Technology

On Monday, President Trump issued a proclamation suspending a range of visa programs — including the guest worker visas, like the H-1B, commonly used by tech companies to attract overseas talent. The new restrictions apply primarily to new visa applicants or H1-B holders who are currently out of the country. A range of tech companies and industry groups have already pushed back against the proclamation, casting the order as a threat to the tech industry and US innovation more broadly. In a statement to The Verge, Google emphasized the contributions of immigrants to American public life, without directly addressing the new restrictions. “Immigrants have not only fueled technological breakthroughs and created new businesses and jobs but have also enriched American life,” said Google spokespe...

Rad Power Bikes, one of the top electric bike manufacturers in the US, is out with a new slimmed- and stripped-down city commuter called the RadMission Electric Metro Bike. This bike is no frills, with a single-speed drivetrain, a torquey 500W geared hub motor, and a battery that’s somehow smaller than Rad Power Bikes’ regular packs but just as powerful. But the real shocker is the price. The Seattle-based company, which is known for its value-based prices, is offering the RadMission at an introductory price of $999 — its cheapest model yet. That’s about $500 less than most of Rad Power Bikes’ lineup. (No word yet on what the regular, non-introductory price will be.) the real shocker is the price That will certainly help attract anyone emerging bleary-eyed from their coronavirus lockdown r...

One of the biggest upgrades coming to tvOS 14 is one that Apple didn’t mention during today’s WWDC presentation. Buried on the preview page for the update (coming this fall) is news that YouTube content will finally be able to be viewed in 4K starting with tvOS 14. Currently, YouTube’s app has a maximum resolution of 1080p on Apple’s 4K streaming box — even for UHD videos. That’s because Apple has so far refused to support the VP9 codec that’s the foundation of YouTube’s 4K library. The Verge has reached out to both YouTube and Apple for more details on what led to this change. The text on Apple’s website does specify that this applies to “the latest YouTube videos,” so it could be a change on YouTube’s side. The company might now be utilizing the AV1 codec as it has started doing on Andro...

Following in the footsteps of Trolls World Tour and Scoob!, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run will skip its theatrical release and head straight to video-on-demand marketplaces before landing on CBS All Access. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run was originally slated to hit theaters on August 7th, but is now delayed to 2021. The movie will premiere first on premium video-on-demand services (like Amazon, iTunes, and other marketplaces) for an undisclosed amount of time before it moves to CBS All Access. By the time it does move to CBS All Access, all prior seasons of SpongeBob SquarePants will also be available to stream, the company confirmed today. Earlier seasons of SpongeBob SquarePants are available for non-cable customers to watch via NickHits on Amazon — a separate Nickelode...

Apple plans to extend its Find My network for locating real-world devices to third-party companies, the iPhone maker announced this afternoon during its State of the Union developer address following today’s WWDC keynote. Soon, Apple says compatible devices — including those without internet connectivity — will be able to sync to the network and become locatable when you open the Find My app. The most obvious candidate here is Tile, the popular maker of square Bluetooth trackers you can attach to your wallet or keys. “Introducing a new program that will let customers locate your products using the power of the vast Find My network,” reads a developer page for the new feature, which Apple detailed today with a documentation preview. “With hundreds of millions of Apple devices around the wor...

At WWDC, Apple announced its latest software for all its devices: iOS 14, iPadOS 14, watchOS 7, and macOS Big Sur. But that new software won’t be coming to all of Apple’s currently supported hardware — as is the case every year, a few older devices didn’t make the cut. Here’s what will — and won’t — be getting software updates this year. iOS and iPadOS are the easiest: if your device currently runs iOS and iPadOS 13, it’ll run iOS and iPadOS 14, too, with no new devices set to lose support this year. For iOS 14, that includes the following devices: iPhone 11 iPhone 11 Pro iPhone 11 Pro Max iPhone XS iPhone XS Max iPhone XR iPhone X iPhone 8 iPhone 8 Plus iPhone 7 iPhone 7 Plus iPhone 6s iPhone 6s Plus iPhone SE (1st generation) iPhone SE (2nd generation) iPod touch (7th generation) While i...

