theverge--2020-03-25--Living a Google-free life with a Huawei phone

Tomorrow Huawei will launch its latest flagship phones , the P40 series , at an event to be streamed online .
There won ’ t be any people in the audience , of course , but even if there were , the atmosphere would be pretty weird .
That ’ s because it ’ s impossible to separate Huawei ’ s consumer products from the political onslaught it ’ s faced in the past couple of years .
Whether you believe that Huawei is a threat to national security in the West or not , the knock-on effects to its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ barred from doing business with Huawei , meaning the Chinese giant is unable to obtain an Android license .
And that means that until further notice , any new Huawei phone has to ship without Google apps and services .
You don ’ t have to be the most hardcore Google fan in the world to see how this is likely a dealbreaker for most people .
Heck , you don ’ t even have to be an Android user .
Google ’ s services are so widespread and pervasive that if you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them on a regular basis , it ’ s probably because you ’ re actively avoiding them .
And Huawei is charging very high prices for high-end smartphones that , at least officially , can not run them at all .
Partly out of personal curiosity and partly to put the P40 launch into better context , I decided to pick up Huawei ’ s most recent flagship phone , the Mate 30 Pro , and see if I could live with it for a while .
( Huawei declined to provide a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Mate 30 Pro is the company ’ s highest-end phone right now , running the same in-house Kirin 990 processor that will undoubtedly be in the P40 .
What ’ s it like inside Huawei ’ s walls today ?
This isn ’ t really the point of this story , but the first thing I will say about the Mate 30 Pro is that it is absolutely stunning .
Honestly , I don ’ t think there was a better looking phone released last year .
In photos , you might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ write it off , but in person the phone looks bold , balanced , and futuristic .
The aggressively curved “ waterfall ” display is as striking as it was on the Vivo Nex 3 , and I haven ’ t had any problem with accidental touch input .
The back panel of the phone is gorgeous , transitioning from a rough matte finish at the bottom to a glossier feel at the top , with an even shinier ring circling the camera modules .
And that camera setup is as good as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ phone , with excellent low-light capabilities , a 3x telephoto , and a unique 40-megapixel ultrawide .
Huawei ’ s integration of hardware and software is on another level to most other Android phone makers .
Other than Google , very few are offering a comparable 3D face-unlock system , and Huawei is doing it with a smaller notch than the iPhone — let alone the Pixel 4 ’ s giant forehead .
The Mate 30 Pro also has a neat solution to the lack of space for volume buttons afforded by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ edge of the phone and a slider pops up along the side .
I think I prefer Vivo ’ s capacitive virtual rocker , since it ’ s easier to use without looking at the screen , but Huawei ’ s approach works well enough too .
Overall , I would say that if hypothetically there were ever an incredible piece of smartphone hardware that you might be willing to deal with a little software inconvenience for , the Huawei Mate 30 Pro would have as good a case as anything else on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just say you ’ d really , really , have to want it .
The Mate 30 Pro , and presumably the forthcoming P40 phones , use EMUI 10 , which is based on Android 10 .
I have never been much of a fan of EMUI even when it had Google apps and services to back it up ; of all the many extensive efforts Chinese phone makers have taken to turn Android into iOS , Huawei ’ s has often been among the most burdensome .
The latest version , though @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the vestiges of iOS cloning remain in certain elements like the over-designed share sheet , EMUI 10 is simple and clean and mostly gets out of your way .
A smartphone UI isn ’ t much use without apps , of course , and here is where Huawei hits its first hurdle .
Huawei has its own store called AppGallery , which it claims is the third largest in the world based on its more than 400 million monthly active users .
The vast majority of those users will be in China , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Store has never been included alongside AppGallery .
If you buy a Mate 30 Pro now anywhere in the world , though , AppGallery is what you get out of the box .
To be blunt , it is not great .
I wouldn ’ t call it barren — there is support from major US companies like Microsoft , Amazon , and Snap .
You can ’ t get Chrome , of course , but Opera is there if you want something with desktop sync .
But a huge amount of its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other big Western names like Facebook , Slack , Netflix , and Twitter missing , which puts the Mate 30 Pro in a more precarious app situation than even the diciest days of Windows Phone .
Huawei has announced a $ 1 billion plan to help stock AppGallery ’ s shelves , but it has its work cut out .
That said , AppGallery isn ’ t the only native way to get apps .
Huawei offers a tool called Phone Clone as part of the Mate 30 Pro ’ s setup process @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neat .
You ’ ll need to download Phone Clone from the Play Store on another Android phone with the apps you want to send over ; then , the two phones pair and establish a fast local Wi-Fi connection .
You can ’ t transfer core Google apps this way , but most other third-party software should work fine .
In a matter of minutes , I had almost everything I was missing from AppGallery .
My Japanese dictionary , NBA League Pass , Twitter , Pokémon Go , Instagram , Apple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things that I use on my phone basically every day , and all things that I ’ d need to have access to on any phone I ’ d ever seriously consider buying .
It even sent over a few random Google apps like YouTube Music and Lens .
Phone Clone is the difference between the Mate 30 Pro being completely unusable and a somewhat viable option .
But it ’ s not a panacea .
For one thing , it ’ s obviously impractical to expect most people to keep around another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then transfer them whenever they need something new .
You won ’ t get regular updates this way , either .
Phone Clone also doesn ’ t solve the lack of Google services .
You can bookmark Google search in a browser , of course , and Huawei ’ s built-in email app works with Gmail accounts , but good luck working in Docs or doing anything across the ecosystem .
In my personal situation , I wouldn ’ t be able to use this as a day-to-day work phone because our company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s a subtler problem , though , which is that not every app will work properly even if you ’ re able to install it .
This is because what Huawei is actually banned from using is Google Mobile Services ( GMS ) , the suite of software and APIs licensed by other Android OEMs .
It ’ s not just the apps themselves , but often the cloud services that power them .
For example , Uber uses GMS to determine your location and for its mapping data .
Some other apps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or less normally but pop up an error message on boot saying Google Play services are required .
The ubiquity of GMS is a big reason why alternative app stores have trouble taking off on Android phones , at least outside China .
Since Android phone manufacturers have little choice but to license Google services because of the popularity of Google apps , third-party developers can use Google ’ s extensive tools to build their software safe in the knowledge it ’ ll be supported by virtually every Android phone .
Take Amazon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ example .
Despite Amazon ’ s giant stature and the popularity of its Kindle tablets — the Fire phone , not so much — many developers have held off from adding their apps to the store .
Even though Amazon hardware runs a forked version of Android that should theoretically run almost any Play Store app natively , anyone who built their app with GMS would have to find or develop alternative back-end services to get it to run on a device without Google licensing .
( Incidentally , the Amazon Appstore is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It isn ’ t as well-stocked as the Play Store , but it ’ s still a better option than AppGallery for Western audiences — you can at least get things like Facebook and Twitter without resorting to Phone Clone , and the apps will receive updates . )
Perhaps the starkest indicator of the problems facing Huawei in this regard is mapping .
The Mate 30 Pro straight-up does not ship with a maps app that anyone outside China would be able to use .
The best options in AppGallery , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are both Russian-developed : there ’ s Yandex Maps , which conveniently seems to stop its coverage right at the boundary of my neighborhood , and the functional but pretty limited Maps.me , which is based on OpenStreetMap .
I tried to use Yahoo Japan ’ s excellent Japanese map app through Phone Clone , but its reliance on GMS makes it completely unusable .
It ’ s not impossible for advanced users to sideload GMS onto the Mate 30 Pro and install the Play Store .
That is something that Huawei actually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shipped , though any mention of the option has since been removed from the company ’ s website and Google itself has taken steps to stop the practice .
It wouldn ’ t be something I could recommend anyone attempt as a serious option , in any case , since there are security risks involved and you can ’ t rely on updates .
The lack of the Play Store on the Mate 30 Pro isn ’ t necessarily as bad as it sounds , but it should suffice to say that until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t buy a Huawei phone if you need Google services .
Huawei is working on plugging the GMS gap .
The company is building out its own software platform and tools for developers , collectively called Huawei Mobile Services , and it ’ s announced a partnership with TomTom to produce its own mapping app , which can ’ t come soon enough .
The question , as with every platform that has attempted to take on Google in the past decade-plus , is whether developers will consider it worth their time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ store .
And if nobody is buying Huawei phones , the answer will probably be no .
The situation is unfortunate for Huawei , to say the least .
The Mate 30 Pro would be one of the best phones I ’ d ever used if the software was there to back it up , but as it is , it ’ s impossible to recommend for use outside of China .
It ’ s hard to imagine anyone ’ s phone hardware ever getting so mind-blowingly good that I ’ d consider @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without a proper maps app .
That ’ s what to watch for when the P40 series gets revealed tomorrow .
My experience with the Mate 30 Pro leaves me in no doubt that Huawei ’ s next phones will be technically impressive , and I ’ m sure the company will spend a lot of time demonstrating as much .
But if Huawei can ’ t convince people outside China that it ’ s been able to improve the software situation , the P40 phones might as well not exist .

