Whoop backpedals on its paid upgrade whoops
A shot of the Whoop 4.0 from our 2022 review. Whoop is in damage control mode. After debuting its Whoop 5.0 fitness tracker, users were angered to find it had reneged on a promise of free hardware upgrades. In a new Reddit post, the company now says users who have been members for over 12 months can get the Whoop 5.0 for free. Part of the outrage was prompted by Whoop’s confusing messaging. Early yesterday morning, my colleague Victoria Song reported that to get a Whoop 5.0 band, users w...
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SoundCloud says it isn’t using your music to train generative AI tools
The music-sharing platform SoundCloud quietly updated its terms of use in February last year, adding language that lets it train AI models on its users’ content, as TechCrunch reported. And while the company says it hasn’t used user-created content for model training, it doesn’t rule out the possibility that it will in the future. Marni Greenberg, SVP and head of communications at SoundCloud, provided the following in a statement emailed to The Verge. SoundCloud has never u...
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Amazon’s ad-free Kindle Paperwhite Kids has hit its best price to date
Whether you’re after a distraction-free reading experience or a fun way to keep the kids engaged this summer, the latest Kindle Paperwhite Kids is worth considering. And now, thanks to Amazon’s Mother’s Day promo, you can pick it up at either Amazon or Best Buy starting at just $139.99 ($40 off), which matches the e-reader’s best price to date. Although aimed at children, Amazon’s kid-friendly ebook reader is almost identical to the standard Kindle Paperwhite, ...
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How to turn on Lockdown Mode for your iPhone and Mac
Apple is known for prioritizing privacy and security, but there are additional measures you can turn to if you feel you need them. iPhones, iPads, and Macs have what’s known as a Lockdown Mode that takes protecting your data to a whole new level. It’s clear that this isn’t for everyone: Apple describes it as being for those who feel they might be attacked by “the most sophisticated threats.” Think journalists working in dangerous regions, activists under threat f...
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Adidas’ 3D-printed sneaker review: What are those!?
Adidas’ Climacool sneaker. | <em>Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge</em> A shoe engineered to be made entirely from additive manufacturing will be polarizing in the first quarter of the 21st century. That’s certainly been my experience wearing Adidas’ new 3D-printed Climacool sneakers on the beach, trail, or in the city. I felt more eyes on my footwear than normal, with a determined flick upward to see who was brave enough, dumb enough, or fantastic enough to w...
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Donald Trump takes aim at more water and energy efficiency standards
Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum Friday afternoon directing the Department of Energy to “consider using all lawful authority to rescind” or weaken regulations for water and energy efficiency for dishwashers and washing machines. The action also includes water use standards for showers, faucets, toilets, and urinals. It closes out a week of attacks on policies meant to save Americans money by incentivizing manufacturers to make products that save water and energy. Earlier in t...
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Google will pay a $1.375 billion settlement to Texas over privacy violations
Google is set to pay $1.375 billion to settle claims of data privacy violations brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, according to a press release. Texas filed two lawsuits in 2022 against Google for “unlawfully tracking and collecting users’ private data regarding geolocation, incognito searches, and biometric data,” the release says. Before now, no single state has “attained a settlement against Google for similar data-privacy violations greater than $93 million.” “T...
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You can now use Apple Pay to buy games on your PS5
PS5 users can now buy games in the PlayStation Store using a new payment method: Apple Pay. You could use Apple Pay in the browser or via the mobile app already, but now the method joins other on-console options like using a saved credit or debit card, and PayPal. As reported by 9to5Mac, you may now see a new option for Apple Pay available at checkout. It’s using the QR code-style method that Apple introduced on iOS 18 last year, and also lets you buy things on third-party browsers like...
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