- Tesla bumps up Model Y price after EV tax credit adjustmentThe Model Y just got more expensive. | Image: Getty ImagesTesla raised the price of its Model Y electric vehicle (EV) just hours after the US Treasury Department adjusted its EV tax credit rules, as ... read more
- Spotify’s founder helped develop an AI-powered body health scannerSpotify CEO Daniel Ek (left) and Neko Health co-founder Hjalmar Nilsonne (right). | Image: Neko HealthSpotify founder Daniel Ek is getting into the healthcare industry. A post shared on LinkedIn names Ek as the co-founder ... read more
- Meta wins fight to buy VR startup WithinIllustration by Nick Barclay / The VergeA California judge is allowing Meta to close its acquisition of virtual reality fitness startup Within despite an ongoing antitrust case by the Federal Trade Commission, according to an ... read more
- Samsung’s colorful Galaxy Chromebook 2 is on sale for its best price to dateThe midrange Galaxy Chromebook 2 packs plenty of bang for just $499. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeHappy Saturday, readers! During its Unpacked event on Wednesday, Samsung introduced a new line of ... read more
- Twitter will let businesses keep their gold checkmarks — for $1,000 per monthIllustration by Alex Castro / The VergeTwitter wants to cash in on businesses on the platform by charging them $1,000 per month to keep their gold checkmarks, according to a report from The Information. As ... read more
- 11 great movies from the 2023 Sundance Film FestivalPriya Kansara in Polite Society. | Image: Sundance InstituteIt was a busy festival filled with gruesome horror, inventive sci-fi, and plenty more films that will be coming to theaters and streaming services in the coming ... read more
- Nix’s Hydration Biosensor is for athletes who sweat the detailsHydration doesn’t have to be this high-tech or complicated, but nerdy endurance athletes might find the data worth the price. Continue reading… ... read more
- Contractors who work on YouTube Music are strikingIllustration by Alex Castro / The VergeOver 40 contractors for YouTube Music are going on strike — a first at Google, according to the Alphabet Workers Union (or AWU). The action is in response to ... read more
- Nvidia says there’s a fix for Discord slowing down your GPUIllustration by Alex Castro / The VergeNvidia says there’s a fix for a recently discovered issue where Discord being open in the background limited the performance of some graphics cards. According to a tweet from ... read more
- China Floats a Trial Balloon Over MontanaSomehow a weather balloon ended up near U.S. missile bases. Sure. ... read more
- Banning Gas Stoves by RegulationNew Energy Department rules would eliminate most current models. ... read more
- The Incredible Expanding Job MarketThere’s no hint of recession in January’s employment report. ... read more
- Reviving America’s Pacific DeterrentThe Philippines and the U.S. agree to four more military sites on the island-nation ally. ... read more
- Electrify America is increasing prices at its DC fast charging stationsPhoto by Umar Shakir / The VergeRemember how rising gas prices weren’t a concern to electric car owners? Electrify America is giving users of its DC fast charging network a reminder about one of the ... read more
- Why the Right Turned LeftThey bought into the progressive idea of History with a capital H, says George F. Will, but couldn’t stand to see the other side having all the fun. ... read more
- EA and Meta weren’t the only companies to ax games this weekApex Legends Mobile is one of the games shutting down. | Image: EAOver the course of this week, the developers of several major live service titles announced that their games would be shutting down. That ... read more
- Al Gore and the End of Climate PolicyHe gave us only climate pork and propaganda, but it’s OK because the science is looking up. ... read more
- How a Real-Estate Entrepreneur Saved Britain From ItselfDavid Young (1932-2022) joined Margaret Thatcher’s government and made things happen. ... read more
- A remastered version of Myst is coming to iOSIndie studio Cyan is bringing its latest Myst remaster to iOS. | Image: CyanThe classic puzzle game Myst is celebrating its 30th birthday this year with a new way to play: on your iOS device. ... read more
- Pakistan is reportedly blocking WikipediaIt’s currently unclear what the government wants removed from the site. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeWikipedia has been blocked in Pakistan over “sacrilegious” content on the site, according to a report from ... read more
- A jury will now decide whether Elon Musk committed fraud when he tweeted ‘funding secured’Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty ImagesThe question of whether Tesla CEO Elon Musk committed fraud when he tweeted in August 2018 that he was thinking of taking the company private, adding “funding secured,” is ... read more
