theverge--2020-05-13--Kickstarter loses nearly 40 percent of its workforce after layoffs and buyouts

Crowdfunding platform Kickstarter is the latest company to resort to layoffs during the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic .
The company filed a regulatory notice in New York last week revealing it had laid off 25 employees , or about 18 percent of its workforce .
But Kickstarter tells The Verge its workforce reduction is more than twice that , as 30 employees decided to take voluntary buyouts as negotiated between the company ’ s management and Kickstarter ’ s employee union .
“ The filing is correct , however , it does not reflect an international employee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take into account further staff reduction via the voluntary buyouts offered to staff .
In total , we ’ ll see a 39 percent reduction in staff , ” a Kickstarter spokesperson tells The Verge .
“ The majority of those leaving chose voluntary separation packages , and everyone affected is staying on through this week through the transition.
” The layoffs were first reported on Wednesday by Business Insider .
The Verge reported last month that Kickstarter CEO Aziz Hasan had informed staff that the layoffs were imminent in an internal memo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a 35 percent drop in new projects on the platform with “ no clear sign of rebound.
” Kickstarter warned employees of layoffs last month , citing the economic effects of the pandemic Kickstarter , which is a public benefit corporation , is one of the few technology companies to have unionized .
Employees did so in February of this year under the name Kickstarter United after a particularly drawn-out series of negotiations with management that began in 2019 on the same day that former CEO and co-founder Perry Chen resigned and handed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s union , which is represented by the Office and Professional Employees International Union ( OPEIU ) , was involved in negotiations with management regarding the layoffs , but it ’ s unclear what departments the layoffs primarily affected .
A deal was first reached in early May , which involved Kickstarter offering voluntary buyouts to union members and the ability to opt out of health insurance coverage and receive partial payment instead .
As part of deal , Kickstarter ultimately offered departing employees a severance package that includes four months ’ pay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for employees making more than $ 110,001 a year and six months for those who make less , nullification of any non-compete agreements in place , and a chance to rejoin the company if their job reopens within the year .
As of February 2020 , the union was made up of 85 engineers , directors , analysts , designers , coordinators , and customer support specialists , and the group represented about 60 percent of the company ’ s 140 employees prior to the layoffs .

Crowdfunding platform Kickstarter is the latest company to resort to layoffs during the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The company filed a regulatory notice in New York last week revealing it had laid off 25 employees, or about 18 percent of its workforce. But Kickstarter tells The Verge its workforce reduction is more than twice that, as 30 employees decided to take voluntary buyouts as negotiated between the company’s management and Kickstarter’s employee union.
“The filing is correct, however, it does not reflect an international employee that was affected, nor does it take into account further staff reduction via the voluntary buyouts offered to staff. In total, we’ll see a 39 percent reduction in staff,” a Kickstarter spokesperson tells The Verge. “The majority of those leaving chose voluntary separation packages, and everyone affected is staying on through this week through the transition.”
The layoffs were first reported on Wednesday by Business Insider. The Verge reported last month that Kickstarter CEO Aziz Hasan had informed staff that the layoffs were imminent in an internal memo. At the time, Hasan cited a 35 percent drop in new projects on the platform with “no clear sign of rebound.”
Kickstarter warned employees of layoffs last month, citing the economic effects of the pandemic
Kickstarter, which is a public benefit corporation, is one of the few technology companies to have unionized. Employees did so in February of this year under the name Kickstarter United after a particularly drawn-out series of negotiations with management that began in 2019 on the same day that former CEO and co-founder Perry Chen resigned and handed the reins to Hasan.
Kickstarter’s union, which is represented by the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), was involved in negotiations with management regarding the layoffs, but it’s unclear what departments the layoffs primarily affected. A deal was first reached in early May, which involved Kickstarter offering voluntary buyouts to union members and the ability to opt out of health insurance coverage and receive partial payment instead.
As part of deal, Kickstarter ultimately offered departing employees a severance package that includes four months’ pay, four months of health care coverage for employees making more than $110,001 a year and six months for those who make less, nullification of any non-compete agreements in place, and a chance to rejoin the company if their job reopens within the year.


theverge--2020-05-13--Uber’s response to COVID-19: face masks, selfies, and fewer people in the car

Uber outlined a series of measures it is taking Wednesday to adapt its ride-hailing and delivery businesses to a world changed by COVID-19 .
Chief among them is a new rule limiting the maximum number of people allowed in each vehicle .
Starting May 18th , only three passengers will be allowed in each vehicle across its product line , the company said .
Previously , Uber had allowed up to four passengers in its UberX vehicles .
Passengers will not be allowed to ride in the front seat .
This is meant to promote social distancing from the driver @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three of which will still be allowed to pile into the backseat .
“ We do not want them to be in the front seat because we want them to be physically distanced as much as possible from the driver , ” Sachin Kansal , Uber ’ s head of safety , said in a video conference with reporters .
“ We want all the members of that party to be sitting in the backseat.
” As for passengers crammed into the backseat , Kansal said , “ These are people who are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ’ re already living together.
” “ We do not want them to be in the front seat ” As was previously reported , Uber will require drivers and riders to wear face masks .
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company will spend $ 50 million on supplies for drivers , such as face masks , hand sanitizer , and bleach wipes .
“ Starting on Monday , the next time you open the app , things are going to look a little different for both riders and drivers , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to take selfies to prove they are wearing masks , whereas passengers will not because the company is using preexisting technology that uses selfies to verify drivers ’ identities .
Drivers are encouraged to cancel rides with passengers who don ’ t follow this directive .
And drivers and passengers are also encouraged to keep windows rolled down to improve air circulation in the vehicle .
COVID-19 has had a significant impact on Uber ’ s business .
The company announced last week that it would lay off 3,700 full-time employees , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Uber ’ s riding-hailing business is down 80 percent , Khosrowshahi told investors last week .
Uber has been running ads discouraging people from using its service , as many of its major markets continue to operate under shelter-in-place rules .
But Kansal insisted the company wasn ’ t switching up that message ; it was just preparing itself for “ the new normal.
” Many of these new policies will apply to Uber Eats deliveries as well , with some slight variations , Kansal said .
Eats couriers are encouraged to wear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And couriers are advised to report restaurants that aren ’ t providing social distancing guidance to other delivery workers , and vice versa .
Uber ’ s rating and feedback system will be doing a lot of heavy lifting for the company in the months ahead .
Uber is updating its app to provide easy ways for drivers , couriers , and customers to report any violations , which could then lead to deactivation from the app .
“ If we get multiple reports about an individual driver , we can take action @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” said Rebecca Payne , senior product manager .
“ Same way on the rider side .
”

Uber outlined a series of measures it is taking Wednesday to adapt its ride-hailing and delivery businesses to a world changed by COVID-19. Chief among them is a new rule limiting the maximum number of people allowed in each vehicle.
Starting May 18th, only three passengers will be allowed in each vehicle across its product line, the company said. Previously, Uber had allowed up to four passengers in its UberX vehicles. Passengers will not be allowed to ride in the front seat. This is meant to promote social distancing from the driver — if not exactly between passengers, three of which will still be allowed to pile into the backseat.
“We do not want them to be in the front seat because we want them to be physically distanced as much as possible from the driver,” Sachin Kansal, Uber’s head of safety, said in a video conference with reporters. “We want all the members of that party to be sitting in the backseat.” As for passengers crammed into the backseat, Kansal said, “These are people who are typically from the same household, so they’re already living together.”
“We do not want them to be in the front seat”
As was previously reported, Uber will require drivers and riders to wear face masks. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company will spend $50 million on supplies for drivers, such as face masks, hand sanitizer, and bleach wipes.
“Starting on Monday, the next time you open the app, things are going to look a little different for both riders and drivers,” Khosrowshahi said.
Drivers will be required to take selfies to prove they are wearing masks, whereas passengers will not because the company is using preexisting technology that uses selfies to verify drivers’ identities. Drivers are encouraged to cancel rides with passengers who don’t follow this directive. And drivers and passengers are also encouraged to keep windows rolled down to improve air circulation in the vehicle.
COVID-19 has had a significant impact on Uber’s business. The company announced last week that it would lay off 3,700 full-time employees, or about 14 percent of its workforce. Uber’s riding-hailing business is down 80 percent, Khosrowshahi told investors last week.
Uber has been running ads discouraging people from using its service, as many of its major markets continue to operate under shelter-in-place rules. But Kansal insisted the company wasn’t switching up that message; it was just preparing itself for “the new normal.”
Many of these new policies will apply to Uber Eats deliveries as well, with some slight variations, Kansal said. Eats couriers are encouraged to wear masks and avoid contact with customers. And couriers are advised to report restaurants that aren’t providing social distancing guidance to other delivery workers, and vice versa.
Uber’s rating and feedback system will be doing a lot of heavy lifting for the company in the months ahead. Uber is updating its app to provide easy ways for drivers, couriers, and customers to report any violations, which could then lead to deactivation from the app.


theverge--2020-05-13--The New Mutants has a new August 2020 release date

The New Mutants , a movie that feels like it ’ s never going to actually come out , has a new release date : August 28th .
Like Mulan and Black Widow , The New Mutants was delayed because of the global pandemic , which saw movie theaters around the world shut down .
Disney announced in an earlier press release that Mulan and Black Widow would move into their new release dates , July 24th and November 6th respectively , but didn ’ t mention The New Mutants at the time .
Fans began speculating that The New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or as a Hulu exclusive , since Disney owns both streaming services and The New Mutants is now a Disney title following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox .
Disney has already shifted some of its theatrical releases , like Artemis Fowl and Hamilton , to now premiere on Disney Plus exclusively .
Described as “ an original horror thriller set in an isolated hospital where a group of young mutants is being held for psychiatric monitoring , ” The New Mutants is a movie that fans have waited years to see .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ movie in 2015 , with the project going into production in 2016 .
Filming originally ended in September 2017 , and then trouble started .
In January 2018 , Fox moved the release date back to February 2019 , which allowed Deadpool 2 to run without contestation from another Marvel movie at Fox .
Months later , The New Mutants faced similar woes and was delayed again to ensure that Dark Phoenix , another X-Men movie , wouldn ’ t have any competition .
Now , however , it looks like The New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That is , if Disney thinks theaters will be back up and running .
Right now , studios are trying to figure out when the best time to start releasing their films is , watching as states around the country start to reopen or further lockdown restrictions .
Warner Bros. and Christopher Nolan ’ s Tenet is largely seen as the litmus test for studios going forward .
Depending on what happens between now and then , The New Mutants might be one of the first movies to hit theaters and , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ become one of 2020 ’ s biggest summer movies .

