Новости за 18.06.2021

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Google may be working on turning Android phones into a hivemind capable of finding lost devices, similar to Apple’s Find My network, according to analysis done by 9to5Google. A toggle for the feature showed up in a beta of Google Play Services, with code referencing the ability for phones to help locate other devices, potentially signaling that Android phones could soon become easier to find.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The YouTube app on iOS will be getting picture-in-picture support, allowing all users to watch videos while doing other things on their iPhones and iPads. A YouTube spokesperson told The Verge that the feature is currently rolling out to Premium subscribers, and that a launch for all iOS users (including the free ones) in the US is in the works.

Image: ZatzNotFunny

We may have gotten our first look at Ring’s dashcam, courtesy of The Tape Drive, which posted an image of a Ring-branded camera that looks like it’s made to fit on a car’s dashboard. Based on a support article which Zats Not Funny discovered (and claims may have been published inadvertently) Ring’s Car Cam will have Alexa integration and the ability to start recording if you tell it you’ve been pulled over.

Tesla’s been talking up its Model S Plaid as “the quickest production car ever” claiming it can go from 0-60 in a blistering 1.99 seconds. It’s a claim that’s drawn a lot of raised eyebrows from car enthusiasts and experts. Can it really go that fast? Turns out, it can. But only under some incredibly specific Tesla-dictated conditions.

The Nest Thermostat | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge

Texas’ energy grid, which failed spectacularly over the winter during a stretch of historically cold weather, will be put to the test again this weekend, as temperatures across much of the state are forecast to be in the upper 90s. Despite assurances from Gov. Greg Abbott that “everything that needed to be done was done to fix the power grid in Texas,” earlier this week the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) urged customers... Читать дальше...

A fountain in Leipzig, Germany on June 18, 2021 | Photo by Sebastian Willnow/picture alliance via Getty Images

The amount of heat trapped by Earth’s land, ocean, and atmosphere doubled over the course of just 14 years, a new study shows.

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Bismuth is a heavy, brittle metal that forms colorful geometric crystals when melted and then slowly cooled. It’s most commonly known as a main ingredient in Pepto Bismol — less commonly known as bismuth subsalicylate. And someday soon, it might be used to help power your electronics.

Photo: Elon Musk

The Boring Company has been pitching potential clients on a much wider tunnel than any it has built so far, Bloomberg reported, which could be used to transport freight. Since its inception in 2016, the Elon Musk-helmed tunneling startup has been focused on tunnels that would transport passengers, with a goal to “solve the problem of soul-destroying traffic” in cities. But the new pitch deck Bloomberg obtained shows how wider tunnels could be used for transporting freight... Читать дальше...

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Prime Day 2021 is kicking off in just a few days. Prime members will get to enjoy exclusive tech and gaming discounts on Amazon. In addition, other retailers like Best Buy, Walmart, and Target will each be having deals of their own that don’t require a subscription. We’ll be covering the deals in-depth starting Monday morning, June 21st, so join us then. We’re collecting the best early Prime Day deals right here, but here are a few more excellent deals to take us into the weekend. Читать дальше...

Every Friday, The Verge publishes our flagship podcast, The Vergecast, where co-hosts Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn discuss the week in tech news with the reporters and editors covering the biggest stories.

AMD helps bring OLED to the mainstream

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The Destiny Toaster in all its glory. | Image: Bungie

A year after Bungie said it would explore making an official Destiny Toaster during a charity livestream, our bread-based dreams are finally becoming a reality. The Destiny Toaster is now available to preorder from Bungie’s online store for $84.99. It’s not due to ship until at least December, but Bungie says that once it does it’ll toast the game’s Tricorn logo into every slice of bread it touches. Does it also make normal toast? We have no clue. Читать дальше...

Image: Bandai

Everyone’s favorite digital pet, the Tamagotchi, is being reinvented for its 25th anniversary. The new Tamagotchi Smart puts the creature into a colorful smartwatch, allowing you to strap your digital pet — and all the chores that come with it — directly to your wrist. Kotaku reports that the new device features a touchscreen for petting your little friend, voice recognition for chatting, and a pedometer. Oh, and it can also display the time. Neat.

Photo by Tunahan Turhan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Last year, Taiwan was held up as a model example of how to control the pandemic. Now, with a rising case-count threatening the country’s vital tech industry in the middle of a global semiconductor shortage, its government is letting its powerful corporations buy COVID-19 vaccines on its behalf. It’s an unusual workaround, but one that makes sense given Taiwan’s complaints that China scuppered earlier deals.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Spotify has acquired Podz, a startup whose technology generates preview clips of podcasts, the streaming service has announced. Unlike other services podcasters can use to manually create clips, TechCrunch says Podz automates the process of finding key moments from episodes using machine learning trained on over 100,000 hours of audio.

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Facebook is rolling out its v30 update to the Oculus Quest and Quest 2 VR headsets. As previewed earlier this week by Mark Zuckerberg, v30 includes a new multitasking interface for Infinite Office that lets you put multiple apps side by side, including the browser, Oculus TV, Oculus Move, the store, and so on.