- Controversial US surveillance program (briefly?) lapses amid congressional dysfunctionCath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images The Senate has passed a bill reauthorizing Section 720 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a controversial program that allows warrantless ... read more
- You can buy a refurbished Steam Deck for almost half offValve says each unit has received over 100 tests and meets the same performance standards as new Steam Decks. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge It’s not often we see ... read more
- Court Sides Against Face-Mask Critic In Battle Over Social Media SuspensionsA federal appellate court has sided with President Joe Biden and social media companies in a lawsuit brought by face-mask critic Justin Hart, who alleged his First Amendment rights were violated when he was suspended ... read more
- Applying the mathematical principles of Pareto to Mario Kart 8Image: Nintendo If you’re the kind of Mario Kart 8 player who cares about winning and not just playing their favorite characters (Daisy and Peach supremacy), choosing the best combination of driver, ... read more
- Kia’s more affordable EV2 is getting ready to undercut TeslaKia’s lineup of electric vehicles are growing. | Image: Kia The Kia EV2, the automaker’s small, affordable electric crossover, has been spotted on the street in camouflage. It’s the first time the ... read more
- Target confirms it’s all but completely ditching DVDs in physical storesImage: Target Target is scaling back the presence of physical media in its stores. A spokesperson for Target tells IGN that the company is “transitioning the limited assortment of DVDs” it sells ... read more
- How Phish turned Las Vegas’ Sphere into the ultimate music visualizerImage: Alive Coverage Four nights of unique set lists and long jams presented a much different production challenge than U2’s 40-show residency. Continue reading… ... read more
- The Hades 2 technical test is a trial in self-controlImage: Supergiant Games Imagine the most perfect barbecue — a prolific spread of smoked meats, all the right sides, every pie, type of cookie or cake, and even your grandmother’s famous dinner ... read more
- You may not need Apple Pay to tap and pay with your EU iPhone soonPhoto by Victoria Song / The Verge Apple could soon let developers in the European Union use its tap-to-pay technology. A report from Reuters reveals that EU regulators could sign off on ... read more
- Taylor Swift Launches Experiential Campaign With TikTok To Promote New RecordTaylor Swift has partnered with TikTok to launch a new in-app campaign to promote her new album, "The Tortured Poets Department." The partnership comes days after the artist uploaded her music catalog onto TikTok. ... read more
- Google’s HD Chromecast is going for just $20Google’s latest streaming dongle offers a cheap way to add smart features and apps to any TV. | Image: Google Almost any TV you can buy these days supports streaming in some ... read more
- Hyundai Pauses Ad Spend On X After Pro-Nazi Content Appears Alongside PromotionsEven after DoubleVerify's correction of X's brand-safety rating, the social messaging platform continues to display harmful and offensive content alongside brands' promotions. The Hyundai account had held a blue checkmark for months as a paid ... read more
- Twitter alternative Post News is shutting downImage: Post News Post News, a Twitter alternative that emerged in the wake of Elon Musk’s takeover, is shutting down. Noam Bardin, the platform’s founder and former CEO of Waze, writes that ... read more
- Maybe I don’t want a Rosey the Robot after allFriend or foe? The Jetsons’ Rosey the Robot has long been an inspiration for developing home robots. But should it be? | Image: Warner Bros. Television, Hanna-Barbera As a child of the ... read more
- Judge Approves Google $62 Million Location Privacy SettlementThe deal requires Google to pay around $42 million to more than a dozen schools and organizations -- including the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, Free Press, ACLU of Northern ... read more
- AirPlay turns the Delta emulator into a full-on retro consoleImage: Riley Testut The launch of the Delta emulator on iPhones is a big deal in a lot of ways. But for users, it’s also just really cool. Here’s an excellent piece ... read more
- Taylor Swift gets custom collab with TikTok as UMG battle continuesPhoto by Ashok Kumar / TAS24 / Getty Images for TAS Rights Management TikTok has launched a new hub to promote Taylor Swift’s new album where you can earn in-app rewards for ... read more
- IRL With Stan Mack's Real Life FunniesLorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and ... read more
- How planning and infrastructure failed during Maui wildfiresA recovery vehicle drives past burned structures and cars two months after a devastating wildfire on October 9th, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. | Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images New details ... read more
- A 14-year-old is charged in fire that destroyed a driverless Waymo vehicleThe Waymo vehicle was set on fire with fireworks. | Image: Frisco Live 415 The San Francisco Police Department has identified and served a search warrant on a teenager who is suspected ... read more
