Image: Sony During its State of Play even on Tuesday, Sony gave us a look at some of the first “digital collectibles” that’ll be available as rewards for its PlayStation Stars loyalty program. The items — which Sony insists are not NFTs or based on the blockchain — are basically little virtual statues of devices like the PlayStation 3 and the PocketStation PDA / handheld gaming device, as well as characters from games like Ape Escape 2, and Sony mascots like Polygon Man.
When Sony announced the PlayStation Stars program earlier this summer, it said that members will be able to earn points alongside digital collectibles. It’s not entirely clear what the points will do yet, but the company has hinted that you may be able to buy some PlayStation Store…
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But doing so obviously leaves your phone unprotected. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Apple will let you remove the security patches installed by iOS 16’s Rapid Security Response system, which can install patches without the need to fully update your iPhone (or even without having to restart it, in some cases). According to a support document spotted by MacRumors, you can remove a Rapid Security Response update by going to Settings > General > About, then tapping on the iOS Version. From there, you’ll be presented with a “Remove Security Update” button.
The document doesn’t give any examples of why you’d need to uninstall one of the patches, leaving your phone open to the vulnerability it protects against. It’s easy to imagine a few special circumstances where the feature could be useful, perhaps if one messes up some…
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Meta Quest Pro | Image: Ramiro Cardenas Images and, later, a video of a “Meta Quest Pro” virtual reality (VR) headset surfaced online, posted on Facebook by Ramiro Cardenas, who claims the device was left in a hotel room (Thanks, Peter! via Reddit). The device shown resembles the Project Cambria headset Meta has been publicly teasing since late last year and looks like the one spotted in leaked setup videos.
The video shows Cardenas removing the device from its packaging, revealing a black headset and controller with what looks like an updated design. While the headset has three cameras on its front, the controllers feature a design that drops the hollowed-out loop design that houses the sensors for something more solid.
The packaging has the “Meta Quest Pro” label stamped in…
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Living in the moment. Not a SIM tray in sight. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge The new iPhone 14 lineup will ship without physical SIM trays — but only in the US. They’ll be able to use two eSIMs at once (and store more than that), but is the lack of a physical tray a big deal? And is it user-hostile and stupid?
First, a refresher on eSIMs: they’re SIM cards, but electronic, not physical. That means your phone can be provisioned remotely — no more going to a store to get a physical SIM. This makes it easier (in some ways) to switch networks or try one out — T-Mobile now uses eSIMs to let people test-drive its network for up to three months. As of iOS 16, you can even transfer your eSIM between iPhones via Bluetooth, which should make it almost as easy as a physical SIM — as long as you’re staying in the Apple…
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Don’t drop it! But if you do, it’s not the end of the world. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge If you’re the kind of person who’s always dropping your phone, AppleCare Plus may have just become a much better deal. As MacRumors points out, the service now covers “unlimited repairs for accidental damage protection.” According to an archived version of the AppleCare Plus page from last month, you used to be limited to “two incidents of accidental damage protection every 12 months.”
Before you toss your phone in the air in celebration, though, do note that the service fees and deductibles are still around — a screen or back glass repair will cost $29, while “other accidental damage” will run you $99. Also, Apple’s fine print clearly notes that the damage has to be caused by “unexpected and unintentional events” to fall under…
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Hey bud, be careful with that. | Image: Apple On Wednesday, Apple introduced the Apple Watch Ultra, a $799 wearable meant for people partaking in extreme activities like climbing mountains, running ultra-marathons, or diving. But as MacRumors points out, breaking its screen, button, sensors, or other various parts while doing any of these activities could be very expensive: repairs for the watch will cost $499 if you don’t have AppleCare Plus (we’ll get to that in a minute), according to an estimate tool on Apple’s website. That’s significantly more than the $299 repair for an entry-level Series 8.
Getting the battery replaced on an Ultra will also cost more than it would for Apple’s less extreme watches, coming in at $99 instead of $79. That does make some sense; the Ultra likely…
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The Steve Jobs Archive is live now. | Image: Apple The friends and family of Apple founder Steve Jobs have launched the Steve Jobs Archive, an organization that celebrates the technology titan. You can visit the archive at stevejobsarchive.com.
Right now, the site is simple. At the top, there’s a poetic email Jobs sent to himself about his admiration for humanity. Scrolling down reveals some notable quotes from Jobs, including some from his famous 2005 commencement address at Stanford. At the end, there’s a short “About Us” description for the archive. Video and audio clips of Jobs are laced in along the way.
“With respect for the past and excitement for the future, the Steve Jobs Archive offers people the tools and opportunities to make their own contribution,” the site reads. “We are…
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The Huawei Mate 50 might have just edged out Apple in the space-texting race. | Image: Huawei Huawei has announced the Mate 50 series, a day ahead of Apple’s September event and with a feature that the iPhone 14 is expected to offer: the ability to send texts via satellite communication. The Mate 50 and Mate 50 Pro will be able to send short texts and utilize navigation thanks to China’s global BeiDou satellite network, allowing for communication in areas without cellular signal.
The flagship Mate 50 series includes 4G-only versions of the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset with 8GB of RAM. The 50 Pro comes with a slightly bigger 6.74-inch OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, while the Mate 50 offers a 6.7-inch, 90Hz OLED panel. Both include a 50-megapixel main rear camera with a variable aperture lens with stops from f/1.4 to…
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Streaming TV is great! Streaming ads are a mess. | Image: Peacock For the last few months, Parks & Recreation has been my go-to background show. It’s what I watch while I’m doing the laundry, trying to catch up on email, or playing a video game I’d rather not listen to. The show’s seven seasons are all on Peacock, which is handy, because so is The Office — my other background show. All of this is to say, I watch a lot of Peacock.
At one point today, while half-watching another Parks & Rec episode, an ad came on that I suddenly realized I knew. And I didn’t just know it, I knew every single word of it. The jingle, especially, which ends in a sing-songy “CroppMetcalfe is the one with five stars!” That jingle has been stuck in my head for weeks, and it may never go away.
I don’t blame CroppMetcalfe,…
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Image: LG Just months after Samsung announced that it’s bringing non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to its TVs, now LG’s doing the same. The company’s new NFT marketplace, called LG Art Lab, lets you “buy, sell and enjoy high-quality digital artwork” from your TV.
For now, only users in the US with an LG TV that runs webOS 5.0 or later can access the app, which is available to download from the TV’s home screen. Through the portal, you can buy and sell digital works made available through LG’s NFT drops. The first one of these drops is set to occur on September 22nd and features a set of metallic-looking NFTs from sculptor Barry X Ball.
Since I just so happen to own a compatible LG TV, I downloaded and tried out the app for myself… and there’s not much…
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