- The EU has reportedly issued a formal warning to Microsoft over the Activision Blizzard dealIt’s more regulatory pressure on the deal. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeMicrosoft is seemingly facing more regulatory opposition to its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. According to Politico, the European Union has ... read more
- TikTok adds a strikes policy for bansIllustration by Nick Barclay / The VergeTikTok has announced an update to its moderation system, which will implement account strikes, similar to YouTube’s community guidelines strikes. The company says it’s doing this because its previous ... read more
- PSA: Twitter’s API changes may make it difficult to log in to your favorite gamesImage: MihoyoElon’s messing up the game — literally. Two extremely popular online games, Arknights and Genshin Impact, have warned that players who use Twitter to log in may be affected by Twitter’s pending API changes. ... read more
- School Choice Is Sweeping the Nation From Florida to UtahStates are dramatically expanding the power of parents to control their children’s educations. ... read more
- Encryption Bans… What Is This, Russia?Many in the U.S., U.K. and Australia would like to force companies like mine to add backdoors giving access to both law enforcement and hackers. ... read more
- Is this Microsoft’s ChatGPT-powered Bing?A screenshot purportedly showing the “new Bing,” inviting users to query an AI chatbot. | Image: Owen YinMicrosoft is reported to be capitalizing on the success of ChatGPT by integrating the AI chatbot into its ... read more
- Amazon reportedly facing FTC antitrust investigationIllustration by Alex Castro / The VergeThe Federal Trade Commission is reportedly exploring an antitrust suit against Amazon, although its future remains uncertain. The Wall Street Journal reported the news today, saying that the case ... read more
- Elon Musk will share Twitter ad revenue — but only with creators who pay for Twitter BlueImage: Laura Normand / The VergeElon Musk says that Twitter will start sharing revenue from reply-thread ads with creators who are subscribed to Twitter Blue Verified. (According to Musk, “legacy” verified marks will be going ... read more
- This Week, ChatGPT Wrote My ColumnWell, most of it, anyway. What do you think? Do you still need me, or can ChatGPT take it from here? ... read more
- MRC: We Welcome A JIC, But It Cannot Replace Us"Over the last couple of weeks the MRC has received numerous inquiries from our members and others requesting our perspective on the recently announced formation of a premium video 'JIC'," the Media Rating Council's George ... read more
- TikTok Goes After Repeat Offenders With New 'Strikes' SystemTikTok has announced the rollout of a new strikes-based system. Instead of only pursuing individual cases, users will now be penalized based on their cumulative actions. ... read more
- The Last of Us Part I on PC delayed by a few weeksSorry, Joel, you’re going to have to wait a bit longer to play the game on PC. | Image: SonyThe Last of Us Part I for PC has been delayed to March 28th, developer Naughty ... read more
- The Treasury Department just fixed the EV tax credit’s Tesla Model Y problemImage: Getty ImagesThe US Treasury Department says it is modifying the electric vehicle tax credit to potentially allow more vehicles to qualify — for now. In a press release, the department said that to ... read more
- How Ad Revenue Covertly Shaped Amazon And Apple’s Q4 EarningsThe Q4 online advertising rout hit Snap, Meta, Alphabet and others, but Amazon and Apple continue to gain ground. The post How Ad Revenue Covertly Shaped Amazon And Apple’s Q4 Earnings appeared first on AdExchanger. ... read more
- How to stereo pair two Apple HomePodsSamar Haddad / The VergeIf you’ve read through our review of the latest HomePod, you’ll know that one of Apple’s smart speakers alone sounds pretty good. But combining two of them in a stereo pair ... read more
- Developer pleads guilty to hacking his own company after pretending to investigate himselfNickolas Sharp worked on one of the teams investigating his illegal activities while holding Ubiquiti data ransom for 50 Bitcoin. | Illustration: Beatrice SalaA former employee of network technology provider Ubiquiti pleaded guilty to multiple ... read more
- Activision Blizzard to pay $35 million SEC penaltyIllustration by Alex Castro / The VergeA Securities and Exchange Commission probe into Activision Blizzard has concluded with the company paying a $35 million penalty. At the heart of the probe were charges that ... read more
- The fantastic fitness-focused Beats Fit Pro are at a new low price of $149.95The Beats Fit Pro come in gray and pink (pictured) as well as white and black. | Photo by Chris Welch / The VergeWhile there are all kinds of TV and speaker deals running now ... read more
