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Wilmot Works It Out is the best parts of jigsaw puzzles, but faster and cleaner
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/27/24278619/wilmot-works-it-out-review
Tim Walz and AOC are going to play Madden together on Twitch
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/26/24280200/tim-walz-aoc-twitch-madden
Android 16 could get iPhone-like ‘ongoing’ notifications
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/26/24280157/android-16-rich-ongoing-notifications-beta-code-iphone-ios-live-activities
Classic survival horror is still alive and scaring
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/26/24279276/survival-horror-silent-hill-2-fear-the-spotlight
A TikTok alternative called Loops is coming for the fediverse
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/26/24280075/fediverse-tiktok-alternative-loops-pixelfed-mastodon-activitypub-signups-open
The Lake House is a welcome return to Alan Wake 2 — and a bridge to the future
https://www.theverge.com/24279410/alan-wake-2-the-lake-house-expansion-review
8BitDo’s first smartphone controller has Hall effect joysticks and triggers
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24279435/8bitdo-ultimate-mobile-gaming-controller-android-hall-effect
Best Buy’s gaming sale including deals on the Asus ROG Ally and Scuf’s mobile controller
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24278489/ring-battery-doorbell-plus-deal-sale
McDonald’s busted ice cream machines can now be fixed — legally
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24279371/mcdonalds-ice-cream-machines-right-to-repair-copyright
All the news about daily puzzle games
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24279439/news-games-crossword-wordle
Leica’s new $23,000 film camera is platinum-plated and destined for collector shelves
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24279278/leica-m-edition-70-rangefinder-35mm-film-camera-platinum-special-edition
Waymo just raised $5.6 billion to spread robotaxis to more cities
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24279330/waymo-funding-round-series-c-amount-alphabet
Amazon’s Like a Dragon works better as a mob drama than a Yakuza adaptation
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24278893/amazon-like-a-dragon-yakuza-prime-tv
The confusing state of Apple Intelligence
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24279264/apple-intelligence-ipad-mini-perplexity-ai-vergecast
Adobe execs say artists need to embrace AI or get left behind
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24278715/adobe-artists-embrace-generative-ai-creative-community
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
Governor Tim Walz is returning to Twitch and this time, he’ll actually be playing a game. Earlier this month, Kamala Harris’ campaign teamed up with a Twitch streamer to live-stream a Walz rally as part of a World of Warcraft stream. But on Sunday afternoon, Walz will be playing Madden NFL on Twitch with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY).
Like with live-streaming the Walz rally alongside WoW, the idea with this Madden livestream is to try to reach young men, a demographic that Trump polls relatively high with (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/18/upshot/polls-trump-harris-young-men.html).
Ocasio-Cortez is already well-known for her huge Among Us stream ahead of the 2020 election and a stream in July 2023 (https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/20/23802389/aoc-twitch-stream-date-hasanabi) where she played Pico Park and Gartic Phone. (She’s a fan of League of Legends, too.) But while Walz is a k... (https://www.startribune.com/tim-walz-governor-and-gamer-once-owned-a-sega-dreamcast-heres-what-happened-to-it/601134805)
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/26/24280200/tim-walz-aoc-twitch-madden)
Google may be working on persistent notifications similar to its phone call status pictured here. | Photo: Wes Davis / The Verge
Android 16 may come with a new “Rich Ongoing Notifications” feature that lets developers keep persistent notifications in the Android status bar, according to Android 15 (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/15/24268043/google-android-15-pixel) beta code discovered by Android Authority’s Mishaal Rahman, who frequently dives into code to surface coming features.
Right now, the code enables adding a pill-shaped icon with custom text and background color to the Android status bar. Some mock notifications Rahman created show how it could be used for things like telling you when to expect your Uber to arrive. Android has already had a feature like this since Android 12 that lets you know how long you’ve been on a phone call, Rahman notes.
Screenshot: Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
A...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/26/24280157/android-16-rich-ongoing-notifications-beta-code-iphone-ios-live-activities)
Fear the Spotlight. | Image: Blumhouse Games
More than most genres, survival horror feels rooted in time. It started with the methodical Resident Evil on the original PlayStation and is defined in part by limitation — a slow pace, grimy visuals, and scant resources to help amplify the scares. Many of those elements stemmed from the early, awkward days of 3D gaming, whether it was Resident Evil’s clunky controls, which made zombie chases more terrifying, or Silent Hill’s fog, which lent an iconic atmosphere while also letting the developers get around technical limitations of the time (https://www.polygon.com/playstation/24196061/silent-hill-crash-bandicoot-tech-limitations).
And a few decades later, developers are still finding ways to bring the most important elements of those games — namely, the mood and scares — to modern horror without feeling dated.
