Illustration: The Verge X giveth, and now X taketh away. The platform is eliminating the ability for Premium users to hide their blue checkmarks, according to a notification received by multiple users on Thursday. X made displaying the blue check optional last summer, and it’s unclear exactly why the platform plans to remove the feature — or when. Twitter says it is removing the "hide your checkmark" feature lolololol pic.twitter.com/PQFPbAGhef— Ben Goggin (@BenjaminGoggin) April 11, 2024Once a status symbol, the blue check lost some of its luster after X shifted to a paid verification system under Elon Musk’s ownership. A blue check then just became an indicator that the account holder paid for a Premium subscription. The feature was also abused by s... Continue reading…

AMD's new Ryzen 5 8500G is one of the most power-efficient parts out there on the market. It belongs to the same family as the Ryzen 5 8600G and the Ryzen 7 8700G that we recently reviewed. With a default TDP of just 65W, this Ryzen APU sips very less power, meaning you don't have to worry about power consumption. That, however, doesn't mean you should skimp on the PSU when picking parts for your PC. A good power supply unit (PSU) should be on top of your list of components while building a new PC, as it's among the most crucial components of your system.

Ever since Windows 11's release, people have not been happy with its Start menu. People have used apps like StartAllBack and Start11 to enhance the Windows 11 Start menu to re-add some of its missing features, but Microsoft itself hasn't really taken note. However, all of that might change, and all because an ex-Microsoft employee mocked the Start menu on X.

Photo by Edie Leong for The Washington Post via Getty Images Tesla is reducing the subscription fee for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) driver-assist software in a reflection of the company’s continuing financial hardships. The company slashed the price to $99 / month, down from $199 where it has been since at least 2021. Tesla announced the price adjustment in a post on X, in which it described the Level 2 driver-assist system as “FSD (Supervised)” — a name tweak that’s meant to convey the fact that drivers are required to pay attention to the road and stand ready to take control of the vehicle. (The company has been criticized for failing to include proper driver monitoring and other protections against overreliance on the system.) You can now subscribe to FSD (Supervised) for $99/month in the... Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Samsung is planning to bring select Galaxy AI features to several older flagship phones and tablets next month via the One UI 6.1 update, according to 9to5Google and Android Central, both of which referred to a post from a Samsung representative who posted on the company’s community forum in Korea. The Verge has reached out to Samsung for further comment. A slightly trimmed-down version of Galaxy AI (sans Instant Slow-Mo) will be coming to Samsung’s flagship lineup from 2022, specifically the S22, S22 Plus, S22 Ultra, Z Fold 4, Z Flip 4, Tab S8, and Tab S8 Ultra. Each device will receive the same version of Galaxy AI as Samsung’s lower-priced Galaxy S23 FE. Instant Slow-Mo, which automatically plays a video in slow motion once you tap... Continue reading…

If you want to play games on the go, you have a few options. Of course, there are the mainstream choices, like the Nintendo Switch or smartphone gaming with a mobile controller. Then you have PC gaming handhelds, like the Steam Deck or Asus ROG Ally, which offer unmatched performance and flexibility in the handheld form factor. However, most people have forgotten about Android gaming handhelds. They won't impress you on the spec sheet, and some might think they are obsolete in an era where smartphones are more powerful than ever and PC gaming handhelds are flourishing. When comparing the actual gaming experience, though, PC and Android gaming handhelds are more similar than you might think.

Copilot integration is one of the reasons many consider Edge the best web browser. No matter what you feel about the Copilot button in the Edge side panel, Microsoft is planning to push the AI chatbot more aggressively into the browser. The company has plans to introduce Copilot on the Edge settings page, so you can quickly navigate and tweak your browser preferences.

The service will be shut down on an unspecified date later this year. | Image: Google Google is shutting down its VPN by Google One service, according to a vague customer email seen by Android Authority, less than four years after it was rolled out in October 2020. The email doesn’t specify when this will happen, only that the VPN service will be discontinued “later this year.” Subscription prices for Google One’s VPN start at $1.99, with availability on Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows. The company told 9to5Google that it is killing the service because “people simply weren’t using it.” Perhaps its customers were simply spoilt for choice, given this is actually one of three VPN services provided by Google alongside the VPN offerings still available via Google Fi, and Pixel devices from the Pixel 7 on up.VPN by Google One... Continue reading…

Whether you're cleaning, upgrading, or replacing, there will come a time when you need to remove your GPU from your PC. It may seem daunting if you've never tinkered with PC components before, but it's not that difficult, and as long as you're careful, the chances of breaking anything are slim. In this guide, we'll show you how to safely remove your GPU from your PC while keeping everything intact.

The Pokémon Company Japanese police arrested a man after finding evidence that he illegally tampered with save data for the Nintendo Switch games Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, which he used to create custom characters that he sold on an online gaming marketplace. According to machine translations of stories at NHK and the Asahi Shimbun, the Kochi Prefectural police arrested 36-year-old Yoshihiro Yamakawa on April 9th after cyber patrol officers caught him selling the characters online. Yamakawa, who used an online tool to modify the game’s save data, was arrested under suspicion of violating a Japanese law known as the Unfair Competition Prevention Act.The police report, according to both outlets, states that the Japanese police cyber patrol caught Yamakawa... Continue reading…

The tools could open new revenue streams for artists who otherwise wouldn’t see money from unauthorized remixes. | Cath Virginia / The Verge Spotify is working on some seemingly TikTok-inspired remixing features in its latest attempt to capitalize on the social media platform’s explosive popularity. According to the Wall Street Journal, Spotify is developing tools that would allow paid subscribers to “speed up, mash-up, and otherwise edit” tracks from their favorite artists, which could then be saved for repeat listening.One use case for the tools is to allow Spotify users to adjust the speed of the songs they listen to. These music modifications are already popular with teens and young adults on TikTok, with content analysis firm Pex finding that 38 percent of songs on the platform had their speeds or pitches modified in 2023, compared to 25 percent the year prior.A... Continue reading…

There are numerous moving parts inside a PC, some physical and others software-based. Because of this, you will eventually encounter sluggish performance over time. Whether this is caused by the system being online for too long without a restart or shutdown, software hogging system resources, or too much dust building up inside the case, clogging fans and components, here are a few reasons why your PC may be running slow and how to fix it.