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Scarlett Johansson, the highest-paid actress in Hollywood , knows a thing or two about unwanted nudes making their way onto the internet. In 2012, a hacker was sentenced to 10 years in prison after leaking nude photos of her and other celebrities, setting an example to warn future thieves. But there may be nobody to arrest, nobody even to sue, when it comes to deepfakes : AI-generated videos that seamlessly stitch Johansson and other celebs’ faces onto the bodies of porn stars having sex. Now, Johansson has spoken out against deepfakes in an interview with The Washington Post , They’ve published her comments verbatim, so I’d suggest clicking to read the whole thing — you can practically hear her throw up her arms in exasperation. Effectively, she says there’s nothing she and her team can do about fake sex vids. “I think it’s a useless pursuit, legally, mostly because the internet is a vast wormhole of darkness that eats itself,” she tells the Post. Here’s more: [E]very country

Are you enjoying Bandersnatch, the first choose-your-own-adventure interactive episode of the oft-delightfully dystopian Black Mirror? Good, because it may be the only new episode you’ll be seeing for a while. Executive producer and co-creator Annabel Jones has confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Bandersnatch took such an “enormous” amount of effort that it wound up pushing back Black Mirror’s fifth season. Black Mirror Season 5 is now due in 2019, a Netflix spokesperson tells The Verge , without elaborating. It’s not clear how long a wait we’re looking at. An entire year might make sense: The New York Times reports that showrunners spent a full year on the Bandersnatch episode alone, and the past few Black Mirror projects have each been released roughly a year apart (Oct. 2016; Dec. 2017; Dec. 2018). Producers might need to accelerate their timetable if they want to release earlier. That said, Black Mirror has never been a traditional show — it jumped from just three

Leaks of a potential Nokia-branded phone with five cameras on the rear have been appearing for months , but a new video suggests that the device could be officially unveiled soon. Evan Blass first posted a photo of the rumored Nokia 9 PureView on Twitter earlier today, and now mysmartprice has published what looks like a promotional video for the unannounced device. The Nokia 9 PureView looks very similar to the existing Nokia 8 Sirocco , except for the rear. The video shows off a wild penta-lens setup capable of five simultaneous shots and claims of improved efficiency in low-light situations and the ability to re-focus images after they’re taken. HMD also appears to be including a 5.99-inch “PureDisplay” with support for HDR10 and an in-display fingerprint reader. Mysmartprice reports that the Nokia 9 PureView will also be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. HMD acquired the PureView brand from Microsoft earlier this year, and partn

With 2019 just days away, it’s important to cherish the hope and optimism that comes with every new year. A fresh calendar brings a fresh start — one where anything is possible! And then, of course, after a couple of days of well-intentioned good behavior, it’ll be time to drop the ceremony and resume the rhythms of the previous year and just get on with life. But what’s the best way to forget that we’ve thrown all those noble intentions out the door? Watching streaming content, of course! Netflix is kicking things off with the third season of A Series of Unfortunate Events , the final season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt , and its latest series, a reboot of Carmen Sandiego . But while the focus for the company has been on original content lately, it’s adding some noteworthy library titles to its lineup to start the new year as well. The entire Indiana Jones franchise will be coming to the service, as will Solo: A Star Wars Story . And if that wasn’t enough, Netflix customers will al

Samsung promised a Bixby-powered Galaxy Home smart speaker back in August , a premium device that could potentially compete against Apple’s HomePod and the Amazon Echo Plus. While that speaker still isn’t available and doesn’t have a set release date, the company is reportedly also planning a second Bixby speaker that comes in black and according to SamMobile , citing an anonymous source , may be a more affordable option that can compete with the likes of cheaper smart speakers. The second Bixby speaker reportedly has the model number SM-V310, while the Galaxy Home is model number SM-V510, suggesting that there could always be more Bixby smart speakers down the line. There aren’t any known specs for the lower-end speaker yet, but it’s presumed to have fewer of the features Samsung announced for the main Galaxy Home, such as six built-in speakers, a subwoofer, and eight microphones. Being a budget option could also help set apart a Bixby smart speaker in an already crowded market whe

