States’ anti-monopoly case against Live Nation continues Monday
The Live Nation-Ticketmaster trial is back on. Dozens of states are expected to move forward with their claims against the company's alleged concert industry monopoly beginning on Monday, following a brief hearing on Friday.
The Justice Department and a handful of states have accepted settlements with the company, but the majority of the 40 state and district attorney general plaintiffs - as of now - are continuing their fight in court. The states that are pressing forward withdrew their motion for a mistrial, filed after the DOJ announced its settlement in court Monday, and showed up with new outside counsel to lead their trial team in the …
Spotify tests letting users directly customize their Taste Profile
Spotify Premium users in New Zealand will be the first to experience the service's latest personalization feature. The company is letting users view and make changes to their Taste Profile directly. If your algorithm is serving up too much Bieber, you can politely tell the algorithm to ease up. Beta testers will be able to access the feature by tapping on their profile icon and then selecting Taste Profile from the sidebar menu.
The Taste Profile tells you not only what artists you frequently listen to, but also identifies trends in your listening habits. In a little demo clip, Spotify shows an example Taste Profile that includes the line, …
Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant is coming to current-gen Xbox consoles this year
Xbox is getting ready to launch its Gaming Copilot AI assistant on "current-generation consoles" this year, according to a report from GamesRadar. Sonali Yadav, Xbox's product manager for gaming AI, revealed the news during a panel at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), adding that the company will also add the assistant to "more services that players are playing."
Microsoft has been working on its gaming-focused Copilot assistant for months now, with the company launching it in beta on the Xbox mobile app, Windows 11, and Xbox Ally handhelds. Players can use their voice to call upon the Gaming Copilot if they get stuck in a game, and th …
Trump Mobile is just one in the crowd of conservative carriers
Where's the Trump phone? We're going to keep talking about it every week. This week, I wanted to see how Trump Mobile stacks up to its conservative carrier competition.
Trump Mobile isn't unique. I mean, it is in some pretty specific senses - it's not every day the president's family launches a phone company while he's in office - but it's far from the first company to offer a mobile carrier targeted at the conservative crowd.
In fact, there's a rich history of smaller networks trying to make their money from patriots, Christians, and Republican voters. Like Trump Mobile, they're all MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators), carriers that …
Digg’s open beta shuts down after just two months, blaming AI bot spam
It's only been a year since Digg founder Kevin Rose, Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian, and a few others announced the link-sharing site would relaunch, promising a "social discovery built by communities, not by algorithms." Now, two months after opening its Reddit-like platform to the public, Digg is announcing a "hard reset" that's shutting down operations and will "significantly downsize the Digg team."
When they announced its relaunch, Rose told The Verge that AI could "remove the janitorial work of moderators and community managers." Now, the new Digg's CEO Justin Mezzell writes in a note pinned to the homepage that, "We knew bots were …
Instagram is getting rid of end-to-end encrypted DMs that ‘very few’ people used
Instagram will no longer support end-to-end encrypted messages starting May 8th. In a statement to The Verge, Meta spokesperson Dina El-Kassaby Luce says the platform is discontinuing the feature because "very few people" were using E2EE in their DMs.
Instagram has begun notifying impacted users about the change inside its app, and has also posted an update to its support page, suggesting that users download E2EE chats and images before it discontinues the feature, as spotted earlier by PiunikaWeb. "Anyone who wants to keep messaging with end-to-end encryption can easily do that on WhatsApp," El-Kassaby Luce adds.
After bringing E2EE to Wh …
Google Pixel 10A review: Just buy the 9A
I'm not entirely sure why the Pixel 10A exists.
Google hasn't upgraded the chipset, cameras, or battery in the new phone, and the tweaks it's made elsewhere are minimal at best. The flatter camera island is good, I guess! In one sense this isn't a big problem: The Pixel 9A is an excellent device, and for the last year was easily the best phone you could buy for $500 in the US. The new 10A is available to buy now at that same great price ($499 for 128GB of storage or $100 more for 256GB), but with the 9A still on sale, and dropping in price, there's one big question: Why not just buy the 9A - which is almost the same phone - for $50 less?
G …
Backbone’s versatile pro controller is nearly matching its best price to date
Mobile gaming has come a long way over the course of the last decade or so, but we all know that smartphones simply can’t match the visceral, tactile feel you get while playing with a dedicated controller. Luckily, Backbone makes some excellent mobile options — including last year’s Backbone Pro, which is on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target right now for $139.99 ($30 off), its second-best price to date.
