Lead Hacker

It’s not the phone I was hoping I’d pick, but at least it’s green! | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge It takes a week to switch phones. First, there's the technical process of moving eSIMs across devices, which takes either a few minutes (if you're switching from one Android phone to another) or two days, a half-dozen calls to Verizon, a verification text message sent to your mom, and approximately 11,000 restarts of your phone (if you're switching from iPhone to Android). Then comes a few hours of app downloading, settings tweaking, and personalization, because every phone has a bunch of unique ideas about everything. You can be up and running on a new phone in an afternoon, but by the time you've downloaded all your Kindle books, synced … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/899602/best-phone-android-ios-app-store

Android Automotive in a Volvo EX90 | Image: Volvo Google announced a new version of its Android Automotive open-source operating system for software-defined vehicles. Whereas previously Android Automotive operated exclusively in the car's infotainment system, Google is now expanding its "open infrastructure" to the non-safety parts of the car's internal computer system. As cars have swiftly become "computers on wheels," there is still a lot of fragmentation in the industry, with many car manufacturers using different, mismatched software modules from dozens of different suppliers. Google wants to solve this fragmentation problem by - what else? - becoming the de facto software provider fo … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/899034/google-android-automotive-os-software-defined-vehicle

The early 2020s were kind of a dark time if you were a fan of Rock Band . PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X owners didn’t get an improved, more feature-packed guitar controller until early 2024 when PDP launched the Riffmaster. While it launched for $129.99 and later rose to $149.99, you can now grab it for $99.99 at Amazon , Walmart , and Best Buy in the run-up to Amazon’s Big Spring Sale. The current deal price (which has only happened once before) applies to both the Xbox and PlayStation versions, as well as the newer Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 versions. PDP Riffmaster PDP’s Riffmaster is a wireless guitar accessory compatible with Rock Band 4 and Fortnite Festival. It has two sets of color-coded buttons you can press to hit notes as they appear on the screen, a built-in 3.5mm audio jack for connecting headphones, and an analog stick to help you easily navigate through each game’s menus. Where to Buy: $149.99 $99.99 at Amazon (PlayStation 5) $149.99 $99 at Amazon (Xbox...

Andy Weir on the set of Project Hail Mary. | Image: Amazon MGM Studios Andy Weir has done pretty well when it comes to adaptations. His first novel, The Martian , was turned into a movie in 2015 , and the Ridley Scott-directed picture earned more than $600 million at the box office. And Project Hail Mary just had a huge opening weekend that puts it on track to be one of the year's biggest movies. However, despite that success, Weir tells me that he does his best to keep the idea of an adaptation out of his mind when he starts a new novel. "I try not to think about it at all," he explains. The reason, according to Weir, is that the two mediums are just so different. That's something he's learned over the last dec … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/898918/project-hail-mary-andy-weir-writing-advice-interview

First came the AI beauty pageant. Then the AI music contests. Now, there is an award for AI Personality of the Year - perhaps the inevitable next step for the AI influencer economy as it transforms from quirky novelty into a serious and lucrative industry. The contest, a joint venture between generative AI studio OpenArt and AI-powered creator platform Fanvue, with backing from AI voice company ElevenLabs, opens on Monday and runs for a month. The organizers said it is intended to "celebrate the creative talent 'behind' AI Influencers" and recognize their growing commercial and cultural clout. Contestants will compete for a total prize f … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/898781/ai-personality-of-the-year-influencer-contest

Siri, can you tell me where I belong? | Image: DEEWEE Last week's recommendation , Sotomayor's Wabi Sabi , has a very particular vibe that you don't find in a lot of records. One of the few things it called to mind was 2022's Topical Dancer from Charlotte Adigery and Bolis Pupul, which I ended up revisiting this week a lot. The two records don't seem particularly alike on the surface. But they're both rough around the edges smash-ups of electronic and organic elements packaged for dancefloor abandon. The way the sounds and rhythms click together feels very much of the same ilk. There are, of course, differences. Significant ones. Adigery and Pupul draw more heavily from rock and early electroni … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/898796/charlotte-adigery-bolis-pupul-topical-dancer-review