The New Mutants, a movie that feels like it’s never going to actually come out, has a new release date: August 28th.
Like Mulan and Black Widow, The New Mutants was delayed because of the global pandemic, which saw movie theaters around the world shut down. Disney announced in an earlier press release that Mulan and Black Widow would move into their new release dates, July 24th and November 6th respectively, but didn’t mention The New Mutants at the time. Fans began speculating that The New Mutants could wind up a Disney Plus or as a Hulu exclusive, since Disney owns both streaming services and The New Mutants is now a Disney title following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox. Disney has already shifted some of its theatrical releases, like Artemis Fowl and Hamilton, to now premiere on Disney Plus exclusively.
Described as “an original horror thriller set in an isolated hospital where a group of young mutants is being held for psychiatric monitoring,” The New Mutants is a movie that fans have waited years to see. Fox first made plans to develop the movie in 2015, with the project going into production in 2016. Filming originally ended in September 2017, and then trouble started. In January 2018, Fox moved the release date back to February 2019, which allowed Deadpool 2 to run without contestation from another Marvel movie at Fox. Months later, The New Mutants faced similar woes and was delayed again to ensure that Dark Phoenix, another X-Men movie, wouldn’t have any competition.
Now, however, it looks like The New Mutants will finally get its day. That is, if Disney thinks theaters will be back up and running. Right now, studios are trying to figure out when the best time to start releasing their films is, watching as states around the country start to reopen or further lockdown restrictions. Warner Bros. and Christopher Nolan’s Tenet is largely seen as the litmus test for studios going forward.


theverge--2020-05-14--Summer game fest: how to watch this summer’s digital gaming events

Even though E3 , Gamescom , and other summer gaming events have become online-only or outright canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic , it seems there ’ s still going to be a lot of gaming news this summer .
Publishers and media have already scheduled many digital events , promising news and announcements , which could help fill the void left by the loss of the big tentpole events .
And it seems likely that some of these events will provide early looks at the first Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 games , making them particularly intriguing .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that ’ s planned , we ’ ve collected every event that we know about in this post .
We ’ ve put together details about each event , when they ’ re scheduled to happen , and how to watch them .
Be sure to check back here often ; we ’ ll be updating this post as more events are announced .
What : Geoff Keighley , who created The Game Awards , will be hosting a series of digital events throughout the summer featuring “ breaking news , in-game events @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large publishers are already on board , including Bethesda , Blizzard Entertainment , CD Projekt Red , Electronic Arts , Microsoft , Riot , Sony , and Square Enix .
When : There will be multiple events throughout the months of May and August .
You can see the full schedule here , which is updated as events are added .
How to watch : Watch Summer Game Fest events on Twitch , Twitter , and YouTube .
( Note that some of these are the accounts for The Game Awards . )
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ global , digital event ” to “ bring you the latest news and impressions around upcoming games and the next generation of console hardware.
” There will be live broadcasts and on-demand programming .
IGN ’ s event will also feature many publishers , including Blizzard , CD Projekt Red , EA , Facebook ( including Oculus ) , Google Stadia , Humble , Microsoft , PC Gaming Show , Sega , Square Enix , Twitter , and Ubisoft .
When : Planned to kick off in June How to watch : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Facebook , Mixer , Twitch , and Twitter What : Play for All is a “ multi-week event ” with news , previews , interviews , and more .
The event will also be raising money for COVID-19 relief efforts in partnership with Direct Relief .
Publishers including EA , Bethesda , CD Projekt Red , Deep Silver , Devolver Digital , Larian Studios , Google Stadia , Bandai Namco , Private Division , Square Enix , Sega , and 2K Games will be participating in the event .
How to watch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Instagram , Twitter , and YouTube Guerrilla Collective , The PC Gaming Show , and the Future Games Show What : Guerrilla Collective is a new “ digital games festival ” taking place from June 6th to June 8th , produced by Media Indie Exchange and the Kinda Funny Games Showcase .
Studios on board with the event include Humble Publishing , Larian Studios , Paradox Interactive , and many more .
The first day , June 6th , will have three different shows : Guerrilla Collective Live , hosted by Kinda @ @ @ @ @ @ @ PC Gaming Show focused on PC gaming news and reveals ; and the Future Games Show , which will have have reveals , developer interviews , and “ wholesome gaming chatter.
” There ’ s an “ online press event ” scheduled for June 7th and another day of programming with live demos and developer interviews on June 8th .
How to watch : Watch the Guerrilla Collective events on Twitch What : Limited Run Games says # LRG3 will be its “ third totally-live , totally-bitchin press conference for the biggest announcements @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” How to watch : Watch on Limited Run Games ’ Twitch channel What : EA says its EA Play Live 2020 will be a live digital broadcast , but the studio hasn ’ t shared many details beyond that just yet .
What : Ubisoft is holding a digital “ E3-style showcase ” with “ plenty of exclusive game news , exciting reveals , and much more.
” What : Geoff Keighley will be hosting another Opening Night Live event timed with Gamescom , which is now an all-digital event .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ finale ” to the Summer Game Fest , according to the Summer Game Fest calendar .
How to watch : Since it ’ s a Summer Game Fest event , it seems likely you ’ ll be able to watch Opening Night Live on all of the Summer Game Fest platforms , including Twitch , Twitter , and YouTube .
( Note that some of these are the accounts for The Game Awards . )

