Here’s how Apple’s new iPhone 15 models compare to some of the best Android phones The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, which are now made of titanium chassis. | Photo by NIlay Patel / The VergeApple finally got with the program and put USB-C on its new iPhones, but how do they compare to Android phones from the likes of Samsung and Google, where USB-C is nothing but old hat? The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro models Apple announced at its “W…

A key cold medicine ingredient is basically worthless Cold medications on a shelf pictured in Miami, Florida, on September 12th, 2023. | Photo by Joe Raedle / Getty ImagesThe FDA’s 16-member advisory panel unanimously voted yesterday that oral phenylephrine, a common active ingredient in cold medications, is no better than a placebo for treating congestion. The call by the panel sets up potential F…

Starfield is getting DLSS support, an FOV slider, and ultrawide monitor support Image: BethesdaBethesda is planning to add Nvidia’s DLSS upscaling technique to Starfield soon. It’s part of a bunch of promises for updates to the game, including brightness and contrast controls, an FOV slider, ultrawide monitor support, and even an eat button for food. Bethesda is releasing a small hotfix today to fix some bugs in the game be…

Ring’s new Pet Tag puts a QR code on your dog or cat’s collar to help if they go missing The Pet Tag attaches to a collar. | Image: RingAmazon-owned Ring is launching a $9.99 Pet Tag today to make it easier to bring lost pets back home. The Ring Pet Tag essentially puts a QR code on your dog or cat’s collar, which links up to an app. If the unthinkable happens, someone can scan the QR code and help reunite the lost pet with its owne…

Baldur’s Gate 3 on PS5 is a technically complicated but still enjoyable experience Larian StudiosLots of menus, controls, and buttons to parse, but fundamentally, the game is still the same and still very worth it. Continue reading…

Nine wild details from the new Elon Musk biography Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Image: Getty ImagesThis is Platformer, a newsletter on the intersection of Silicon Valley and democracy from Casey Newton and Zoë Schiffer. Sign up here. Over the weekend, a highly anticipated book arrived in the mail. Elon Musk, Walter Isaacson’s first biography of a tech titan since his comprehensiv…

Google’s Find My Device 3.0 has a fresh look, hints at upcoming features Illustration: The VergeGoogle delayed launching its expanded Find My Device Network earlier this summer, but the latest version of the app sports a new icon and some strings that hint at what’s to come. 9to5Google initially spotted it back in June. The new app icon switches from a green map pin depicting a phone to an abstract radar-like symbol…

The anti-hate group sued by Musk releases another damning report on X Illustration: The VergeA month after Elon Musk sued the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), the organization is back with another report suggesting X (formerly Twitter) is allowing hate speech to remain on the platform. In its 23-page report, the CCDH outlines how researchers collected 300 posts on X with hateful content from 100 differen…

Nintendo announces Direct showcase for this winter’s Switch games Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeToday, Nintendo announced a 40-minute fall Direct showcase focusing on games scheduled for release this winter, set to stream on September 14th at 7AM PT / 10AM ET. Ever since Nintendo had its Super Mario Bros. Wonder Direct earlier this month, rumors circulated saying that a bigger, more general Direct wo…

Stability AI releases AI audio platform Photo by Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto via Getty ImagesStability AI, a company mostly known for AI-generated visuals, launched a text-to-audio generative AI platform called Stable Audio. Stable Audio uses a diffusion model, the same AI model that powers the company’s more popular image platform, Stable Diffusion, but trained with audio rather than i…

Adobe Premiere Pro can now automatically remove your ‘ums’ and background noise Adobe is making it easier to improve and clean up the audio quality of your recorded footage in Premiere Pro. | Image: AdobeAdobe is introducing some new AI and 3D features in beta for Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Frame.io — its popular suite of video and audio editing applications that are designed to improve workflow and speed up time-inte…

Sony’s new PS5 update includes Dolby Atmos and the ability to mute the startup beep Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The VergeSony is rolling out a big new PS5 update today, just over a month after it first started testing the changes in a beta. The update adds Dolby Atmos, lets you mute that annoying bootup beep, and even supports pairing a second controller as an assist one to let you help friends or family complete a game. Sony is al…

Apple’s smart home app can now tell you when you’re using clean energy Grid Forecast is a new feature in the Apple Home app that tells you when your power grid has cleaner energy available. | Image: AppleApple’s iPhone 15 launch event had a big focus on the company’s move toward carbon neutrality, but it also introduced a new smart home feature that can help you leave a lighter footprint on the planet. Arriving wi…

SpaceX confirms Starlink ‘network outage’ Photo by Nilay Patel / The VergeSpaceX said Tuesday evening that Starlink, the company’s satellite internet service, experiencing an outage. The company is working on a fix. “Starlink is currently in a network outage and we are actively implementing a solution,” SpaceX wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “We appreciate your patience, we’ll share an u…

Ford’s newest gassy F-150s include more hybrid configurations PowerBoost badge means its a hybrid. | Image: FordFord’s F-150 truck is adding more hybrid powertrain options to more trims for the 2024 model year. The automaker is also adding extra tech into the truck, including a head-up-display option so you can check your speed without looking down, and a built-in 5G modem that makes over the air (OTA) sof…

The iPhone 15 is the first phone to (almost) support Qi2 charging The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro phones will be the first to support the Qi2 open charging standard, but they aren’t Qi2-certified yet. | Image: AppleThe iPhone 15 and 15 Pro are the first phones to ship with the new Qi2 magnetic wireless charging standard. Well, sort of: it turns out they aren’t Qi2-certified yet. But neither is anything else. Qi2 is …

The iPhone is getting new ringtones The ringtones might be good enough to keep you from using that Action Button to turn off the ringer. | Photo by Nilay Patel / The VergeApple’s iPhone is finally getting some new ringtones with iOS 17. As reported by 9to5Mac, the iOS 17 release candidate (RC) has a bunch of additional ringtones, and assuming nothing changes between the RC and the…

The MagSafe Duo and MagSafe Battery Pack have left the Apple Store This is what happens when you click on the MagSafe Duo link in Google search. | Screenshot by Wes Davis / The VergeApple has removed the MagSafe Battery Pack and the MagSafe Duo from its online store, reports 9to5Mac, following today’s iPhone 15 event. The pricey accessories have their quirks, but despite the valid criticisms, both devices have …

Apple’s USB-C AirPods Pro will support lossless audio with the Vision Pro Image: AppleDuring its iPhone 15 event, Apple announced that the second-generation AirPods Pro will soon ship with a USB-C case. But it turns out the company quietly made other upgrades that go beyond swapping the case’s charging port. For one, the USB-C AirPods Pro have tacked dust resistance onto their existing water and sweat resistance: they…

The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are the first smartphones with Thread Apple didn’t mention Thread connectivity during its iPhone lunch event, but this screenshot shows that along with Wi-Fi 6e support, support for Thread is coming to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. | Screenshot by The VergeThe latest iPhones will be the first Thread-enabled smartphones, according to Apple. The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max (b…