Theverge

On The Vergecast: what AI companions are really for, all-knowing smart glasses, and the sordid history of DirecTV and Dish.

By David Pierce, editor-at-large and Vergecast co-host with over a decade of experience covering consumer tech. Previously, at Protocol, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired.

The new Microsoft Copilot is a big departure. It shed some of its Bing-y styling and increasingly corporate vibes in favor of something warmer and friendlier, all in an effort to be more than just a work tool. It might just be a website redesign, but it feels like a shift in how Microsoft perceives the future of AI assistants.

JuiceBox EV charger owner Enel X Way is closing its doors on October 11th and shutting down its app services for home and commercial chargers.

By Umar Shakir, a news writer fond of the electric vehicle lifestyle and things that plug in via USB-C. He spent over 15 years in IT support before joining The Verge.

Enel X Way North America, which owns EV charger brand JuiceBox, is closing down its electric vehicle business in the US and Canada and will shut off connectivity services for commercial and home hardware. In a statement posted on the JuiceBox website, the company said it will close down on October 11th, but it’s turning off all customer support lines “effective immediately.”

Big Fan Games will help indie developers bring their licensed games to market.

By Ash Parrish, a reporter who covers the business, culture, and communities of video games, with a focus on marginalized gamers and writing about the intersection of video games and sex.

Devolver Digital has announced the creation of a new publishing label designed specifically for licensed games. The label, named Big Fan Games, is helmed by industry veterans who have worked with brands like Disney, Dark Horse, and more. In a press release, Devolver said that the new company’s goals are “helping independent game developers breathe new life into their favorite movies, comics, TV shows, and cult heroes through the power of video games.” Big Fan already has a number of games on its roster, including Reigns: Game of Thrones, Hellboy Web of Wyrd, and John Wick Hex.

The ‘Outdoor Line’ extends the use of our favorite backpacks and slings to places pavement can’t reach.

By Thomas Ricker, a deputy editor and Verge co-founder with a passion for human-centric cities, e-bikes, and life as a digital nomad. He’s been a tech journalist for almost 20 years.

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San Francisco-based Peak Design — maker of one of our all-time favorite backpacks — is back with its first new bag lineup in five years. PD says its new “Outdoor Line” of backpacks and slings can be worn together for use beyond the pavement. They feature the company’s “most advanced soft-goods design to date,” with lots of adjustment points for a variety of body types and loads. The new bags are compatible with the company’s modular packing cubes that make it easy to organize and quickly access camera equipment, clothing, and other gear.

Shrinking the Mac Mini to about the size of an Apple TV could bring connection compromises.

By Wes Davis, a weekend editor who covers the latest in tech and entertainment. He has written news, reviews, and more as a tech journalist since 2020.

Apple’s next Mac Mini won’t have USB-A ports, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who writes in today’s Power On newsletter that the new desktops will start to hit Apple’s warehouses in September. The higher-end variant with an Apple M4 Pro chip will ship in October, he writes.

Dashlane’s first passkey report says that use of the passwordless sign-on tech ‘is skyrocketing.’

By Jess Weatherbed, a news writer focused on creative industries, computing, and internet culture. Jess started her career at TechRadar, covering news and hardware reviews.

Password manager Dashlane has released a new passkey report that gives us some idea of how many people are adopting the cryptographic passwordless logins. According to the report, Dashlane has seen a 400 percent increase in passkey authentications since the beginning of the year, with 1 in 5 active Dashlane users now having at least one passkey in their Dashlane vault. 

Generative Remove can delete objects from images and generate convincing backgrounds to patch the blank spaces.

By Jess Weatherbed, a news writer focused on creative industries, computing, and internet culture. Jess started her career at TechRadar, covering news and hardware reviews.

Adobe is adding some new generative AI tools to Lightroom that aim to make the photo editing platform easier to use for both professional creatives and inexperienced users alike, even from a phone. These include an in-development object removal feature that’s rolling out in beta and new AI lens-blurring effects that are now generally available to all Lightroom users.

My 15-year-old self loved this game. My 30-something-year-old self does not.

By Ash Parrish, a reporter who has covered the business, culture, and communities of video games for seven years. Previously, she worked at Kotaku.

I have been waiting for Tomb Raider I-III Remastered for 21 years. That’s when I first played the second entry in the series, it having been a “gift” from my mother’s boyfriend who gave me both his PlayStation and a handful of games — sans jewel cases — for no other reason than wanting to free up some space in his closet. I played it ceaselessly, enamored with the game’s action and puzzles and the fact it was the first game I ever owned that starred a woman. But after reconnecting with the Tomb Raider II portion of Aspyr’s remaster, I’m left asking: what in the natural hell was 15-year-old Ash thinking?

A Houston warehouse just launched Amazon’s updated ‘Sequoia’ robotics system.

By Umar Shakir, a news writer fond of the electric vehicle lifestyle and things that plug in via USB-C. He spent over 15 years in IT support before joining The Verge.

Amazon is rolling out expanded robotics operations at fulfillment centers built on updated sorting machines, robotic arms, and its Roomba-like mover bots. The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon’s latest inventory processing system, which the company calls Sequoia, can speed up delivery fulfillment by 25 percent and launched this week at a facility in Houston.

A major blow to Apple’s Lightning port

By Jon Porter and James Vincent

European Union lawmakers have reached an agreement on legislation that will force all future smartphones sold in the EU — including Apple’s iPhone — to be equipped with the universal USB-C port for wired charging by fall 2024. The rule will also apply to other electronic devices including tablets, digital cameras, headphones, handheld video game consoles, and e-readers. Laptops will have to comply with the rule at a later date.