Backbone Pro mobile controller
The Backbone Pro is an excellent mobile controller that retains the same overall design and feel as the company’s cheaper model, only with some comfort-boosting improvements. It features a built-in battery and Bluetooth support, so you can use it for gaming on the TV, computer, VR headset, or handheld PC.
Where to Buy:
In many ways, Backbone’s latest mobile controller is merely an updated take on what came before. The handheld device consists of two oblong halves with an extendable strip of plastic in the middle, allowing you to use it with Android devices and iPhone 15, 16, and 17 series phones. It plugs into your phone’s USB-C port and, once connected, you can game with two full-sized ALPs thumbsticks, a responsive D-pad, and A, B, X, and Y buttons. It also features two programmable back buttons, a 3.5mm headphone jack, better ergonomics than your phone, and averages up to 40 hours of battery life on a single charge.
The hardware is only part of the equation, though. Backbone’s intent with the Pro is for it to function as a more universal gamepad, and as such, the company’s software pulls together games from Apple Arcade, Netflix, Google Play, and other services into a singular app, allowing you to discover and launch games with little fuss. What’s more, you can use it to stream Xbox or PlayStation games — either from your console or the cloud —and connect it to a wealth of other devices via Bluetooth, including your PC, Steam Deck, and Apple devices like the iPad and Mac. Sure, the beefy controller looks a little awkward when you’re using it without a phone, but it’s a small price to pay for its added versatility.
More ways to save today
- Nothing’s latest CMF smartwatch, the CMF Watch 3 Pro, is still available from Amazon and Nothing in a multitude of colors for $79 ($20 off), which is about $5 shy of its best price to date. It’s pretty slick-looking for a budget watch, with a 1.43-inch OLED display, 131 sports modes, dual-band GPS, and a four-channel heart rate sensor. It also delivers up to 13 days of battery life under normal use and supports all your typical app integrations (Strava, Apple Health, etc.), though the lack of customizable bezels — a hallmark of the Watch Pro 2 — certainly does sting a bit.
- If you missed your chance to play Hogwarts Legacy upon its debut in 2023, Amazon and Walmart are both offering the Nintendo Switch 2 version for $29.99 ($20 off), an all-time low. The Switch 2 version is a substantially better port than the original in terms of performance, and while I found the open-world RPG to be a little generic / dated at times, diehard Harry Potter fans will surely appreciate the ability to roam around Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and all the fan-favorite locales from the landmark book series.
- Govee’s quirky Outdoor Garden Lights are currently on sale at Amazon and Govee’s online storefront for $99.99 ($70 off), matching the all-time low we last saw during Christmas. The stemmed, color-changing smart lights support 64 preset RGBIC scenes and carry a robust IP66 rating, meaning you shouldn’t have to worry about using them outside year-round. Plus, they support the newer Matter standard, allowing you to control them with smart home platforms like Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
Adobe will pay $75 million to settle US cancellation fee lawsuit
Adobe says it will pay $75 million to resolve a lawsuit filed by the US government alleging that the creative software giant harmed consumers by making its subscriptions intentionally hard to cancel and concealing termination fees.
The payment aims to resolve the complaint raised in June 2024, in which the US Justice Department accused Adobe of breaking federal consumer protection laws by failing to properly disclose important terms for its "annual paid monthly" plans, and forcing Creative Cloud subscribers through an "onerous and complicated" cancellation process. The lawsuit said that customers would then be "ambushed" with early terminat …
Ninja’s star Creami ice cream maker is on sale for $169
If you’ve ever wanted more control over what goes into your ice cream, the Ninja Creami 5‑in‑1 Ice Cream Maker makes it easy. The ice cream maker lets you whip up dessert exactly as you want it from the comfort of your home, and right now it’s on sale for $169 ($30 off) at Walmart.
The machine can make a range of frozen treats in just a few easy steps. You simply pour your ingredients into the included pint container, freeze it overnight, and then pop it into the machine. From there, you can choose from five preset programs, letting you make ice cream, sorbet, gelato, milkshakes, or even a smoothie bowl with the press of a button. You can also customize your dessert before freezing, whether that means using keto, vegan, or dairy-free ingredients or simply adding extra chocolate chips. After the first spin, you can add extra toppings like fruit or cookie pieces and spin it up again with the press of a button to make it creamier.
Once you’re done experimenting, it’s pretty convenient to clean up as well. The container, lid, and paddle are all dishwasher safe, so you just need to rinse everything off then let the dishwasher take care of the rest. It’s worth noting Ninja now sells a newer 7-in-1 model with more presets, but the 5-in-1 still covers the essentials and is about $60 cheaper.