- Why one agency is drawing inspiration from Jesus and avocados for Super Bowl marketingFor any ad agency, it’s a big win to produce a Super Bowl commercial. (This year’s 30-second spots cost $7 million each.) For the team at Lerma, a multicultural agency in Dallas, being chosen to ... read more
- S4 Capital Teases Full-Year 2022 ResultsThe Martin Sorrell-led firm reports that Q4 revenue was about what the firm expected, while second half organic net revenue growth was in line with the 25% guidance that the firm issued earlier. ... read more
- Nielsen Adds Edison's Podcast Metrics To Data OptionsThe Share of Ear and Edison Podcast Metrics services are based on surveys of persons ages 13 + in the U.S., updated four times a year. ... read more
- Alphabet’s Q4: Ad Spend Pullback Got Worse, With More Hurt To ComeAlphabet CEO Sundar Pichai started the company’s Q4 2022 earnings report on Thursday with an ominous message. “It's clear that after a period of significant acceleration in digital spending during The post Alphabet’s Q4: Ad ... read more
- Sports Illustrated’s publisher is using AI to generate fitness adviceMore media publishers are turning to AI to crank out content. | Image: Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesAnother major publisher is using AI to generate stories in the name of efficiency. Arena Group Holdings, a media ... read more
- Mami Wata is a breathtaking modern myth about faith and technological progressEvelyne Ily Juhen as Prisca in Mami Wata. | Image: Fiery Film CompanyOut of all the films that debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, none were quite as visually striking as Nigerian writer / ... read more
- ROI's Razor: How To Win In Performance MarketingThis principle of ROI's razor is that with all things considered in the equation of successful performance marketing, the best creative wins. ... read more
- Emm aims to upgrade periods with a smart menstrual cupThe Emm product lineup includes a case, a cup with biosensors, a portable UV sanitizer, and a tampon-like applicator. | Image: EmmIn wearable tech, menstrual health often feels like an afterthought. Case in point: Fitbit, ... read more
- YouTube Shorts Exceed 50B Daily Views, Meta's Reels Doubles PlaysNow, both companies are focused on monetizing shorts' growing engagement. ... read more
- Sonos is offering up to $100 off its soundbars and speakers ahead of the Super BowlThe Sonos Beam soundbar is small enough to fit alongside most TVs. | Photo by Chris Welch / The VergeIt’s far too easy to overlook a key component of a great Super Bowl watch party ... read more
- Ticketmaster’s Beyoncé TestWill the events giant relieve the political heat after being overwhelmed by demand for Taylor Swift seats? ... read more
- Talked About For Five Years, New 'Frasier' Finally Starts ProductionThe new "Frasier" will have Dr. Frasier Crane living in Boston, the city where the character got his start on "Cheers" in 1984. ... read more
- Peacock Abandons 'Broadcast' Model – Free Streaming Will Never Be The SameSo much for the "broadcast" model for NBCU's Peacock. That "free" TV ad-supported service is no longer available for new customers. ... read more
- Lisa’s Family PhotosPhotos by Bill Atkinson, Graphic by William Joel / The VergeApple’s legendary Lisa computer was a flop by commercial standards, but its influence on computing can’t be understated. In the 40 years after its debut, ... read more
- Google-Meta duopoly continues to creak in their ‘heightened maturity’ as Amazon, Apple ascendMomentum among the platforms is shifting from Google and Meta to Amazon and Apple. Want proof? Check out the latest earnings update. Google’s total ad revenues were down for the second time in the company’s ... read more
- Friday’s top tech news: Google and Microsoft prepare to do battle over AIIllustration by Alex Castro / The VergePlus fresh details on Meta’s next AI headset, and another smart home company begins its Matter transition. Continue reading… ... read more
- Meta’s Quest 3 headset will have better mixed reality tech, according to ZuckerbergThe current-gen Quest 2. | Photo by Owen Grove / The VergeA key feature from Meta’s $1,499.99 Quest Pro headset will make an appearance — in some form — in a more affordable consumer-focused headset ... read more
- Vivo’s X90 Pro and its massive 1-inch camera sensor get an international launchThe Vivo X90 Pro, with its vegan leather back. | Image: VivoVivo’s X90 Pro, announced for the Chinese market last November, is getting an international release. The X90 Pro is notable for being the latest ... read more
- Aqara’s affordable smart home lineup makes first jump to MatterA selection of Aqara hubs. From left to right: Hub M2, Camera Hub G2H, and Hub M1S. | Photo by Thomas Ricker / The VergeAfter a brief delay, Aqara is taking its first tentative step ... read more
