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Xbox announces disc-to-digital feature that digitizes your physical games

Vector collage of the Xbox logo.

Microsoft is officially announcing a new Xbox feature that will allow Xbox owners to digitize their existing physical game collections. The disc-to-digital feature, which The Verge exclusively revealed last month, is part of work that Microsoft is doing for game preservation and in preparation for the next generation of Xbox consoles.

"Most Xbox One and Xbox Series X disc-based games support this new feature," explains Jason Ronald, VP of next generation at Xbox. "Players can claim a digital entitlement by inserting a supported disc into an Xbox One or Xbox Series X console and launching the game." This digital entitlement is tied to the sp …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Microsoft’s 25th anniversary Xbox will cost $899

The special-edition translucent green Xbox finally has an official price. Preorders for the console start August 27th at 10AM ET / 7AM PT, although Microsoft says "some of XBOX's most dedicated fans" will receive early access preorder emails starting today.

The console will launch on November 13th, alongside a matching controller with the same "OG Green" colorway from the original translucent green Xbox. Microsoft is also including a full-game download of Halo: Campaign Evolved with each of the consoles, and revealed during Gamescom on Wednesday that each console will be laser-etched and numbered. Under the special-edition shell, it's an X …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Elden Ring on the Switch 2 isn’t tarnished

A screenshot from the video game Elden Ring.

FromSoftware is hoping to make a splash on the Switch 2 later this year when it launches The Duskbloods, a gothic competitive multiplayer game that's unlike anything the studio has made before. But before that, Switch 2 owners have a chance to experience the studio's biggest hit for the first time thanks to a port of Elden Ring and its expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree. For the most part, the new version - called the "Tarnished Edition" - is the same game that captivated players in 2022. But the shift in platform also makes it a particularly compelling way to explore the Lands Between.

Elden Ring differentiated itself from past FromSoft game …

Read the full story at The Verge.

You can now buy music on SoundCloud

A woman using SoundCloud to purchase music.

SoundCloud has launched a new beta feature that allows artists on the audio streaming platform to sell music directly from their profiles, instead of diverting fans to purchase from third-party services like Bandcamp and Beatport. The feature aims to give listeners a better way to support the musicians behind their favorite songs, because SoundCloud isn't taking any commission from these sales - meaning everything goes directly to the artists.

By comparison, Bandcamp takes a cut of between 10-15 percent for sales, and artists on Beatport receive roughly 50-65 percent of their sale price. More than 250,000 artists have linked over 2.4 millio …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Your Oura Ring can’t measure what’s going on in your skull

Sleep trackers detect sleep via a combination of motion, heart rate, and temperature sensors.

This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here.

Oura's getting sued.

A recently filed class-action complaint against the smart ring maker alleges that the company has duped customers by claiming it can accurately track different sleep stages. A smart ring can't possibly do that, the suit says, because the Oura Ring doesn't directly measure your brain waves. Instead, Oura uses AI models to take advantage of "desperate consumers who struggle with their sleep … by selling fault …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Meta agrees to heavy restrictions on teen users in major lawsuit settlement

Photo of Mark Zuckerberg in front of the justice scale.
Mark Zuckerberg. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

Meta settled its latest kids online safety trial with a group of 29 state attorneys general, sparing it from the remainder of a trial that could have cost it hundreds of billions of dollars.

Under the terms of the settlement, which resolves claims by a larger group of 47 states and several districts and territories, Meta agreed to come up with an age assurance standard that is subject to independent testing, and must have a false positive rate no higher than 10 percent for users aged 16 to 17, and 3 percent for users aged 13 to 15. The company also agreed to give teens the option to turn off personalized feeds, meaning that they won't be s …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Ring says its new encryption limits what it can give police

All Ring cameras will soon use TAKE encryption by default. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Ring has a new way to protect your videos. It's developed an encryption method called TAKE, short for Throw Away the Key Encryption, that the Amazon-owned company says will protect your videos without traditional end-to-end encryption. TAKE limits when and why Amazon's cloud can access those videos, while still providing features like smart alerts for people and packages, AI-powered video search, and video descriptions.

The feature is rolling out gradually starting in September, regardless of whether you have a subscription, and will become the default encryption for all Ring customers.

TAKE arrives during a year of intense scrutiny for R …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Rockstar finally responds to ‘heartbreaking’ GTA 6 leaks

A screenshot from GTA VI.

Rockstar Games has released its first official statement following days of sustained leaks of footage from Grand Theft Auto VI, calling the period "heartbreaking for our team." Not long after Rockstar posted, another leaked video appeared, this time showing the Jason character pulling off the series' trademark move of carjacking a box Chevy-like vehicle with a "Rideout Customs" logo across the back window and trying to evade the police. At the end, the other main character of the game, Lucia, appears briefly in what looks like a cutscene.

GTA VI leak file information about

"It would be an understatement to say that having videos of Grand Theft Auto VI gameplay leak in this w …

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The second-generation Bose QuietComfort Headphones are good, but don’t stand out

Gen 2 Bose QuietComfort Headphones sitting on a pale yellow surface next to a iPhone.
The Bose QuietComfort Headphones Gen 2 look a lot like all other Bose headphones from the past few years.

Bose QuietComfort headphones used to be innovative. Bose's noise-canceling research is the reason the technology is where it is today, and its headphones set the standard. They were the ubiquitous traveler's accessory. But over the past few years, it's felt like Bose has rested on that reputation, as other companies have caught up. Sony and Apple have both surpassed Bose in noise-canceling performance, and even midrange headphones like the $130 Soundcore Space 2 are close for much less money. That means the $359 Bose QuietComfort Headphones 2nd Gen need to stand out in other ways - and I don't think they do.

Bose QuietComfort Headphones Gen …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Bill Gates is deeply worried about AI, and he’s no longer staying quiet

Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation, speaks during a 2024 conference. | Bloomberg via Getty Images

Bill Gates has been reflecting a lot on AI lately, and the process has triggered a stark awakening. Once a staunch AI optimist, the Microsoft cofounder is now deeply pessimistic about what AI means for our collective future.

Having been conspicuously quiet on AI issues recently, Gates is back with a nearly 6,000-word essay seeking to reclaim a central role in shaping the technology globally. Titled "The turbulent AI era is here. The choices we make now are critical," Gates warns the world is not remotely ready for what is coming. Worse still, he notes, "we are not preparing for it."

Gates attempts to chart a path forward, but the essay l …

Read the full story at The Verge.