Uber needs you to make greener choices so it can go carbon neutral by 2030
Uber is introducing a host of new product features aimed at steering its customers toward greener choices. The product features, which were unveiled at an event in London today, are also intended to boost the company’s chances of reaching its sustainability goals, which have it going completely carbon neutral in North America and Europe by 2030 and in all global markets by 2040.
Some of the new products are not ready for a global rollout, but the overall aim is to use its platform to encourage riders and drivers to make more environmentally friendly decisions — even if the vast majority of Uber’s business relies on gas-guzzling vehicles. Some of that involves subtle nudges, like new emissions notifications or improved routing, while...
ChatGPT on iOS gets improved iPad support and Shortcuts integration
OpenAI is improving ChatGPT on iPad today with a new update designed to take advantage of the entire iPad screen. The updated ChatGPT app for iOS and iPadOS also includes drag and drop, Siri support, and Shortcuts integration.
iPad support means ChatGPT will now run full-screen on Apple’s tablets, instead of as an iPhone sized app running on a bigger display. Little else has changed for the iPad version though, as you’re still presented with a chat interface and options to switch between GPT-3.5 or GPT-4. OpenAI has also added drag and drop support here, so any messages can now be dragged out of the chat interface and into other apps.
The update also lets you summon ChatGPT from Siri and use the chatbot with Apple’s Shortcuts feature....
WhatsApp’s new Channels feature brings social media to your messaging app
The newest feature in WhatsApp brings a very different kind of messaging to the world’s most popular chat app. It’s called Channels, and it’s designed specifically for one-to-many broadcasts rather than conversation. The Meta-owned company calls it “a private way to follow what matters,” and names local and sports updates among the ways you might use it.
But what is a channel, really? It’s a Twitter feed, minus all the metrics and reply guys. WhatsApp has clearly noticed all the governments, transit agencies, brands, and others looking for a new (and non-Twitter) place to share their most important updates, and sees Channels as a drop-in replacement.
Channels is also a creator tool to some extent, a place for those with an audience to...
Apple wants to turn your iPhone into a pet-tracking camera
Apple has a new development framework that can be used to turn your iPhone into an autonomous pet-tracking camera. According to documentation on Apple’s website, developers can use pet-tracking features with motorized phone stands to capture and follow your pet around your house while you’re not home.
As noted by Apple, developers can achieve this using a new framework called DockKit, which can create “photo and video experiences” while an iPhone is mounted on a motorized stand. From there, devs can then use something called the Animal Body Pose API (application programming interface), which is capable of identifying and tracking animals with your phone’s camera. It’s able to identify a pet’s pose, too, including if your pet is sitting...
What New York City looked like stifled in wildfire smoke
New York was eerily orange on Wednesday as smoke shrouded the city. The haze drifted in from wildfires raging in Quebec, some 500 miles away, wreaking havoc on air quality across the Northeast US.
The smoke was so thick, New York City briefly ranked as the most polluted city in the world. The Environmental Protection Agency issued its highest warning for pollution, a “Code Maroon” for hazardous air quality. The pollution was record-shattering on Wednesday, with an air quality index score of 392 around 4PM ET for fine particles beating a record of 174 set a day earlier (according to the EPA’s records, which started in 1999, The New York Times reports).
Fine particle pollution is especially worrying because it’s small enough to enter the...
Twitch walks back controversial ad rules policy
Twitch is reversing its newly announced rules concerning the way streamers could display ads on the platform after swift backlash from streamers and content creators.
On Tuesday, Twitch released new rules concerning the way streamers could display ads on the platform. The rules prohibited “burned in” video, display, and audio ads — the first two of which were popular and common formats used throughout Twitch. Twitch apparently did not discuss the new rules with ambassadors or streamers beforehand, and many were furious about the new policies.
Twitch content creators took to social media to decry the changes. OTK, a network of popular, high-value streamers like Asmongold, released an open letter to Twitch, telling it, “The once-unique...
GameStop fires its CEO
GameStop has fired CEO Matt Furlong, the company announced as part of its first quarter 2023 earnings on Wednesday. There’s no immediate replacement, though board chairman Ryan Cohen has been appointed executive chairman, the company said in a short press release about Furlong’s firing.
Not for long
— Ryan Cohen (@ryancohen) June 7, 2023
Cohen, who founded the e-commerce site Chewy, has invested in a number of “meme stocks,” including GameStop and Bed Bath & Beyond. His surprise sale of Bed Bath & Beyond stock in 2022 raised eyebrows and led to at least one lawsuit accusing him of pumping and dumping the stock. His initial investment in GameStop back in early 2021 led to an enormous rise in the stock and contributed to its status as...
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the start of something big, but it’s a terrible Beast Wars movie
Paramount’s new Transformers feature barely capitalizes on Beast Wars’ Maximals, but the action-packed movie has a couple of surprises sure to please a certain kind of fan.
Apple’s Vision Pro is the Retina display moment for headsets
I tried the Vision Pro, and just like the introduction of the iPhone 4 over a decade ago, there’s no going back from here.
Here are the best iPad deals right now
While the best iPad deals come around during major sale events like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Amazon Prime Day, you can still find plenty of great discounts at all times of the year if you know where to look. Whether you’re after the high-end iPad Pro or the most affordable entry-level iPad, there’s likely a sale going on somewhere that you may be interested in.
Of course, it’s difficult to know exactly where you can find the most notable deals unless you’re scouring the major retailers on a daily basis. But that’s often what our deal hunters at The Verge are doing each and every day, so let us help you out. Below, we’ve listed the best deals you can get on each iPad model that is currently available, including the latest ones...