Apple has announced at this year’s WWDC that the company’s adding a long-awaited feature to its default Maps app when iOS 14 drops: cycling directions. But Apple is only launching in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Shanghai, and Beijing, and it didn’t immediately say when it will expand into other parts of the world. Users will be able to see elevation changes, and Apple Maps will even suggest if people should take a flight of stairs. Cycling directions will be available in the watchOS 7, too. The company also announced that Maps in iOS 14 will get a new “EV routing” feature, making it possible for users to find EV chargers and plan trips around where and when they’ll need to charge their electric vehicles. Of course, Apple said it’s only working with Ford and BMW to start. Both are ...

Apple has announced new features coming to its AirPods headphones at WWDC: automatic switching between devices, and a new “Spatial Audio” feature for 3D sound on its AirPods Pro headphones. The new automatic switching feature is coming to both regular AirPods and AirPods Pro in a firmware update, and will automatically switch audio inputs based on which Apple device you’re using. For example, if you’re listening to something on your iPhone and then start playing a video on your laptop, the audio feed will automatically switch over to your computer. Or if you answer a phone call on your iPhone, your AirPods will automatically switch from your computer. Additionally, Apple announced a new “Spatial Audio” feature, which will only be coming to its AirPods Pro headphones. Apple didn’t say when ...

Apple is finally allowing iPad owners to alter default email and browser apps in iPadOS 14. The company briefly revealed the major change during a slide in the WWDC keynote today, noting that iPadOS 14 will be able to “set default email and browser apps.” Apple didn’t detail this change fully during its keynote, and it’s not immediately clear whether iOS 14 will also allow default mail and browser apps to be changed. Apple has only mentioned browser and email apps so far, so it’s likely limited to just these two types of apps rather than broader default apps for digital assistants or music apps. The change to default email and browser apps will now allow iPad owners to select email apps like Gmail or Outlook to handle email links by default, or Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and many other browser...

Apple announced iPadOS 14 today and with it comes multiple new features, including updates for the Apple Pencil. A new feature called Scribble makes handwriting on the iPad more seamless and powerful. If you write something with the Pencil in Notes, the iPad will be able to copy and paste that handwriting across apps. This means that text you wrote can be searched online or pasted in a document, and it’ll be typed text instead of handwriting. At the same time, if you write down an address or phone number, the iPad will prompt activity around them, so you can call that number or look up directions to that address. The feature works in both English and Chinese. Scribble will also correct shapes, so if you draw a square that’s slightly off, it’ll automatically correct that design. Apple Devel...

Richard Branson’s space tourism venture, Virgin Galactic, will start coordinating private astronaut trips to the International Space Station for NASA — a new partnership aimed at increasing commercial use of the space agency’s orbiting outpost. Thanks to a new Space Act Agreement with NASA, Virgin Galactic is tasked with putting together a “new private orbital astronaut readiness program,” for the agency. That means finding companies or organizations with an interest in sending people to the space station — for whatever reason — and then finding the right transportation to get them up there. Virgin Galactic will also be responsible for coordinating the necessary resources, both in space and on the ground, to make these trips successful. It’s a similar mission to that of Space Adventures, a...

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is going to be entirely virtual this year, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be some really interesting stuff to see. The keynote will start at 10AM PT / 1PM ET on Monday, June 22nd. There are a lot of rumors being passed around about what can be expected. While the main focus will probably be on iOS 14, there is a great deal of talk about the chance that Apple is planning to announce a shift from Intel processors to its own custom-designed ARM-based chips. Other possibilities include a new iMac, Apple TV, and / or Apple Watch, not to mention updates to tvOS and macOS. But outside of what is going to be announced, one of the really great things about this year’s WWDC is that, since it is completely online, anyone can sit in, not only on the ke...