Tomorrow Huawei will launch its latest flagship phones, the P40 series, at an event to be streamed online. There won’t be any people in the audience, of course, but even if there were, the atmosphere would be pretty weird. That’s because it’s impossible to separate Huawei’s consumer products from the political onslaught it’s faced in the past couple of years.
Whether you believe that Huawei is a threat to national security in the West or not, the knock-on effects to its phone business are real. Google is barred from doing business with Huawei, meaning the Chinese giant is unable to obtain an Android license. And that means that until further notice, any new Huawei phone has to ship without Google apps and services.
You don’t have to be the most hardcore Google fan in the world to see how this is likely a dealbreaker for most people. Heck, you don’t even have to be an Android user. Google’s services are so widespread and pervasive that if you really don’t use any of them on a regular basis, it’s probably because you’re actively avoiding them. And Huawei is charging very high prices for high-end smartphones that, at least officially, cannot run them at all.
Partly out of personal curiosity and partly to put the P40 launch into better context, I decided to pick up Huawei’s most recent flagship phone, the Mate 30 Pro, and see if I could live with it for a while. (Huawei declined to provide a review unit upon its release.) The Mate 30 Pro is the company’s highest-end phone right now, running the same in-house Kirin 990 processor that will undoubtedly be in the P40. What’s it like inside Huawei’s walls today?
The Huawei Mate 30 Pro.
This isn’t really the point of this story, but the first thing I will say about the Mate 30 Pro is that it is absolutely stunning. Honestly, I don’t think there was a better looking phone released last year. In photos, you might look at the notch and chin and write it off, but in person the phone looks bold, balanced, and futuristic.
The aggressively curved “waterfall” display is as striking as it was on the Vivo Nex 3, and I haven’t had any problem with accidental touch input. The back panel of the phone is gorgeous, transitioning from a rough matte finish at the bottom to a glossier feel at the top, with an even shinier ring circling the camera modules. And that camera setup is as good as any you’ll find in a phone, with excellent low-light capabilities, a 3x telephoto, and a unique 40-megapixel ultrawide.
Huawei’s integration of hardware and software is on another level to most other Android phone makers. Other than Google, very few are offering a comparable 3D face-unlock system, and Huawei is doing it with a smaller notch than the iPhone — let alone the Pixel 4’s giant forehead. The Mate 30 Pro also has a neat solution to the lack of space for volume buttons afforded by the waterfall display: you just double-tap the edge of the phone and a slider pops up along the side. I think I prefer Vivo’s capacitive virtual rocker, since it’s easier to use without looking at the screen, but Huawei’s approach works well enough too.
Overall, I would say that if hypothetically there were ever an incredible piece of smartphone hardware that you might be willing to deal with a little software inconvenience for, the Huawei Mate 30 Pro would have as good a case as anything else on the planet. But let’s just say you’d really, really, have to want it.
The Mate 30 Pro’s “waterfall” screen.
The Mate 30 Pro, and presumably the forthcoming P40 phones, use EMUI 10, which is based on Android 10. I have never been much of a fan of EMUI even when it had Google apps and services to back it up; of all the many extensive efforts Chinese phone makers have taken to turn Android into iOS, Huawei’s has often been among the most burdensome. The latest version, though, is actually pretty nice. While the vestiges of iOS cloning remain in certain elements like the over-designed share sheet, EMUI 10 is simple and clean and mostly gets out of your way.
A smartphone UI isn’t much use without apps, of course, and here is where Huawei hits its first hurdle. Huawei has its own store called AppGallery, which it claims is the third largest in the world based on its more than 400 million monthly active users. The vast majority of those users will be in China, of course, where the Google Play Store has never been included alongside AppGallery. If you buy a Mate 30 Pro now anywhere in the world, though, AppGallery is what you get out of the box.
AppGallery is missing Facebook, Netflix, and Twitter
To be blunt, it is not great. I wouldn’t call it barren — there is support from major US companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Snap. You can’t get Chrome, of course, but Opera is there if you want something with desktop sync. But a huge amount of its content is aimed at China, with other big Western names like Facebook, Slack, Netflix, and Twitter missing, which puts the Mate 30 Pro in a more precarious app situation than even the diciest days of Windows Phone. Huawei has announced a $1 billion plan to help stock AppGallery’s shelves, but it has its work cut out.
That said, AppGallery isn’t the only native way to get apps. Huawei offers a tool called Phone Clone as part of the Mate 30 Pro’s setup process, and it’s kind of neat. You’ll need to download Phone Clone from the Play Store on another Android phone with the apps you want to send over; then, the two phones pair and establish a fast local Wi-Fi connection. You can’t transfer core Google apps this way, but most other third-party software should work fine.
In a matter of minutes, I had almost everything I was missing from AppGallery. My Japanese dictionary, NBA League Pass, Twitter, Pokémon Go, Instagram, Apple Music, The Athletic, Slack… all things that I use on my phone basically every day, and all things that I’d need to have access to on any phone I’d ever seriously consider buying. It even sent over a few random Google apps like YouTube Music and Lens. Phone Clone is the difference between the Mate 30 Pro being completely unusable and a somewhat viable option.
But it’s not a panacea. For one thing, it’s obviously impractical to expect most people to keep around another phone to download Play Store apps and then transfer them whenever they need something new. You won’t get regular updates this way, either. Phone Clone also doesn’t solve the lack of Google services. You can bookmark Google search in a browser, of course, and Huawei’s built-in email app works with Gmail accounts, but good luck working in Docs or doing anything across the ecosystem. In my personal situation, I wouldn’t be able to use this as a day-to-day work phone because our company operates on G Suite.
Huawei’s AppGallery store.
There’s a subtler problem, though, which is that not every app will work properly even if you’re able to install it. This is because what Huawei is actually banned from using is Google Mobile Services (GMS), the suite of software and APIs licensed by other Android OEMs. It’s not just the apps themselves, but often the cloud services that power them. For example, Uber uses GMS to determine your location and for its mapping data. Some other apps, like The Guardian, work more or less normally but pop up an error message on boot saying Google Play services are required.
The ubiquity of GMS is a big reason why alternative app stores have trouble taking off on Android phones, at least outside China. Since Android phone manufacturers have little choice but to license Google services because of the popularity of Google apps, third-party developers can use Google’s extensive tools to build their software safe in the knowledge it’ll be supported by virtually every Android phone.
Take Amazon’s Appstore for Android, for example. Despite Amazon’s giant stature and the popularity of its Kindle tablets — the Fire phone, not so much — many developers have held off from adding their apps to the store. Even though Amazon hardware runs a forked version of Android that should theoretically run almost any Play Store app natively, anyone who built their app with GMS would have to find or develop alternative back-end services to get it to run on a device without Google licensing. (Incidentally, the Amazon Appstore is worth installing on the Mate 30 Pro. It isn’t as well-stocked as the Play Store, but it’s still a better option than AppGallery for Western audiences — you can at least get things like Facebook and Twitter without resorting to Phone Clone, and the apps will receive updates.)
Perhaps the starkest indicator of the problems facing Huawei in this regard is mapping. The Mate 30 Pro straight-up does not ship with a maps app that anyone outside China would be able to use. The best options in AppGallery, as far as I can tell, are both Russian-developed: there’s Yandex Maps, which conveniently seems to stop its coverage right at the boundary of my neighborhood, and the functional but pretty limited Maps.me, which is based on OpenStreetMap. I tried to use Yahoo Japan’s excellent Japanese map app through Phone Clone, but its reliance on GMS makes it completely unusable.
It’s not impossible for advanced users to sideload GMS onto the Mate 30 Pro and install the Play Store. That is something that Huawei actually pointed to itself when the phone first shipped, though any mention of the option has since been removed from the company’s website and Google itself has taken steps to stop the practice. It wouldn’t be something I could recommend anyone attempt as a serious option, in any case, since there are security risks involved and you can’t rely on updates. The lack of the Play Store on the Mate 30 Pro isn’t necessarily as bad as it sounds, but it should suffice to say that until the situation changes, you really shouldn’t buy a Huawei phone if you need Google services.
Huawei is working on plugging the GMS gap. The company is building out its own software platform and tools for developers, collectively called Huawei Mobile Services, and it’s announced a partnership with TomTom to produce its own mapping app, which can’t come soon enough. The question, as with every platform that has attempted to take on Google in the past decade-plus, is whether developers will consider it worth their time to adapt their work for the new store. And if nobody is buying Huawei phones, the answer will probably be no.
Huawei’s Phone Clone app transfer system.
The situation is unfortunate for Huawei, to say the least. The Mate 30 Pro would be one of the best phones I’d ever used if the software was there to back it up, but as it is, it’s impossible to recommend for use outside of China. It’s hard to imagine anyone’s phone hardware ever getting so mind-blowingly good that I’d consider spending north of $1,000 for something without a proper maps app.


theverge--2020-03-25--Never buy hardware today based on a promise of software tomorrow