Lady Gaga has been teasing a new animated character on social media as part of her Las Vegas residency show. It looks to be a cyborg with long blue hair and the ability to fly through space, a character that Gaga was also dressed as on Friday. In a short, mysterious clip posted to YouTube and Instagram, the character looks around at a shining star before making contact with it and absorbing its powers. The anime-like character charges up, while crying, “What’s happening to me?” before hurtling through space with the newfound energy. The video ends with the appearance of “PetGa,” an alien being first seen during the release and promotion of Lady Gaga’s 2013 album ArtPop . PetGa says fondly, “Hello Gaga,” and then the word “Enigma” flashes across the screen. Gaga isn’t the only pop artist by far to fuse tech with live concerts — Drake put on a drone show in August and American and South Korean singers performed alongside an augmented reality of League of Legends’ fake k-pop band

We’re heading into the last days of 2018, and by extension, the last days of our look back at 1998 — where the dot-com bubble was steadily inflating, cyberspace was transforming everything from crime to horoscopes, and the end of the internet (or maybe civilization itself) was just a year away with Y2K. And that means one thing in the media world: time for some retrospectives! I’ll be deviating slightly from the normal format by accepting a few pieces from both earlier in December and later in January, so I can offer a spread of analysis looking back at the year. IGN : 1998 in video games It’s generally acknowledged that 1998 was a fantastic year for video games. In October, GameSpot published a list of the year’s best and most influential titles, ranging from StarCraft to Half-Life to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time . But what were the top picks at the time? Well, a lot of the things you’d expect, based on IGN’s rankings. On PlayStation , Metal Gear Solid is liste

The Essential Phone , from Android co-founder Andy Rubin, seemed to have so much unrealized potential — but its journey may be coming to an end. Today, the company has announced (via 9to5Google ) that it’s discontinuing the device. It’s sold out, says Essential, and the company isn’t making any more. But as part of that announcement, the company is also confirming something that fans had long hoped to be true: Essential is officially working on a second “mobile product,” presumably this rumored tiny phone that uses AI to answer emails and text messages for you . An Essential spokeswoman wouldn’t straight-up confirm to me that its “next mobile product” is a phone, but that’s what “mobile product” generally means. Here’s the statement: We are sold out of Essential Phone on essential.com and won’t be adding any new inventory. We are now hard at work on our next mobile product and will continue to sell accessories and provide speedy software updates and customer support to our existi

Netflix is no longer allowing new customers on iOS to pay for the streaming service directly through an in-app subscription. It’s the latest example of a company with a high-profile, essential mobile app ditching Apple’s payment system to retain more profits for itself and stop handing the iPhone and iPad maker a cut of every subscription activated within the Netflix app. VentureBeat first reported the change, which Netflix confirmed with a short “we no longer support iTunes as a method of payment for new members” statement. Now, customers will have to begin a subscription through a web browser such as Safari. People who already have an in-app Netflix subscription will be able to continue paying that way — for now — but returning customers who have missed a billing period will be unable to reactivate in-app subscriptions; they’ll have to subscribe from the web. An in-app subscription is far more convenient from a user’s perspective, as it uses the Apple billing info you’ve already g

Dell returned to the public market on Friday, ending a long saga that began when CEO and founder Michael Dell took the declining company private in 2013 through a $25 billion buyout with Silver Lake. The next five years saw Dell make gains in cloud computing and the enterprise, and the company’s gaming PC division is also a strong performer. Dell opened at $46 on Friday under the NYSE symbol DELL and quickly started trading up. Earlier this year, Dell announced it would become a public company again through a complex arrangement that involved buying back tracking shares for VMware, the software business that Dell owns an 80 percent chunk of. Those shares “were born as part of Dell’s complicated deal to buy EMC a few years ago” according to Business Insider . Activist investor Carl Icahn wasn’t happy with Dell’s initial $21.7 billion proposal and at first sued to block the move, only to later drop his protest when Dell sweetened the deal for VMware shareholders. Taking over an exist

