The Verge

Source: The Verge The Biden administration is addressing the “de minimis” exemption that it says some Chinese e-commerce companies “abuse” to ship products under $800 to US customers without tariffs. New rules proposed on Friday subject certain shipments from China to closer inspection and tariffs — a move that will affect products sold by ultralow-cost…

Source: The Verge Astro Bot is a game I cannot help but to evangelize, raving about its cute characters, its bright and varied level design, and its short but dense 8–10 hour runtime. But perhaps the biggest element contributing to the game’s joyousness is its sound design, which makes Astro Bot something that engages and…

Source: The Verge There’s a refreshing idealism to Megalopolis. In a time overflowing with grim, nihilistic postapocalyptic stories, Francis Ford Coppola’s latest film is a retrofuturistic parable about creating a better world through architecture, science, and dreams. Unfortunately, that sheen fades almost immediately. The film wants viewers to imagine an idealistic future. But its vision…

Source: The Verge For parents and guardians, managed accounts enable them to better tailor the content that is available to young listeners via in-app controls—like managing the playback of Canvas, videos, and content labeled as explicit. They will now also be able to decide whether a young listener can play certain artists or tracks with Spotify’s…

Source: The Verge The Google Pixel Watch 3 is here while the new Apple Watch Series 10 is on its way, but they’re not for everybody. Luckily, there is a wide range of excellent Android smartwatches on the market, and today, one of our favorites — the OnePlus Watch 2 — is on sale for an…

Source: The Verge Apple’s higher-end iPhones feature a titanium finish and a new “desert” option. (That just means dark gold.) | Screenshot: Apple Apple’s new iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max are already up for preorder ahead of their debut on September 20th. It’ll be a few more weeks before the…

Source: The Verge In Rachel Yoder’s novel Nightbitch, an unnamed woman’s unfulfilling life playing homemaker becomes so all-consuming that she snaps. She’s angry, horny, and hungry, which are all feelings she can understand. But she also suspects that she might be transforming into a dog, an idea that both terrifies and excites her. All of…

Source: The Verge Waymo and Uber — bitter enemies turned awkwardly polite work friends — announced they were expanding their two-year robotaxi partnership to two new cities: Austin, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia, starting in early 2025. The companies have been working together in Phoenix, Arizona, since last year — but not in California in San…

Source: The Verge If you’re yearning for a fistfight with an artist, one simple phrase should do the trick: AI can do what you do. The recent explosion of chatbots and text-to-image generators has prompted consternation from writers, illustrators, and musicians. AI tools like ChatGPT and DALL-E are extraordinary technical accomplishments, yet they seem increasingly…

Source: The Verge Sony’s new PlayStation 5 Pro appears to be very powerful. But at $700 — plus another $80 if you want to buy the disc drive accessory, since the console itself doesn’t have one — a lot of gamers have been left wondering exactly how powerful it needs to be in order to justify…