The headline on this story — never buy hardware today based on a promise of software tomorrow — doesn ’ t really apply to the new iPad Pro , which I reviewed yesterday .
But I ’ ve been thinking about it ever since I hit the publish button .
The phrase is a mantra we repeat over and over here at The Verge when there ’ s a promise that a future software update will fix a bug on a device we ’ re reviewing .
It ’ s the default advice we give out when such a promise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years of experience with these things .
These “ bugfixes and improvements ” rarely eliminate the original problem entirely , but sometimes you get surprised .
We ’ re about to find out if Samsung can buck that trend with the focus hunting issues on the Galaxy S20 Ultra , which is getting an update globally right now .
Unfortunately , I haven ’ t found definitive evidence it does , but signs seem to look good based on some early user reports .
Even more unfortunately , I have to admit that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at my office where I absolutely can ’ t get it — so I may not be able to test the update myself for some time .
Anyway , the advice is on my mind after reviewing the iPad Pro even though — again — it only really tangentially relates .
It ’ s because so much of the iPad is about its potential , which for years was always just one update away .
First it was waiting for better multitasking , then a better web browser and USB device support , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see if that Magic Keyboard with its trackpad can unlock more capabilities on this thing .
I unfortunately haven ’ t had a chance to try out the new Magic Keyboard yet , though I did do some trackpad testing .
Stay tuned for more on the trackpad next week — or just go on and try it yourself , as iOS and iPadOS 13.4 are out now with mouse and keyboard support for iPads , iCloud Drive folder sharing , and more .
I ’ d love to hear your thoughts on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The standout new hardware feature this year , LIDAR , simply doesn ’ t have direct support from AR apps to justify itself yet .
It makes you wonder if the next flagship iPhone will have LIDAR too .
Its inclusion on the iPad Pro seems like a signal that Apple thinks truly good AR requires LIDAR , as Nilay Patel pointed out in the Vergecast last week .
Despite some recent travails with Catalyst apps on the Mac , Apple is generally really good at getting developers on board with its new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ level of faith that those LIDAR-enhanced AR apps will come .
( Disclosure : my wife works for Oculus , which works on VR . )
There are fun things to do in AR today , but in the popular imagination it ’ s definitely one of the many “ in five years it ’ ll be huge ” technologies — alongside self-driving cars and robot butlers .
Perhaps the timeline to widespread AR is considerably shorter , but it ’ s certainly not imminent .
I think Apple deserves more credit than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on its products .
Usually , it has a reputation for being more conservative than other companies — it was late to 3G and wireless charging .
But just as often , Apple risks unproven tech on important products .
Not all of them pan out , of course ( looking at you MacBook keyboard and Touch Bar ) , but just as often they do : truly wireless headphones were kind of meh before the AirPods , consumers didn ’ t rise up and reject headphone jack-less phones , and even the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When it was first introduced , there was no guarantee that it could turn into what it ’ s become today .
Sometimes Apple ’ s bets are about pushing the entire market forward , intentionally seeding ideas that aren ’ t quite ready now in order to force the future it believes should come .
That ’ s absolutely the story with USB originally and with the Great Port Cull on phones and laptops over the past few years .
I think it ’ s likely a similar story with LIDAR and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ LIDAR and the idea of pervasive AR that people access by holding up big tablets will become bets that pan out or not .
Unlike some of Apple ’ s other bets , though , the only hassle the LIDAR causes is the size of the camera bump and the cost of the part .
Which means that while I don ’ t think Apple ’ s big AR push is a reason for anybody to go buy the new iPad Pro ( unless you ’ re an AR developer , I guess @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think it ’ s a reason to avoid it .
So : buy the iPad Pro for the screen , the speed , the microphones , or because you really do think it can replace your laptop .
Those are all good reasons .
Just don ’ t buy it for the LIDAR — never buy hardware today based on a promise of software tomorrow .
┏ The Redmi K30 Pro is Xiaomi ’ s new price-performance champion .
If you wanted proof that what you ’ re paying for on a Galaxy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the K30 Pro makes a very solid case for that .
┏ Wyze ’ s new Band wearable and smart scale are available today .
Both of these seem much nicer than I would have guessed — though of course we ’ ll need to try them out directly to say for sure .
I still think it ’ s a little odd to get these categories of devices from Wyze , but maybe you don ’ t .
┏ Impossible CEO says it can make a meat ‘ unlike anything that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I love this idea .
Trying to make something that mimics beef means you ’ ll get judged by that standard — and there are some very good burgers out there , you know ?
But if the company can just lean into the strengths of its plants and not try to aim to mimic something , that could turn into something really special .
┏ Spotify is revoking support for all third-party DJ apps .
You know , Spotify , not every company needs to make every single product .
Sometimes being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ party apps lets you become this little thing that people call a “ platform , ” and it helps you become the standard .
Just a thought !
┏ Apple updates Safari ’ s anti-tracking tech with full third-party cookie blocking .
Far ahead of Chrome , and honestly , much less breaks than you might expect .
┏ Firefox is launching a new test pilot with Scroll to pay web publishers .
The Verge is part of the Scroll network .
I still have some reservations about how much data Scroll is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s necessary , given how the web works ) — but the CEO promises that options for deleting and anonymizing are on the way .
I ’ m a subscriber , for what it ’ s worth .
And it may be self-serving to point this out , but paying directly for journalism is likely to become more important in the coming months as the ad market contracts .
┏ Europe turns off instruments on some of its deep-space probes during coronavirus pandemic .
You can ’ t get much further away @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it still has a big effect .
┏ The true impact of SpaceX ’ s Starlink constellation on astronomy is coming into focus .
Loren Grush gets deep into all the issues , but I found this part in particular particularly alarming : Two trends to keep an eye on .
The first is continued reduction in bandwidth usage for video to help balance the internet ’ s overall load .
The second sort of runs counter to that : more ways to be social with video or chat while consuming content .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ quality to standard definition for the next month .
I don ’ t know how much it will help , but I think I ’ m going to just let this default stand rather than manually switch it up to the higher resolution , just in case it ’ s a help to my neighbors .
┏ Sony will slow down PlayStation downloads in Europe , but says multiplayer will remain ‘ robust ’ .
┏ Instagram will let you browse posts with friends over video chat to promote social distancing .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to use Netflix Party to stream movies with your friends .
┏ How Half-Life : Alyx ’ s designers built an escapist dystopia with a spot of hope .
There are a lot of contradictions in this game , and especially in this moment — Adi Robertson gracefully navigates them in this piece .

The headline on this story — never buy hardware today based on a promise of software tomorrow — doesn’t really apply to the new iPad Pro, which I reviewed yesterday. But I’ve been thinking about it ever since I hit the publish button.
The phrase is a mantra we repeat over and over here at The Verge when there’s a promise that a future software update will fix a bug on a device we’re reviewing. It’s the default advice we give out when such a promise has been made, borne out of years of experience with these things.
These “bugfixes and improvements” rarely eliminate the original problem entirely, but sometimes you get surprised. We’re about to find out if Samsung can buck that trend with the focus hunting issues on the Galaxy S20 Ultra, which is getting an update globally right now.
You are reading Processor, a newsletter about computers, software, and tech by Dieter Bohn. Dieter writes about consumer tech, software, and the most important tech news of the day from The Verge. You can read an archive of Processor newsletters here and subscribe to all of The Verge’s great videos here! Subscribe
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Unfortunately, I haven’t found definitive evidence it does, but signs seem to look good based on some early user reports. Even more unfortunately, I have to admit that my review unit is locked up tight at my office where I absolutely can’t get it — so I may not be able to test the update myself for some time.
Anyway, the advice is on my mind after reviewing the iPad Pro even though — again — it only really tangentially relates. It’s because so much of the iPad is about its potential, which for years was always just one update away. First it was waiting for better multitasking, then a better web browser and USB device support, and now we’re waiting to see if that Magic Keyboard with its trackpad can unlock more capabilities on this thing.
I unfortunately haven’t had a chance to try out the new Magic Keyboard yet, though I did do some trackpad testing. Stay tuned for more on the trackpad next week — or just go on and try it yourself, as iOS and iPadOS 13.4 are out now with mouse and keyboard support for iPads, iCloud Drive folder sharing, and more. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it, shoot me an email.
The standout new hardware feature this year, LIDAR, simply doesn’t have direct support from AR apps to justify itself yet. It makes you wonder if the next flagship iPhone will have LIDAR too. Its inclusion on the iPad Pro seems like a signal that Apple thinks truly good AR requires LIDAR, as Nilay Patel pointed out in the Vergecast last week.
Despite some recent travails with Catalyst apps on the Mac, Apple is generally really good at getting developers on board with its new capabilities, so I have a high level of faith that those LIDAR-enhanced AR apps will come. (Disclosure: my wife works for Oculus, which works on VR.)
There are fun things to do in AR today, but in the popular imagination it’s definitely one of the many “in five years it’ll be huge” technologies — alongside self-driving cars and robot butlers. Perhaps the timeline to widespread AR is considerably shorter, but it’s certainly not imminent.
I think Apple deserves more credit than it usually gets for taking big bets on its products. Usually, it has a reputation for being more conservative than other companies — it was late to 3G and wireless charging. But just as often, Apple risks unproven tech on important products.
Not all of them pan out, of course (looking at you MacBook keyboard and Touch Bar), but just as often they do: truly wireless headphones were kind of meh before the AirPods, consumers didn’t rise up and reject headphone jack-less phones, and even the iPad Pro itself was a risk. When it was first introduced, there was no guarantee that it could turn into what it’s become today.
Sometimes Apple’s bets are about pushing the entire market forward, intentionally seeding ideas that aren’t quite ready now in order to force the future it believes should come. That’s absolutely the story with USB originally and with the Great Port Cull on phones and laptops over the past few years. I think it’s likely a similar story with LIDAR and AR.
I have no idea if LIDAR and the idea of pervasive AR that people access by holding up big tablets will become bets that pan out or not. Unlike some of Apple’s other bets, though, the only hassle the LIDAR causes is the size of the camera bump and the cost of the part.
Which means that while I don’t think Apple’s big AR push is a reason for anybody to go buy the new iPad Pro (unless you’re an AR developer, I guess), I also don’t think it’s a reason to avoid it.
So: buy the iPad Pro for the screen, the speed, the microphones, or because you really do think it can replace your laptop. Those are all good reasons. Just don’t buy it for the LIDAR — never buy hardware today based on a promise of software tomorrow.
Verge Deal of the day Apple’s AirPods Pro are $30 off at Amazon Normally $250, the Apple AirPods Pro wireless earbuds are down to $220 at Amazon. Compared to the standard AirPods, these feature better sound quality and noise cancellation. We’ve seen these drop a bit lower in price before, but that’s a pretty rare occurrence. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy . Prices displayed are based on the MSRP at time of posting.
Product news
┏ The Redmi K30 Pro is Xiaomi’s new price-performance champion. If you wanted proof that what you’re paying for on a Galaxy S20 flagship isn’t the specs, the K30 Pro makes a very solid case for that.
┏ Wyze’s new Band wearable and smart scale are available today. Both of these seem much nicer than I would have guessed — though of course we’ll need to try them out directly to say for sure. I still think it’s a little odd to get these categories of devices from Wyze, but maybe you don’t.
┏ Impossible CEO says it can make a meat ‘unlike anything that you’ve had before’. I love this idea. Trying to make something that mimics beef means you’ll get judged by that standard — and there are some very good burgers out there, you know? But if the company can just lean into the strengths of its plants and not try to aim to mimic something, that could turn into something really special.
┏ Spotify is revoking support for all third-party DJ apps. You know, Spotify, not every company needs to make every single product. Sometimes being the base for an ecosystem of third party apps lets you become this little thing that people call a “platform,” and it helps you become the standard. Just a thought!
Web news
┏ Apple updates Safari’s anti-tracking tech with full third-party cookie blocking. Far ahead of Chrome, and honestly, much less breaks than you might expect.
┏ Firefox is launching a new test pilot with Scroll to pay web publishers. The Verge is part of the Scroll network. I still have some reservations about how much data Scroll is collecting (though I understand why it’s necessary, given how the web works) — but the CEO promises that options for deleting and anonymizing are on the way. I’m a subscriber, for what it’s worth.
And it may be self-serving to point this out, but paying directly for journalism is likely to become more important in the coming months as the ad market contracts.
Space news
┏ Europe turns off instruments on some of its deep-space probes during coronavirus pandemic. You can’t get much further away from the coronavirus than this, yet it still has a big effect.
┏ The true impact of SpaceX’s Starlink constellation on astronomy is coming into focus. Loren Grush gets deep into all the issues, but I found this part in particular particularly alarming:
As for what that means for these astronomy fields, one obvious concern is that a potentially hazardous asteroid could go unnoticed until it’s too late to act appropriately. It’s also possible observers will have to take expensive countermeasures to get the kinds of images they want. “It may mean you have to observe twice as long, if you have to throw away half your data,” says McDowell. “So that’s expensive. Or you may need to make changes to your telescope design, to stop reflections from a satellite.”
Alone, together
Two trends to keep an eye on. The first is continued reduction in bandwidth usage for video to help balance the internet’s overall load. The second sort of runs counter to that: more ways to be social with video or chat while consuming content.
┏ YouTube is reducing its default video quality to standard definition for the next month. I don’t know how much it will help, but I think I’m going to just let this default stand rather than manually switch it up to the higher resolution, just in case it’s a help to my neighbors.
By default, videos will start playing in standard definition (480p) quality, according to Bloomberg. People who want to watch videos in high definition can still do so, but they must manually select that option.
┏ Instagram will let you browse posts with friends over video chat to promote social distancing. This is honestly very clever:
Part of this new effort includes a new feature Instagram is calling Co-Watching, which will let you browse posts with your friends over in-app video chat. The feature can be accessed by starting a video chat through the Instagram Direct messaging tab and tapping the photo icon in the bottom left of the video chat screen. It lets you look at saved, liked, and recommended posts together as a group.


