Activision silences trusted Call of Duty leaker
One of the most trusted leakers for Call of Duty will no longer share confidential information about the gaming franchise after being hit with a cease and desist order. TheGhostOfHope (also known to the community as "Hope") announced on X that he is complying with legal demands from developer Activision to "stop leaking and disseminating confidential information related to Call of Duty/Activision."
"Still gonna stick around and chat about Official Call of Duty info and anything not related to leaks/confidential information," Hope said. "Cheers for these past few years."
Hope gained a reputation for sharing reliable information about past, …
Anker’s last-gen sleep buds are nearly 40 percent off ahead of daylight saving time
Bad news: most Americans are about to lose an hour of sleep next week. Good news: if you have trouble falling (or staying asleep), Newegg is currently selling Anker’s Soundcore Sleep A20 earbuds for $113.99 ($66 off) when you use coupon code MMSF88 at checkout, which drops them to just $6 shy of their lowest price to date.
A couple of us here at The Verge are fans of Anker’s last-gen sleep buds, which do a good job of muffling disruptive noises (including snoring). They’re lightweight and comfortable enough to wear overnight, even while sleeping on your side, with multiple ear tips and wings for a personalized fit. In fact, in his review, my colleague Thomas Ricker said that they improved his average sleep time by nearly 30 minutes within a two-week period.
What’s even more convenient is that they offer a variety of sleep-focused features to help you rest better. For example, you can use them to play a range of relaxing sounds, from meditation exercises and nature clips to white noise. You can use them as a regular pair of Bluetooth earbuds, too, just in case you prefer to listen to audiobooks or your own curated sleep playlist. They even come with adjustable EQ as well, though we wouldn’t recommend using them as your primary earbuds for music, given that they can’t match the audio quality you’d get from a pair of midrange earbuds from Apple, Sony, or Bose.
In addition, the Sleep A20 offer up to 14 hours of battery life and sleep tracking, providing insights into how long and how well you’ve slept via a companion app that also details your sleep positions and movements. The newer Soundcore Sleep A30 feature active noise cancellation, which is more effective at masking sounds than the A20’s passive isolation, but Anker’s last-gen earbuds remain a decent, budget-friendly option that can help you comfortably tune out most nighttime distractions for nearly half the price.
Does Ticketmaster have a stranglehold on concert ticketing — or is it just ‘bringing joy’?
In a downtown Manhattan courtroom on Monday, lawyers for the US Justice Department and 40 state and district attorneys general warned a jury that the concert industry was being squeezed by a monopolist: Live Nation-Tickemaster. After amassing dominance over ticketing and artists' use of large amphitheaters, lead DOJ counsel David Dahlquist alleged, Live Nation constructed a "flywheel" of power that forced venue customers to stay within its ecosystem. It threatened or retaliated against them when they considered leaving. To even attempt to win business, Dahlquist said, ticketing rivals needed to offer "retaliation insurance" to venues worried …
What Trump’s war on Iran means for the US energy crunch
Fuel prices surged after the Trump administration launched strikes against Iran on Saturday, immediately raising questions about whether the war would increase energy costs for Americans, put more pressure on power grids, and push companies to pump out more oil and gas in the US. If conflict drags on, that could potentially play into Donald Trump's plans to "drill, baby, drill" - but that doesn't necessarily protect Americans from higher energy prices.
Keep in mind that it's still too early to tell what kind of war the US may have sparked. The spike in global oil prices could be short-lived. But prolonged conflict and disruptions to oil an …
The best AirPods deals you can get right now
If you know where to look, you can often score deals on Apple’s ever-expanding AirPods lineup. Both the AirPods Max and AirPods 4 (with and without ANC) now consistently receive discounts, as do the newer AirPods Pro 3. And while more recent shopping events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday delivered some of the steepest discounts we’ve seen, there are still good deals to be found on every model.
Below, we’ve rounded up the best deals currently available on each set of AirPods, including both iterations of the AirPods 4, the third-gen AirPods Pro, and the AirPods Max.
The best AirPods 4 deals
AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation
Where to Buy:
At the end of 2024, Apple introduced the AirPods 4, a pair of wireless earbuds available in two variations: a $129 standard model and a $179 noise-canceling model. Both versions represent significant upgrades over the third-gen AirPods, with a more comfortable design and improved audio performance. They’re also better for taking calls thanks to Apple’s Voice Isolation feature, which focuses the mics on your voice so you can be heard more clearly in noisy environments.
The $179 AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation offer a surprisingly effective noise-canceling mode, a helpful transparency mode, and several other Pro-level features. The latest AirPods Pro do a better job of tuning out noise, but the AirPods 4 with ANC still do a good job of reducing sound. They also feature other perks formerly reserved for Apple’s top-of-the-line earbuds, including wireless charging and a case with a built-in speaker that allows you to easily track it down via Apple’s Find My app.