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is Netflix’s new choose-your-own-adventure interactive special and, in traditional Black Mirror fashion, is full of fun Easter eggs — including giving people the chance to play one of the games featured in the film. Bandersnatch introduces viewers to a fictional game development studio, run by an ambitious leader who wants to turn the company, Tuckersoft, into the “Motown of games.” The goal is to produce a series of hit titles that will reward its developers with fame and fortune. One of those games, Nohzdyve , is available to play right now — but there’s a twist. Nohzdyve was developed for the ZX Spectrum , a personal computer that was released in Britain in the early 1980s. It’s the same time period in which Bandersnatch takes place, and also a special time in gaming for Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker, who started out as a video games journalist. The only way to play Nohzdyve in 2018 is to download a ZX Spectrum emulator, and experience the

Chinese schools are now tracking the exact location of their students using chip-equipped “smart uniforms” in order to encourage better attendance rates, according to a report from state-run newspaper The Global Times (via The Telegraph ). The implementation is just about as unsettling as “using smart technology to track students’ whereabouts” sounds. Each uniform has two chips in the shoulders which are used to track when and where the students enter or exit the school, with an added dose of facial recognition software at the entrances to make sure that the right student is wearing the right outfit (so you can’t just have your friend, say, wear an extra shirt while you go off and play hooky). Try to leave during school hours? An alarm will go off. The uniforms are washable, too, despite the smart tech — according to the Guizhou Guanyu Technology Company, which developed the smart uniforms, each outfit can endure up to 150 degrees Celsius (302 degrees Fahrenheit) and 500 washes. Th

Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson made a name for himself on YouTube by giving away more than a million dollars to strangers and friends in bouts of random donations. Now, a new video on his channel is answering the question he receives most often from fans: where does all the money come from? The majority of Donaldson’s $1 million donations came from brand deals, which many fans may have guessed, but he also relies on going viral to boost his own personal revenue. The more viral he becomes, the more brands want to work with him, and the bigger his own AdSense earnings get. He can then entice viewers with even bigger giveaway videos. It’s a never ending cycle. It started with incrementally sponsored deals from companies like Quid, working with Donaldson on $10,000 videos. Donaldson gave just about everything away: to homeless people, to attractive Twitch streamers, to his parents, his friends, and even his followers. He rolled up 30 million pennies , toyed with major Twitch streamers like

New Year’s is almost upon us, and that means that the annual cycle of folks making resolutions to get in shape in almost upon us. And T-Mobile wants to help , with some deals on the Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch that might help you actually keep those goals. The deals go live on January 2nd, and aren’t too shabby: for the Apple Watch, if you buy either Apple’s latest Series 4 model or last year’s Series 3, T-Mobile will give you a $200 discount on the second one. And fans of Samsung’s platform have an even better deal: buy one Samsung Galaxy Watch , and T-Mobile will give you the second one for free. As always, there’s a catch for both deals: you’ll need to sign up for a T-Mobile plan for both your full price and discounted LTE watch, and one of those has to be a new line. It’s not quite as onerous as the phone deals that need you to sign up for a full new line of cell phone service, but it’s something to keep in mind.

If one word described the focus around the tech industry this year, it’s privacy. From user data mishandling to the private lives of major tech executives having impact on company cultures, this year we’ve become more aware than ever of when to take control of your own privacy – and when it’s time to speak out. Beyond that, 2018 has also been a quieter year for innovation than the last – from gadgets to gaming to smartphones, most products we saw this year have been building on the grounds 2017 broke without many major new hardware releases. So how did some of the biggest tech companies and industries fare this year on The Verge ’s annual report cards? In this last week of 2018, we’ll take a look at the past 12 months in technology, and what we can hope to look forward to in 2019.