- The Verge’s 2024 Mother’s Day gift guideIllustration by Manon Louart for The Verge We found a collection of unique gift ideas that go beyond the flowers and chocolates that typically rule the day. Continue reading… ... read more
- Emulators are taking over the App StoreImage: Alex Parkin / The Verge Delta, an app for emulating and playing retro games on your iPhone, has been at the top of the App Store rankings for days. Apple spent ... read more
- Netflix Announces New Ad Measurement Options Ahead Of The UpfrontsNetflix grew its overall revenue by 15% year over year, largely driven by account growth, thanks to anti-password sharing tactics. It also unveiled new ad measurement options for advertisers. The post Netflix Announces New Ad ... read more
- Google Consolidates Teams To Accelerate AI In ProductsAlphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai has announced changes to Google's workplace structure to help the company develop AI products and services faster. ... read more
- Meta Integrates Real-Time Bing And Google Search With Llama 3 AI AssistantMeta AI was built on the company's latest large language model called Meta Llama 3, which was announced Thursday. ... read more
- Tesla recalls all 3,878 Cybertrucks over faulty accelerator pedalTesla isn’t aware of any collisions, injuries, or fatalities attributed to the defective pedals. | Image: Parker Ortolani / The Verge Tesla has issued a recall for effectively every Cybertruck it’s delivered ... read more
- 'Predator v Prey' Uses New FX Techniques For Close-Up KillsWatching lions and other predators track down, bring down and then chow down on their still living prey is not everybody's cup of tea. ... read more
- DJI’s first power stations can fast charge its drone batteriesDJI’s Power 1000 (left) and Power 500 (right) ready to be worshipped. | Image: DJI DJI just launched its first power stations that feature a new proprietary SDC — aka Smart DC ... read more
- Netflix Reports Double-Digit Q1 Subscriber, Revenue GrowthNetflix posted 9.33 million new global paid subscribers -- up 16% vs. Q1 2023 -- to 269.6 million global subscribers and 82.7 million in the U.S. and Canada. ... read more
- How This Kid-Focused Media Company Balances Privacy And Ad MeasurementMoonbug Entertainment, a content studio whose portfolio includes kid favorites such as CoComelon and Blippi, is trying to bring some form of ad measurement to children’s content through a new partnership with iSpot. The post ... read more
- Comic: Working Hard or Hardly Working?Enjoy this weekly comic strip from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem … The post Comic: Working Hard or Hardly Working? appeared first on AdExchanger. ... read more
- Fintech’s On-Ramp To Retail Media; Does YouTube Count As CTV, Digital Or Both?Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. RMN Seedlings Fin tech valuations have see-sawed over the past couple of years. And now Ramp, the corporate credit card and expense service, ... read more
- Why the New York Times is forging connections with gamers as it diversifies its audienceThe New York Times has had such notable traffic to its games that some observers have speculated that the newspaper is on its way to becoming a gaming company. While this isn’t quite the case, the ... read more
- Why B2B marketers are advertising more like consumer brands to break through a crowded marketplaceIf you think you’re seeing more ads for productivity apps or technology brands while binge watching your favorite shows, you are. At least that’s the case according to agency execs, who say B2B marketers are ... read more
- As draft puts WNBA in spotlight, the NBA is speeding up ballplayers’ transition to creatorsBasketball is a team sport — but when marketing the game itself, its individual athletes do most of the legwork. With that in mind, the NBA aims to make it possible for every ballplayer to become ... read more
- Industry flirts with making the Possible conference a must-attend tentpole eventIf you work in the marketing or media industry, “#POSSIBLE2024” almost inevitably populated your social media feed on LinkedIn or X, during the past week. The accompanying images of your professional peers, or vaguely familiar ... read more
- Meta AI rolls out several enhancements across apps and websites with its newest Llama 3Alongside Meta’s debut of its new AI model Llama 3, the company yesterday released a new version of its AI assistant, Meta AI, which arrived for apps across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. The company ... read more
- Razer’s Kishi Ultra gaming controller brings haptics to your USB-C phone, PC, or tabletRazer Razer’s latest mobile gaming controller just released today, the Kishi Ultra, is an all-rounder that can switch between multiple devices. The controller has a built-in USB-C port that can work with ... read more
- Amazon’s Fallout has been renewed for season 2Image: Amazon Just a week after the show first premiered, Amazon has confirmed that there’s more of its live-action Fallout series on the way. As of now there are no details available ... read more
