Apple’s big services bet is paying off as iPhone sales dip Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeThis April through June quarter is almost always Apple’s most boring financial stretch of the entire year, and today’s earnings release shows this year was no exception. The company reported revenue of $81.8 billion, down from $83 billion last year. With the new iPhone 15 series still a month and change…

Microsoft called out for ‘blatantly negligent’ cybersecurity practices Illustration: The VergeMicrosoft is facing mounting criticism in the wake of last month’s attack on Azure. In a post on LinkedIn, Amit Yoran, the CEO of the cybersecurity company Tenable, says Microsoft’s cybersecurity track record is “even worse than you think” — and he has an example to back it up. On July 12th, Microsoft disclosed a major bre…

Three big Reddit communities are no longer focused on John Oliver Photo by Arturo Holmes / Getty ImagesThree of Reddit’s biggest communities are no longer focused entirely on John Oliver in a form of protest against Reddit. The subreddits had made the switch in June to push back on Reddit’s API pricing that ultimately made some popular third-party apps shut down, but now, they’re operating pretty much as they …

The first Bethesda games are arriving on Nvidia’s GeForce Now service Wolfenstein: The New Order. | Image: BethesdaBethesda’s popular Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein games are making their way onto the GeForce Now cloud gaming service this month, Nvidia announced in a blog post. While Nvidia didn’t reveal the specific titles in each franchise (although the post teases an image of Wolfenstein: The New Order), you must…

Sony’s WF-1000XM4 wireless earbuds are down to $170 Sony’s WF-1000XM4 are our favorite noise-canceling earbuds. | Image: SonyWhether you work from home or are trying to crank out a paper from a dorm, a good pair of noise-canceling wireless earbuds will help you focus. Sony’s WF-1000XM4 are an excellent option that’s hit a new all-time low. Right now, you can buy the earbuds for $169.95 in their l…

The best tech gifts for under $50 The Chromecast with Google TV (4K) is one of our favorite streaming devices and costs less than $50.If “budget-friendly” and “high-quality” sound like oxymorons to you, you’re in for a surprise. As it turns out, you can buy a number of great gifts without completely draining your savings account, which makes it easy to pick up a present for your…

Nothing is already launching a more affordable sub-brand Nothing may only have been around for a short couple of years, but the startup is already launching an affordable sub-brand. Speaking during the company’s latest community update, Nothing CEO Carl Pei said that the company’s new “CMF by Nothing” brand aims to offer “a new range of products that make better design more accessible.” The first pai…

Apex Legends: Resurrection is another fresh start for EA’s battle royale Image: EAMore than four years after its explosive launch shook up the battle royale market, Apex Legends is looking for yet another fresh start (no, that fresh start doesn’t include any updates about cross-progression or 120fps on consoles) when its new season, Resurrection, launches on August 8th at 1PM ET. In the new season, the Apex develope…

IRS will finally let most Americans file taxes online next year Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty ImagesStarting next year, most US taxpayers will be able to file their taxes completely paperless with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The move will precede the agency’s initiative of getting to total paperless processing by the 2025 tax season, saving 200 million sh…

Why Apple bet on Pixar tech to make the metaverse work Image: Disney / PixarIn June, Apple finally revealed its long-rumored Vision Pro headset, which lets users see immersive 3D worlds on an extremely premium device. There’s just one problem: someone needs to build those worlds, and building them requires a lot of work. But that’s not only going to be on Apple; the company’s also looking to develop…

Pornhub goes dark in Arkansas after age verification law kicks in Graphic by James Bareham / The VergePornhub operator MindGeek has blocked all users in Arkansas from the site after the state’s new age verification law went into effect on Tuesday. The Arkansas law, SB 66, doesn’t ban Pornhub from operating in the state, but it requires porn sites to verify that a user is 18 by confirming their age with identif…

Google can now alert you when your private contact info appears online Image: GoogleGoogle is making it a lot easier to find and remove your contact information from its search results. The company will now send out notifications when it finds your address, phone number, or email on the web, allowing you to review and request the removal of that information from Search. All this takes place from Google’s “results a…

Instagram is making it harder for people to spam you with DM requests Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The VergeInstagram is trying to make it more difficult for people you don’t follow to spam you with unwanted DM requests. After testing the feature in June, Instagram now only lets users you don’t follow send a one-message invite before they can start chatting with you. That message can also only contain text, so…

The best gaming mice to buy right now Image: Kristen Radtke / The VergeWired or wireless, stripped-down or packed to the gills with buttons or RGB or both, these are the best gaming mice you can get right now. Continue reading…

8BitDo’s drift-free Ultimate Bluetooth Controller is selling for a new low of $55.99 Image: 8BitDoNobody likes stick drift in their game controllers, but everybody loves a good deal. So this sale on the 8BitDo Ultimate Bluetooth Controller and its drift-free Hall effect sticks is a perfect solution. You can get the white version of the controller with its included charging / receiver dock for $55.99 ($15 off) at Amazon. 8BitDo’s…

Excel’s esports revolution is coming back to ESPN this week You’ve never seen anyone Excel the way the pros Excel. | Image: The Financial Modeling World Cup/David PierceIt’s the Sheeter Bowl! The VLookup Cup! Merge Madness! Whatever you want to call it, the Excel World Championship is coming back to ESPN this week. On Friday morning at 7AM ET, as part of ESPN’s annual “The Ocho” event, a few of the world…

Patreon issues are causing paused payouts and canceled subscriptions Image: The VergeTwo simultaneous issues with payments on Patreon are causing problems for both creators and fans. Some Patreon creators are unable to access their earnings due to an issue with a payout provider. The issue first began earlier this week with creators saying their payout attempts were failing. At the same time, some Patreon subscr…

Samsung’s new ‘flagship’ repair centers will provide more types of phone fixes and faster Faster repairs and more walk-in repair types? Music to our ears. | Image: SamsungSamsung and its repair provider, Asurion, have announced that certain uBreakiFix locations will be getting an upgrade, helping them turn around Galaxy phone repairs faster. By the end of the year, 50 existing repair centers across the US will be designated as Samsun…

Waymo says Austin, Texas, will be its next robotaxi city Photo by Andrej Sokolow / picture alliance via Getty ImagesWaymo’s fourth robotaxi city will be Austin, Texas. It will be a bit of a homecoming for the Alphabet-owned self-driving company. Waymo said that it will kick off the process for a commercial robotaxi service in the city later this year. But that doesn’t mean passengers can hail one of …

90 percent of Ray-Ban Stories owners aren’t using Meta’s smart glasses Various technical issues impacting Meta’s Ray-Ban Stories have contributed to poor user experience and a 13 percent return rate. | Photo by Amanda Lopez for The VergeMeta is struggling to retain users for its Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses, with over 90 percent of consumers having seemingly abandoned the platform, according to a report by The Wal…