Even though E3, Gamescom, and other summer gaming events have become online-only or outright canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has already been a lot of gaming news this summer.
Although the pace of events is starting to slow down, they aren’t all over yet. There’s Gamescom to look forward to in August and the new, multi-day PAX Online event in September. We’ve rounded up some details about those events in this post, and we’ll add other major events if they’re announced.
We’ve also been tracking events that have already happened, so if you want to relive some of the biggest moments in summer gaming news, check out our archive in the “Completed Events” section.
What is the Summer Game Fest?
The “Summer Game Fest” is a shorthand phrase for all the gaming events that have sprung up in the wake of COVID cancellations. Originally, Geoff Keighley, who created The Game Awards, created it as a series of digital events throughout the summer featuring “breaking news, in-game events, and free playable content.” Many large publishers joined on, including Bethesda, Blizzard Entertainment, CD Projekt Red, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Riot, Sony, and Square Enix.
You can see the full schedule here, which is updated as events are added, and watch them on a variety of platforms including Twitch, Twitter, and YouTube. (Note that some of these are the accounts for The Game Awards.)
August Events
Gamescom’s Opening Night Live
What: Geoff Keighley will be hosting another Opening Night Live event timed with Gamescom, which is now an all-digital event. It will be a “spectacular, industry-wide finale” to the Summer Game Fest, according to the Summer Game Fest calendar.
When: Thursday, August 27th, TBA time
How to watch: Since it’s a Summer Game Fest event, it seems likely you’ll be able to watch Opening Night Live on all of the Summer Game Fest platforms, including Twitch, Twitter, and YouTube. (Note that some of these are the accounts for The Game Awards.)
September Events
PAX Online
What: PAX Online is a nine-day virtual event that’s replacing PAX West and PAX Australia this year. There will be three channels hosting content all day for each day of the conference and downloadable demos to replicate actually playing games on the show floor.
When: Saturday, September 12th through Sunday, September 20th, TBA time
How to watch: TBA, though it seems likely that you’ll be able to watch some events on PAX’s Twitch channel
The Verge Guide to Gaming Gear Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Gaming today is more than just play. It means being immersed in fabulous universes, testing your reflexes against imaginary opponents, interacting with other players in strange environments, and solving complex puzzles. In The Verge Guide to Gaming Gear, you’ll find a load of gaming tips and tricks, whether you’re a master or are just starting out. We’ll also tell you how to get around issues like moving your games from one console to another or getting a refund for a package that just didn’t work out. Enjoy!
Completed Events
Destiny 2 event
What: Bungie said it would be revealing the “next chapter of Destiny 2.”
When: Tuesday, June 9th, 12PM ET
How to watch: You can watch the presentation on YouTube.
Sony’s The Future of Gaming event for PS5
What: Sony hosted an event to provide “a first look at the games you’ll be playing after PlayStation 5 launches this holiday” on June 11th.
When: Thursday, June 11th, 4PM ET
How to watch: You can watch a replay on YouTube
The PC Gaming Show
What: The PC Gaming Show showcased “new games, never-before-seen gameplay footage, and announcements from some of PC gaming’s biggest and most interesting developers.” You can see the full lineup of developers involved here. The event was two hours long, though unlike previous years, it was pre-recorded instead of shown live.
The event was originally scheduled for June 6th, but was delayed to June 13th to “make space for those speaking out and demonstrating about how to end the systemic oppression and police brutality experienced by black people.”
When: Saturday, June 13th, 2PM ET
How to watch: Watch a replay of the event on YouTube
The Future Games Show
What: The hour-long Future Games Show included “exclusive trailers, announcements, and deep dives on existing AAA and indie games.” Content covered “40+ games on console, PC, and mobile,” according to GamesRadar, which is hosting the event. Publishers participating included Square Enix, Devolver Digital, and more. Nolan North and Emily Rose, who star in the Uncharted series as Nathan Drake and Elena Fisher, hosted.
The show was first planned for June 6th, but was postponed to June 13th “in support of the protests demanding justice and change over the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police.”
When: Saturday, June 13th, 5PM ET
How to watch: You can watch the full event on YouTube
Guerrilla Collective
What: Guerrilla Collective is a new “digital games festival” that took place from June 13th to June 15th, produced by Media Indie Exchange and the Kinda Funny Games Showcase. Studios on board with the event included Humble Publishing, Larian Studios, Paradox Interactive, and many more. The event was delayed from its original June 6th start date out of support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
When:
Saturday, June 13th, 12PM ET
Sunday, June 14th, 12PM ET
Monday, June 15th, 12PM ET
How to watch: Watch replays of day 1, 2, and 3 on YouTube
EA Play Live 2020
What: EA says its EA Play Live 2020 will be a live digital broadcast, but the studio hasn’t shared many details beyond that just yet. EA delayed the event on June 5th due to the “important conversations taking place and important voices being heard around the world right now.”
When: Thursday, June 18th, 7PM ET
How to watch: Watch the replay on YouTube
Summer Game Fest Developer Showcase
What: The two Summer Game Fest Developer Showcases (one in June and one in July) will feature “a select group of upcoming indie and AAA video games” curated by Geoff Keighley and the Day of the Devs team, which includes Double Fine founder Tim Schafer. The showcases will have gameplay, news, and musical performances, and Annapurna Interactive, The Behemoth, Panic, thatgamecompany, and Ustwo Games are among the developers that will be part of the events.
When: The first one took place on Monday, June 22nd, at 11AM ET
How to watch: Watch the replay on YouTube
New Game Plus Expo
What: 14 publishers from North America and Japan, including Koei Tecmo America, Natsume, Sega of America, SNK, and WayForward, hosted New Game Plus Expo (NGPX), a digital event featuring “dozens of games,” including new game announcements and live demos.
When: Tuesday, June 23rd, 11AM ET
How to watch: Watch the replay on YouTube
Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City Wire
What: Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red hosted a digital broadcast about the game. It was delayed on June 2nd because “more important discussions are happening right now and we want them to be heard.”
When: Thursday, June 25th, 12PM ET
How to watch: Watch the replay on YouTube
IGN’s Summer of Gaming
What: IGN hosted a “global, digital event” to “bring you the latest news and impressions around upcoming games and the next generation of console hardware.” There will be live broadcasts and on-demand programming. IGN’s event featured many publishers, including Blizzard, CD Projekt Red, EA, Facebook (including Oculus), Google Stadia, Humble, Microsoft, PC Gaming Show, Sega, Square Enix, Twitter, and Ubisoft.
As part of the event, IGN also hosted IGN Expo, a “showcase for exclusive announcements and reveals from developers across the industry.”
On June 2nd, IGN announced it would delay the start of the Summer of Gaming event to June 8th “out of respect for and in support of those rightfully demanding justice and change across the United States and the world.” IGN delayed the event again to June 10th out of respect for the funeral of George Floyd.
How to watch: IGN compiled a playlist of its Summer of Gaming coverage on its YouTube channel.
GameSpot’s Play for All
What: Play for All was a multi-week event with news, previews, interviews, and more. The event also raised money for COVID-19 relief efforts in partnership with Direct Relief and for Black Lives Matter. Publishers including EA, Bethesda, CD Projekt Red, Deep Silver, Devolver Digital, Larian Studios, Google Stadia, Bandai Namco, Private Division, Square Enix, Sega, and 2K Games participated in the event.
When: Play for All began on June 1st and ran through the middle of July.
How to watch: GameSpot has a number of Play for All video playlists on its YouTube channel
Limited Run Games’ #LRG3
What: Limited Run Games’ #LRG3 was a digital press conference focused on news and announcements for physical video games. The event was postponed from its original June 8th air date on June 4th.
When: Wednesday, July 8th, 3PM ET
How to watch: Watch a replay on Limited Run Games’ YouTube channel
Ubisoft Forward
What: Ubisoft held a digital “E3-style showcase” with “plenty of exclusive game news, exciting reveals, and much more.”
When: Sunday, July 12th, 3PM ET
How to watch: Watch a replay on Ubisoft’s YouTube channel
Stadia Connect
What: Google hosted its latest Stadia Connect digital broadcast on July 14th featuring “some of the games coming to Stadia later this year.”
When: Tuesday, July 14th, 1PM ET
How to watch: Watch a replay show on YouTube
Summer Game Fest Developer Showcase
What: The two Summer Game Fest Developer Showcases (one in June and one in July) featured “a select group of upcoming indie and AAA video games” curated by Geoff Keighley and the Day of the Devs team, which includes Double Fine founder Tim Schafer. The July showcase highlighted a number of games, including reveals from iam8bit, Panic, MWM Interactive, Team17 and Ustwo Games, and also had a live performance of the Bugsnax theme song.
When: Monday, July 20th, 11AM ET
How to watch: Watch a replay on YouTube
Microsoft’s Xbox Games Showcase
What: Microsoft hosted a digital event to show off Xbox Games Studios games. Microsoft shared a first look at Halo Infinite’s campaign, revealed a new Fable and Forza Motorsport game, and showed a lot of trailers for new and upcoming games.
When: Thursday, July 23rd, 12PM ET
How to watch: Watch a replay on YouTube
Update July 24th, 12:19PM ET: Updated introduction and headline now that the Summer Game Fest Developer Showcase and the Xbox Games Showcase have happened and moved events to the “Completed Events” section.