The most obvious...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/26/24279276/survival-horror-silent-hill-2-fear-the-spotlight)
Image: Loops
The fediverse answer to TikTok is on its way. Signups opened this week for Loops (https://loops.video/beta/sign-up), a short-form looping video app from the creator of Instagram alternative Pixelfed, reports TechCrunch.
Users who’ve signed up (https://loops.video/beta/sign-up) can post up to 60 seconds of video, according to details (dansup/113350266669064875" rel="nofollow">https://mastodon.social/@dansup/113350266669064875) shared by developer Daniel Supernault on Mastodon. He added that using sounds and remixing others’ videos is coming, as are pinned profile videos, and that users will be able to “curate” their comment sections. Videos can be categorized, but hashtags and mentions aren’t yet supported.
The Loops Pixelfed account (https://pixelfed.social/loops) has posted videos like the one below of Loops in action. Supernault has posted screenshots (dansup/113350152028693812" rel="nofollow">https://mastodon.social/@dansup/113350152028693812) and screen recordings (dansup/113350166861381826" rel="nofollow">https://mastodon.social/@dansup/113350166861381826), as well.
Creating an account isn’t instantaneous...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/26/24280075/fediverse-tiktok-alternative-loops-pixelfed-mastodon-activitypub-signups-open)
Image: Remedy Entertainment
Remedy’s latest release is connective tissue for its growing video game universe.
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/24279410/alan-wake-2-the-lake-house-expansion-review)
8BitDo’s first smartphone controller is Android-only. | Image: 8BitDo
8BitDo has announced its Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller (https://www.8bitdo.com/ultimate-mobile-gaming-controller/), the company’s first gamepad that attaches directly to smartphones and mobile devices using an expanding clamping mechanism. It’s available for preorder now for $49.99 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DK37CSHP?tag=theverge02-20) and is expected to be released on November 29th, 2024.
The Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller can be attached to smartphones or smaller tablet devices measuring between 100mm and 170mm in length. For expanded compatibility, instead of plugging in with USB-C, 8BitDo’s new controller connects wirelessly over Bluetooth but only supports Android devices.
The use of Bluetooth necessitates a 350mAh rechargeable battery in the controller, which 8BitDo says is enough for 15 hours of play on a 1.5-hour charge. That added...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24279435/8bitdo-ultimate-mobile-gaming-controller-android-hall-effect)
The powerful Asus ROG Ally is $100 off, which is nearly half the price of its successor. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
If you’re a gamer looking to save but can’t wait until another a month until Black Friday, it might be worth checking out Best Buy’s three-day gaming sale. Now through October 27th, the retailer’s offering discounts on gaming gear, but some of the best deals are on hardware specifically.
For example, Best Buy has some notable deals on Windows handheld consoles, like the Asus ROG Ally, which is on sale with a Z1 Extreme chip for $549.99 ($100 off) (https://howl.me/cnnexVKi7NU) (and even cheaper at $499.99 for My Best Buy Plus and Total members). That’s $50 shy of its best price to date, and nearly half the price of its successor, the ROG Ally X. Admittedly, the ROG Ally X (https://www.theverge.com/24204770/asus-rog-ally-x-review-handheld-gaming-pc), offers more impressive performance and battery life, but the ROG Ally is still more powerful...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24278489/ring-battery-doorbell-plus-deal-sale)
Photo by Gerald Matzka/picture alliance via Getty Images
McDonald’s always-broken ice cream machines might finally get easier to fix. That’s because the US Copyright Office granted (https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2024-24563.pdf?utm_campaign=pi+subscription+mailing+list&utm_medium=email&utm_source=federalregister.gov) an exemption allowing third parties (https://publicknowledge.org/public-knowledge-ifixit-free-the-mcflurry-win-copyright-office-dmca-exemption-for-ice-cream-machines/) to diagnose and repair commercial equipment — including the ones that make your McFlurries.
Now, franchise owners will be able to break through the digital locks that have blocked them from repairing McDonald’s ice cream machines for years. According to the Copyright Office, the exemption will allow people to diagnose, perform maintenance, and repair “retail-level commercial food preparation equipment.” McDonald’s ice cream machines have become so notorious for breaking that someone even created a tool to track broken machines (https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/22/21529477/mcdonalds-mcbroken-bot-ice-cream-machines-app-engineering).
The decision is part of the Copyright Office’s final...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24279371/mcdonalds-ice-cream-machines-right-to-repair-copyright)
Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Everything you need to know about games from The New York Times, Apple, and even LinkedIn.