theverge--2020-03-25--HyperX’s all-black Cloud Alpha S is an excellent minimalist gaming headset

HyperX has added a new color variant to its lineup of Cloud Alpha S gaming headsets .
It ’ s called “ blackout ” and , as you ’ d probably expect , every single detail around the headset is pure black .
A new color option usually isn ’ t too big of a deal , but the result here is a headset ideally suited for a minimalist , of which there aren ’ t many on the market .
It doesn ’ t really stand out at all , and that ’ s what makes it look so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ HyperX branding on the side of the ear cups and atop the textured headband .
But it ’ s subtle and almost undetectable in most lighting conditions .
Everything else , from the stitching on the headband to the braided cable and the side arms that hold the ear cups , is coated in a deep black color .
On top of these design adjustments , you ’ re getting the same great headset that HyperX released in late 2019 .
We missed our chance to review this model when it originally released @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opportunity to dive into it now that this new color option has come out .
It comes with two sets of replaceable ear pads : one set that ’ s plush with a leather-like coating for better noise isolation and another that ’ s more breathable but with hardly any noise isolation at all .
I opted for the breathable pads , but regardless , this is a comfortable headset to wear for hours on end .
I have a large head , and I ’ m always delighted when a product manages @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my dome .
The weight distribution is excellent , and no part of the headset feels like it ’ s resting too hard on my head or sitting awkwardly on my ears .
This headset is designed with a PC in mind .
The headset connects via USB and has clip-on inline controls that let you turn on the virtual 7.1 surround sound mode , mute the mic , and adjust the volume , as well as fine-tune the volume mix between voice chat and your game .
If you ’ d rather @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just tap the button with the controller icon a few times .
While these features only work with a PC , the headset attaches to its inline controls via a 3.5mm jack that you can easily detach and connect to , say , a PS4 or Xbox One controller .
If you sit close enough to your TV , this headset also works ( along with the virtual 7.1 surround sound feature ) with the full USB cable plugged into your Nintendo Switch dock .
The audio quality of the Cloud Alpha S @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of ear muffs that you opt to use and the kind of media you want to enjoy .
I found the performance to be punchy when I played games , and listening to music was delightful — something that I wasn ’ t expecting .
Whatever you use them for , there ’ s clear separation in the audio presentation , and the bass breathes naturally without stepping over the high frequencies that tend to get lost in many affordable headphones and gaming headsets .
It just sounds really clean .
And if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to your liking , you can modify it in each ear cup with a bass adjustment switch located around its back side .
Each notch in the switch only makes a subtle difference , so these aren ’ t a good match for you if you like relentless bass .
Regarding the virtual 7.1 surround sound option , I actually preferred to have it turned off while in-game .
These virtual implementations are usually hit or miss , and while some players may like it , I thought it made the audio sound @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still clearly hear enemy positions and other details with the option off .
Plus , it sounded more realistic and a little more bass-heavy .
The last HyperX headset I reviewed was the HyperX Cloud Flight S , a $ 160 wireless headset that packs in some similar hardware features , like the chat and game audio mix buttons and a detachable boom microphone .
Since it supported Qi charging , I remarked that for the price , it would have been nice to have a Qi charger included , along with more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in via 3.5mm .
There are far fewer compromises with the Cloud Alpha S , so long as you ’ re cool with the long wire that connects it to your PC .
It ’ s a better value overall , even if it ’ s still almost as expensive as the wireless Cloud Flight S. The sound performance is a few marks ahead and you can adjust the bass — a nice touch .
It is also the clear choice between the two if you want a headset that offers a little @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Vox Media has affiliate partnerships .
These do not influence editorial content , though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links .
For more information , see our

HyperX has added a new color variant to its lineup of Cloud Alpha S gaming headsets. It’s called “blackout” and, as you’d probably expect, every single detail around the headset is pure black. A new color option usually isn’t too big of a deal, but the result here is a headset ideally suited for a minimalist, of which there aren’t many on the market. It doesn’t really stand out at all, and that’s what makes it look so good.
The headphones still have the HyperX branding on the side of the ear cups and atop the textured headband. But it’s subtle and almost undetectable in most lighting conditions. Everything else, from the stitching on the headband to the braided cable and the side arms that hold the ear cups, is coated in a deep black color. On top of these design adjustments, you’re getting the same great headset that HyperX released in late 2019. We missed our chance to review this model when it originally released, so we’re seizing the opportunity to dive into it now that this new color option has come out.
8 Verge Score HyperX Cloud Alpha S $ 130 The Good Pleasant sound
Adjustable bass presence
Minimalist look
Swappable ear pads The Bad A little pricey
Virtual 7.1 surround sound isn’t great $130 at Amazon$130 at HyperX How we rate and review products
It comes with two sets of replaceable ear pads: one set that’s plush with a leather-like coating for better noise isolation and another that’s more breathable but with hardly any noise isolation at all. I opted for the breathable pads, but regardless, this is a comfortable headset to wear for hours on end.
I have a large head, and I’m always delighted when a product manages to avoid clamping down too hard around my dome. The weight distribution is excellent, and no part of the headset feels like it’s resting too hard on my head or sitting awkwardly on my ears.
This headset is designed with a PC in mind. The headset connects via USB and has clip-on inline controls that let you turn on the virtual 7.1 surround sound mode, mute the mic, and adjust the volume, as well as fine-tune the volume mix between voice chat and your game. If you’d rather have more game audio than chat, just tap the button with the controller icon a few times.
While these features only work with a PC, the headset attaches to its inline controls via a 3.5mm jack that you can easily detach and connect to, say, a PS4 or Xbox One controller. If you sit close enough to your TV, this headset also works (along with the virtual 7.1 surround sound feature) with the full USB cable plugged into your Nintendo Switch dock.
The audio quality of the Cloud Alpha S is impressive, regardless of the kinds of ear muffs that you opt to use and the kind of media you want to enjoy. I found the performance to be punchy when I played games, and listening to music was delightful — something that I wasn’t expecting.
Whatever you use them for, there’s clear separation in the audio presentation, and the bass breathes naturally without stepping over the high frequencies that tend to get lost in many affordable headphones and gaming headsets. It just sounds really clean. And if the amount of bass isn’t to your liking, you can modify it in each ear cup with a bass adjustment switch located around its back side. Each notch in the switch only makes a subtle difference, so these aren’t a good match for you if you like relentless bass.
Regarding the virtual 7.1 surround sound option, I actually preferred to have it turned off while in-game. These virtual implementations are usually hit or miss, and while some players may like it, I thought it made the audio sound a little too shrill. I could still clearly hear enemy positions and other details with the option off. Plus, it sounded more realistic and a little more bass-heavy.
The last HyperX headset I reviewed was the HyperX Cloud Flight S, a $160 wireless headset that packs in some similar hardware features, like the chat and game audio mix buttons and a detachable boom microphone. Since it supported Qi charging, I remarked that for the price, it would have been nice to have a Qi charger included, along with more features, like the ability to plug in via 3.5mm.
There are far fewer compromises with the Cloud Alpha S, so long as you’re cool with the long wire that connects it to your PC. It’s a better value overall, even if it’s still almost as expensive as the wireless Cloud Flight S. The sound performance is a few marks ahead and you can adjust the bass — a nice touch. It is also the clear choice between the two if you want a headset that offers a little versatility by way of its 3.5mm cable.
Photography by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge


theverge--2020-03-25--How location data could play a role in managing the coronavirus crisis