Given they’ve been out for over a year, we consistently see discounts for both iterations of the AirPods 4. During Black Friday, we saw the standard model drop to a new low of $74. However, right now, they’re only down to $89 ($40 off) at Walmart. The AirPods 4 with ANC, meanwhile, are on sale for around $119 ($60 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and Costco (for members), which is slightly above their all-time low of $99.
Read our full AirPods 4 review.
The best AirPods Pro 3 deals
AirPods Pro 3
The third-gen AirPods Pro add a new built-in heart rate sensor and live translation feature. They also improve upon their predecessor with enhanced noise cancellation, improved sound quality, and a fifth swappable ear tip.
Where to Buy:
At its “Awe Dropping” event in September, Apple introduced the AirPods Pro 3. In addition to improved ANC and sound, the third-gen earbuds include a built-in heart rate sensor that syncs with the iPhone Fitness app, allowing you to track your pulse and calories burned across more than 50 workout types. They’re also more comfortable and secure than their predecessor, thanks to a redesigned, angled fit and five ear tip sizes — including a new XXS option. Additionally, they carry a more robust IP57 rating and support Apple’s new live translation feature, which, in our testing, generally conveys the gist well but still can’t beat a human interpreter.
Given how recently they launched, we’ve been surprised by how often the AirPods Pro 3 have been discounted. At the beginning of February, we saw them drop to as low as $199, which is less than they were during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. As of this update, though, they’re only available at Amazon, Walmart, and Target for about $219 ($30 off).
Read our full AirPods Pro 3 review.
The best AirPods Max deals
Apple AirPods Max
Where to Buy:
The AirPods Max aren’t the iconic in-ears that have become synonymous with the AirPods name. They’re large and luxurious, comprised of aluminum, steel, and mesh fabric that remains comfortable during extended listening sessions. They also sport excellent noise cancellation, Apple’s spatial audio feature, and expansive, balanced sound, even if they lag behind some of their peers when it comes to bass response and features. They’re not the best noise-canceling headphones for most people — blame the sticker price — but it’s hard to find a better pair of Bluetooth headphones if you’re an iPhone user.
Toward the end of 2024, Apple replaced the first-gen Max with a newer model that features support for USB-C charging and a few new color options. In the past, we’ve seen them drop to as low as $399, but right now they’re only on sale at Amazon for $449 ($100 off), which is still one of their better prices to date.
Read our original AirPods Max review.
Update, March 3rd: Updated to reflect current pricing / availability and several new links.
Another Oracle outage is messing up US TikTok
The US version of TikTok is once again experiencing issues due to an Oracle outage, just a month after coming back online from a similar outage in February.
The service disruption, impacting Oracle's Ashburn, Virginia data center, began early Tuesday afternoon, with Downdetector reports spiking around 1PM Eastern. TikTok USDS confirmed in a post on X that US users "may temporarily experience lags in posting content while Oracle works to resolve the issue."
Highguard is shutting down this month
Another high-profile live-service game is shutting down soon after launch: this time it's the free-to-play squad shooter Highguard.
Developer Wildlight Entertainment says that, even though Highguard reached 2 million players, the game will be shut down permanently on March 12th. That's less than two months after the game debuted on January 26th. "Despite the passion and hard work of our team, we have not been able to build a sustainable player base to support the game long term," the studio explained.
Before the game ends for good, it's getting one last update either tonight or tomorrow that will add a new character and weapon, among other …
Shark’s latest robot vacuum hunts stains with UV light
The Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal is SharkNinja's latest robot vacuum and mop. A flagship model with a multifunctional dock that empties the dustbin and refills and washes its mop, the Reveal's signature feature is a UV light designed to "find" stains on your floors. It costs $1,299.99 and is available now.
Combined with an RGB camera to detect visible messes and obstacles, the UV light lets the vacuum spot stains that aren't visible under normal lighting, such as pet urine. When it encounters dirt, visible or not, the robot uses onboard AI to identify and decide how to clean it.
Its cleaning tools include a vacuum with a single roller brus …
Android’s Find Hub adds iPhone-like luggage tracking links
Google is rolling out an Android update that includes the ability to share the location of your missing luggage with an airline. It's similar to the luggage-tracking feature Apple brought to the iPhone, allowing you to view the location of your Find Hub tag or accessory on a map, and provide your airline with a link to the information they need to track it down.
So far, several airlines support the new Find Hub feature, including AJet, Air India, China Airlines, Saudia Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and the Lufthansa Group, which owns Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Swiss International Air Lines. Goo …
Google’s latest Pixel drop allows Gemini to order groceries for you and more
Google is adding several new features to Pixel phones with its latest March update, including the ability for its Gemini AI assistant to do things for you, like order groceries or book a ride. This feature, which was first shown off during Samsung's Unpacked event last week, is rolling out now to the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, and Pixel 10 Pro XL.
With Gemini's new agentic feature, you can ask the assistant to complete work on your behalf inside "select" apps, including Uber and Grubhub. It will work in the background while you use your phone, but Google notes that you can supervise or interrupt its work at any time. This feature will also be …