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24279439/news-games-crossword-wordle)
It’s the Leica M’s platinum anniversary, and this camera costs as much (or more) than most weddings. | Image: Leica Camera
Leica is celebrating the 70th anniversary (https://leica-camera.com/en-US/photography/70-years-leica-m) of the M rangefinder camera, but the most precious gift it’s giving for the occasion is for only 250 rich people and costs $22,995. The ludicrously expensive Leica M Edition 70 (https://leica-camera.com/en-US/photography/cameras/m/m-edition-70) set includes a platinum-plated Leica M-A 35mm film camera with Leicavit fast winder, a matching 50mm APO-Summicron-M f/2 lens, and a metallic film container with a roll of black-and-white film.
Yes, the film container is also platinum, and yes, that’s completely ridiculous.
This anniversary edition commemorates when the Leica M3 was released in 1954 as the first M camera. Leica goes to great lengths to honor the M3 and the brand’s legacy just about whenever it can. Back in 2014, the Leica M Edition 60 (https://www.theverge.com/2014/9/16/6182703/leica-m-edition-60-announced) did the same thing...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24279278/leica-m-edition-70-rangefinder-35mm-film-camera-platinum-special-edition)
Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
Waymo just completed an oversubscribed funding round of $5.6 billion (https://waymo.com/blog/2024/10/investing-to-bring-the-waymo-driver-to-more-riders/), its largest investment round to date. The company said it will use the funds to support its robotaxi business in its current markets of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, as well as bring it to new cities, like Austin and Atlanta (https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/13/24243397/waymo-uber-austin-atlanta-robotaxi-partnership), where its vehicles will be available exclusively on the Uber app.
Waymo also hinted at future “business applications” for its “Waymo Driver,” which is the company’s branding for the hardware and software used to enable its vehicles to drive autonomously. This could be a reference to food and package deliveries (https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/22/21334012/waymo-fca-ram-delivery-self-driving-van), trucking (https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/26/23809237/waymo-via-autonomous-truck-delay-timeline-layoffs), or even personally owned autonomous vehicles (https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/31/17412908/waymo-chrysler-pacifica-minvan-self-driving-fleet) — all possibilities that Waymo has explored in the past.
Waymo also...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24279330/waymo-funding-round-series-c-amount-alphabet)
Image: Amazon MGM Studios
Like a Dragon proves that a quality adaptation doesn’t always have to be a faithful one.
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24278893/amazon-like-a-dragon-yakuza-prime-tv)
Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge
The first bits of Apple Intelligence are starting to show up on people’s phones. The features in iOS 18.1 are fairly basic: summarizing messages, writing emails, that kind of thing. Apple is already letting developers play with iOS 18.2, though, which looks like a much more substantial update (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/23/24277926/apple-iphone-default-messaging-apps-ios-18-2). Meanwhile, the company is about to launch (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/24/24266448/apple-mac-announcements-october-2024) a bunch of new M4-powered and AI-focused Macs, and launched the iPad Mini (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/22/24275956/apple-ipad-mini-2024-review) this week. It’s a lot happening all at once, and it’s a lot to make sense of.
On this episode of The Vergecast, we try and make sense of it. The Verge’s Richard Lawler (https://www.theverge.com/authors/richard-lawler) joins us as we talk through the small changes in 18.1 and the much bigger changes in 18.2, debate whether Tim Cook can really use every Apple product every day (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/22/24276142/tim-cook-wsj-interview-every-apple-product-every-day), and...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24279264/apple-intelligence-ipad-mini-perplexity-ai-vergecast)
Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos by Getty Images
Adobe is going all in on generative AI models and tools, even if that means turning away creators who dislike the technology. Artists who refuse to embrace AI in their work are “not going to be successful in this new world without using it,” says Alexandru Costin, vice president of generative AI at Adobe.
In an interview with The Verge, Costin said that he “isn’t aware” of any plans for Adobe to launch products that don’t include generative AI for creators who prefer to manually complete tasks or oppose how AI is changing the creative industry.
“We have older versions of our products that don’t use gen AI, but I wouldn’t recommend using them,” Costin said. “Our goal is to make our customers successful, and we think that in order for them...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24278715/adobe-artists-embrace-generative-ai-creative-community)
One of the many prototypes The Browser Company is building for its next browser. | Image: The Browser Company
Stop me if this sounds familiar: The Browser Company is building a browser that it thinks can make your internet life a little more organized, a little more useful, and maybe even a little more delightful. It has new ideas about tabs (https://www.theverge.com/23462235/arc-web-browser-review), and what your browser can do on your behalf.
I’ve heard this story before! But the browser that Browser Company CEO Josh Miller wants to talk about when he calls me on Thursday isn’t Arc, the product he and his team have been working on for the last five years. It’s not Arc 2.0, either, even though Miller has been talking publicly (https://overcast.fm/+ABJxP9blJr4) about Arc 2.0 for a while now. It’s an entirely new browser. And for Miller and The Browser Company, it’s a chance to get back to building the future of browsers they set out to...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/24/24279020/browser-company-ai-browser-arc)