How to use the new StandBy mode on iOS 17 We love to see older phones learning new tricks. | Illustration by Samar Haddad / The VergeWith iOS 17, your iPhone will learn a useful new trick: StandBy mode. It’s simple — StandBy turns your iPhone screen into a little smart display while it’s charging. We’ve only been using it for a little while, but it’s already a staff favorite. It’s espe…

SEC is worried chatbots could fuel a market panic The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has expressed concern about generative AI’s impact on financial markets. In a speech given to the National Press Club on Monday, SEC Chair Gary Gensler said recent advances in generative AI increase the possibility of institutions relying on the same subset of information to make decisions. Gensle…

TikTok is now supporting passkeys on iPhone Illustration by Nick Barclay / The VergeThe next TikTok trend is passkeys on iPhones. The social media app is announcing support for the logins that try to make password-stealing phishing attacks impossible by allowing users to sign in with either Touch ID or Face ID instead of entering passwords. The initial launch includes iOS device support a…

The best deals on MacBooks right now The M2 generation of MacBook Air now comes in two sizes, and both are discounted. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeApple now sells MacBooks equipped with its own M-series chips in a wide range of sizes and price points. The offerings start with the 13-inch MacBook Air from 2020 at $999 and go all the way up to last year’s 16-inch Mac…

Hollywood’s writers and actors are on strike Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld / Getty ImagesHollywood productions will remain at a standstill until media companies can come to an agreement with the writers and actors who make them. Continue reading…

YouTube is testing a new way to let you easily watch videos at 2x speed Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeYouTube is experimenting with a way to help sickos like me watch videos as fast as humanly possible. The test, which YouTube Premium subscribers can opt in to, lets you long-press on the video player to set the playback speed to 2x, according to YouTube’s experiments page (via 9to5Google). To me, this sound…

Wix will let you build an entire website using only AI prompts Wix’s new AI Site Generator tool lets you build a whole site with a few prompts. | Screenshot: Wes Davis / The VergeTemplate-based website builder Wix has announced that, soon, it’ll let you create entire websites by typing a description into a box and answering a few follow-up questions. Everything, from the design to text and images, will then…

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits Disney Plus in August Image: DisneyGuardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 is coming to Disney Plus. You can start streaming the movie on the service on August 2nd. The third and final installment in the Guardians series first came out in theaters in May. It follows Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and co. in the aftermath of the events that took place in Avengers: Endgame. It join…

Facebook pivots back to video with more Reels and HDR Illustration by Nick Barclay / The VergeMeta announced a bunch of new updates to its video features on Facebook, including improved editing tools, the ability to upload videos in HDR, and a new Video tab. Let’s start first with that Video tab, the new name for the tab formerly known as Facebook Watch. Meta says that the tab is now “the one-stop …

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2 Pro flagship earbuds are comfy, light, and now $42 off The Buds 2 Pro are small but mighty. | Photo by Chris Welch / The VergeAfter Samsung’s entry-level Buds 2 wireless earbuds took center stage last week on a great deal, it’s now the Pro’s turn to shine with a deal of its own. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are selling for $187.99 ($42 off) at Amazon or $189.99 at Best Buy. The deals at both retail…

Hayao Miyazaki’s How Do You Live is a beautiful relic — and the end of an era Image: Studio GhibliThe mysterious new Studio Ghibli film has finally debuted in Japanese theaters, with a North American premiere due later this year under the name The Boy and the Heron. Continue reading…

Reddit search is a little broken right now Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeReddit search is having some issues right now and has been for at least 12 hours, according to posts from some frustrated Reddit users. The problem I’m having right now is that doing any search while logged in doesn’t return any posts. For example, if I search “iPhone” in r/Apple while logged in on Old Redd…

‘Millions’ of sensitive US military emails were reportedly sent to Mali due to a typo Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeFor over 10 years, millions of emails associated with the US military have been getting sent to Mali, a West African country allied with Russia, due to a typo, according to a report from the Financial Times. Instead of appending the military’s .MIL domain to their recipient’s email address, people frequ…

Microsoft’s new Xbox Game Pass Core will replace Xbox Live Gold in September Image: MicrosoftMicrosoft is launching a new Xbox Game Pass Core subscription to replace Xbox Live Gold. This new Game Pass Core offering will include the usual Xbox online console multiplayer support, deals and discounts, and a new small catalog of more than 25 games — including Gears 5, Forza Horizon 4, and Psychonauts 2. Existing Xbox Live Go…

Corsair acquires mechanical keyboard specialist Drop Image: CorsairCorsair is acquiring Drop, an online retailer best known for its lineup of mechanical keyboards and keyboard accessories like keycaps. The deal only includes “certain assets” from Drop, but the CEO of Drop, Jef Holove, put the terms of the deal more simply: “Drop has been acquired by Corsair,” the CEO wrote in a post. Neither comp…

Ford cuts F-150 Lightning prices, taking the cheapest model under $50,000 Image: Vjeran Pavic / The VergeFord announced price cuts for its F-150 Lightning truck that will reduce the listed price on some trims by almost $10,000. The company’s most affordable “Pro” trim is reduced from its previous MSRP of $59,974 to $49,995, and its highest “Platinum” with extended-range battery has dropped from $98,074 to $91,995. The…

The birth of id Software Before Wolfenstein and Doom, Commander Keen was id Software’s breakthrough series — here’s how it began. | Image: My AbandonwareIn 1990, John Romero, John Carmack, and Tom Hall were working at Louisiana software maker Softdisk. There, they had an idea that would change PC games forever. Continue reading…

Samsung prices its 27-inch 5K monitor at $1,599 — just like Apple’s Studio Display The ViewFinity S9 is a 27-inch 5K display. | Photo by Chris Welch / The VergeSeven months after announcing the 27-inch ViewFinity S9 desktop monitor at CES 2023, Samsung is finally circling back around with pricing and availability details. Let’s get right to it: the 5K display, which is being positioned as a prosumer option meant to rival monit…

Christopher Nolan wants Oppenheimer to be a cautionary tale for Silicon Valley Christopher Nolan at a screening of Oppenheimer at the Whitby Hotel in NYC. | Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images For Universal PicturesAround the time J. Robert Oppenheimer learned that Hiroshima had been struck (alongside everyone else in the world) he began to have profound regrets about his role in the creation of that bomb. At one point when …

My Mac Studio is a blank canvas for self-expression Not to be all Marie Kondo about it, but my Mac Studio sparks joy in me every day, and it’s not because it’s the fastest computer I’ve ever owned. It’s also not strictly about the front-facing ports Apple gave it, nor is it the village of ports that live in the back. It’s the mustache. See, I found this mustache sticker in the back of a drawer in…