Wi-Fi comes in many flavors, with various versions of the protocol appearing over the years, as well as new bands. Today, Wi-Fi networks can operate in three bands: 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and most recently, 6GHz. A higher frequency, like 5GHz, means you can get much faster speeds, though this comes at the expense of effective range. That's even more true for the 6GHz band, which is still somewhat uncommon, making 5GHz the sweet spot for most people.

Mark Zuckerberg. | Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Thanks to new regulations, Apple is technically enabling the creation of alternative iPhone app stores in the European Union. But that doesn’t mean large developers like Meta will bite.CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared his company’s view on Apple’s new policies during Meta’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday: “I don’t think that the Apple thing is going to have any difference for us. Because I think that the way they have implemented it, I would be very surprised if any developer chose to go into the alternative app stores that they have. They’ve made it so onerous, and I think so at odds with the intent of what the EU regulation was, that I think it’s just going to be very difficult for anyone, including ourselves, to really seriously... Continue reading…

The discontinued cache button. | Image: Google Google has removed links to page caches from its search results page, the company’s search liaison Danny Sullivan has confirmed. “It was meant for helping people access pages when way back, you often couldn’t depend on a page loading,” Sullivan wrote on X. “These days, things have greatly improved. So, it was decided to retire it.”The cache feature historically let you view a webpage as Google sees it, which is useful for a variety of different reasons beyond just being able to see a page that’s struggling to load. SEO professionals could use it to debug their sites or even keep tabs on competitors, and it can also be an enormously helpful news gathering tool, giving reporters the ability to see exactly what information a company has... Continue reading…

Illustration: The Verge Every time another Google app or feature bites the dust — even a small, relatively inconsequential one — I get annoyed. Really annoyed.Here’s the thing: there are Google Assistant-equipped devices in three rooms of my relatively small house: living room, bedroom, and office. Which means, unfortunately, that when I say “Hey, Google” out loud to my phone, I am just as likely to get a reaction from one — or more — of those three devices. (Yes, I know that’s not supposed to happen and no, we haven’t been able to fix it yet.) And they sometimes offer different answers simultaneously, which makes things even more confusing. This is what I got when I hit the mic icon in Search. To avoid this unfortunate state of affairs,... Continue reading…

Let’s check out the specimens! | photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images The most important thing to know about social media is this: Most people don’t post.You know this. I know this. God knows this. I am going to limit my analysis to text-based sites because video sites such as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram are not my ministry. This analysis may transfer in whole or in part to those platforms, for all I know. The silent majority of every successful text-based social media site is lurkers. These are sane, normal people with sane, normal lives. They are well-balanced and have hobbies. One of those hobbies is visiting social media sites, where they are usually looking for either information or entertainment. They’re the audience.The development of trolls appears to be the internet’s version of... Continue reading…

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge During Apple’s quarterly earnings call on Thursday afternoon, CEO Tim Cook mentioned that the company is working on generative AI software features that will make their way to customers “later this year.” That aligns with reporting from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who said recently that iOS 18 could be the “biggest” update in the operating system’s history. Cook’s teases — he mentioned generative AI several times, but never got specific — seem to confirm that we’re in for a big release this fall.“As we look ahead, we will continue to invest in these and other technologies that will shape the future. That includes artificial intelligence, where we continue to spend a tremendous amount of time and effort, and we’re excited to share the... Continue reading…

Swapping out your membrane keyboard for a mechanical one is the best thing you can do to improve your typing experience. There are very few things that are as satisfying as pressing a mechanical key switch and registering an input with satisfying feedback. They're also great for gaming, especially if you use tactile switches that offer assuring feedback on every actuation.

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Tomorrow, Apple will launch its Vision Pro headset, marking the company’s most high-profile product launch since the original Apple Watch. And later this year, it will open up the iPhone’s App Store (at least in the EU) in new ways, offering developers more freedom — even if some of them are already displeased with the approach Apple is taking. There are enormous moments ahead for this company, and in the run-up to all of that, today Apple announced its Q1 2024 earnings. At least for now, the pivotal question surrounding Apple’s business remains the same as always: how’s the iPhone doing?Pretty well, it turns out. This was the first full quarter of iPhone 15 sales, and Apple reported iPhone unit revenue of $69.7 billion. (Just a few... Continue reading…

If you've heard of laptops, there's a very good chance you know HP very well. One of the most prolific companies in the computing pace, HP makes everything from budget-friendly laptops to the very best laptops on the market, and there aren't many companies with the pedigree of HP when it comes to this industry. That also means there are a lot of options out there, which can make it difficult to choose which one you should get.

With the AI hardware competition heating up and AI PCs entering the market, we're beginning to see which technologies the big companies want to support. This is potentially huge, as these early days of technology adoption may define which products we end up using the most in the future, kind of like an AI version of the Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD battle. Now, Microsoft has stated that its DirectML NPU API will only support Intel processors, which may shape how things will develop.

Image: 343 Industries Black History Month is that special time when video game companies try to show consumers how inclusive they are with special Black / African themed in-game cosmetics and messages of appreciation for the three or four Black employees they keep on staff at any one time.In Halo’s case, it’s offering players a special set of armor shaders in colors and patterns typically associated with African art and culture. As a concept, these shaders are totally fine. Individual cosmetics players can use to zhuzh up their armor; cool, I dig it. But the way 343 slapped all these individual pieces together, like a ridiculous Voltron of Blackness, is darkly hilarious in a way I don’t think the company intended.“Divided, we are sand. United, we are a... Continue reading…

The standard Nintendo Switch can be played on the go or while docked on a TV. | Photo by James Bareham / The Verge While the Nintendo Switch 2 is widely expected to drop this year, it’s anybody’s guess when. That means if you don’t want to wait to play games like the Mario vs. Donkey Kong demo and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the existing Switch lineup is still your best bet. Luckily, the Nintendo Switch console with neon blue and red Joy-Cons is on sale right now for just $269 when you check out at Amazon, which is a rare $30 discount given it typically goes for $299.99.If you’re looking for a console you can take on the go or play docked on a TV, the Nintendo Switch remains an excellent option. True, the Switch 2 might come with a bigger eight-inch screen, but the 6.2-inch touchscreen found on the original Switch is still spacious... Continue reading…