That’s some sloppy looking slop. | Image: Rex_Spy / Reddit Reviews of Crimson Desert have been mixed , but the bigger issue for the game has been the discovery of what appeared to be AI-generated assets in the final release. Now the developer has acknowledged that AI art was indeed used during the game's creation, but says that it was intended to be replaced before release. In a statement on X , the company said it was conducting a "comprehensive audit" to identify and replace any AI-generated content. The company apologized for both its inclusion in the final release and for not being more transparent about its use during development. "We should have clearly disclosed our use of AI," it said. The … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/games/898771/crimson-desert-dev-apologizes-ai-art

Amazon’s Prime Day sale may arrive earlier than usual this year , but there’s a deal event happening much sooner: Amazon’s annual Big Spring Sale, which is happening March 25th through the 31st. While it won’t be as big as Prime Day or Black Friday, it does offer you a chance to save money at a time when US tariffs have effectively increased the price of many gadgets and goods over the course of the past year. Dozens of excellent deals — some of which we haven’t seen in months — are already starting to pop up. Some items, like Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K Max , have dropped to their best price since Black Friday, while a few others, like the new Echo Dot Max and Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni , have fallen to new low prices. You don’t need a Prime membership to take advantage of many of these deals, either. Retailers like Best Buy, Walmart, and Target are also matching Amazon’s pricing in many instances, so you can choose where you want to shop. We’ve rounded up some of the best deals we...

This is The Stepback , a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more news about online age verification and your privacy, follow Emma Roth . The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here . How it started Virtual private networks, or VPNs, weren't always used to access region-locked Netflix streams, bypass censorship online, or to prevent your internet service provider (ISP) from tracking your browsing history. It took years for VPNs to become the technology we know today, which provides an encrypted connection between your device and a private server, while conce … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/column/898122/online-age-verification-vpns

Halide running on an iPhone. | Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge Lux Optics co-founder Sebastiaan de With made headlines when he joined Apple in late January. The company was behind Halide , one of the most popular photography apps for the iPhone, which gained a cult following for its robust pro-level controls. Apple was apparently a big enough fan that it tried to acquire the developer last summer. Those talks never bore fruit, and eventually the company simply hired de With. At the time, it was widely believed that Apple had poached him from Lux. But new allegations from a lawsuit filed by co-founder Ben Sandofsky in the California Superior Court of Santa Cruz claim de With was fired for financial misc … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/business/898687/halide-lawsuit-co-founder-apple

Less than a week ago, Apple announced the forthcoming AirPods Max 2 , a pair of over-ear headphones that leverage the company’s H2 chip for AI-powered live translation, conversation awareness, and a host of newer features. However, if you’re okay with a pair of earbuds , the AirPods Pro 3 offer access to all the same features for less — especially given they’re currently on sale at Amazon , Walmart , and Best Buy for $199.99 ($50 off), matching their second-best price to date. AirPods Pro 3 Where to Buy: $249.99 $199.99 at Best Buy $249 $199.99 at Amazon $249 $199.99 at Walmart For iPhone owners, nothing else really compares to the AirPods Pro 3. Apple’s latest pair of premium earbuds deliver the best active noise cancellation and richest sound of any AirPods model to date, combined with a more comfortable, angled design that fits securely and naturally in your ear canal. They also feature a new XXS ear tip size and a more robust IP57 rating for sweat and water resist...

E Ink displays have expanded beyond e-readers. They're now used in digital photo frames , smartphones , and even the price tags found on grocery store shelves. VidaBay's Classic Plus NFC E-Ink Fridge Magnet - which looks like a Polaroid photo - features the same low power color E Ink screens used in those electronic price tags, but to display photos from your phone without the need for a battery. The small digital photo frames are now available globally in white, red, or yellow through VidaBay's online store for $35.99 each (currently discounted to $29.99), or as a three-pack for $99.99 (now discounted to $86.99). One of the many unique bene … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/898162/vidabay-classic-plus-nfc-e-ink-fridge-magnet