- YouTube’s livestream co-hosting feature is rolling out on iOS and AndroidThe feature isn’t available to desktop users yet, but YouTube said it’s exploring support options and will provide an update sometime in the future. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeYouTube is rolling out ... read more
- CTV Ad Targeting Can’t Happen Without ‘Mapping Tables’: Essence’s Therran OliphantMARCOS ISLAND, Fla. – Millions of households are hooking up televisions to the internet, promising a possibility that advertisers can reach target audiences like they do on search engines and social media. But achieving these ... read more
- Disney+ Ads Are Still Nascent – But Improvements Are ComingThe Disney+ ad experience is still basic, but Disney has plans to up the ante on targeting and measurement in time for the upfronts. The post Disney+ Ads Are Still Nascent – But Improvements Are ... read more
- How Heineken Attracts (And Measures) AttentionFor Heineken, viewability just doesn’t go far enough in proving the real value of an ad. So the alcoholic beverage brand conducted its first experiment with attention metrics. The post How Heineken Attracts (And Measures) ... read more
- Between CDPs And Reverse ETLs, Brands Have A Tough Decision To MakeAs brands continue to explore what customer data platforms (CDPs) are and how best to use them, the introduction of reverse ETL tools and deconstructed CDPs have only further muddied The post Between CDPs And ... read more
- Comic: S.P. O’Middleman’sA weekly comic strip from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem… The post Comic: S.P. O’Middleman’s appeared first on AdExchanger. ... read more
- Living With Ad Fraud; Are You Seeing Red Or Green?Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. In Residence Residential IP networks (Honeygain, EarnApp and Pawns.app, to name a few) are services that pay people The post Living With Ad ... read more
- Biden Doesn’t Have the Power to Cancel Student DebtFive former education secretaries tell the Supreme Court that his debt cancellation program would fundamentally alter the separation of powers. ... read more
- How the recession could impact brands’ metaverse spendingOver the past two years, the metaverse has been marketers’ preferred wall to throw things against, with brands pumping millions of dollars into virtual events and NFT drops with little concern over the ROI of ... read more
- Why advertisers are still making space for experimental budgets even with economic uncertaintyEven in the midst of economic uncertainty, advertisers are bullish on experimental ad spend. While ad spend across the board is reducing, agencies are advising clients maintain their budgets to test and learn in channels ... read more
- Marketers move beyond the basics of ChatGPT with new toolsAs OpenAI begins rolling out a subscription version of ChatGPT, more companies are using the wildly popular text generator to build custom marketing tools. On Wednesday, the artificial intelligence lab invited people to join a ... read more
- How Amazon is leveraging AWS to accelerate its courtship of Madison AvenueAmazon’s ascendancy on Madison Avenue has been clear for some time. Still, the extent of its ambitions was laid bare when it started to explicitly state its media revenues last year. In Q4, Amazon’s ad ... read more
- NYU, ARF Set Second Year Of Marketing Insights Certificate Program"The program reinforces best practices, especially in areas where there is fuzziness," says ARF CEO. ... read more
- Conde Nast And Allen Media Group Partner On Streaming Series From Three TitlesLocal Now has added three FAST channels devoted to the Conde Nast series. ... read more
- The Xbox 360 store won’t be closing down, despite what an Xbox support page saysAn Xbox 360 and a Kinect. | Photo by Sam Byford / The VergeMicrosoft will not be closing down the Xbox 360 Marketplace, the company tells The Verge, even though text on an official Xbox ... read more
- Google is holding an event about search and AI on February 8thIllustration: The VergeGoogle is about to share more about its work in artificial intelligence. Next week, Google will be holding an event about how it’s “using the power of AI to reimagine how people search ... read more
- TikTok’s transparency theaterOne of the displays inside TikTok’s Transparency and Accountability Center in Los Angeles. | Photo by Allison Zaucha for The VergeWhat I observed during a recent visit to TikTok’s first transparency center. Continue reading… ... read more
- New York Keeps Piling on TaxesMore reasons for workers and employers to flee to Florida. ... read more
- It sounds like Google’s getting ready to compete with ChatGPTIllustration: The VergeGoogle may be gearing up to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT by letting people “interact directly” with its “newest, most powerful language models as a companion to search,” according to CEO Sundar Pichai. It ... read more
