Illustration: The Verge Google gives Apple a 36 percent cut of all search ad revenue that comes from Safari, according to University of Chicago professor Kevin Murphy. Google had fought to keep the number confidential, but Bloomberg reports that Murphy shared the figure while testifying in Google’s defense today at the Google antitrust trial. Google has long paid to be the default search engine in Safari and other browsers like Firefox, spending $26.3 billion in 2021 alone for the privilege. $18 billion of that went to Apple, but the specifics of where the number came from remained secret until now. Google has been trying to keep such details under wraps as the trial goes on, but bits and pieces have seeped out anyway. According to Bloomberg, Google lawyer... Continue reading…

Buying the best external GPU enclosures for your laptop can be crucial to boosting the overall performance of the machine, be it for gaming or for improving the render speeds in Premiere Pro. The external GPU (or eGPU) enclosure, as the name suggests, holds a desktop graphics card and also provides power for it. These enclosures allow you to get all the graphics capabilities of powerful desktop graphics even while using a thin and light laptop.

Photo illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Between the Apple Watch Series 9, the Ultra 2, and the second-gen SE, there are more options than ever. We’ll help you sort through them. Continue reading…

If you’re still using a physical key to unlock the front door of your home, it’s time to consider how a smart lock can improve your life. If your vehicle uses an RFID fob—unlocking its doors when you stand nearby—then you’re already familiar with how convenient it is to ditch the old-school key. The Aqara Smart Lock U100 is a hyper-secure user-friendly option that will level up the safety of your home and make your comings and goings a breeze.

Though there has been a shift away from Java for a while, there are still some apps and websites that depend on it to work properly. As such, some users can daily drive the best Mac computers for years without ever having to install Java. However, others might discover early on that an app or website they use often requires Java to be installed. Luckily, you can install Java on Macs with either Intel or Apple Silicon processors straight from Java's website. By following the steps below, you can install Java on your Mac in just a few minutes.

Illustration: The Verge Google is suing scammers who are trying to use the hype around generative AI to trick people into downloading malware, the company has announced. In a lawsuit filed today in California, the company says individuals believed to be based in Vietnam are setting up social media pages and running ads encouraging users to “download” its generative AI service Bard. The download actually delivers malware to the victims, which steals social media credentials for the scammers to use.“Defendants are three individuals whose identities are unknown who claim to provide, among other things, “the latest version” of Google Bard for download,” the lawsuit reads. “Defendants are not affiliated with Google in any way, though they pretend to be. They have... Continue reading…

ChatGPT is one of the fastest-growing platforms ever, with over 100 million users weekly. This figure was unveiled at the company's first-ever developer conference by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. At the same event, OpenAI announced a number of new features coming to ChatGPT, and these are some of our favorites.

The new Fire TV Stick 4K Max looks just like any old streaming stick from Amazon, but its upgrades are most prominent on the inside. | Image: Amazon As Black Friday deals continue trickling in early, more recent devices are going on sale for the first time or for new lows. One example is Amazon’s new Fire TV Stick 4K Max, which came out just a couple of months ago and is now on sale for $39.99 ($20 off) at Amazon and Best Buy.The new flagship 4K streaming stick from Amazon is a lot like the last-gen model, but it packs better specs with Wi-Fi 6E support and 16GB of storage instead of 8GB while maintaining HDR support that includes HDR10 and HDR10 Plus. The last-gen model was one of our top recommendations for streaming devices, and the new model is just more of the same formula — a great streamer, especially if you want voice commands via Alexa. So if you want pretty much all the... Continue reading…

In the world of handheld or mobile gaming, there's nothing worse than a scratched or smudged screen that hinders your intense play experience. Your Ayaneo Geek, an amazing Steam Deck alternative, deserves top-tier protection to keep it pristine for a longer period of time. The challenge lies in finding the perfect screen protector to guard against scratches, glare, and dreaded fingerprints.

A mobile version of Hades is coming to Netflix in 2024. | Image: Supergiant Games As Netflix’s foray into cloud gaming expands, so, too, will the kinds of games the company offers. “We feel like there is a real big opportunity with cloud to create a certain type of game experience that really is tailored to Netflix on TV,” says Leanne Loombe, Netflix’s head of external games.Netflix’s cloud gaming efforts are still very early and follow nearly two years of releasing games exclusively on mobile. Right now, only two titles are available as part of a cloud beta test on TVs and PCs, including Oxenfree. But as the service grows to include more titles, Netflix says that the kinds of games offered will differ based on platform — meaning there will eventually be titles on Netflix designed to play only on your television or... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon is cutting “just over” 180 jobs in its games division and making some changes to its games initiatives, according to a memo sent to employees by VP of Amazon Games Christoph Hartmann. The changes include shutting down its Crown channel that streams on Twitch, closing its Game Growth effort that helps game makers market their products, and “refocusing” the work it does with its free games offered through Prime Gaming. “We are proud of the work the teams have been doing, pushing into new areas with weekly content on Crown Channel, and finding more ways to help publishers reach new audiences with Game Growth,” Hartmann wrote. “But after further evaluation of our businesses, it became clear that we need focus our resources and... Continue reading…

There is no calling shotgun in this truck because there are no seats for humans. | Image: Einride The Swedish autonomous trucking company Einride is using its cab-less electric delivery vehicles in Selmer, Tennessee, to move items from GE Appliances’ manufacturing plant to a warehouse. This operation can run up to seven shuttles per day, Monday through Thursday, the press release states. In an email to The Verge, a PR representative for Einride, Matthew Klein, wrote that the distance for each trip is 0.3 miles (or 0.48km) and is all on private roads owned by GE.Einride first ran controlled operations at GE’s Appliance Park headquarters in 2021. Later, the company moved on to a public road test with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration approval in 2022, the “first public road pilot in the US for a purpose built autonomous,... Continue reading…