Anker’s magnetic battery pack can both prop up and charge your phone. | Image: Anker Given how often most of us rely on our smartphones, it’s a good idea to keep a power bank on hand in the event your phone dies while you’re out and about. If you don’t own one already, Anker’s MagGo Power Bank (10K) is down to $71.99 (nearly $20 off) at Amazon in the lead-up to the retailer’s annual Big Spring Sale . You can also buy it directly from Anker for the same price when you use coupon code WS7DV27ZN58X , which drops it to the best price we’ve seen this year. Anker MagGo Power Bank (10K) Where to Buy: $89.99 $71.99 at Amazon $89.99 $71.99 at Anker (with code WS7DV27ZN58X) Anker’s lightweight power bank can deliver 15W of wireless power to MagSafe-compatible iPhones, allowing you to charge an iPhone 17 to about 50 percent in about 45 minutes. The battery’s 10,000mAh capacity also means you can charge the base iPhone 17 nearly twice or the iPhone 17 Pro Max at least once. There...

Google has revealed the "advanced flow" that will be required to install certain Android apps once the company introduces mandatory developer verification later this year. The company had initially announced that it would no longer be possible to install apps from unverified developers, and the process announced today is its concession to critics who accused it of killing off app sideloading and making Android less open. The good news is the new advanced flow is a one-off process that won't need to be repeated every time a user wants to sideload an app; the bad news is that part of that process includes a mandatory one-day waiting period. … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/897420/android-sideloading-unverified-developers-process

Meta is reversing its plans to shut down its VR metaverse - sort of. On Monday, the company announced that it would be shutting down the VR version of its 3D social platform Horizon Worlds on June 15th in favor of a new focus on the mobile version of the app . But in a Wednesday AMA on his Instagram, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth said the company has decided that existing VR worlds would remain available and that the Horizon Worlds VR app will be available to download "for the foreseeable future." Meta is keeping VR Horizon Worlds experiences around as a way to support "the fans who reached out, like yourself, who really care about that," Boswor … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/897396/meta-vr-horizon-worlds-metaverse-andrew-bosworth

Epic Games and Disney are making a big announcement as part of their continually deepening relationship. In June, Epic announced that Fortnite creators would "soon" be able to make custom Star Wars -themed games and experiences, and starting Thursday that feature is finally launching. While creators can start making experiences now, they'll be able to publish them for players to jump into beginning May 1st. Since announcing the Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) , the tool that lets creators build experiences that sit alongside Epic's own modes like battle royale and Fortnite Festival , Epic started introducing a handful of big-name franchises … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/games/897163/fortnite-star-wars-creators-uefn-epic-games-disney

The Matic robot vacuum finally adds smart home control. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Matic , my current top pick for the best robot vacuum, just got a big update. The unique-looking floor bot now works with Google Home and Apple Home , with support coming through the smart home standard Matter . This enables voice control and smart home integrations, features that have been missing from the robot since launch. Now you can set up automations such as "Run Matic when everyone leaves home," "Dock the robot when I arrive home," or "Stop Matic when the door unlocks." The Matter integration isn't yet certified and doesn't work with all the platforms, but it's a good start. However, as it's still unofficial, there are some rough edg … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/896775/matic-robot-vacuum-apple-home-matter

If you know where to look, you can often score deals on Apple’s ever-expanding AirPods lineup. Both the first-gen AirPods Max and the AirPods 4 (with and without ANC) now consistently receive discounts, as do the newer AirPods Pro 3 . And while major shopping events like Black Friday and Prime Day have delivered some of the biggest price drops, there are still good deals to be found on every model. Below, we’ve rounded up the best deals currently available on each set of AirPods, including both iterations of the AirPods 4, the third-gen AirPods Pro, and the AirPods Max. The best AirPods 4 deals Apple AirPods 4 Where to Buy: $129 $99 at Amazon $129.99 $99.99 at Walmart $129.99 $99.99 at Best Buy AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation Where to Buy: $179 $148.99 at Amazon $179 $148.99 at Walmart $179.99 $149.99 at Best Buy At the end of 2024, Apple introduced the AirPods 4, a pair of wireless earbuds available in two variations: a $129 standard model ...