- Target Sued For Improper Biometric SurveillanceA class-action suit filed in Illinois claims the retailer's cameras violate shoppers' rights. ... read more
- The Meta Quest 2 gets a permanent price cut to $199The Meta Quest 2 and its bundled controllers. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The Meta Quest 2 has been on sale for nearly a month, and today, Meta’s ... read more
- Automotive National TV Spending Down 9.1% Year-Over-YearOver half of the total automotive industry TV ad spend during March went to men's college basketball, according to iSpot.tv. ... read more
- The Trump TrialEven if you think you could be a potential juror, these days, who could come up clean after teams of lawyers comb through your social media posts? ... read more
- Programmatic Pioneering: Index Exchange Gears Up For Explosion In Live Ads, Election BuysThe advent of live streaming in programmatic advertising is bubbling with potential, yet it’s not without its technical trials. In a media world where live TV programming is still big business, what role does programmatic ... read more
- Netflix is all about the money, not the membersIllustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Netflix is moving beyond subscriber numbers. In its first quarter earnings results released on Thursday, Netflix announced that it will stop reporting quarterly membership numbers ... read more
- House Passes Bill To Block Police From Purchasing Online DataThe U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would restrict the government's ability to purchase information about Americans' data -- including information about their online activity, app use and locations. ... read more
- Write Congress Today About Ukraine Aid BillEmails sent to members of Congress are incredibly powerful, much more so that most people think. ... read more
- Privacy-Focused Brave Search Launches AI Ask EngineBrave has integrated AI into its search engine to create a real-time answer engine using large language models, data from its search results and retrieval augmented generation to generate answers almost instantly. ... read more
- 2024 Top Women in Media & Ad Tech Honorees and Special Recognition Awards AnnouncedContact: Trish Borrelli Sr. Marketing Director tborrelli@accessintel.com Honorees to be recognized on June 3, 2024, in New York City New York, NY (April 16, 2024) – AdExchanger and AdMonsters are pleased to announce the honorees ... read more
- YouTube Offers Advertisers Placement Near Top-Performing ShortsYouTube is launching a "Select Shorts" ad offering to give advertisers the ability to engage audiences across a variety of content genres by placing their ads alongside best-performing Shorts. ... read more
- Senate advances vote on reauthorizing warrantless surveillance programCath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images The Senate is moving forward on a vote to reauthorize a controversial program that allows warrantless surveillance of foreign “targets.” Before voting ... read more
- Your Happy Hacking Keyboard deserves some fresh capsUrsa is a new keycap profile for Topre keyboards. I want it. | Render: FKCaps Listen, I don’t want to be the guy who always posts about weird keyboard stuff. I have ... read more
- All the news on Qi2 wireless chargingAnker is amongst the first accessory makers to rerelease MagSafe-compatible accessories that now support the Qi2 standard. | Image: Nathan Edwards / The Verge Qi2 brings MagSafe-like fast magnetic wireless charging for ... read more
- IAS Adds Misinformation Measurement Across Meta AppsIntegral Ad Science is expanding its offerings with Meta to include the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) category of misinformation. ... read more
- Meta says Llama 3 beats most other models, including GeminiIllustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge The next generation of Meta’s large language model Llama, which releases today to cloud providers like AWS and to model libraries like Hugging Face soon, ... read more
- The podcast industry keeps reinventing itselfIllustration by Alex Castro / The Verge This is Hot Pod, The Verge’s newsletter about podcasting and the audio industry. Today is my last day at The Verge, and this will ... read more
- The Humane AI Pin is lost in translationAs funny as it was when the AI Pin utterly failed at translating Korean and Japanese, it also broke my heart. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Of all ... read more
- European Watchdog Criticizes 'Consent Or Pay' Approach To Ad TargetingPrivacy officials overseas appeared to express disapproval of Meta's decision to require European Facebook and Instagram users to choose between accepting online ad targeting or paying subscription fees for ad-free versions of the services. ... read more
- You should be playing Music LeagueWhen was the last time your friends made you a playlist? | Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images Writing about the decline of Pitchfork made me sad about ... read more
- Meta is adding real-time AI image generation to WhatsAppIllustration: The Verge Meta is rolling out real-time AI image generation in beta for WhatsApp users in the US. As soon as you start typing a text-to-image prompt in a chat with ... read more