- The Looting of Johnson & JohnsonThe company loses in court because it was too generous to claimants. ... read more
- The End of Nuclear Arms ControlThe post-Cold War treaties aren’t stopping Russia or China. ... read more
- Who’s Killing Britain’s Economy?Even the IMF can see Rishi Sunak’s plans aren’t working. ... read more
- Our Political Parties Are StrugglingThe Democrats need normality; the Republicans need coherence. They both need to pull themselves out of the 20th century. ... read more
- Modi Is Hurting Himself by Brawling With the BBCThe Indian government’s decision to ban a documentary critical of the BJP has badly backfired. ... read more
- Hunter Biden Claims His LaptopAnd asks his dad’s government to target his critics. ... read more
- College Doesn’t Need to Take Four YearsFor many students, the standard bachelor’s degree program has become a costly straitjacket. ... read more
- A Consumption Tax Is the Shock Our Broken System NeedsRep. Carter’s ‘Fair Tax’ would fund the government with fewer economic distortions than estate and income taxes. ... read more
- George Costanza’s Guide to Better LivingAs a philosopher, he stands on the shoulders of Thomas Aquinas, Ignatius of Loyola and C.S. Lewis. ... read more
- Should Jews Pray for the Israeli Government?‘When I pray for my government to thrive, I’m not favoring one agenda over another.’ ... read more
- Taboola Tests AI-Based Ad-Creation Tool In BetaTool will allow advertisers to generate multiple ads, titles and content, using AI. ... read more
- Apple surpasses 2 billion active devicesIllustration: The VergeApple has reached a new milestone on how many people are actively using iPhones, iPads, Macs, and its other hardware products: 2 billion. The number highlights fast growth for the company, which hit ... read more
- Qualcomm predicts ‘broadening demand weakness’ for phonesIllustration by Alex Castro / The VergeQualcomm thinks the world won’t be buying very many Qualcomm phones in the first half of this year. On today’s Q1 2023 earnings call, the company says it sees ... read more
- What's In A Name? Agencies Are Seeing 'Red'Red is a hot color, right? It's often associated with what's current and trendy in popular culture and elsewhere. Agencies make it their business to be all over hot trends. ... read more
- Amazon had a better holiday quarter than expected but its worst annual loss in yearsAmazon reported its Q4 earnings on Thursday. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeAmazon had better net sales during its holiday quarter than even its best projections, but the results still show a company ... read more
- Google Earnings Show Advertising Demand Slowing, Posts Drop In RevenueAlphabet reported revenue Thursday of $76.05 billion in Q4 2022, up 1% year-over-year, but missing analysts' expectations by $440 million. ... read more
- Google struggled to grow over the holidays despite ‘great momentum’ on YouTube and PixelsIllustration: The VergeAlphabet CEO Sundar Pichai opened his company’s latest earnings announcement by boasting about “great momentum in Cloud, YouTube subscriptions, and our Pixel devices.” But read a little further, and the numbers show a ... read more
- Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro supply problems sank its holiday revenuesPhoto by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeApple reported its Q1 2023 earnings this afternoon. During the holiday quarter, the company took in $117.2 billion of revenue, down 5 percent year over year, and earnings ... read more
- Google’s fastest-growing business is insuring companies against their workers’ healthGranular Insurance, part of Verily, part of Alphabet, which is Google. | Image: GranularI’ve heard people joke that Google only has a couple of successful businesses, primarily advertising. But it may have found another hit: ... read more
- Retail Media Networks: Necessary Cost Of Doing Business, Or Something More?Kristi Argyilan, senior vice president, retail media at Albertsons, makes the case for RMNs. ... read more
- Apple Should Be Required To Allow 'Sideloading,' Biden Administration Says"Developers face significant hurdles to get a chance to compete for users in the ecosystem, and these users in the ecosystem, and these hurdles are due to corporate choices rather than technical necessities," the Commerce ... read more
- MRC's Ivie: New OOH Measurement Standard Almost HereMRC CEO George Ivie said today that a new OOH standard is "imminent," adding that the group expects to release a standard this quarter for the industry to consider and comment on. ... read more
- FTC fines GoodRx $1.5 million for sending consumer health data to Google and FacebookThe data was allegedly used to target GoodRx’s users with personalized advertisements specific to their medications and health on Facebook and Instagram. | Image: GoodRxThe Federal Trade Commission has issued a $1.5 million fine against ... read more