theverge--2020-05-14--Why Amazon’s hardware makes more sense than Google’s

Google , as reported by The Information , suffers with operational chaos that is as bizarre as it is inept .
Hardware boss Rick Osterloh reportedly held a meeting where he tells everybody “ he did not agree with some of the decisions made about the phone ” — are these decisions not things he himself is in charge of ?
The visionary who made the Pixel ’ s excellent camera what it is quietly leaves , while the man in charge of Pixel hardware overall is shuffled off to a strange job before leaving entirely .
Woof .
At @ @ @ @ @ @ @ updates to its Fire HD tablets .
No fanfare and nothing to get really excited about — but also zero drama .
Only Amazon , Samsung , and Huawei seem to really still keep trying to make Android tablets .
And I bet only Amazon has a clear business case for them .
It ’ s sort of stunning to sit and think how dominant Android phones are worldwide and yet how badly the OS has fared on tablets .
In the US , truly only Amazon even bothers .
Both Amazon and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ money from things that have nothing at all to do with making gadgets .
And yet , each company thinks it ’ s important to produce consumer electronics .
Why ?
Amazon doesn ’ t make a smartphone — after the Fire Phone debacle , it ’ s hard to blame the company .
But it does make a bunch of stuff in categories where the competition is less fierce or where Amazon can more easily make some money without anybody getting in a tizzy about how successful ( or not ) it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ market , it makes cheap earbuds , it makes smart cameras and Wi-Fi routers .
With so many commodity parts for Android phones around , those Fire tablets are probably way cheaper and easier to make than you might think .
And since nobody ’ s bothering to make Android tablets now that phones are so big , there ’ s not much competition .
And people who buy Fire HD tablets are more likely to use Amazon ’ s other services .
We all know the score with Amazon products : they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you in Amazon ’ s ecosystem .
A lot of the first iterations of Amazon ’ s hardware look kind of junky : the first Echo , Echo Auto , the Echo Show , and even the very first Kindle looked like internal prototypes the company decided to just up and release .
Refinement only comes later , after the market is proven .
( Every now and then Amazon proves it can make something lovely on the first try , as with the Echo Studio . )
Point is : nobody stresses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ring cameras and the social issues they raise ) .
We know what Amazon hardware is for .
It ’ s there to support Amazon ’ s content services : Prime Video and Kindle and Alexa and the retail store itself .
Amazon ’ s hardware gilds the lily , and the lily is made out of money .
But Google ’ s hardware inspires more angst .
A big part of it is simply that the company that literally makes Android seems incapable of creating a successful Android phone .
Its Wi-Fi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are fine .
Nest , though , hoo that was a wild ride there for a minute and it only recently settled ( mostly ) .
Fundamentally , it ’ s too hard to explain what Google hardware is for .
It used to be that you could say that it was for platform experimentation .
You couldn ’ t build Android right without new stuff to test new versions on , so Google built Nexus .
It wanted to take a shot at TVs again , so it made Chromecast on what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it worked .
But now , when you ask its executives ( and I have ) , they ’ ll tell you hardware is intended to become a real profit center , a real business .
In theory , that makes sense .
Diversifying its incoming revenue streams is nearly an existential need for Google .
Amazon has several ways to make lots of money and its hardware products participate in a virtuous cycle with some of them .
Google has advertising .
But in practice , it ’ s hard to think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it all .
Google will tell you to stop calling it a hobby , but it ’ s hard not to .
We ’ re rolling up to the release of the sixth Pixel phone , the Pixel 4A .
We ’ re also less than a year away from the five-year anniversary of the creation of Google ’ s hardware division .
If Google were serious , you ’ d think we ’ d have seen serious phone sales by now .
What is Google hardware for ?
Hardware isn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but it feels more existential for Google simply because its successes and failures cut more closely to the core of what Google aspires to be .
It aspires to be directly “ helpful ” with the Google Assistant and various other assorted services .
And its hardware is mostly a vehicle to showcase that AI .
When it ’ s not on a website , most people ’ s experiences of Google are mediated in some way .
They happen on Dell laptops or Apple tablets or Samsung phones .
If I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hardware is mostly for now , I ’ d say that deep down Google knows that mediation is a huge problem .
The cynical take is that Google is hedging its bets by keeping a hardware division at a subsistence level just in case it needs to ramp it up quickly if one of those other companies decides to cut it off .
The charitable take is that Google wants to make sure the best possible experience is at least an option for people who want it .
┏ PlayStation 5 still on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sony ┏ Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says the PS5 is so impressive it ’ s ‘ going to help drive future PCs ’ .
He is very impressed .
When I first saw reports of fast storage , I thought it was just about faster load times .
It ’ s clearly about so much more .
┏ Epic Games announces Unreal Engine 5 with stunning PlayStation 5 demo .
Watch this .
I am not joking .
I am not lightly suggesting .
This has the potential to be transformative for indie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Jon Porter pointed out .
Unreal Engine is accessible and widely used .
I haven ’ t been this hyped by a “ look at the pretty graphics ” video in a very , very long time .
┏ Sony says ‘ wait for PS5 sales ’ before comparing it to Microsoft ’ s Xbox marketing .
With graphics like Epic showed yesterday , you can ’ t blame Sony for being so confident .
┏ Dell launches new XPS 17 and redesigned XPS 15 with 16:10 edge-to-edge displays .
This is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ machine .
Those displays are something else , too !
I brought this up in my 13-inch MacBook Pro review but it bears repeating : Apple ’ s historical strengths — screen and battery life — are not looking that strong compared to the competition right now .
┏ The Alienware Area-51m ’ s upgradable dream has failed in just one year .
Modular gadgets are super super hard to get right and almost always fail , part 932 .
┏ Donald Trump extends Huawei ban through May 2021 .
Looks like Huawei @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that P30 Pro for quite a while .
┏ GM kills its electric bike project , Ariv .
Well this is a bummer .
More from The Verge ┏ The doomsday bunker market is thriving amid the coronavirus pandemic .
Good story from Zoe Schiffer .
None of this is remotely rational behavior .
┏ An out-of-control Chinese rocket may have dumped debris in Africa after falling from space .
Scary !
Loren Grush has the details : ┏ How the novel coronavirus is speeding the scooter apocalypse .
Andrew Hawkins reports : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make unique , more diverse games .
I had no idea public funding was so common and so vital to indie game development .

A tale of two hardware divisions.
Google, as reported by The Information, suffers with operational chaos that is as bizarre as it is inept. Hardware boss Rick Osterloh reportedly held a meeting where he tells everybody “he did not agree with some of the decisions made about the phone” — are these decisions not things he himself is in charge of? The visionary who made the Pixel’s excellent camera what it is quietly leaves, while the man in charge of Pixel hardware overall is shuffled off to a strange job before leaving entirely. Woof.
At Amazon, a few new, iterative updates to its Fire HD tablets. No fanfare and nothing to get really excited about — but also zero drama. Only Amazon, Samsung, and Huawei seem to really still keep trying to make Android tablets. And I bet only Amazon has a clear business case for them. It’s sort of stunning to sit and think how dominant Android phones are worldwide and yet how badly the OS has fared on tablets. In the US, truly only Amazon even bothers.
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Both Amazon and Google run businesses that make gobs of money from things that have nothing at all to do with making gadgets. And yet, each company thinks it’s important to produce consumer electronics. Why?
Amazon doesn’t make a smartphone — after the Fire Phone debacle, it’s hard to blame the company. But it does make a bunch of stuff in categories where the competition is less fierce or where Amazon can more easily make some money without anybody getting in a tizzy about how successful (or not) it is. It invented the smart speaker market, it makes cheap earbuds, it makes smart cameras and Wi-Fi routers.
With so many commodity parts for Android phones around, those Fire tablets are probably way cheaper and easier to make than you might think. And since nobody’s bothering to make Android tablets now that phones are so big, there’s not much competition. And people who buy Fire HD tablets are more likely to use Amazon’s other services.
We all know the score with Amazon products: they’re made in part to keep you in Amazon’s ecosystem. A lot of the first iterations of Amazon’s hardware look kind of junky: the first Echo, Echo Auto, the Echo Show, and even the very first Kindle looked like internal prototypes the company decided to just up and release. Refinement only comes later, after the market is proven. (Every now and then Amazon proves it can make something lovely on the first try, as with the Echo Studio.)
Point is: nobody stresses about Amazon hardware (unless it involves Ring cameras and the social issues they raise). We know what Amazon hardware is for. It’s there to support Amazon’s content services: Prime Video and Kindle and Alexa and the retail store itself. Amazon’s hardware gilds the lily, and the lily is made out of money.
But Google’s hardware inspires more angst. A big part of it is simply that the company that literally makes Android seems incapable of creating a successful Android phone. Its Wi-Fi product does well and its smart speakers are fine. Nest, though, hoo that was a wild ride there for a minute and it only recently settled (mostly).
Fundamentally, it’s too hard to explain what Google hardware is for. It used to be that you could say that it was for platform experimentation. You couldn’t build Android right without new stuff to test new versions on, so Google built Nexus. It wanted to take a shot at TVs again, so it made Chromecast on what felt like a lark to see if it worked.
But now, when you ask its executives (and I have), they’ll tell you hardware is intended to become a real profit center, a real business. In theory, that makes sense. Diversifying its incoming revenue streams is nearly an existential need for Google. Amazon has several ways to make lots of money and its hardware products participate in a virtuous cycle with some of them. Google has advertising.
But in practice, it’s hard to think that Google is really that serious about it all. Google will tell you to stop calling it a hobby, but it’s hard not to. We’re rolling up to the release of the sixth Pixel phone, the Pixel 4A. We’re also less than a year away from the five-year anniversary of the creation of Google’s hardware division. If Google were serious, you’d think we’d have seen serious phone sales by now.
What is Google hardware for?
Hardware isn’t existentially important to either Amazon or Google, but it feels more existential for Google simply because its successes and failures cut more closely to the core of what Google aspires to be. It aspires to be directly “helpful” with the Google Assistant and various other assorted services. And its hardware is mostly a vehicle to showcase that AI.
When it’s not on a website, most people’s experiences of Google are mediated in some way. They happen on Dell laptops or Apple tablets or Samsung phones. If I had to say what I think Google hardware is mostly for now, I’d say that deep down Google knows that mediation is a huge problem.
The cynical take is that Google is hedging its bets by keeping a hardware division at a subsistence level just in case it needs to ramp it up quickly if one of those other companies decides to cut it off. The charitable take is that Google wants to make sure the best possible experience is at least an option for people who want it.
The cynical and charitable takes aren’t mutually exclusive.
Sony speaks softly and carries a big PS5
┏ Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says the PS5 is so impressive it’s ‘going to help drive future PCs’. He is very impressed. When I first saw reports of fast storage, I thought it was just about faster load times. It’s clearly about so much more.
“We’ve been working super close with Sony for quite a long time on storage,” he says. “The storage architecture on the PS5 is far ahead of anything you can buy on anything on PC for any amount of money right now. It’s going to help drive future PCs. [The PC market is] going to see this thing ship and say, ‘Oh wow, SSDs are going to need to catch up with this.”
┏ Epic Games announces Unreal Engine 5 with stunning PlayStation 5 demo. Watch this. I am not joking. I am not lightly suggesting. This has the potential to be transformative for indie games, not just AAA titles, as Jon Porter pointed out. Unreal Engine is accessible and widely used.
I haven’t been this hyped by a “look at the pretty graphics” video in a very, very long time.
┏ Sony says ‘wait for PS5 sales’ before comparing it to Microsoft’s Xbox marketing. With graphics like Epic showed yesterday, you can’t blame Sony for being so confident.
Gadget news
┏ Dell launches new XPS 17 and redesigned XPS 15 with 16:10 edge-to-edge displays. This is a huge update for a fairly popular machine. Those displays are something else, too! I brought this up in my 13-inch MacBook Pro review but it bears repeating: Apple’s historical strengths — screen and battery life — are not looking that strong compared to the competition right now.
┏ The Alienware Area-51m’s upgradable dream has failed in just one year. Modular gadgets are super super hard to get right and almost always fail, part 932.
The Area-51m was supposed to offer the best parts of desktop gaming PCs and portable gaming laptops in a single device. Instead, with its hefty price tag and limited upgradability, it’s ended up as a series of compromises that emphasize the worst limitations of both categories.
┏ Donald Trump extends Huawei ban through May 2021. Looks like Huawei is going to have to keep selling that P30 Pro for quite a while.
┏ GM kills its electric bike project, Ariv. Well this is a bummer.
More from The Verge
┏ Tesla reopens Nevada Gigafactory after bringing California car plant back online. Big scoop from Sean O’Kane.
┏ The doomsday bunker market is thriving amid the coronavirus pandemic. Good story from Zoe Schiffer. None of this is remotely rational behavior.
┏ An out-of-control Chinese rocket may have dumped debris in Africa after falling from space. Scary! Loren Grush has the details:
At 21 metric tons, the core of the Long March 5B is way more massive than the 8-metric-ton Chinese space station Tiangong-1 that careened to Earth in 2018. In fact, the Long March 5B is the fifth most massive object to make an uncontrolled descent to Earth, according to McDowell. “This is the heaviest object to make an uncontrolled reentry since 1991,” he claims
┏ How the novel coronavirus is speeding the scooter apocalypse. Andrew Hawkins reports:
“The big scooter companies are losing so much money right now,” said Courtney Ehrlichman, former deputy executive director of Carnegie Mellon University’s mobility research institute. “They’re just trying to hold their pants on. I don’t see them being really strategic. And who’s gonna throw money in to do that right now?”
┏ How public arts funding helps developers make unique, more diverse games. I had no idea public funding was so common and so vital to indie game development.