Popular to-do list software Any.do now has a smart grocery list feature within its mobile app that you can share with friends and family to make shopping more efficient. Algorithms naturally sort food items by category such as “fruits & vegetables” and “dairy & cheese,” to keep you from having to visit the same aisle twice. They will also suggest grocery items based on previous things you’ve purchased. So if you always get a loaf of bread with some olive oil, Any.do will remind you the next time you go shopping. While the feature initially rolled out on iOS three months ago and was spotted on Any.do’s blog post , it's coming to Android today and fully expanding to all iOS devices. Any.do estimates that while only 30 percent of iOS users could access the feature before, the figure will be 100 percent as of today. You’re able to add an unlimited number of smart grocery lists, and Any.do already works with Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, so you can add items using voice

Next to the Apple AirPods, the Jabra Elite 65t are the best truly wireless headphones that you can buy. Jabra also makes a more expensive, slightly better version (depending on your use cases) called the Elite Active 65t, and you can get the titanium black color variant for $50 off of their usual price over at Best Buy , or the retailer’s eBay seller page . For most, the differences between the Elite 65t and Elite Active 65t are too subtle to consider given the extra cost. Though, since there are actually some savings to be had today, it’s worth diving in. The Elite Active 65t normally run for $189, $20 more than the regular Elite 65t. As far as exactly what those few extra dollars get you, Jabra points to fast charging (up to 1.5 hours of use with a 15-minute charge), better protection against water and dust (IP56 versus the Elite 65t’s IP55 rating), and a built-in accelerometer to track your steps within the Jabra Sound app, which can connect with Google Fit and Apple Health.

Amazon is hosting its annual Digital Day tomorrow, December 28th, lowering prices on just about everything digital. Whether the holidays brought you a new Kindle Fire tablet , Kindle e-reader , or an iPad , you’ll be able to fill it up with apps, movies, subscriptions, ebooks, and more, for less. To preview the event, there are already a few deals currently live for your perusal. Best-selling ebooks from the likes of Haruki Murakami, Marie Kondo, Gary Shteyngart, and more are less than $5 each If you have a long commute, audiobooks might be a better option. A three-month Audible subscription is $6.95 per month instead of $14.95 (for new subscribers only) Amazon’s ad-free music streaming service is really affordable for new subscribers , just $1 for the first three months. After that, it’s $10 (or $8 for Prime members) Year-long digital magazine subscriptions to titles like Cosmopolitan , Esquire , Sports Illustrated , and more, are deeply discounted and cost as little as $5

The White House is considering an executive order that would ban American wireless carriers from buying equipment from Chinese companies, according to a new report from Reuters . Such an order would primarily impact Huawei and ZTE — both Chinese companies, and two of the largest manufacturers of telecom equipment — and have a significant impact on the ongoing rollout of 5G network infrastructure . The planned executive order would direct the Commerce Department to block purchases of Chinese telecom equipment on national security grounds, an action that would not require approval from Congress. Because the order would focus on purchases made by American carriers, it would primarily impact cell towers rather than phones purchased by individuals. Reuters claims the order has been under consideration for as long as eight months, citing anonymous sources. Huawei and ZTE already face significant difficulties in the US market. Both companies were barred from US government use as part of a

Entering into the seasonal spirit of giving, Elon Musk has promised a big present for Tesla owners: 100 percent Supercharger coverage in Europe by next year. Musk made the claim on Twitter yesterday, responding to a soon-to-be Tesla owner in Ireland who was worried about coverage in his home country. The Tesla CEO said the Supercharger network, which can charge a vehicle to around 80 percent battery capacity in 40 minutes, would spread from “Ireland to Kiev, from Norway to Turkey.” Yes. Supercharger coverage will extend to 100% of Europe next year. From Ireland to Kiev, from Norway to Turkey. https://t.co/7FQZgLCTVJ — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 26, 2018 The promise fits previous claims made by Musk, including a comment this November in which he said that Supercharger capacity would be doubled by the end of 2019, putting chargers “within range of 95% to 100% of population in all active markets.” While there’s no doubt that Tesla’s charging network has grown quickly in rec