- The future of the Xbox looks a lot like a PCIllustration by Alex Castro / The Verge When I reviewed the Xbox Series X nearly four years ago, I called the console a “next-gen PC.” Not only did the Xbox look like ... read more
- Retreat To MMMThe latest trend in measurement is a classic. MMM, or media mix modeling, has been embraced by startups, brands and all the leading ad platforms: Meta, Amazon and now Google, which dubbed its program Meridian. ... read more
- Netflix’s The Witcher will end with season 5Henry Cavill as Geralt. | Image: Netflix We still don’t know what Liam Hemsworth will look (or sound) like when he takes up the role of Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher. ... read more
- Everything you need to know about Disney, ESPN, and Bob Iger’s return as CEOImage: The Verge Disney has big decisions to make about streaming, sports, Marvel, and more. Continue reading… ... read more
- TikTok divest-or-ban legislation could suddenly be fast-tracked in the SenateCath Virginia / The Verge | Photo by Brendan Hoffman, Getty Images A bill that could oust TikTok from the US looked like it could linger for months in the Senate, even ... read more
- At Kernel, your veggie burger will be served by a robotIts robotic arm heats vegan burgers and crispy potatoes while relegating humans to assembly line jobs. Continue reading… ... read more
- Meta’s battle with ChatGPT begins nowMark Zuckerberg announcing Meta’s AI assistant at Connect 2023. | Image: Meta Meta’s AI assistant is being put everywhere across Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook. Meanwhile, the company’s next major AI model, Llama ... read more
- How to tame notifications on your Android phoneQuiet, please. | Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge Notifications are the soundtrack to modern digital life. When they’re out of control, they make it hard to hear anything else going ... read more
- NBA Regular Season: Flat Ad Spend At $670M, Ratings Inch UpThis trend follows average regular-game viewership on ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV, which amounted to 1.09 million Nielsen-measured viewing vs. 1.08 million the year before, according to a report in Sports Media Watch. ... read more
- Stability AI lays off roughly 10 percent of its workforceIllustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images Stability AI laid off 20 employees just a day after announcing the expansion of access to its new flagship model. ... read more
- Google is combining its Android and hardware teams — and it’s all about AIIllustration: The Verge AI is taking over at Google, and the company is changing in big ways to try to make it happen even faster. Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced substantial internal ... read more
- 8BitDo’s NES-inspired mechanical keyboard hits all-time low priceIt’s not an official Nintendo accessory, but everything about 8BitDo’s Retro Mechanical Keyboard screams NES regardless. | Photo by Jon Porter / The Verge If you’re craving all things Nintendo after yesterday’s ... read more
- Apple is making progress cleaning up its dirty supply chain
- Transformers One turns Cybertron’s greatest warriors into bumbling youths in first trailerParamount’s live-action Transformers movies have always made its alien robots seem like they were born ready for battle and knowing how to navigate the world, but the first trailer for director Josh ... read more
- Make robots hairyA less creepy iteration. | Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos courtesy of Boston Dynamics and Getty Images On Wednesday, Boston Dynamics announced the new version of its Atlas robot with ... read more
- Apple is finally rolling out AirPlay in hotel roomsImage: IHG After some delay, Apple is finally bringing AirPlay to hotel room TVs — but you can only use it if you’re staying in one of the “more than” 60 IHG ... read more
- Apple’s new series Sunny pairs Rashida Jones with a mystery-solving robotRashida Jones as Suzie. | Image: Apple Apple TV Plus has been killing it on the sci-fi front lately, but this summer, the streamer’s taking another stab at the murder mystery genre ... read more
- US Air Force confirms first successful AI dogfightImage: DARPA The US Air Force is putting AI in the pilot’s seat. In an update on Thursday, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) revealed that an AI-controlled jet successfully faced ... read more
- Richard Linklater’s Hit Man looks like a goofy roleplaying romcom in new trailerA woman standing behind a man close enough to lean her head over his shouler as he stretches his arm outward. | Image: Netflix The idea of pretending to be a contract ... read more
- Three — Or Four — Planning & Buying Issues Worth Arguing AboutThat's what my colleague Steve Smith just asked me as we begin finalizing an agenda for our first-ever Planning & Buying Insider Summit. Full disclosure: I'm not an industry insider, I'm just a journalist who ... read more
- Google AdSense Ad Intents Format Launches For Automated AdsThe Ad Intents format provides a new option for publishers for Auto ads to appear on their websites, but some users are skeptical. The automated ads are for many types of industries. ... read more