theverge--2020-05-14--Go read this profile on the man who ‘saved the internet’ from WannaCry

When he was just 22 , Marcus Hutchins rose to fame by single-handedly stopping the spread of WannaCry , a ransomware attack that hit hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide and effectively shut down over a dozen UK hospitals .
But within months of stopping it , Hutchins was in police custody .
His extraordinary story is the subject of a lengthy new feature in Wired , and it ’ s absolutely worth a read in its entirety .
Hutchins was arrested because of his teenage work on code that would end up being used in banking trojan software .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that when he was finally questioned by officers he initially thought they just wanted to learn about his work on WannaCry .
For the next few minutes , the agents struck a friendly tone , asking Hutchins about his education and Kryptos Logic , the security firm where he worked .
For those minutes , Hutchins allowed himself to believe that perhaps the agents wanted only to learn more about his work on WannaCry , that this was just a particularly aggressive way to get his cooperation into their investigation of that world-shaking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the interview , his interrogators asked him about a program called Kronos .
“ Kronos , ” Hutchins said .
“ I know that name.
” And it began to dawn on him , with a sort of numbness , that he was not going home after all .
Hutchins had never intended to end up making banking malware , but after spending years of his life on various hacking forums he found himself trying to compete with the hackers he was socializing with .
He was talented , and started studying and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Then , he started doing freelance work for other forum members , and everything escalated .
Although Hutchins maintains that you can be a good cybersecurity researcher without a criminal past , it ’ s interesting to see how many of his skills seem to have come from writing malware in the first place .
It ’ s a fascinating story , and you can and should read it over on Wired .

For the next few minutes, the agents struck a friendly tone, asking Hutchins about his education and Kryptos Logic, the security firm where he worked. For those minutes, Hutchins allowed himself to believe that perhaps the agents wanted only to learn more about his work on WannaCry, that this was just a particularly aggressive way to get his cooperation into their investigation of that world-shaking cyberattack. Then, 11 minutes into the interview, his interrogators asked him about a program called Kronos.
“Kronos,” Hutchins said. “I know that name.” And it began to dawn on him, with a sort of numbness, that he was not going home after all.


theverge--2020-05-14--How Amazon is growing its power during the pandemic

The Interface is a daily column and newsletter about the intersection of social media and democracy .
Subscribe here .
There ’ s a lot of discussion going on right now about what will be forever changed by the pandemic .
Over at Amazon , though , the company is promising that things are going back to normal .
For one , the company said on Tuesday that delivery times — which have understandably stretched from days to weeks amid the huge logistical challenges posed by COVID-19 — were about to get shorter .
Here ’ s Spencer Soper in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ delivery times is an important matter of reputation for Amazon .
“ Shoppers left 800,000 negative reviews on Amazon ’ s shopping site in April , double the number in the same month a year ago , with much of the increase attributable to longer delivery times , ” Soper writes .
That has created an opening for its rivals , including Shopify , Target , and Costco , which have all grown faster in the past two months than Amazon has , according to a separate report in Bloomberg last week .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ normal has a significant downside — one that goes beyond having lots more boxes to pack and deliver on one- and two-day deadlines .
After increasing warehouse workers ’ pay in recognition of the increased risks they faced by simply coming in to do their jobs — and routinely calling them “ heroes ” in public communications — Amazon said Wednesday that their $ 2 per hour hazard pay would go away in June .
Jason del Rey broke the news at Recode : If the hazards that come with working in confined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it ’ s news to me .
More than 130 workers are believed to have been infected in outbreaks at Amazon facilities to date — the company won ’ t disclose the actual number — and at least one has died .
And local governments are planning for much longer periods of lockdown .
Just yesterday , Los Angeles county said stay-at-home orders would likely continue through August , albeit with some restrictions lifted .
But if Amazon is eager to get back to normal , states attorney general are more skeptical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bloomberg : The prospect of a fight with states over labor issues comes in addition to similar questions the company has faced in France , where courts required it to close warehouses last month amid complaints the company had not done enough to protect workers .
Questions like these don ’ t seem to be going away — even if they don ’ t seem to have slowed down Amazon very much so far .
Is there anything Amazon would like to change amid the pandemic ?
Well yes , actually : it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over price gouging .
Here ’ s Chaim Gartenberg at The Verge : An emerging theme of this newsletter during the pandemic is that at the same time tech companies are legitimately working to hold society together , they ’ re simultaneously finding new opportunities to entrench their power — and unwind the criticisms that they have grown too large and must be broken up .
Amazon is the least worried about optics of any big tech company , and in all its big , clumsy moves over the past week , you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this is going to play out : with Amazon on top and its workers resigned to taking what they can get .
And if it succeeds , the new normal will look a lot like the old one .
Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms .
Trending down : TikTok is full of dangerous coronavirus conspiracy theories despite the company ’ s pledge to curb misinformation on the platform .
Some of the videos have racked up hundreds of thousands of views .
( EJ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the US : More than 1,379,300 Total deaths in the US : At least 82,400 Total test results ( positive and negative ) in New York : 1,225,113 Total test results ( positive and negative ) in New Jersey : 433,060 Data from The New York Times .
Test data from The COVID Tracking Project .
⭐Social media is already filling up with misinformation about a COVID-19 vaccine , months or years before one even exists .
This is the beginning of a long conflict to come .
Kevin Roose at The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is so dangerous : The Trump campaign is embracing Snapchat in an effort to reach younger voters .
While the app ’ s clout in political conversation is small , millennial and Gen-Z voters make up 35 percent of the US electorate , and Snapchat reaches 75 percent of them every day .
( Sarah Frier / Bloomberg ) The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are blaming hackers linked with the Chinese government for attempting to steal US research into a coronavirus vaccine .
The news is an escalation of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus crisis .
( Sean Lyngaas / CyberScoop ) Washington already has a team of nearly 1,400 trained contact-tracers who are beginning to contact each new person who tests positive for the novel coronavirus .
It ’ s part of the state ’ s three-pronged approach to locking down the virus : broad-based testing , isolation and contact tracing .
And it ’ s good to see more states investing in this essential job .
( David Gutman / The Seattle Times ) India ’ s contact-tracing app , called Aarogya Setu @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 41 days after its release .
The numbers indicate the app is quickly gaining traction despite being dogged by privacy concerns .
( Manish Singh / TechCrunch ) But a hacker broke down India ’ s contact tracing app to make it less invasive .
“ I didn ’ t like the fact that installing this app is slowly becoming mandatory in India , ” he said .
( Pranav Dixit / BuzzFeed ) COVID-19 targets the elderly .
Why don ’ t our prevention efforts ?
( David Wallace-Wells / New York @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Treasury Department calling for a ban on any mergers by companies that received pandemic relief .
For weeks , Sen. Elizabeth Warren ( D-MA ) and Rep. David Cicilline ( D-RI ) have been pushing for a general moratorium on mergers until the crisis ends .
( Makena Kelly / The Verge ) Democratic lawmakers proposed a new law to make it illegal for telecom providers to end internet or phone service during the COVID-19 pandemic .
Separately , House Democrats also unveiled a $ 3 trillion relief package that includes at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emergency broadband connectivity fund.
” ( Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica ) A new nonprofit called VoteAmerica is trying to boost voter turnout by helping people vote by mail in the November election .
The organization was founded by Debra Cleaver , who previously started the nonpartisan voter mobilization site Vote.org .
( Taylor Hatmaker / TechCrunch ) President Trump is turning Elon Musk into a crony capitalist .
Staying in the president ’ s good graces is crucial to Musk ’ s success , this piece argues .
( Russell Brandom / @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social media platforms to take down child exploitation and terrorism-related content within the hour or face a fine of up to 4 percent of their global revenue .
For other “ manifestly illicit ” content , companies like Facebook , Twitter , YouTube , Instagram and Snapchat will have 24 hours to remove it .
( Reuters ) The coronavirus pandemic proves we need a “ superfund ” to clean up misinformation on the internet , argues this expert .
Can we treat the web as a toxic waste site ?
( Lisa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ significantly rolled back its diversity and inclusion programs in an apparent effort to avoid being perceived as anti-conservative , according to current and former employees .
The news comes days after Google settled with James Damore , the former Google engineer who sued over allegedly discriminating against conservative white men .
Here ’ s April Glaser at NBC : Apple is going to start having more employees return to its major global offices .
The move stands in sharp contrast to other big tech companies that are expending work home home policies .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ finally have numbers to back up the wild view counts we ’ ve seen in live-streaming since the COVID-19 pandemic began — and they ’ re huge .
The sector grew a full 45 percent between March and April .
Year over year , the industry is up by 99 percent .
( Bijan Stephen / The Verge ) Uber rolled out a series of new health policies to adapt its ride-hailing and delivery businesses to a world changed by COVID-19 .
Only three passengers will be allowed in a vehicle at one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to take selfies to prove they are wearing masks .
( Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge ) Facebook is rolling out its customizable avatars in the US after first launching them internationally last year .
Like Bitmoji or Apple ’ s Memoji , avatars offer a way to express yourself through a virtual lookalike ( though no one actually looks like their avatar ) .
( Chris Welch / The Verge ) A Facebook group where people pretend to be ants in an ant colony has grown from 100,000 members to more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Jareen Imam / NBC ) Twitter acquired the mobile ad company CrossInstall for an undisclosed amount .
The news comes as the ad market continues to decline due to economic hardships associated with the coronavirus pandemic .
( Allison Schiff / AdExchanger ) Twitter is making it easier to see quote tweets on iOS .
The new feature organizes all of the retweets with comments into a handy list .
( Jay Peters / The Verge ) Loon , the Alphabet-owned company that ’ s using stratospheric balloons to get high-speed internet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a new deal with Vodacom to expand its offering in Africa to Mozambique .
( Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch ) People who ’ ve lost family members to the QAnon conspiracy theory are turning to Reddit to commiserate with other survivors .
The convoluted theory alleges President Trump is leading a secret fight to take down the deep state and its hordes of pedophiles .
( Mike Rothschild / Daily Dot ) YouTube creator James Charles is teaching wannabe influencers how to film believable apology videos — a staple of YouTube culture .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Clubhouse , a new invite-only audio-based social app that venture capitalists and celebrities have flocked to in recent weeks , is fielding multiple investment offers .
The company behind the app , Alpha Exploration , already raised at least $ 1 million in seed funding in February .
( Kate Clark , Alex Heath and Zoë Bernard / The Information ) This is why Zoom is so exhausting .
( Christina Cauterucci / Slate ) Stuff to occupy you online during the quarantine .
The only thing I can think about doing today @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I also highly recommend Jerry Saltz ’ s beautiful and humane essay about food , art , and love — over the course of this singular life , and during quarantine .
Send us tips , comments , questions , and weirdly expensive items on Amazon : casey @ theverge.com and zoe @ theverge.com .