The Interface is a daily column and newsletter about the intersection of social media and democracy .
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Last week , as coronavirus marched around the world , a growing number of governments began to explore the use of our cellphone data to monitor the outbreak .
Using location data , Israel sent alerts to citizens believed to have been exposed to the virus ordering them to self-quarantine .
In England , authorities analyzed anonymized data from telecom provider O2 to determine the extent to which the populace had implemented social distancing .
And in the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health authorities for similar purposes .
In the days since , we ’ ve learned more about how location data has been deployed in the fight against COVID-19 .
Perhaps the most dramatic example to date is in Taiwan , where authorities have deployed an “ electronic fence ” around quarantined households — alerting police if citizens under quarantine leave the home or even turn off their phones .
Here ’ s Yimou Lee in Reuters : Among the system ’ s fans is Stratechery ’ s Ben Thompson , who notes that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of as dystopian surveillance measures , Taiwanese citizens currently enjoy more freedoms than many Americans : Of course , the fear is that by enabling such surveillance during a crisis , you will forever ratchet down the amount of liberty Americans enjoy during normal times .
Natasha Singer and Choe Sang-Hun explored this possibility in the New York Times in a piece on how different countries are using location data : And yet in the moment , I suspect many Americans would take emergency responsive directives from Cuomo over those from the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for isolated Americans to return to work by Easter and continued today to make misleading comparisons between COVID-19 and the much less dangerous seasonal flu .
Increasingly , calls for diminished civil liberties to confront the crisis are coming from unexpected places .
Maciej Cegłowski , the developer behind bookmarking site Pinboard and , in his own words , “ a privacy activist who has been riding a variety of high horses about the dangers of permanent , ubiquitous data collection since 2012 , ” is one that caught my attention .
Ceglowski @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pointed critic of Big Tech data collection .
( In one of my favorite of his pieces , he compares the long-term storage of user data favored by technology companies to toxic waste . )
In a new piece on Monday , he argued for an Israeli-style alert system that uses mobile location data to enable contact tracing and order those likely exposed to COVID-19 to self-quarantine .
Ceglowski writes : He adds that this system might be better conceived as a public-private partnership , and argues that any such use of our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I continue to believe that living in a surveillance society is incompatible in the long term with liberty , ” Ceglowski writes .
“ But a prerequisite of liberty is physical safety .
If temporarily conscripting surveillance capitalism as a public health measure offers us a way out of this crisis , then we should take it , and make full use of it.
” In the meantime , surveillance capitalism continues to do its thing .
In the Washington Post , Geoffrey Fowler rounds up a variety of existing corporate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Something called Unacast , for example , has posted a “ social distancing scoreboard ” that awards states and counties letter grades based on the amount by which citizens have decreased their travel compared to normal levels .
This is not , strictly speaking , what social distancing means — you don ’ t have to travel far to get within 6 feet of someone and infect them — but it ’ s ... something .
Anyway , how did they get this data ?
Fowler writes : Honestly , most of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to them .
The real technology we need to solve the crisis is the kind you find in scaled-up testing , personal protective equipment , and ventilators .
And any technology solutions have to be accompanied by strong leadership from the federal government — the kind that has been in terrifyingly short supply lately .
Still , I ’ m increasingly persuaded that location data could be part of a solution to emerge from the pandemic .
I will be interested to see whether , in the weeks to follow , the tech @ @ @ @ @ @ @ news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms .
⬆Trending up : Twitter is donating $ 1 million to journalism nonprofits to support newsrooms covering the novel coronavirus .
This is great to see .
⬇ Trending down : Senior Chinese government officials are spreading disinformation about the origins of the novel coronavirus on Twitter .
The company said the comments don ’ t violate its terms of service , which gives wide latitude to statements from government officials .
India ’ s government has ordered its more than 1.3 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three weeks in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus .
No one will be allowed to leave their homes to socialize or work , except those doing essential services .
( Pranav Dixit and Nishita Jha / BuzzFeed ) India launched a WhatsApp chatbot to help spread awareness about the novel coronavirus .
Now , Indian citizens can text a bot — called MyGov Corona Helpdesk — to get instant answers to their coronavirus questions .
( Manish Singh / TechCrunch ) More people are using Facebook products to connect with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But the crisis is diminishing the company ’ s core revenue driver : advertising .
( Issie Lapowsky / Protocol ) It ’ s time to finally buy a Facebook Portal , argues the most vocal fan of the Facebook Portal .
The gadget — which has sparked understandable privacy concerns — can make a lot of sense during a quarantine .
( Katie Notopoulos / BuzzFeed ) Coronavirus has revived Facebook as a news powerhouse .
More than half of all news consumption on Facebook in the United States is about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to other websites also increased by more than 50 percent last week from the week before .
( At Nieman Lab , Joshua Benton argues that Facebook is just riding the same surge of coronavirus interest that every other media company is . )
( Kevin Roose and Gabriel J.X .
Dance / The New York Times ) Instagram launched a new feature called Co-Watching to let you browse posts with your friends over in-app video chat .
The feature is meant to help promote social distancing .
( Nick Statt / The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ performed in a Facebook Live concert Monday night that drew so many fans it crashed the site multiple times .
The country couple drew 3.4 million viewers .
( Marianne Garvey / CNN ) Apple is expecting to start re-opening its retail stores in the first half of April .
This might be too optimistic ?
Elsewhere , the company has extended remote work abilities for many employees through at least April 5th .
( Mark Gurman / Bloomberg ) Amazon is prioritizing Prime members as it struggles to meet customer demand .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ could see longer delays .
Seems like the sort of thing Amazon ought to address in a regular briefing about its service , no ?
( Jay Greene / The Washington Post ) Instacart is looking to hire 300,000 more workers to meet rising demand for grocery deliveries as millions of people are urged to stay home to limit the spread of coronavirus ( Sara Ashley O ’ Brien / CNN ) Twitter is withdrawing its revenue and operating income guidance for the first quarter of 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be down slightly on a year-over-year basis .
I expect we ’ ll see a lot more of these advisories in the coming weeks .
Hackers have taken over a wave of Twitter accounts to aggressively advertise a website that claims to be selling face masks and toilet paper during the coronavirus pandemic .
( Joseph Cox / Vice ) On behalf of researchers at Carnegie Mellon , Google started surveying people about whether or not they have flu-like symptoms .
Researchers are using the information to help forecast the spread of coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) Google struck a deal with Kenya to use its Loon balloons to broadcast high-speed internet to the country from the sky .
( Bloomberg Law ) YouTube announced it will reduce streaming quality for users around the world .
The decision comes just one week after the company announced it was reducing streaming quality for users in Europe to help lessen broadband strain as more people stay home to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus .
( Julia Alexander / The Verge ) Sony will slow down PlayStation game downloads @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speeds .
The change won ’ t materially affect multiplayer games , Sony said .
( Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge ) Snapchat ’ s location-sharing app , Zenly , is turning shelter-in-place mandates during the COVID-19 outbreak into a game .
The app launched a Stay At Home challenge that shows a leaderboard of which friends have spent the most time in their homes over the last three days .
Love it .
( Josh Constine / TechCrunch ) Hundreds of e-commerce sites are popping up to sell virus-fighting products .
Over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ registered nearly 500 sites with names including “ corona ” or “ covid.
” Many are being shut down for making exaggerated claims .
( Michael H. Keller and Taylor Lorenz / The New York Times ) Medium — an open blogging platform — is rolling out new content guidelines to cope with COVID-19 .
These include giving the company license to take down posts which could potentially put readers ’ health at risk .
Good !
( Medium ) VidCon , an annual gathering of social media influencers and content creators , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US due to the ongoing spread of the coronavirus .
The show was scheduled for June 17th through the 20th in Anaheim , California .
( Ashley Carman / The Verge ) Information from the CDC .
California data from the Los Angeles Times .
⭐Advocacy groups are calling on the Federal Communications Commission ( FCC ) to subsidize data plans for customers of Lifeline , a federal phone and internet service for low-income Americans .
They ’ re arguing that limited connectivity now poses a health risk .
Here are Issie Lapowsky @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at large US corporations sold a total of roughly $ 9.2 billion in shares of their own companies between the start of February and the end of last week .
The move allowed them to avoid potential losses due to the coronavirus pandemic .
Here ’ s Susan Pulliam , Coulter Jones and Andrea Fuller at The Wall Street Journal : Facebook is looking to buy a multibillion-dollar stake in Reliance Jio , whose cut-price mobile internet service has attracted 370 million Indians in just three years .
If it moves forward , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foothold in the Indian market .
( Anjli Raval , Tim Bradshaw and Benjamin Parkin / Financial Times ) Reddit rolled out a new post type called polls , which lets you ask questions and vote on pretty much anything .
Polls can offer up to six answers , be kept open for up to a week , and subreddit moderators can turn them off if desired .
( Jon Porter / The Verge ) Stuff to occupy you online during the quarantine .
Amazon is making dozens of kids ’ shows on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Daniel Tiger ’ s Neighborhood .
Browse this satirical list of Slack channels for quarantined families .
Look at all these famous places that don ’ t have any people in them right now .
Watch all episodes of Star Trek : Picard , which have been made free to everyone .
Watch every previous Wrestlemania for free on the WWE Network .
( My personal choice , even though I am a paid subscriber . )
Explore these free lesson plans for your kids in Minecraft .
“ Visit the International Space @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Capital , learn to code with a robot , explore marine biology and explore 3-D fractals , ” writes Mike Snider in USA Today .
Start a podcast with up to four other people using new features in Spotify ’ s Anchor app .
Send us tips , comments , questions , and your location data : casey @ theverge.com and zoe @ theverge.com .

