The Verge

Source: The Verge Today may have marked the beginning of the end for game console disc drives. Sony finally announced the $699.99 PS5 Pro, and while it looks to be an impressive machine, it’s the first PlayStation console that will require you to buy the console and a separate disc drive if you want to…

Source: The Verge Lifx has a new smart “Polychrome” Tube light that can glow with multiple colors and transform your home lamps and fixtures into fun light-up popsicles. The bulbs are made of a frosted glass tube and contain 104 LEDs with 52 controllable zones that enable color-shifting effects and include themes like cracking fire…

Source: The Verge The first set of Apple’s AI features is scheduled for public availability next month in most regions — except the EU — as part of a beta test for iPhone 15 Pro and all iPhone 16s, plus Macs and iPads with M1 or higher Apple Silicon chips. At launch, they’ll be available…

Source: The Verge Editor’s note: Due to a patent dispute with medical device maker Masimo, new Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 units sold in the US no longer have the blood oxygen feature. Older models are unaffected. You can tell if you have a unit with the blood oxygen feature disabled if the…

Source: The Verge This week, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stunned safety advocates by proposing new vehicle rules that it says will help reduce pedestrian deaths in America. The new rules appear aimed directly at the trend of increasingly massive SUVs and trucks, which have been shown to be more deadly to…

Source: The Verge Microsoft is launching its Xbox Game Pass Standard tier today. After briefly testing it with Xbox Insiders last month, the new $14.99 per month Game Pass Standard subscription is launching with the usual Game Pass library for Xbox and online console multiplayer access, too. This new tier doesn’t include immediate access to…

Source: The Verge If you’re envious of the new AirPods Max colors but don’t think a switch from Apple’s proprietary Lightning port to USB-C is enough reason to upgrade, you can now buy replacement ear cushions in the new colorways that are still compatible with the original version of the headphones, as MacRumors discovered. Apple…

Source: The Verge Apple’s all in on AI — at least Apple’s version. “The next generation of iPhone has been designed for Apple Intelligence from the ground up,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said before revealing the iPhone 16. Software chief Craig Federighi pitched Apple Intelligence as a “personal intelligence system” that’s at “the heart of…

Source: The Verge When Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House, Bly Manor, and Midnight Mass) adapts a Stephen King story, you might expect something spooky. That was true with his takes on Doctor Sleep and Gerald’s Game. It’s not the case with The Life of Chuck, which isn’t trying to creep you out or…

Source: The Verge Sony just announced the $699.99 PS5 Pro, a beefed-up version of the PS5 that includes a larger GPU and advanced ray tracing support. But if you want to play your physical games on the new console, you’ll have to pay extra: a disc drive isn’t included, so you’ll have to buy and…