The news about Snapdragon X Elite's details leaking on Geekbench is still warm, and yet another source has come out to discuss more about these new chips. Marked as a major competitor to the MacBook M3 chips, the Snapdragon X Elite put up a really good score in benchmarking tests, showing that Microsoft may have what it takes to put its devices in direct competition with Apple. Now, an insider source has divulged more information on the chip, meaning we can finally see what's under the Snapdragon X's hood.

Image: The Verge Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent.This is the second quarter in a row that Microsoft is including its additional revenue from its Activision Blizzard acquisition that briefly pushed gaming to be Microsoft’s third-largest business. This time around, gaming is back into fourth place behind Windows thanks to stronger than expected Windows OEM revenue this quarter.Despite a strong quarter for Microsoft with Office revenue and Microsoft Cloud revenue up 23 percent year over year, Microsoft’s overall gaming revenues are only up thanks to... Continue reading…

Image: The Verge A physical education teacher and former athletic director of a Baltimore County high school has been arrested and charged with using an AI voice cloning service to frame the school’s principal.The Baltimore Banner reports that Baltimore County police believe a recording whiich circulated through social media in January with purported audio of Pikesville High School principal Eric Eiswert making racist and antisemitic comments was fake. Experts told The Baltimore Banner and police that the recording, which briefly resulted in Eiswert’s suspension, has a “flat tone, unusually clean background sounds, and lack of consistent breathing sounds or pauses.” Baltimore County police traced the recording to Dazhon Darien, a former athletic... Continue reading…

Google Assistant is incredibly useful, especially if you use it alongside Google Home. However, over time, you might feel the voice assistant getting slower. The speed at which Google Assistant picks up your commands and responds depends on multiple factors, including your phone's hardware and network speed. In addition, Google Assistant may be slow to respond if you have it set up on too many devices, even if the devices are no longer in active use. Fortunately, there's an easy way to remove these devices to give Google Assistant a speed boost.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The State Department will soon impose visa restrictions on people who it says have been involved in the development of spyware. In a press release issued on Monday, the department said it is taking steps to bar 13 people “who have been involved in the development and sale of commercial spyware or who are immediate family members of those involved” from entering the United States.“These individuals have facilitated or derived financial benefit from the misuse of this technology, which has targeted journalists, academics, human rights defenders, dissidents and other perceived critics, and U.S. Government personnel,” the department’s release read.The looming visa restrictions are the result of a policy implemented by Secretary of State... Continue reading…

An EVgo charging station that has each DC fast-charging cable option including CCS, CHAdeMO, and Tesla’s NACS. | Image: Umar Shakir / The Verge Tesla’s NACS plug and Supercharger network might help solve North America’s EV charging fragmentation problem, but EV buyers are still feeling uncertain. Continue reading…

Apple TV+ Before AI meant you could impersonate someone’s voice with just a snippet of audio, con artists needed actual skill to impersonate famous figures. Take Hargobind Tahilramani, who allegedly impersonated such powerful Hollywood women as Amy Pascal, Kathleen Kennedy, and Wendi Deng Murdoch. Now, it’s a documentary from Tiger King’s Chris Smith.The scam artist dubbed “the Con Queen of Hollywood” sent victims to Indonesia, then extracted cash for what seemed like normal expenses, promising reimbursements. The reimbursements never appeared. Scott Johnson at The Hollywood Reporter first broke the story in 2018, then followed it, eventually writing a book. The Apple TV Plus documentary is based on that work. It premieres on May 8th.In 2020, T... Continue reading…

Illustration: The Verge The reminders you’ve jotted down in Google Keep will soon show up in Tasks. Google says the long-requested integration is coming over the next year, allowing you to see, edit, and complete your Keep reminders across Tasks, Calendar, and Assistant.The change will make Tasks the central hub for all to-dos and reminders, hopefully making them far easier to manage. It’s something my colleague David Pierce suggested when talking about Google’s upgraded Keep app last year, saying, “Now, Google, make Keep reminders show up in Tasks. It’s right there!” Image: Google Even though Tasks doesn’t support location-based reminders like Keep does, Google states (referring to Keep) that you can still “add time or location-based... Continue reading…

Photo by Joe Scarnici / Getty Images Blizzard has announced it will not hold BlizzCon, the publisher’s annual fan convention, this year. “After careful consideration over the last year, we at Blizzard have made the decision not to hold BlizzCon in 2024,” Blizzard wrote on its website. Instead of BlizzCon, Blizzard wrote that it would be holding other, smaller events throughout the year and mentioned participating in other trade shows, such as Gamescom. Additionally, 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of World of Warcraft, with Blizzard stating that it’s planning “multiple, global, in-person events” as well as sharing updates for WoW’s 10th expansion, The War Within, and Diablo IV’s first expansion, Vessel of Hatred.Despite this year’s cancellation, Blizzard says the event... Continue reading…

The Q6 isn’t known for top-tier gaming specs and ultra-deep black levels, but it offers a lot of TV for just $450. | Image: TCL Here at The Verge, we spend a lot of time reporting on pristine, high-end TV sets — including the latest panels from Sony, LG, and Samsung. That said, not everyone is in the market for a picture-perfect OLED panel or one purpose-built to reduce glare. Thankfully, TCL’s 65-inch Q6 QLED is a more economical option, one you can grab at Amazon and Best Buy today for $449.99 ($250 off), its lowest price to date.Despite being TCL’s entry-level Q Class panel, the Q6 offers a lot for its budget-friendly price tag. The quantum dot-enabled 4K panel is bright and color-accurate, with solid black levels and vivid color that should shine no matter what you’re watching. It features Google’s terrific TV interface and built-in Chromecast functionality... Continue reading…

Wireless routers are a miracle of modern technology. Instead of accessing the internet by plugging directly into a router, you can surf the web via radio signals. But to do that, you first need to know the routers name that you're attempting to utilize. Next, you type in the password, let your computer (or another smart device) complete the authentication handshake, and then youre in. However, a router name can be more than an identifier that helps you determine which device you should be connecting to. It can also serve as a statement about its owners personality or interests.

Illustration: Beatrice Sala The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security, is rolling out a program that warns organizations about potential ransomware attacks, CyberScoop reports. The program is currently running as a pilot and will be fully operational by the end of 2024. About 7,000 organizations have signed up for the pilot.So far, CISA has issued 2,049 warnings since the pilot was launched in January 2023. “The warning pilot is focused on reducing the prevalence of ransomware by using our vulnerability scanning tools to let businesses know if they have vulnerabilities that need to be patched,” CISA Director Jen Easterly told CyberScoop. To get alerts, organizations need to sign up for CISA’s cyber hygiene... Continue reading…