- More Bundles? Consumer Confusion Or Comparison Shopping Delight?Charter will expand its differentiated packages under the new TV/streaming bundle: small, large, with sports channels and without as well as companion streaming platforms. ... read more
- Wait.. More Bundles? Consumer Confusion Or Comparison Shopping DelightUnder the new, more modern TV/streaming bundle, Charter will expand its differentiated packages -- small, large, with sports channels and without, and as well as companion streaming platforms. ... read more
- Chevy Silverado EV turns into a mobile generator with GM’s new home energy bundleImage: GM General Motors’ initial new home energy products are now available to purchase, including the equipment necessary to turn your GM-made electric vehicle into a mobile power generator for your home. ... read more
- Elgato won over creators — its new Neo line is for everyone elseThe Neo family of devices. | Image: Elgato If you watch a Twitch streamer, it’s almost guaranteed that they will be using at least one Elgato product. After dominating this part of ... read more
- Growing In Scale, POSSIBLE Considers What Lays Beyond Miami Beach
- Navigating the Outcome-Driven Future of Connected TV Advertising: Moloco’s RichardsonSAN JUAN, PR — In the rapidly evolving world of connected TV (CTV) advertising, a seismic shift is underway. According to Jake Richardson, Head of Connected TV at Moloco, the industry is pivoting from traditional measurement-focused ... read more
- Retail Media Networks Reach High-Purchase-Intent Shoppers: Hy-Vee’s Kathryn MazzaLAS VEGAS – It’s not too late for retailers to start selling advertising if they haven’t already. In many ways, being a later mover is advantageous for retailers who can benefit from the learnings of ... read more
- Samsung shifts executives to six-day workweeks to ‘inject a sense of crisis’The Korean tech giant is now expanding the previously voluntary policy to executives across its entire workforce. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Samsung is introducing a companywide six-day workweek ... read more
- 'Ghosts': Beyond The Laughter Is A Sitcom That CaresA good time was had by all when five cast members of "Ghosts" met their fans at the Library of Congress in Washington earlier this month. ... read more
- Playdate has sold 150,000 games in the last yearImage: Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Last March, Panic launched a curated game shop called Catalog for its Playdate handheld. And one year later, the company says it has sold more than ... read more
- Gmail’s tabs are actually useful now that I’ve found this extensionIllustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge I’ve always hated the fact Gmail only gives us five predefined categories — “Inbox,” “Social,” “Promotions,” “Updates,” and “Forum” — that we can’t customize. When ... read more
- MrBeast and T-Series are battling for the most-subscribed YouTube channelMrBeast’s 252 million YouTube subscribers are nipping at the heels of T-Series. | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Despite his immense popularity and online presence, Jimmy Donaldson (aka MrBeast) ... read more
- ChatGPT is coming to Nothing’s earbudsPhoto by Chris Welch / The Verge Nothing has announced that it plans to more deeply integrate ChatGPT with its smartphones and earbuds. The move will give the company’s customers quicker access ... read more
- Nothing’s new earbuds prove that it can (mostly) hang with the heavyweightsNothing is churning out new earbuds at a faster clip than smartphones. The company just introduced the Nothing Ear and Nothing Ear (a), priced at $149 and $99, respectively. Together, they mark ... read more
- Senate Democrats urge crackdown on autonomous vehicles and driver assistImage: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Two prominent Senate Democrats are calling for increased scrutiny of autonomous vehicles and advanced driver-assist systems (ADAS) like Tesla’s Autopilot, arguing ... read more
- How Chinese Sellers Are Quietly Reshaping US Consumer HabitsHey Readers, Welcome to the AdExchanger Commerce Newsletter. This week, we pull no punches in discussing a major change to how and where US consumers shop online. For Americans, the “Made in China” tag on ... read more
- The POV From Possible: When Will The Digital Ad Industry Stop Navel-Gazing And Realize Its Potential?If sunlight is the best disinfectant – well, Florida certainly has a lot of sun, and the online ad ecosystem needs a cleanup. But despite forceful calls for a shakeup of the digital ad business from ... read more
- Meta’s ‘Pay Or OK’ Is A No-Go; Walmart Joins The Conquestor ClubHere’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Not OK The European Data Protection Board released an order that deems Meta’s “Pay or OK” model illegal. The gist of the EDPB ... read more
- Meta’s Threads expected to have ads this yearMarketers get ready: ads are coming to Threads a lot sooner than expected. The tech platform recently told ad execs that they will be able to buy ads on its X-rival, text-based platform as early ... read more