There’s a lot of discussion going on right now about what will be forever changed by the pandemic. Over at Amazon, though, the company is promising that things are going back to normal.
For one, the company said on Tuesday that delivery times — which have understandably stretched from days to weeks amid the huge logistical challenges posed by COVID-19 — were about to get shorter. Here’s Spencer Soper in Bloomberg:
The company on Sunday lifted restrictions on the amount of inventory its suppliers can send to Amazon warehouses and is shortening delivery times — which had stretched for weeks for some products since the outbreak began — back to days. The shares rose 2.1% to $2,406 at 10:42 a.m. on Wednesday. [...] “We removed quantity limits on products our suppliers can send to our fulfillment centers,” Amazon spokeswoman Kristen Kish said in an email. “We continue to adhere to extensive health and safety measures to protect our associates as they pick, pack and ship products to customers, and are improving delivery speeds across our store.”
Among other things, improving delivery times is an important matter of reputation for Amazon. “Shoppers left 800,000 negative reviews on Amazon’s shopping site in April, double the number in the same month a year ago, with much of the increase attributable to longer delivery times,” Soper writes. That has created an opening for its rivals, including Shopify, Target, and Costco, which have all grown faster in the past two months than Amazon has, according to a separate report in Bloomberg last week.
Unfortunately for workers, getting back to normal has a significant downside — one that goes beyond having lots more boxes to pack and deliver on one- and two-day deadlines. After increasing warehouse workers’ pay in recognition of the increased risks they faced by simply coming in to do their jobs — and routinely calling them “heroes” in public communications — Amazon said Wednesday that their $2 per hour hazard pay would go away in June. Jason del Rey broke the news at Recode:
Asked why the pay bump won’t continue into June, an Amazon spokesperson did not answer the question directly. “This appreciation and pay incentive enabled us to deliver essential items to communities during these unprecedented times,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We are grateful to associates supporting customers during a time of increased demand, and are returning to our regular pay and overtime wages at the end of the month.”
If the hazards that come with working in confined spaces are expected to disappear in June, it’s news to me. More than 130 workers are believed to have been infected in outbreaks at Amazon facilities to date — the company won’t disclose the actual number — and at least one has died. And local governments are planning for much longer periods of lockdown. Just yesterday, Los Angeles county said stay-at-home orders would likely continue through August, albeit with some restrictions lifted.
But if Amazon is eager to get back to normal, states attorney general are more skeptical. Here’s Chris Dolmetsch at Bloomberg:
Amazon.com is being asked by several U.S. states to provide information about health and safety measures following the death of a number of workers from coronavirus-related illnesses. Led by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, 13 states on Tuesday sent a letter to the company expressing concern about recent media reports of “inadequate safety measures and sick leave policies, insufficient data about infections and deaths among their workers, and retaliation against workers who call attention to unsafe workplace conditions.”
The prospect of a fight with states over labor issues comes in addition to similar questions the company has faced in France, where courts required it to close warehouses last month amid complaints the company had not done enough to protect workers. Questions like these don’t seem to be going away — even if they don’t seem to have slowed down Amazon very much so far.
Is there anything Amazon would like to change amid the pandemic? Well yes, actually: it would like to be exempt from lawsuits over price gouging. Here’s Chaim Gartenberg at The Verge:
Amazon has requested that Congress pass a law that would make price gouging illegal during times of national crisis, in light of inflated prices on crucial goods like hand sanitizer and N95 masks that have hounded the online retailer during the COVID-19 pandemic. In an open letter posted by Brian Huseman, Amazon’s VP of public policy, the company highlights its own ongoing efforts to try to crack down on price gouging. To date, Amazon says that it’s removed half a million price-gouged listings from its online stores and has banned 4,000 seller accounts on its US store alone for violating its Fair Pricing Policy. And as CEO Jeff Bezos noted in a letter to investors, Amazon has set up a special line of communication for state attorneys general to directly pass along price gouging complaints. [...] Unsurprisingly, Amazon’s proposed legislation would ensure that only the party that sets the price — like, say, a bad third-party Amazon retailer — be held liable for the inflated price, not the storefront (i.e. Amazon) that hosts that seller and facilitates the sale.
An emerging theme of this newsletter during the pandemic is that at the same time tech companies are legitimately working to hold society together, they’re simultaneously finding new opportunities to entrench their power — and unwind the criticisms that they have grown too large and must be broken up.
Amazon is the least worried about optics of any big tech company, and in all its big, clumsy moves over the past week, you can see exactly how it believes all of this is going to play out: with Amazon on top and its workers resigned to taking what they can get. And if it succeeds, the new normal will look a lot like the old one.
The Ratio
Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms.
🔽 Trending down: TikTok is full of dangerous coronavirus conspiracy theories despite the company’s pledge to curb misinformation on the platform. Some of the videos have racked up hundreds of thousands of views. (EJ Dickson / Rolling Stone)
Virus tracker
Total cases in the US: More than 1,379,300
Total deaths in the US: At least 82,400
Reported cases in California: 71,171
Total test results (positive and negative) in California: 1,033,370
Reported cases in New York: 343,705
Total test results (positive and negative) in New York: 1,225,113
Reported cases in New Jersey: 140,743
Total test results (positive and negative) in New Jersey: 433,060
Reported cases in Illinois: 83,168
Total test results (positive and negative) in Illinois: 471,691
Governing
⭐Social media is already filling up with misinformation about a COVID-19 vaccine, months or years before one even exists. This is the beginning of a long conflict to come. Kevin Roose at The New York Times tells us why this is so dangerous:
I’ve been following the anti-vaccine community on and off for years, watching its members operate in private Facebook groups and Instagram accounts, and have found that they are much more organized and strategic than many of their critics believe. They are savvy media manipulators, effective communicators and experienced at exploiting the weaknesses of social media platforms. (Just one example: Shortly after Facebook and YouTube began taking down copies of “Plandemic” for violating their rules, I saw people in anti-vaccine groups editing it in subtle ways to evade the platforms’ automated enforcement software and reposting it.) In short, the anti-vaxxers have been practicing for this. And I’m worried that they will be unusually effective in sowing doubts about a Covid-19 vaccine for several reasons.
The Trump campaign is embracing Snapchat in an effort to reach younger voters. While the app’s clout in political conversation is small, millennial and Gen-Z voters make up 35 percent of the US electorate, and Snapchat reaches 75 percent of them every day. (Sarah Frier / Bloomberg)
The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are blaming hackers linked with the Chinese government for attempting to steal US research into a coronavirus vaccine. The news is an escalation of the ongoing fight between the two counties over the coronavirus crisis. (Sean Lyngaas / CyberScoop)
Washington already has a team of nearly 1,400 trained contact-tracers who are beginning to contact each new person who tests positive for the novel coronavirus. It’s part of the state’s three-pronged approach to locking down the virus: broad-based testing, isolation and contact tracing. And it’s good to see more states investing in this essential job. (David Gutman / The Seattle Times)
India’s contact-tracing app, called Aarogya Setu, has reached 100 million users just 41 days after its release. The numbers indicate the app is quickly gaining traction despite being dogged by privacy concerns. (Manish Singh / TechCrunch)
But a hacker broke down India’s contact tracing app to make it less invasive. “I didn’t like the fact that installing this app is slowly becoming mandatory in India,” he said. (Pranav Dixit / BuzzFeed)
Democratic lawmakers wrote a letter to the Treasury Department calling for a ban on any mergers by companies that received pandemic relief. For weeks, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) have been pushing for a general moratorium on mergers until the crisis ends. (Makena Kelly / The Verge)
Democratic lawmakers proposed a new law to make it illegal for telecom providers to end internet or phone service during the COVID-19 pandemic. Separately, House Democrats also unveiled a $3 trillion relief package that includes at least $4 billion for an “emergency broadband connectivity fund.” (Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica)
President Trump is turning Elon Musk into a crony capitalist. Staying in the president’s good graces is crucial to Musk’s success, this piece argues. (Russell Brandom / The Verge)
France voted to force social media platforms to take down child exploitation and terrorism-related content within the hour or face a fine of up to 4 percent of their global revenue. For other “manifestly illicit” content, companies like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat will have 24 hours to remove it. (Reuters)
The coronavirus pandemic proves we need a “superfund” to clean up misinformation on the internet, argues this expert. Can we treat the web as a toxic waste site? (Lisa Macpherson / Public Knowledge)
Industry
⭐ Google significantly rolled back its diversity and inclusion programs in an apparent effort to avoid being perceived as anti-conservative, according to current and former employees. The news comes days after Google settled with James Damore, the former Google engineer who sued over allegedly discriminating against conservative white men. Here’s April Glaser at NBC:
One well-liked diversity training program at Google called Sojourn, a comprehensive racial justice program created for employees to learn about implicit bias and how to navigate conversations about race and inequality, was cut entirely, according to seven former and current employees. Sojourn offered its last training to Google workers in 2018, four current employees said, and by 2019 it was cut completely. Seven current and former employees from across a range of teams and roles at the company said separately that they all believed the reason behind cutting Sojourn and taking employees off diversity projects to move them elsewhere at Google was to shield the company from backlash from conservatives.
Apple is going to start having more employees return to its major global offices. The move stands in sharp contrast to other big tech companies that are expending work home home policies. (Mark Gurman / Bloomberg)
We finally have numbers to back up the wild view counts we’ve seen in live-streaming since the COVID-19 pandemic began — and they’re huge. The sector grew a full 45 percent between March and April. Year over year, the industry is up by 99 percent. (Bijan Stephen / The Verge)
Uber rolled out a series of new health policies to adapt its ride-hailing and delivery businesses to a world changed by COVID-19. Only three passengers will be allowed in a vehicle at one time, and drivers will be required to take selfies to prove they are wearing masks. (Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge)
Facebook is rolling out its customizable avatars in the US after first launching them internationally last year. Like Bitmoji or Apple’s Memoji, avatars offer a way to express yourself through a virtual lookalike (though no one actually looks like their avatar). (Chris Welch / The Verge)
Twitter acquired the mobile ad company CrossInstall for an undisclosed amount. The news comes as the ad market continues to decline due to economic hardships associated with the coronavirus pandemic. (Allison Schiff / AdExchanger)
Twitter is making it easier to see quote tweets on iOS. The new feature organizes all of the retweets with comments into a handy list. (Jay Peters / The Verge)
People who’ve lost family members to the QAnon conspiracy theory are turning to Reddit to commiserate with other survivors. The convoluted theory alleges President Trump is leading a secret fight to take down the deep state and its hordes of pedophiles. (Mike Rothschild / Daily Dot)
YouTube creator James Charles is teaching wannabe influencers how to film believable apology videos — a staple of YouTube culture. (Julia Alexander / The Verge)
Clubhouse, a new invite-only audio-based social app that venture capitalists and celebrities have flocked to in recent weeks, is fielding multiple investment offers. The company behind the app, Alpha Exploration, already raised at least $1 million in seed funding in February. (Kate Clark, Alex Heath and Zoë Bernard / The Information)
This is why Zoom is so exhausting. (Christina Cauterucci / Slate)
Things to do
Stuff to occupy you online during the quarantine.
The only thing I can think about doing today is going to this restaurant.
But I also highly recommend Jerry Saltz’s beautiful and humane essay about food, art, and love — over the course of this singular life, and during quarantine.
Those good tweets
Talk to us