Last week, as coronavirus marched around the world, a growing number of governments began to explore the use of our cellphone data to monitor the outbreak. Using location data, Israel sent alerts to citizens believed to have been exposed to the virus ordering them to self-quarantine. In England, authorities analyzed anonymized data from telecom provider O2 to determine the extent to which the populace had implemented social distancing. And in the United States, Google discussed sharing location data with health authorities for similar purposes.
In the days since, we’ve learned more about how location data has been deployed in the fight against COVID-19. Perhaps the most dramatic example to date is in Taiwan, where authorities have deployed an “electronic fence” around quarantined households — alerting police if citizens under quarantine leave the home or even turn off their phones. Here’s Yimou Lee in Reuters:
Jyan said authorities will contact or visit those who trigger an alert within 15 minutes. Officials also call twice a day to ensure people don’t avoid tracking by leaving their phones at home. Privacy concerns have limited the use of location data for anti-coronavirus efforts in countries such as the United States. But the system has drawn few complaints in Taiwan, which has reported only reported 108 cases of the virus, compared with more than 80,900 in neighboring China.
Among the system’s fans is Stratechery’s Ben Thompson, who notes that by implementing what Americans might typically think of as dystopian surveillance measures, Taiwanese citizens currently enjoy more freedoms than many Americans:
Life here is normal. Kids are in school, restaurants are open, the grocery stores are well-stocked. I would be lying if I didn’t admit that the rather shocking assertions of government authority and surveillance that make this possible, all of which I would have decried a few months ago, feels pretty liberating even as it is troubling. We need to talk about this!
Of course, the fear is that by enabling such surveillance during a crisis, you will forever ratchet down the amount of liberty Americans enjoy during normal times. Natasha Singer and Choe Sang-Hun explored this possibility in the New York Times in a piece on how different countries are using location data:
“We could so easily end up in a situation where we empower local, state or federal government to take measures in response to this pandemic that fundamentally change the scope of American civil rights,” said Albert Fox Cahn, the executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, a nonprofit organization in Manhattan. As an example, he pointed to a law enacted by New York State this month that gives Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo unlimited authority to rule by executive order during state crises like pandemics and hurricanes. The law allows him to issue emergency response directives that could overrule any local regulations.
And yet in the moment, I suspect many Americans would take emergency responsive directives from Cuomo over those from the president, who has (astonishingly) called for isolated Americans to return to work by Easter and continued today to make misleading comparisons between COVID-19 and the much less dangerous seasonal flu.
Increasingly, calls for diminished civil liberties to confront the crisis are coming from unexpected places. Maciej Cegłowski, the developer behind bookmarking site Pinboard and, in his own words, “a privacy activist who has been riding a variety of high horses about the dangers of permanent, ubiquitous data collection since 2012,” is one that caught my attention.
Ceglowski is a mordantly funny writer and a pointed critic of Big Tech data collection. (In one of my favorite of his pieces, he compares the long-term storage of user data favored by technology companies to toxic waste.) In a new piece on Monday, he argued for an Israeli-style alert system that uses mobile location data to enable contact tracing and order those likely exposed to COVID-19 to self-quarantine. Ceglowski writes:
Of course, all of this would come at an enormous cost to our privacy. This is usually the point in an essay where I’d break out the old Ben Franklin quote: “those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither.” But this proposal doesn’t require us to give up any liberty that we didn’t already sacrifice long ago, on the altar of convenience. The terrifying surveillance infrastructure this project requires exists and is maintained in good working order in the hands of private industry, where it is entirely unregulated and is currently being used to try to sell people skin cream. Why not use it to save lives?
He adds that this system might be better conceived as a public-private partnership, and argues that any such use of our data be limited to the current emergency. “I continue to believe that living in a surveillance society is incompatible in the long term with liberty,” Ceglowski writes. “But a prerequisite of liberty is physical safety. If temporarily conscripting surveillance capitalism as a public health measure offers us a way out of this crisis, then we should take it, and make full use of it.”
In the meantime, surveillance capitalism continues to do its thing. In the Washington Post, Geoffrey Fowler rounds up a variety of existing corporate efforts to quantify our social distancing routines. Something called Unacast, for example, has posted a “social distancing scoreboard” that awards states and counties letter grades based on the amount by which citizens have decreased their travel compared to normal levels. This is not, strictly speaking, what social distancing means — you don’t have to travel far to get within 6 feet of someone and infect them — but it’s ... something. Anyway, how did they get this data? Fowler writes:
Efforts to track public health during the coronavirus pandemic are a reminder of the many ways phones reveal our personal lives, both as individuals and in the aggregate. Unacast’s location data comes from games, shopping and utility apps that tens of millions of Americans have installed on their phones — information the company normally analyzes for retailers, real estate firms and marketers. It’s part of a shadowy world of location tracking that consumers often have little idea is going on.
Honestly, most of these corporate efforts have a grasping-at-straws feel to them. The real technology we need to solve the crisis is the kind you find in scaled-up testing, personal protective equipment, and ventilators. And any technology solutions have to be accompanied by strong leadership from the federal government — the kind that has been in terrifyingly short supply lately.
Still, I’m increasingly persuaded that location data could be part of a solution to emerge from the pandemic. I will be interested to see whether, in the weeks to follow, the tech giants come to agree.
The Ratio
Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms.
⬆Trending up: Twitter is donating $1 million to journalism nonprofits to support newsrooms covering the novel coronavirus. This is great to see.
⬇ Trending down: Senior Chinese government officials are spreading disinformation about the origins of the novel coronavirus on Twitter. The company said the comments don’t violate its terms of service, which gives wide latitude to statements from government officials.
Pandemic
India’s government has ordered its more than 1.3 billion citizens to remain on lockdown for three weeks in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus. No one will be allowed to leave their homes to socialize or work, except those doing essential services. (Pranav Dixit and Nishita Jha / BuzzFeed)
India launched a WhatsApp chatbot to help spread awareness about the novel coronavirus. Now, Indian citizens can text a bot — called MyGov Corona Helpdesk — to get instant answers to their coronavirus questions. (Manish Singh / TechCrunch)
More people are using Facebook products to connect with loved ones during the coronavirus pandemic. But the crisis is diminishing the company’s core revenue driver: advertising. (Issie Lapowsky / Protocol)
It’s time to finally buy a Facebook Portal, argues the most vocal fan of the Facebook Portal. The gadget — which has sparked understandable privacy concerns — can make a lot of sense during a quarantine. (Katie Notopoulos / BuzzFeed)
Coronavirus has revived Facebook as a news powerhouse. More than half of all news consumption on Facebook in the United States is about the novel coronavirus, and traffic from Facebook to other websites also increased by more than 50 percent last week from the week before. (At Nieman Lab, Joshua Benton argues that Facebook is just riding the same surge of coronavirus interest that every other media company is.) (Kevin Roose and Gabriel J.X. Dance / The New York Times)
Instagram launched a new feature called Co-Watching to let you browse posts with your friends over in-app video chat. The feature is meant to help promote social distancing. (Nick Statt / The Verge)
Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood performed in a Facebook Live concert Monday night that drew so many fans it crashed the site multiple times. The country couple drew 3.4 million viewers. (Marianne Garvey / CNN)
Apple is expecting to start re-opening its retail stores in the first half of April. This might be too optimistic? Elsewhere, the company has extended remote work abilities for many employees through at least April 5th. (Mark Gurman / Bloomberg)
Twitter is withdrawing its revenue and operating income guidance for the first quarter of 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19. The company expects Q1 revenue to be down slightly on a year-over-year basis. I expect we’ll see a lot more of these advisories in the coming weeks.
Hackers have taken over a wave of Twitter accounts to aggressively advertise a website that claims to be selling face masks and toilet paper during the coronavirus pandemic. (Joseph Cox / Vice)
On behalf of researchers at Carnegie Mellon, Google started surveying people about whether or not they have flu-like symptoms. Researchers are using the information to help forecast the spread of coronavirus infections. (Paresh Dave / Reuters)
YouTube announced it will reduce streaming quality for users around the world. The decision comes just one week after the company announced it was reducing streaming quality for users in Europe to help lessen broadband strain as more people stay home to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. (Julia Alexander / The Verge)
Sony will slow down PlayStation game downloads in Europe to help preserve overall internet speeds. The change won’t materially affect multiplayer games, Sony said. (Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge)
Snapchat’s location-sharing app, Zenly, is turning shelter-in-place mandates during the COVID-19 outbreak into a game. The app launched a Stay At Home challenge that shows a leaderboard of which friends have spent the most time in their homes over the last three days. Love it. (Josh Constine / TechCrunch)
Hundreds of e-commerce sites are popping up to sell virus-fighting products. Over the past two months, Shopify has registered nearly 500 sites with names including “corona” or “covid.” Many are being shut down for making exaggerated claims. (Michael H. Keller and Taylor Lorenz / The New York Times)
Medium — an open blogging platform — is rolling out new content guidelines to cope with COVID-19. These include giving the company license to take down posts which could potentially put readers’ health at risk. Good! (Medium)
VidCon, an annual gathering of social media influencers and content creators, has been canceled this year in the US due to the ongoing spread of the coronavirus. The show was scheduled for June 17th through the 20th in Anaheim, California. (Ashley Carman / The Verge)
Virus tracker
Total cases in the United States: 44,183
Total deaths in the United States: 544
Cases reported in California: 2,494*
Cases reported in Washington: 2,221
Cases reported in New York: 21,689
Governing
⭐Advocacy groups are calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to subsidize data plans for customers of Lifeline, a federal phone and internet service for low-income Americans. They’re arguing that limited connectivity now poses a health risk. Here are Issie Lapowsky and Andrea Peterson from Protocol:
“If you didn’t have internet, would you really stay in your house?” said Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. “I think most people, if they’re being honest, would not.” The FCC already took some action related to the Lifeline program last week, when it waived recertification requirements for people already enrolled in the program for 60 days. A long list of providers have, meanwhile, pledged that for a 60-day period, they will waive late fees and won’t terminate service to people and businesses that can’t pay their bills because of coronavirus-related disruptions. FCC chairman Ajit Pai recently told Protocol that more changes could be on the horizon and that he is already pushing the private sector to extend their low-income offerings.
Industry
⭐Executives at large US corporations sold a total of roughly $9.2 billion in shares of their own companies between the start of February and the end of last week. The move allowed them to avoid potential losses due to the coronavirus pandemic. Here’s Susan Pulliam, Coulter Jones and Andrea Fuller at The Wall Street Journal:
By far the largest executive seller was Amazon Chief Executive Jeffrey Bezos, who sold a total of $3.4 billion in Amazon shares in the first week of February, shortly before the stock market peaked, allowing him to avoid paper losses of roughly $317 million if he had held the stock through March 20, according to the Journal analysis. The sales represented roughly 3% of Mr. Bezos’s Amazon holdings, according to the most recently available regulatory filings. He sold almost as much stock during the first week in February as he sold during the previous 12 months.
Facebook is looking to buy a multibillion-dollar stake in Reliance Jio, whose cut-price mobile internet service has attracted 370 million Indians in just three years. If it moves forward, the deal would give Facebook a key foothold in the Indian market. (Anjli Raval, Tim Bradshaw and Benjamin Parkin / Financial Times)
Reddit rolled out a new post type called polls, which lets you ask questions and vote on pretty much anything. Polls can offer up to six answers, be kept open for up to a week, and subreddit moderators can turn them off if desired. (Jon Porter / The Verge)
Things to do
Stuff to occupy you online during the quarantine.
Watch every previous Wrestlemania for free on the WWE Network. (My personal choice, even though I am a paid subscriber.)
Explore these free lesson plans for your kids in Minecraft. “Visit the International Space Station, tour landmarks in the Nation’s Capital, learn to code with a robot, explore marine biology and explore 3-D fractals,” writes Mike Snider in USA Today.
Those good tweets
Talk to us


