s first partially stacked CMOS sensor Nikon’s new $2,500 Z6 III has the world’s first partially stacked CMOS sensor. | Image: Becca Farsace / The VergeAt the beginning of a recent photo walk with a Nikon representative, I was told it was only a matter of time before I became a “birder.” Because eventually, every photographer runs out of things to take photos of and is left with only…

TikTok ads may soon contain AI-generated avatars of your favorite creators TikTok says the new tools are aimed at helping brands and creators develop global audiences. | The VergeTikTok is introducing some new generative AI tools that aim to help organizations and content creators grow their global audiences using customizable digital avatars and language dubbing features. Building on the Symphony generative AI ad suit…

The US surgeon general wants tobacco-like warning labels on social media Dr. Vivek Murthy hopes that introducing warning labels to social media platforms will help address mental health concerns among adolescents. | Photo by Bryan Bedder / Getty Images for Project Healthy MindsUS Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy is urging Congress to introduce warning labels for social media platforms that regularly warn parents and …

Why Tubi CEO Anjali Sud thinks free TV can win again Photo illustration by The Verge / Photo: TubiTV isn’t just competing with Netflix for your time — it needs to beat TikTok, too. Continue reading…

Nintendo will detail its holiday 2024 Switch lineup in new Direct Photo by James Bareham / The VergeA busy June for gaming news just got a little busier. Nintendo announced its next Direct presentation, which will take place on June 18th at 10AM ET. The event will be focused on “games coming in the second half of 2024” and will be around 40 minutes long. The company previously said that it would be holding a J…

Chrome on Android can read webpages out loud from within the app Illustration: The VergeGoogle is rolling out a new option called “Listen to this page” that can read a webpage out loud to you from within the Android Chrome browser. The feature comes with playback controls similar to those you’d find in music or podcast players, letting you pause, change the reading speed, scrub forward, or skip ahead or back …

McDonald’s will stop testing AI to take drive-thru orders, for now A McDonald’s in Pittsburgh. | Photo: Paul Weaver / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty ImagesIf your local McDonald’s has been getting your order confidently wrong with an AI chatbot at the drive-thru, I have good news for you: The company is ending the program for now. The company told franchisees that it’s winding down an AI drive-thru orderin…

The OLED iPad Pro was only the beginning for Apple’s return to thin devices Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeThe thinness of the OLED iPad Pro is only the beginning of a renewed effort by Apple to make increasingly thin computers, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in today’s Power On newsletter. The company plans a “significantly skinnier” iPhone 17 and is also working on shaving off some of the thickness o…

Apple won’t wait until next year for some Siri improvements Image: AppleSiri may do more than make the edges of your iPhone a glowy rainbow when iOS 18 drops this fall. Apple Intelligence features won’t be out until 2025 for anyone not testing them in beta this year, but reports suggest that Siri itself will still get natural language updates and other key features before the year is out. For instance, u…

The super simple gadget trying to replace your phone Image: David Pierce / The VergeHi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 42, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, so psyched you found us, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I’ve been writing about Excel, reading about tin foil hats and the song “Smoot…

NASA says Voyager 1 is fully back online months after it stopped making sense Image: NASAVoyager 1, the farthest human-made craft from the Earth, is finally sending back data from all four of its scientific instruments, NASA said this week. That means the agency is once more receiving its readings on plasma waves, magnetic fields, and space-bound particles. Voyager 1 stopped sending back good data in November, and fixing …

Sharge’s cute, Macintosh-inspired 67W charger is nearly half off right now There are many 67W chargers out there, but few are as adorable as Sharge’s travel-friendly Retro 67.Earlier this week, we published a guide rounding up an assortment of last-minute Father’s Day gifts for those who celebrate. However, if you need a Hail Mary and your dad is the nostalgic type with a penchant for all things Apple, the Sharge Retro…