Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Xbox chief and Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has confirmed that Activision Blizzard games aren’t coming to Xbox Game Pass anytime soon. In the latest official Xbox podcast, Spencer confirms there’s not going to be a big drop of Activision Blizzard games into Xbox Game Pass in the coming weeks and that we won’t see any until 2024.Here’s what Spencer had to say:The regulatory process took so long... that we weren’t able to get in and work with the Activision Blizzard on that back catalog work. Now that the deal is closed, we’re starting that work, but there is work. I think the Activision Twitter handle... did put out something that talked about 2024, and I think that’s accurate. I would love it if there was some kind of secret... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge From January 2nd, 2024, Google Drive will no longer require third-party cookies to be enabled to download files, the search giant has announced. The change comes as Google prepares to (finally) disable third-party cookies by default in its Chrome browser, following similar moves by other browser makers like Mozilla and Apple to improve privacy.The change should fix an annoying issue in Drive that can prevent users from being able to download files if third-party cookies are disabled. If you encounter the issue, the advice of this Google support page is to manually create an exception for Google Drive to allow third-party cookies.Google’s blog post doesn’t explain why Google Drive currently relies on third-party cookies, but there’s... Continue reading…

Corsair-owned PC accessories brand Drop has announced a highly-customizable new tenkeyless mechanical keyboard, named the CSTM80. It comes without the number pad on the right, but includes a hot-swappable magnetic top case in a variety of color options. Not only can the case be replaced with another one of a different color, but users can also swap out the cable and the keycaps to suit their taste.

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Google is bringing Wear OS 4 to its first Pixel Watch. In an announcement on Tuesday, Google says the update will start rolling out today and continue “over the coming weeks,” depending on your carrier and device.The Wear OS 4 update will bring several new features to the Pixel Watch, including the Google Calendar app, better accessibility features, enhanced notifications, and the new Safety Check feature that will prompt you to confirm whether you’re safe after a specified period of time. If you don’t respond, the watch will automatically notify your emergency contacts.Wear OS 4 also introduces the ability to transfer your Pixel Watch data to a new phone without a factory reset as well as a way to back up your data and settings from... Continue reading…

We've been using iOS 17 since its beta debut last June. So now that we've tried out all of the main new features on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, it's time to start thinking ahead. iOS 18 beta could debut in early June during WWDC24, and it will be compatible with all new iPhone models. While we still have no idea what changes it could pack, we have a wishlist of features we'd like to see in iOS 18.

When you think about the best CPU coolers on the market, one name consistently crops up: Noctua. The company makes some of the best CPU fan coolers, adhering to quality and cooling performance that can match liquid AIO solutions and has a distinctive signature brown and light brown color scheme,

Lenovo's Yoga lineup encompasses some of the best laptops you can buy today, especially if you're looking for a convertible PC. Lenovo keeps these devices updated on a yearly basis, and indeed there are 2023 models available. That doesn't mean that the 2022 models we're focusing on here aren't worth your time. They received the most recent and prominent design update that continues into the 2023 models, and the performance hardware is just one generation behind the current 13th Gen Intel chips. That means you won't get quite as much efficiency or raw power, but the difference won't matter to most people.

It’s never been a better time to secure your internet connection and hide your location on Android, especially when using public Wi-Fi. On Android, you can set up a virtual private network (VPN) manually or with an app from one of the best consumer VPN providers.

Screens come in all shapes and sizes, and with that comes several monitor color issues you might face when connecting your computer to it for the first time. Color profiles are Windows' way of bridging the gap between PCs and monitors. If you're experiencing screen color issues on your computer and would like to find a way to fix it, follow this guide as we cover how to change and install color profiles on Windows 11.

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Sony has released more details about its PS5 cloud streaming feature for PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers, including bandwidth recommendations and a detailed FAQ page coinciding with the Japanese launch of the service on October 17th. The most interesting bit is the bandwidth recommendations, which seem relatively modest. Sony recommends 52Mbps for 4K, 38Mbps for 1440p, 23Mbps for 1080p, and 13Mbps for 720p. The games will run in HDR or SDR at 60Hz. Possibly of interest: those are the recommended settings; the minimum bandwidth is as low as 5Mbps for 720p and 38Mbps for 4K.Most of the rest of the post just confirms what we already knew. For now, you can only stream PS5 games to your PS5. And you won’t be able to stream from the... Continue reading…

Three Pencils were given to the iPads. | Image: Apple A third, cheaper Apple Pencil now sits in Apple’s lineup of styluses, giving iPad owners more choice than ever. And yet, that choice is fraught with compromises and caveats. There’s still not one Apple Pencil to rule them all, and that’s a problem for shoppers.Let’s run down what was announced today. The new Apple Pencil is $79, can be magnetically attached to the side of your iPad, and no longer needs to be plugged directly into the iPad’s charging port for power, like the 2015 original. On the newest Pro models, it also supports the hover feature that shows where your Pencil is before you actually touch the screen. These are all good things!But Apple made some strange omissions, too. Pressure sensitivity, a headlining feature of both... Continue reading…

The laptop market is vast and varied, but there are only a few brands that are as popular as Dell. One of the most well-known companies in the space, Dell has consistently made some of the best laptops you can buy, and it's really no surprise. Whether it's the premium XPS line, the more budget-friendly Inspiron family, or the business-oriented Latitude series, all of the company's lineups are almost instantly recognizable names. There's also Alienware, Dell's gaming brand, which is also one of the most popular in its segment.