theverge--2020-03-25--Samsung’s S10 and Note 10 are getting updated with the S20’s best camera features

Samsung is bringing a host of the Galaxy S20 ’ s new camera and software features to last year ’ s Galaxy S10 and Note 10 lineups in a software update , the company announced today .
The new features include camera functionality like Single Take and Night Hyperlapse , as well as new gallery and sharing features .
Samsung didn ’ t provide an exact date for the update ’ s release , but said that it would be rolling out to select markets , including the US , “ in the coming weeks.
” We were particularly impressed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out on the Galaxy S20 Ultra .
The feature lets you hit the shutter button once and let the phone automatically capture a bunch of different camera effects at once .
Single Take might not produce the best quality photos , but you get a fun selection without too much effort .
There ’ s also Custom Filter , which automatically generates a photo filter from a pre-existing photograph , while a more advanced pro video mode gives you more granular control over your filming settings .
The forthcoming update will also include @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Night Hyperlapse mode , as its name suggests , is designed to offer better hyperlapse videos in low-light conditions .
The Galaxy S10 ’ s regular Night Mode will also see improvements as part of the update , to bring it more in line with the Galaxy S20 series .
When we reviewed the S20 Ultra we found that its low-light photography software couldn ’ t quite match the likes of Google ’ s Pixel 4 , but S10 users should still see an improvement compared to what they had before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of more general software updates .
The gallery app across the S10 and Note 10 lineups will get a new Clean View mode that groups together similar shots under one thumbnail to keep your photos looking more organized , and there ’ s also a new Quick Crop mode .
Quick Share and Music Share features are also coming to the older devices .
We complained that Samsung ’ s software is starting to feel a little bloated in our reviews of its 2020 devices , but in many cases you can customize @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The features will be a welcome addition for any existing or prospective owners of last year ’ s Samsung devices .
We generally liked the new features when we used them on the Galaxy S20 lineup , and now they ’ re available on older hardware that ’ s often available at a fraction of the cost of this year ’ s phones .

Samsung is bringing a host of the Galaxy S20’s new camera and software features to last year’s Galaxy S10 and Note 10 lineups in a software update, the company announced today. The new features include camera functionality like Single Take and Night Hyperlapse, as well as new gallery and sharing features. Samsung didn’t provide an exact date for the update’s release, but said that it would be rolling out to select markets, including the US, “in the coming weeks.”
We were particularly impressed with Single Take when we tried it out on the Galaxy S20 Ultra. The feature lets you hit the shutter button once and let the phone automatically capture a bunch of different camera effects at once. Single Take might not produce the best quality photos, but you get a fun selection without too much effort. There’s also Custom Filter, which automatically generates a photo filter from a pre-existing photograph, while a more advanced pro video mode gives you more granular control over your filming settings.
The gallery’s Clean View groups together similar shots under a single thumbnail to keep your photo collection looking neater. Image: Samsung
The forthcoming update will also include some low-light photography improvements. The S20’s Night Hyperlapse mode, as its name suggests, is designed to offer better hyperlapse videos in low-light conditions. The Galaxy S10’s regular Night Mode will also see improvements as part of the update, to bring it more in line with the Galaxy S20 series. When we reviewed the S20 Ultra we found that its low-light photography software couldn’t quite match the likes of Google’s Pixel 4, but S10 users should still see an improvement compared to what they had before.
Finally, there are a couple of more general software updates. The gallery app across the S10 and Note 10 lineups will get a new Clean View mode that groups together similar shots under one thumbnail to keep your photos looking more organized, and there’s also a new Quick Crop mode. Quick Share and Music Share features are also coming to the older devices. We complained that Samsung’s software is starting to feel a little bloated in our reviews of its 2020 devices, but in many cases you can customize the phones’ UI to your liking.


theverge--2020-03-25--Apple says customers must wait to pick up repairs locked inside its retail stores

Apple customers who didn ’ t pick up devices dropped off for repairs within two days of the company closing all of its retail stores will have to wait to pick them up until the stores reopen , an Apple spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider .
When Apple announced on March 14th that it would be closing all retail stores outside China due to the coronavirus pandemic , the company said customers had a two-day window to retrieve any repairs .
Apple tried to contact customers via phone and email to tell them they needed to pick up their devices @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t get retrieved in that window can ’ t be picked up until the stores reopen , the spokesperson told Business Insider .
Apple originally said it would reopen its stores on March 27th .
But on March 17th , just three days after the initial announcement , Apple decided it would keep all of its retail stores closed “ until further notice.
” The company has already reopened all 42 of its locations in China .
Apple hasn ’ t shared any additional information about when it might reopen the locations .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ comment .
Apple may begin reopening some stores in the first half of April , according to a memo written by Deirdre O ’ Brien , Apple ’ s head of HR and its retail stores , that was obtained by Bloomberg .