Our top choices for your devices So you’ve unwrapped all your gifts and powered up all your new devices — now what are you going to do with them? Well, you’re going to find some great new apps and games to load onto those phones, computers and gaming consoles — and we’re going to help you! We here at The Verge have rounded up our favorite and most-used apps, games, and utilities. Look for our app picks for iPhones , Android phones , PCs, and Mac; our favorite games for PCs , iOS and Android, and our top choices for the PS4 , Xbox One , and the Nintendo Switch .

Jack Black is heading to YouTube, and wants to be bigger than Ninja and PewDiePie. The comedian-turned-actor announced his arrival on the platform earlier this week . His channel, Jablinski Games, will “have games, food, and life,” according to a description underneath the video. While Black is the focus of the video, it’s his son who’s taking on the role as director and editor — something the comedian makes abundantly clear in a comment. “I just want to clarify that there is no production behind this,” Black wrote. “This is all my son. He’s holding me hostage and I can’t be Tracer . Help...” Black’s son being involved may help explain certain aspects of the video, including references to multiple inside jokes PewDiePie fans would understand (such as the chair Black is sitting on). It also might help explain why the aesthetic of Black’s channel seems ripped right out of 2014 — a peak of YouTube gaming culture. For example, Black’s banner on his channel is “Sakurai Kirby,” a mem

Snapchat first made users fall in love by creating lenses that could turn them into dogs. Now, the company is going full circle, and adding lenses specifically for dogs. Official lenses created specifically for dogs’ faces have arrived on Snapchat, meaning that people can take photos or videos of their pet and turn their faces into something goofy. Although the additional lenses for dogs are adorable, it’s not Snapchat’s first foray into the pet market. The company first launched special lenses for cats last month. There are currently only a handful of filters available for pooches, which can be seen in the promotional video above. More lenses are currently in development, meaning there will be new ways to annoy your pet for social clout in the near future. Dog specific lenses are available on Snapchat right now.

Ranking the gags and meta-jokes in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a Sisyphean task, but there is one undeniably good goof for Christmas: the holiday record teased in the film. Which is, it turns out, 100 percent real and available online right now. Peter Parker drops a mention of this ill-fated album in the film’s opening, and viewers who stick around during the credits get to experience “Spidey-Bells” (sung by Chris Pine) for themselves. The full EP, A Very Spidey Christmas , includes Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), Spider-Man (Jake Johnson), and Green Goblin (Jorma Taccone) all lending their talents to reimagine classic holiday tunes. “Joy to the world / that I just saved / You all can sleep soundly,” Moore sings, while Johnson belts out, “ Deck the hall with bound of villains / ‘Tis the season to save millions.” Songs are available individually on Sony Pictures Animation’s YouTube channel for a quick dip. You can also find the full list on Spotify and Apple Music . Not ev

Chinese phone maker Xiaomi introduced a new phone — the Mi Play — today, and with it, a new notch. The device features a circular camera notch that’s not a hole-punch design, like we’ve seen on Samsung and Huawei devices , but instead is center-aligned and obvious. It’s a “water droplet” notch that’s very much a notch, even if it’s round. On back, the phone features dual, rear-facing cameras that are vertically-aligned, like Apple’s iPhone X line. The color choices all look lovely with trendy gradient options in purple or red. Specs-wise, the Mi Play includes: 5.84-inch, 1080 x 2280 display MediaTek P35 processor 4GB of RAM with 64GB of storage 3,000mAh battery with a Micro USB charging port Rear-mounted fingerprint sensor 12-megapixel and 2-megapixel rear-facing cameras Earlier this year, Xiaomi introduced its notch-less phone, the flagship Mi Mix 3 , but that device starts at $475 and relies on a mechanical pop-up camera. The Mi Play, while definitely featuring a notch a