theverge--2020-05-14--Sony’s first AI image sensor will make cameras everywhere smarter

Sony has announced the world ’ s first image sensor with integrated AI smarts .
The new IMX500 sensor incorporates both processing power and memory , allowing it to perform machine learning-powered computer vision tasks without extra hardware .
The result , says Sony , will be faster , cheaper , and more secure AI cameras .
Over the past few years , devices ranging from smartphones to surveillance cameras have benefited from the integration of AI .
Machine learning can be used to not only improve the quality of the pictures we take , but also understand video like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ objects in frame .
The applications of this technology are huge ( and sometimes worrying ) , enabling everything from self-driving cars to automated surveillance .
But many applications rely on sending images and videos to the cloud to be analyzed .
This can be a slow and insecure journey , exposing data to hackers .
In other scenarios , manufacturers have to install specialized processing cores on devices to handle the extra computational demand , as with new high-end phones from Apple , Google , and Huawei .
But Sony says its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ solution than either of these approaches .
“ There are some other ways to implement these solutions , ” Sony vice president of business and innovation Mark Hanson told The Verge , referencing edge computing , which use dedicated AI chips not attached directly to the image sensor .
“ But I do not believe they will be anywhere close to as cost effective as us shipping image sensors in the billions.
” The IMX500 is destined for commercial clients , not consumer hardware Sony ’ s huge presence in the image processing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clients at a huge scale .
Hanson notes that the company has more than 60 percent market share , and shipped about 1.6 billion sensors last year , including for all three cameras in Apple ’ s iPhone 11 Pro .
This first-generation AI image sensor , though , is unlikely to end up in consumer devices like smartphones and tablets , at least to begin with .
Instead , Sony will be targeting retailers and industrial clients , with Hanson referencing Amazon ’ s cashierless Go stores as a potential application .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the retailer uses scores of AI-enabled cameras to track shoppers and charge them for objects they grab from the shelves .
“ They put hundreds of cameras , and they ’ re running petabytes of data , on a daily basis through a small convenience score , ” says Hanson .
Reports suggest that the resulting hardware costs have slowed the roll-out of these stores .
“ But if we can miniaturize that capability and put it on the backside of a chip we can do all sorts of interesting things.
” In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ benefits .
If the AI chip is stuck directly onto the back of the image sensor then object detection can be done on-device .
Instead of sending off data to be analyzed , either to the cloud or a nearby processor , the image sensor itself performs whatever AI analysis is necessary and simply produces the metadata instead .
So , if you want to create a smart camera that detects whether or not someone is wearing a mask ( a very real concern right now ) then an IMX500 image sensor can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allows the camera to send off quick “ yes ” or “ no ” pings .
“ Now we ’ ve eliminated what would normally be a 60 frames per second , 4K video stream to just that one ‘ hey , I recognize this object , ’ ” says Hanson .
“ That can reduce data traffic [ and ] it also helps things like privacy.
” Another big application is industrial automation , where image sensors are needed to help so-called co-bots — robots designed to work in close proximity to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Here the main advantage of an integrated AI image sensor is speed .
If a co-bot detects a human where they shouldn ’ t be and needs to come to a quick stop , then processing that information as quickly as possible is paramount .
Sony says the IMX500 is much faster for these sorts of tasks than many other AI cameras , with the ability to apply a standard image recognition algorithm ( MobileNet V1 ) to a single video frame in just 3.1 milliseconds .
By comparison , says Hanson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those made by the Intel-owned Movidius ( which are used in Google ’ s Clips camera and DJI ’ s Phantom 4 drone ) can take hundreds of milliseconds — even seconds — to process .
The big bottleneck , though , is the ability of the IMX500 to handle more complex analytical tasks .
Right now , says Hanson , the image sensor can only work with pretty “ basic ” algorithms .
That means that more sophisticated and varied tasks , like driving an autonomous car , will certainly require dedicated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Instead , think of the IMX500 as a simple , single-application device .
But this is only the first generation , and the technology will undoubtedly improve in future .
Right now , cameras are smarter because they send their data to computers .
In the future , the camera itself will be the computer , and all the smarter for it .
Test samples of the IMX500 have already started shipping to early customers with prices starting at ¥10,000 ( $ 93 ) .
Sony expects the first products using the image @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 2021 .