Apple customers who didn’t pick up devices dropped off for repairs within two days of the company closing all of its retail stores will have to wait to pick them up until the stores reopen, an Apple spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider.
When Apple announced on March 14th that it would be closing all retail stores outside China due to the coronavirus pandemic, the company said customers had a two-day window to retrieve any repairs. Apple tried to contact customers via phone and email to tell them they needed to pick up their devices, but any products that didn’t get retrieved in that window can’t be picked up until the stores reopen, the spokesperson told Business Insider.
Apple originally said it would reopen its stores on March 27th. But on March 17th, just three days after the initial announcement, Apple decided it would keep all of its retail stores closed “until further notice.” The company has already reopened all 42 of its locations in China.


theverge--2020-03-25--Twitter locks account encouraging coronavirus ‘chickenpox parties’

On Wednesday , Twitter briefly locked conservative site The Federalist ’ s account for suggesting people deliberately expose themselves to the novel coronavirus .
The Federalist promoted the medically unsound idea of “ medical ‘ chickenpox parties ’ ” to infect young , healthy people with the virus under controlled quarantine .
The tweet was removed for violating the social media platform ’ s policies , and a Twitter spokesperson tells The Verge that “ the account was temporarily locked for violating the Twitter Rules regarding COVID-19.
” Twitter bans coronavirus-related content that “ goes directly against guidance from authoritative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ information.
” That includes tweets promoting ineffective or counterproductive treatments , denying the effectiveness of measures like social distancing , or contradicting known public health facts .
The Federalist was tweeting an article where an Oregon physician urged readers to “ seriously consider a somewhat unconventional approach ” to the pandemic .
But “ unconventional ” is a bit of a euphemism .
The hospital system is overloaded even without deliberate infections , and unlike with chickenpox , we don ’ t know how long COVID-19 immunity lasts .
In other words , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a very bad idea .
The coronavirus pandemic has led to a global lockdown and thousands of deaths , as well as economic chaos .
America has the third-highest number of confirmed cases , after China and Italy .
Congress is attempting to mitigate the economic harm with a stimulus package .
President Donald Trump has chronically minimized the risk of coronavirus infection and made falsely rosy claims about new treatments and vaccines , recently alarming experts by suggesting social distancing restrictions end by Easter Sunday .
Other Republicans have either downplayed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should accept a heightened risk of death to let the country leave lockdown .
Social media platforms have to decide when these statements could have a negative effect on the larger pandemic response , sometimes drawing ire in the process .
“ Every day , we are removing coronavirus-related posts that violate our rules.
” Earlier this week , blogging platform Medium removed an article from technologist and former Mitt Romney campaign team member Aaron Ginn .
Ginn claimed that the COVID-19 response was being driven by “ hysteria ” or a “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Verge that Ginn ’ s essay violated rules against “ controversial , suspect , and extreme content , ” which cover distorted or pseudoscientific arguments that could have serious social repercussions .
“ Every day , we are removing coronavirus-related posts that violate our rules , ” the spokesperson said .
Twitter also slapped a warning on the article when it was later reposted elsewhere , telling readers who clicked the link that it was “ potentially harmful or associated with a violation of Twitter ’ s Terms of Service.
” Ginn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fit the stereotype of social media misinformation posts , which often incorporate alarmist exaggerations , blatantly made-up facts , or miracle cure scams .
But critics like University of Washington biology professor Carl Bergstrom cited logical leaps that painted a misleading — yet widely cited — portrait of the pandemic .
The Wall Street Journal ’ s editorial board , however , slammed Medium ’ s decision and urged platforms not to “ require conformity with the judgment of expert institutions , even as many of those institutions themselves woefully misjudged the situation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recently published guidance for COVID-19 hoaxes and misinformation , drawing a line around content that could “ contribute to imminent physical harm.
” That includes statements like saying that social distancing doesn ’ t work — something Facebook says it recently started taking down .
It doesn ’ t include more abstract claims like “ conspiracy theories about the origin of the virus , ” which aren ’ t considered immediately harmful , but can be de-ranked and flagged with a warning label , like other false information on the platform .

On Wednesday, Twitter briefly locked conservative site The Federalist’s account for suggesting people deliberately expose themselves to the novel coronavirus. The Federalist promoted the medically unsound idea of “medical ‘chickenpox parties’” to infect young, healthy people with the virus under controlled quarantine.
The tweet was removed for violating the social media platform’s policies, and a Twitter spokesperson tells The Verge that “the account was temporarily locked for violating the Twitter Rules regarding COVID-19.”
Twitter bans coronavirus-related content that “goes directly against guidance from authoritative sources of global and local public health information.” That includes tweets promoting ineffective or counterproductive treatments, denying the effectiveness of measures like social distancing, or contradicting known public health facts.
The Federalist was tweeting an article where an Oregon physician urged readers to “seriously consider a somewhat unconventional approach” to the pandemic. But “unconventional” is a bit of a euphemism. The hospital system is overloaded even without deliberate infections, and unlike with chickenpox, we don’t know how long COVID-19 immunity lasts. In other words, hosting a coronavirus “chickenpox party” is a very bad idea.
The new coronavirus is spreading through the US, and several states have made emergency declarations. The World Health Organization has declared it a pandemic. Here are the basics: Everything you need to know about the coronavirus
The coronavirus pandemic has led to a global lockdown and thousands of deaths, as well as economic chaos. America has the third-highest number of confirmed cases, after China and Italy. Congress is attempting to mitigate the economic harm with a stimulus package.
President Donald Trump has chronically minimized the risk of coronavirus infection and made falsely rosy claims about new treatments and vaccines, recently alarming experts by suggesting social distancing restrictions end by Easter Sunday. Other Republicans have either downplayed the threat or argued that some Americans should accept a heightened risk of death to let the country leave lockdown. Social media platforms have to decide when these statements could have a negative effect on the larger pandemic response, sometimes drawing ire in the process.
“Every day, we are removing coronavirus-related posts that violate our rules.”
Earlier this week, blogging platform Medium removed an article from technologist and former Mitt Romney campaign team member Aaron Ginn. Ginn claimed that the COVID-19 response was being driven by “hysteria” or a “mob-like fear.” A Medium spokesperson told The Verge that Ginn’s essay violated rules against “controversial, suspect, and extreme content,” which cover distorted or pseudoscientific arguments that could have serious social repercussions.
“Every day, we are removing coronavirus-related posts that violate our rules,” the spokesperson said.
Twitter also slapped a warning on the article when it was later reposted elsewhere, telling readers who clicked the link that it was “potentially harmful or associated with a violation of Twitter’s Terms of Service.”
Ginn’s Medium article didn’t fit the stereotype of social media misinformation posts, which often incorporate alarmist exaggerations, blatantly made-up facts, or miracle cure scams. But critics like University of Washington biology professor Carl Bergstrom cited logical leaps that painted a misleading — yet widely cited — portrait of the pandemic. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, however, slammed Medium’s decision and urged platforms not to “require conformity with the judgment of expert institutions, even as many of those institutions themselves woefully misjudged the situation months or weeks ago.”


theverge--2020-03-25--Qualcomm’s latest chips could make noise cancellation standard on new wireless earbuds

Qualcomm is announcing a pair of new Bluetooth chips designed for wireless earbuds , the Qualcomm QCC514x and QCC304x SoCs .
Both chipsets will support Qualcomm ’ s TrueWireless Mirroring technology for more reliable connections , along with integrated , dedicated hardware for Qualcomm ’ s hybrid active noise cancellation and onboard support for digital assistants .
Qualcomm ’ s TrueWireless Mirroring handles connections to a phone through a single earbud , which is then mirrored ( hence the name ) to the other earbud , which cuts down on the amount of synchronization needed ( in theory ) for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take out the primary earbud , the system is designed to transition the connection seamlessly over to the mirrored earbud , too .
The system also helps make sure that a pair of headphones shows up as a single connection to a phone , instead of “ two ” separate headphones .
The other major feature here is Qualcomm ’ s “ hybrid ANC , ” which promises integrated noise-cancellation technology — allowing for cheaper earbuds with active noise cancellation — while also enabling what the company describes as “ leak-through ” for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sounds similar to transparency modes on regular noise-canceling headphones .
Qualcomm also says that the new chips are more power efficient , promising better battery life ( even with noise-cancellation enabled ) .
The main difference between the more premium Qualcomm QCC514x and the entry-level Qualcomm QCC304x SoCs has to do with voice assistant integration : the QCC514x can offer always listening wake-word activation for voice assistants ( similar to Apple ’ s AirPods or Amazon ’ s Echo Buds ) .
The QCC304x , on the other hand , only offers push-button @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ll have to physically activate the listening mode , instead of having it hear a “ Hey , Google ” or “ Alexa ” command .
But by making features like voice assistants and ANC standard for even entry-level headphones , Qualcomm could be ushering in an era where all wireless earbuds offer these kinds of features , not just ultra-premium models like Apple ’ s AirPods Pro or Sony ’ s WF1000XM3 earbuds .
And that ’ s an exciting prospect .

Qualcomm is announcing a pair of new Bluetooth chips designed for wireless earbuds, the Qualcomm QCC514x and QCC304x SoCs. Both chipsets will support Qualcomm’s TrueWireless Mirroring technology for more reliable connections, along with integrated, dedicated hardware for Qualcomm’s hybrid active noise cancellation and onboard support for digital assistants.
Qualcomm’s TrueWireless Mirroring handles connections to a phone through a single earbud, which is then mirrored (hence the name) to the other earbud, which cuts down on the amount of synchronization needed (in theory) for a more reliable connection. If you take out the primary earbud, the system is designed to transition the connection seamlessly over to the mirrored earbud, too. The system also helps make sure that a pair of headphones shows up as a single connection to a phone, instead of “two” separate headphones.
ANC, voice assistant, and better connectivity
The other major feature here is Qualcomm’s “hybrid ANC,” which promises integrated noise-cancellation technology — allowing for cheaper earbuds with active noise cancellation — while also enabling what the company describes as “leak-through” for outside noise, in a feature that sounds similar to transparency modes on regular noise-canceling headphones. Qualcomm also says that the new chips are more power efficient, promising better battery life (even with noise-cancellation enabled).
The main difference between the more premium Qualcomm QCC514x and the entry-level Qualcomm QCC304x SoCs has to do with voice assistant integration: the QCC514x can offer always listening wake-word activation for voice assistants (similar to Apple’s AirPods or Amazon’s Echo Buds). The QCC304x, on the other hand, only offers push-button voice assistance — meaning that you’ll have to physically activate the listening mode, instead of having it hear a “Hey, Google” or “Alexa” command.