Microsoft Faces UK Antitrust Investigation Over Hiring of Inflection AI Staff Microsoft Faces UK Antitrust Investigation Over Hiring of Inflection AI Staff UK regulators are now formally investigating Microsoft’s hiring of Inflection AI staff, months after most of Inflection’s staff joined Microsoft’s new AI division. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is now opening up a phase one merger investigation into the partnership, with a September 11th deadline over whether the investigation will progress into a second phase. If the case progresses to the phase two stage then it could present a stumbling block for Microsoft’s AI ambitions. The CMA last signaled a more in-depth review of Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2022, eventually forcing the company to restructure its deal and give up key cloud…

Lucid Claims Its Air Pure Electric Sedan Is the Most Efficient EV Ever Made Image: Lucid Lucid claims it’s achieved a “landmark” 5 miles-per-kilowatt-hour efficiency with its 2025 Air Pure electric sedan, making it one of the most energy-efficient vehicles ever produced. When it starts deliveries, Lucid said it will have a record 146 MPGe and an EPA-estimated range of 420 miles. The Air Pure is Lucid’s most affordable model starting at $69,900. For the new model year, the battery was slightly reduced in size from 88kWh to 84kWh. It also includes the new energy-saving and cold weather-fighting heat pump technology that was first included with the company’s $249,000 “Sapphire” model and later added to the Touring and Grand Touring models. Lucid is taking a risk that luxury EV shoppers…

The Best Smartwatch and Fitness Tracker Deals for Amazon Prime Day 2024 The Apple Watch, and a bunch of Android smartwatches, are discounted for Prime Day. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Amazon Prime Day 2024 is here, and with it, a whole bunch of deals on Apple Watches, Android smartwatches, or even just a regular ole fitness tracker. Fall product launches are right around the corner, but if you’re on a budget, now’s a great chance to snag discounts on higher-quality materials and last year’s premium devices. Wading through thousands of deals can be a pain, especially when you factor in the dozens of smartwatch models, sizes, colors, and materials. Never fear — we’ve already done that for you and compiled the best deals out there.…

How the Stream Deck Rose from the Ashes of a Legendary Keyboard Back in 2005, a small firm offered a tantalizing vision of the future of computer keyboards. What if your keyboard was filled with tiny screens that showed you exactly what any given press would do, each built into a crystal-clear key? The keys would morph and shift as you needed, transforming from letters and numbers to full-color icons and app shortcuts, depending on what you were doing. Readers and tech bloggers adored the idea. “It’s about time someone shook up this stagnant keyboard market,” declared Engadget. “The concept is fantastic,” wrote Gizmodo. Slashdot lit up. The keyboard was just a concept, dreamed up by Art Lebedev, a Russian design firm, and it was an ambitious idea at that:…

Von Aqara mit HomeKey und HomeKit: Türschloss und Video-Türklingel im Prime Day Wir vergleichen nebenher gerade die im Jahresverlauf von uns berücksichtigten und für gut befundenen Produktneuvorstellungen mit den aktuellen Prime Day Angeboten und melden euch, wenn wir über inzwischen lieb gewonnene Alltagsbegleiter stolpern, die heute besonders günstig zu haben sind. Zu diesen gehört die G4 Video-Türklingel und das smarte U200 Türschloss von Aqara. Zwei Geräte mit vollwertiger HomeKit-Integration, die wir in zwei recht ausführlichen Besprechungen vorgestellt haben: Aqara Video-Türklingel G4: Videotürklingel ausprobiert Aqara U200: Smarthome-Türschloss mit HomeKey Vor allem das Türschloss ist mit seiner HomeKey-Integration, einem virtuellen Schlüssel, der im Apple Wallet des iPhones gespeichert wird, einer der Vorreiter in seiner Kategorie und erst seit wenigen Tagen überhaupt am Markt erhältlich. Aqara Video-Türklingel G4 Die Aqara Video Doorbell G4…

Phone Mirroring on the Mac Might Change How You Use Your Phone Phone Mirroring on the Mac Might Change How You Use Your Phone It’s your phone. On your Mac. That’s really the whole thing. Image: David Pierce / The Verge One of the surprise hits of Apple’s WWDC 2024 was a new feature for desktops and laptops. In Sequoia, the new operating system due this fall and now in public beta, you can mirror your phone to your Mac. I’ve been testing the new feature for a bit, and it really is what it sounds like. You open up the phone mirroring app, and it presents you to… your iPhone. Rounded corners and everything. You click on the bottom bar to go home and click and drag to go…

RCS on the iPhone is Almost the Solution to Our Green-Bubble Nightmare The photos aren’t blurry! As a longtime iPhone user married to a longtime Android user, I’ve spent years sending and receiving photos that come through both postage-stamp small and about as sharp as a pointillist painting. But a few minutes after I installed the iOS 18 beta on my iPhone 15 Pro, I asked Anna to send me a photo, and what came through was the blissfully high-res photo I’d hoped for. That, right there, is what I call an upgrade. RCS support is just one of the new things coming in iOS 18, of course. At WWDC a few weeks ago, Apple talked a lot about homescreen customization, improvements to Siri, a revamped Photos app, and more.…

Best Headphone and Earbud Deals for Amazon Prime Day 2024 Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge I don’t know how people wear headphones in the summer heat. I’m strictly in earbuds mode when the temperatures climb this high. But no matter your preference, Amazon Prime Day is a great opportunity to upgrade your aging gear (and declining battery life) with the latest and greatest from Bose, Samsung, Sony, and plenty of other brands. For Prime Day 2024, expect plenty of deals that’ll have you considering an impulse purchase. Many of our favorite earbud and headphone picks are on sale at some of their lowest prices yet during the two-day event. Some products (like Apple’s AirPods and AirPods Max) are due for a refresh in the coming months, but there’s…

Porsche Expands Macan EV Lineup with Rear-Wheel Drive Models Porsche Expands Macan EV Lineup with Rear-Wheel Drive Models Porsche has announced two new rear-wheel drive versions of the forthcoming Macan electric SUV, including a higher-powered, lighter-weight 4S model. Porsche stated that deliveries are expected to begin later this year. When it was initially announced earlier this year, Porsche said the Macan EV would come in two trims: the Macan 4 and the Macan Turbo, both of which feature dual motors for all-wheel drive. Now, the company is adding two more versions in hopes of widening its appeal. The RWD Macan will have only one motor located in the rear axle. It’s the same motor as the one used in the Macan 4, with an output of 250kW, or 335 horsepower.…

Aufgepasst bei Microsoft 365: Einer der Office-Bestpreise hat einen Haken Nutzer des Bürosoftware-Paketes von Microsoft haben sich in den zurückliegenden Jahren bereits an das Microsoft-365-Abomodell gewöhnt. Die Lizenzkosten für ein Jahr werden vorab entrichtet, anschließend hat man auf Mac, iPhone und iPad Zugriff auf alle Office-Anwendungen. Unschlagbare Familien-Preise Wer sich für eines der Familien-Abonnements entscheidet, kann dieses mit bis zu fünf anderen Anwendern teilen und den Jahrespreis so drastisch reduzieren. Die einzelnen Beteiligten zahlen so in der Regel weniger als einen Euro pro Monat für die komplette Office Suite. In regelmäßigen Angebotsaktionen wird der Jahres-Zugriff meist zu Preisen zwischen 50 und 60 Euro angeboten – zu Weihnachten, am Prime Day und zu ausgewählten Anlässen ist es dann manchmal noch ein wenig günstiger. Die meisten Office-Anwender warten also entsprechend, bis das…