HQ Words , the new Wheel of Fortune -style game from HQ, launched out of beta last night with a debut round hosted by the company’s CEO Rus Yusupov, reports TechCrunch . Unlike the company’s first game, which has players answer 10 multiple-choice questions to win a share of the prize money, HQ Words tasks them with guessing popular phrases one letter at a time. The launch of HQ Words comes at a crucial time for the company, which in recent months has been faced with declining player numbers and the premature death of its CEO Colin Kroll . After peaking as the App Store’s second most downloaded app back in February 2018, HQ Trivia dropped to 253rd most popular in November , and in December the company suspended its service in the UK . Words was originally due to launch in October. Like HQ Trivia , Words is played live alongside tens of thousands of other players. At the moment, it’s scheduled to take place each evening at 9:30PM ET / 6:30PM PT from the (now renamed on iOS) HQ

Just in time for the holidays, Samsung has begun releasing its Android Pie update for the Galaxy S9. SamMobile was first to notice the German release, while other users on Twitter and Reddit have seen the update become available in the Netherlands and Slovakia as well. Along with the upgrades made by Google, Android Pie on the S9 also brings Samsung’s One UI , a new user experience which is intended to make apps easier to use on larger phones, amongst other improvements. Although this latest update has come to Samsung’s devices a lot more quickly than previous versions of Android did, the South Korean firm is still lagging behind the likes of Nokia, OnePlus, and even HTC with its update schedule. Google has previously attempted to speed up the adoption of new Android versions with Project Treble , but despite the program’s introduction in early 2017 only 21.5 percent of Android devices were running Android Oreo or later as of late October this year. Samsung is getting faster a

A long-running lawsuit between the state of New York and Sprint has come to a close. According to New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood (via Engadget ), the wireless carrier will pay the state $330 million to settle claims that it failed to collect more than $100 million in taxes from customers for nearly a decade. The state sued the telecommunications company in 2012 , alleging that the company deliberately failed to collect $100 million in sales taxes on flat-rate access charges for wireless plans over the course of seven years, and that it filed false records and statements to the state in order to reduce the prices of its products. At the time, Sprint denied the allegations , saying that it was “without merit,” and vowed to fight back in court. The settlement is the largest in “largest-ever recovery by a single state in an action brought under a state false claims act,” and brings the long-running lawsuit to an end, according to the AG’s office. The office says that “a

The Wall Street Journal reports that Facebook had begun working on a feature that would encourage users of opposing political beliefs to interact in a more positive way. But the project — known as “Common Ground” — was reportedly halted after Facebook’s global head of policy raised concerns that it could lead to accusations that the site was biased against conservatives. Sources told the WSJ that the Common Ground project would have brought together several different projects “meant to minimize toxic content and encourage more civil discussion,” which included changes to how the News Feed was ranked, and to de-emphasize “hateful” comments. Kaplan — along with other executives — worried that conservative users would be disproportionately impacted by the changes, and noted that the term “‘common ground’ was patronizing.” The project was reportedly shelved over concerns that it would impact user engagement, although Facebook told the WSJ that it was continuing to study polarization

There was plenty of important science this year, from ever-dire warnings of climate change to the launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy . And then, there was the time everyone argued over a few seconds of a clip that said either “yanny” or “laurel.” With that in mind, here (in no particular order) are 10 of the best of weird science stories of 2018 — the disgusting, horrifying, and the viral. 1. “ How a beach umbrella fatally impaled a woman with 800 pounds of force ” One can find plenty of horrifying case studies in medical journals, and this one from the Journal of Forensic Sciences doesn’t disappoint. Not recommended reading for anxious people who frequently go to the beach, or those already suspicious of enormous beach umbrellas 2. “ Paul Ryan says his car was eaten by woodchucks — we investigate ” Back in July, Paul Ryan told an audience at The Economic Club of Washington, D.C. that his Chevy Suburban was eaten by woodchucks. The Verge decided to ask the tough questions: Did wo