Sony has announced the world’s first image sensor with integrated AI smarts. The new IMX500 sensor incorporates both processing power and memory, allowing it to perform machine learning-powered computer vision tasks without extra hardware. The result, says Sony, will be faster, cheaper, and more secure AI cameras.
Over the past few years, devices ranging from smartphones to surveillance cameras have benefited from the integration of AI. Machine learning can be used to not only improve the quality of the pictures we take, but also understand video like a human would; identifying people and objects in frame. The applications of this technology are huge (and sometimes worrying), enabling everything from self-driving cars to automated surveillance.
But many applications rely on sending images and videos to the cloud to be analyzed. This can be a slow and insecure journey, exposing data to hackers. In other scenarios, manufacturers have to install specialized processing cores on devices to handle the extra computational demand, as with new high-end phones from Apple, Google, and Huawei.
From left to right: the IMX500 as a bare chip and IMX501 as a package product. Sony Electronics Inc.
But Sony says its new image sensor offers a more streamlined solution than either of these approaches.
“There are some other ways to implement these solutions,” Sony vice president of business and innovation Mark Hanson told The Verge, referencing edge computing, which use dedicated AI chips not attached directly to the image sensor. “But I do not believe they will be anywhere close to as cost effective as us shipping image sensors in the billions.”
The IMX500 is destined for commercial clients, not consumer hardware
Sony’s huge presence in the image processing market will certainly push this technology to clients at a huge scale. Hanson notes that the company has more than 60 percent market share, and shipped about 1.6 billion sensors last year. Among Sony’s customers is Apple, which uses the company’s sensors in its iPhone line.
This first-generation AI image sensor, though, is unlikely to end up in consumer devices like smartphones and tablets, at least to begin with. Instead, Sony will be targeting retailers and industrial clients, which are beginning to use computer vision technology more widely.
Hanson references Amazon’s cashierless Go stores as an example of this. In Amazon’s Go stores, the retailer uses scores of AI-enabled cameras to track shoppers and charge them for objects they grab from the shelves. “They put hundreds of cameras, and they’re running petabytes of data, on a daily basis through a small convenience score,” says Hanson. “But if we can miniaturize that capability and put it on the backside of a chip we can do all sorts of interesting things.”
Reports suggest that the resulting hardware costs have slowed the roll-out of Amazon’s stores, though Sony’s IMX500 sensors would not yet be capable of processing the large data-loads needed for this sort of functionality. Instead, they could perform simpler tasks, like mapping the flow of customers around any given store.
Many applications of AI computer vision, like Amazon Go, require lots of expensive cameras. Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images
In addition to cost savings there are privacy benefits. If the AI chip is stuck directly onto the back of the image sensor then object detection can be done on-device. Instead of sending off data to be analyzed, either to the cloud or a nearby processor, the image sensor itself performs whatever AI analysis is necessary and simply produces the metadata instead.
Benefits include greater privacy and faster processing speeds
So, if you want to create a smart camera that detects whether or not someone is wearing a mask (a very real concern right now) then an IMX500 image sensor can be loaded with the relevant algorithm which allows the camera to send off quick “yes” or “no” pings.
“Now we’ve eliminated what would normally be a 60 frames per second, 4K video stream to just that one ‘hey, I recognize this object,’” says Hanson. “That can reduce data traffic [and] it also helps things like privacy.”
Another big application is industrial automation, where image sensors are needed to help so-called co-bots — robots designed to work in close proximity to humans — from bashing their flesh-and-blood colleagues. Here the main advantage of an integrated AI image sensor is speed. If a co-bot detects a human where they shouldn’t be and needs to come to a quick stop, then processing that information as quickly as possible is paramount.
AI cameras are also useful for keeping robots designed to work alongside humans safe. Photo by Julian Stratenschulte/picture alliance via Getty Images
Sony says the IMX500 is much faster for these sorts of tasks than many other AI cameras, with the ability to apply a standard image recognition algorithm (MobileNet V1) to a single video frame in just 3.1 milliseconds. By comparison, says Hanson, competitors’ chips, such as those made by the Intel-owned Movidius (which are used in Google’s Clips camera and DJI’s Phantom 4 drone) can take hundreds of milliseconds — even seconds — to process.
The big bottleneck, though, is the ability of the IMX500 to handle more complex analytical tasks. Right now, says Hanson, the image sensor can only work with pretty “basic” algorithms. That means that more sophisticated and varied tasks, like driving an autonomous car, will certainly require dedicated AI hardware for the foreseeable future. Instead, think of the IMX500 as a simple, single-application device.
But this is only the first generation, and the technology will undoubtedly improve in future. Right now, cameras are smarter because they send their data to computers. In the future, the camera itself will be the computer, and all the smarter for it.
Test samples of the IMX500 have already started shipping to early customers with prices starting at ¥10,000 ($93). Sony expects the first products using the image sensor to arrive in the first quarter of 2021.


theverge--2020-05-14--Spotify’s offering first-time premium users three months free until June 30th

Spotify is offering two new deals , starting today , to bring more people over to its premium subscription service .
New users can get three free months if they sign up from today through June 30th , and the deal applies to any premium plans including family , student , and individual .
Meanwhile , people who once were individual premium members , but canceled their plan before April 14th , can sign up again for $ 9.99 for three months , bringing the cost of a subscription to a little over $ 3.00 per month .
People can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ offers seemingly suggest Spotify is trying to ensure it ’ ll keep making subscription revenue while the COVID-19 pandemic continues .
Its overall revenue partially comes from advertising , which is an area that ’ s been particularly hard hit across industries because of the global economic downturn .
The company said in its most recent earnings report that its ad-supported revenues fell short of its forecast , and it lowered its revenue guidance for the year as a result .
The fact that the company points to April 14th as the date @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their premium subscription also might suggest it ’ s hoping to recoup lost money because of the pandemic .
Spotify said in its earnings report that although the number of users canceling their accounts was down overall , one in six people who canceled in the US cited COVID-19 as a reason , adding that a majority plan to renew their accounts once their economic situation improves .
People have been tightening their budgets as world unemployment rates soar .
The company offering a cheaper subscription , along with more features for premium @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to sign back up .

Spotify is offering two new deals, starting today, to bring more people over to its premium subscription service. New users can get three free months if they sign up from today through June 30th, and the deal applies to any premium plans including family, student, and individual. Meanwhile, people who once were individual premium members, but canceled their plan before April 14th, can sign up again for $9.99 for three months, bringing the cost of a subscription to a little over $3.00 per month. People can access both deals from spotify.com/premium.
The offers seemingly suggest Spotify is trying to ensure it’ll keep making subscription revenue while the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Its overall revenue partially comes from advertising, which is an area that’s been particularly hard hit across industries because of the global economic downturn. The company said in its most recent earnings report that its ad-supported revenues fell short of its forecast, and it lowered its revenue guidance for the year as a result.


theverge--2020-05-14--Samsung and Xiaomi’s midrange phones dominate Android bestsellers list in Q1 2020

People are increasingly buying midrange Android devices over their more premium alternatives , data from research firms suggests .
Strategy Analytics reports that Samsung ’ s midrange Galaxy A51 was the bestselling Android phone in the first three months of the year , followed by Xiaomi ’ s Redmi 8 .
The Galaxy S20 Plus was the only flagship phone in the firm ’ s top-six ranking , where it came in third .
“ As mobile operators have reduced subsidies in recent years , and many countries are now tumbling into post-virus recession , smartphone consumers globally are becoming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Director Juha Winter explains , “ Consumers want value-for-money devices with good-enough specs at affordable prices .
Android is entering a post-premium era.
” Recent research from Canalys paints a similar picture , although the two disagree slightly on which specific midrange Android phone sold the most , potentially due to the different ways they ’ ve counted their handsets .
Canalys counts the Redmi Note 8 & 8T as a single device ( which they essentially are , barring the 8T ’ s support for NFC ) , and places it in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
However , they both agree that among Android phones , midrange models are dominating .
“ Consumers want value-for-money devices with good-enough specs at affordable prices ” It ’ s not an entirely new trend .
Previous reports said that the bestselling Android phones of 2019 were also cheaper Galaxy A-series and Xiaomi Redmi models .
But Winter ’ s comments suggest that the trend towards cheaper Android phones has continued into this year , and is accelerating as a result of post-virus economies .
Apple appears to be the exception to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 11 as the bestselling phone of the first quarter of the year , with the iPhone 11 Pro Max and Pro taking the sixth and tenth spots respectively .
But now that Apple has made a serious effort to re-enter a more affordable price category with the new iPhone SE , next quarter ’ s data could show the price-sensitive trend spreading to iOS .

People are increasingly buying midrange Android devices over their more premium alternatives, data from research firms suggests. Strategy Analytics reports that Samsung’s midrange Galaxy A51 was the bestselling Android phone in the first three months of the year, followed by Xiaomi’s Redmi 8. The Galaxy S20 Plus was the only flagship phone in the firm’s top-six ranking, where it came in third.
“As mobile operators have reduced subsidies in recent years, and many countries are now tumbling into post-virus recession, smartphone consumers globally are becoming increasingly price-sensitive,” Strategy Analytics Associate Director Juha Winter explains, “Consumers want value-for-money devices with good-enough specs at affordable prices. Android is entering a post-premium era.”
Strategy Analytics’ list of the top-six bestselling Android smartphones includes just one premium model. Source: Strategy Analytics
Recent research from Canalys paints a similar picture, although the two disagree slightly on which specific midrange Android phone sold the most, potentially due to the different ways they’ve counted their handsets. Canalys counts the Redmi Note 8 & 8T as a single device (which they essentially are, barring the 8T’s support for NFC), and places it in first, ahead of the Galaxy A51. However, they both agree that among Android phones, midrange models are dominating.
“Consumers want value-for-money devices with good-enough specs at affordable prices”
It’s not an entirely new trend. Previous reports said that the bestselling Android phones of 2019 were also cheaper Galaxy A-series and Xiaomi Redmi models. But Winter’s comments suggest that the trend towards cheaper Android phones has continued into this year, and is accelerating as a result of post-virus economies.