The AI gadgets are coming Image: William Joel / The VergeHi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 9, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, hurray! I’m so happy you’re here, and also, you can catch up on all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I’ve been reading Zeke Faux’s excellent crypto book and the story of th…

The Epic v. Google witness list: Andy Rubin, Sundar Pichai, and more to testify Illustration: The VergeIt’s been almost 10 months since a trial date was set in Epic’s antitrust lawsuit against Google, and with all of the other big tech cases going on right now, including Google’s other antitrust proceedings, you’d be forgiven for forgetting about this one. But believe it or not, the trial will start in less than a month, on…

MGM didn’t pay up after hackers broke into its system and stole customer data K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty ImagesThe Wall Street Journal wrote on Thursday that MGM Resorts International didn’t pay the ransomware attackers who broke into its systems last month, forcing the company to shut down systems at several of its hotels and casinos. The hack kept many waiting to check into their…

X users report unlabeled clickbait ads that you can’t block or report Illustration: The VergeMashable reports that users on X, formerly known as Twitter, have seen unlabeled ads in their feeds while scrolling through the company’s mobile apps. When users tap them, they’re taken to other websites, with no way to block or report them. Unlike normal ads that are just posts from company X accounts and have an “Ad” la…

Hisense’s affordable, HDR-ready U6K TV has hit an all-time low Hisense’s latest entry-level model offers a lot for the price, including Mini LED backlighting and full-array local dimming. | Image: HisenseHappy Saturday, dear readers! As you might have seen, Amazon has already begun to roll out a bevy of deals and discounts ahead of its fall Prime Day event next week. However, Amazon isn’t the only retailer…

Assassin’s Creed Mirage goes back to basics — and ends up basic Image: UbisoftA richly constructed world and a pared-down gameplay experience refocusing on stealth and assassinations don’t save a game that is largely just okay. Continue reading…

Hackers are selling the data of millions lifted from 23andMe’s genetic database Illustration: Beatrice Sala23andMe acknowledged this week that data from users of its genetic testing and analysis platform has been circulating on dark web forums after what it says was a credential-stuffing attack, according to BleepingComputer. The outlet wrote that a hacker reportedly leaked what they said was “1 million lines of data” for A…

Quick fix: what are those circles on my Chrome tabs? Illustration by Samar Haddad / The VergeThe issue You may have noticed recently that of the tabs on your Chrome browser have circles around the tab’s icon and that the icon itself is smaller and slightly faded. What’s that all about — and can I change them back? You can see how much memory has been freed up by hovering your cursor over the in…

Discogs’ vibrant vinyl community is shattering Photo illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge; Photo by Sean Gladwell / Getty ImagesA home for music diehards has been fractured by increased fees that are pushing sellers and shoppers to other platforms. Continue reading…

Anatomy of a Fall’s slow-burn murder mystery turns the heat up on a difficult marriage Image: NeonBefore Anatomy of a Fall gives us a body, we get a booming steel drum cover of 50 Cent’s “P.I.M.P.” It’s coming from upstairs, where Sandra’s (Sandra Hüller) husband is insulating the attic. But he’s playing the music loudly — possibly out of spite. Sandra is downstairs answering a grad student’s questions about her career as a succes…

What’s up with the temperature sensor on the Pixel 8 Pro? Temperature sensor. Temperature sensor? Temperature sensor. | Image: GoogleThe Pixel 8 Pro has an infrared temperature sensor. Why does the Pixel 8 Pro have a temperature sensor? For an unusual feature on a $1,000 flagship phone, Google really isn’t saying much about it. The Pixel 8 Pro announcement mentions it almost in passing: And on the ba…

Two words: jazz anime Image: GKidsThe setup of Blue Giant is familiar anime territory: a young boy from a small town moves to Tokyo to pursue his dream. This boy, Dai, is a saxophone obsessive. He practices all day under a bridge, honking and warbling until he wears out his reed. Naturally, Dai wants to be the greatest jazz musician in the world. For all his audaciou…

The Pixel 8 and the what-is-a-photo apocalypse Photo by Allison Johnson / The VergeOne of the first known photo fakes, a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, was made just decades after the dawn of photography itself. Since then, photographers have found themselves in endless arguments about what truly constitutes a photo — what’s real, what’s fake, and when is editing too much? Now, as we head into…

Intel teases Windows ‘refresh’ for 2024 amid Windows 12 launch rumors Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeIntel has teased a “Windows refresh” for 2024 which it hopes will boost its revenues. During Citi’s analyst conference last month Intel CFO David Zinsner discussed a Windows refresh next year, suggesting that consumers might upgrade their PCs because of a new release of Windows. “We actually think 2024 …

Amazon now lets you buy games on its cloud gaming service — but only Ubisoft ones Image: UbisoftAmazon now offers the ability to buy games on its Luna cloud gaming service, but the new feature comes with a big catch: at least for now, you’ll only be able to buy select Ubisoft titles. For me, Amazon was advertising games you can buy right on the main Luna homepage, including the just-released Assassin’s Creed Mirage. However,…

Redfall finally gets a performance mode on Xbox Image: Bethesda SoftworksRemember Redfall? The blood-sucking shooter with soul-crushing problems? The game that released in May without a 60fps performance mode on Xbox? The game that, according to a Eurogamer article from earlier on Friday, hardly anyone has been playing on Steam? Well, it got a big new update on Friday — including that long-aw…

Today the FTX jury suffered through a code review What did Gary Wang commit? | Photo Illustration by Cath Virginia / The VergeGary Wang supervised the code that gave Alameda special privileges at FTX. But it’s hard to conclude anyone but Sam Bankman-Fried gave the orders. Continue reading…

Lenovo exec promises 80 percent of its devices will be consumer-repairable by 2025 Lenovo’s rollable laptop concept. | Photo by Jon Porter / The VergeAt first, Lenovo only seemed casually jealous of Framework’s modular repairable laptops — first, it sent a cease-and-desist over a Framework power button, then it unveiled its own modular concept laptop dubbed Project Aurora with no promise to actually build such a thing. But it …

The best price ever on Sharge’s transparent batteries and retro Mac chargers Sharge’s transparent batteries and retro Mac charger. | Image: ShargeEver heard of Sharge? The company is arguably just as responsible as Nothing for bringing transparent gadgets back — its see-through batteries swarmed social media and have inspired a wave of copycats. Less famously, it sells a kickass charger shaped like a classic Mac that off…

Podcasting’s fallout continues Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty ImagesThe pain is not over yet for the podcast industry, with layoffs and cancellations continuing to pile up. Amrita covered the WNYC layoffs yesterday, which, thanks to negotiations between management and the union, were not as steep as initially expected (6 percent laid off versus 12 percent p…