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Razer’s new mouse looks much like the previous V3 Pro model, but with a lighter chassis and new tech inside.

Razer is announcing a new gaming mouse, the $169.99 DeathAdder V4 Pro. This fresh version of its popular wireless mouse promises to be faster, lighter, and yet more power efficient than its V3 Pro predecessor.

The V4 Pro now uses optical sensors for its left- and right-click buttons that are rated for 100 million clicks. It’s also Razer’s first model to use a scroll wheel with an optical sensor rather than being mechanical. Razer claims the optical scroll wheel sensor is more precise, offering “triple the durability and consistent, tactile control even under intense gameplay.”

The new DeathAdder Pro supports up to 8,000Hz polling rate in both wireless and wired modes, thanks to its HyperSpeed Wireless Gen 2 connectivity. However, to get Razer’s claim of up to 150 hours of battery life you’ll have to use the mouse at a much slower 1,000Hz polling (which is, to be fair, still pretty quick).

Since this mouse is designed for fast-action use in twitchy esports matches, its 45K optical sensor supports up to 45,000 DPI tracking. And the black version of the new DeathAdder weighs just 56 grams, while the model in white weighs one gram more.

The promised specs are impressive. But on the downside, the DeathAdder remains an asymmetrical design for right-handed users. And with its slightly oversized shape, the mouse caters to users with larger hands that can grip it without discomfort. The DeathAdder V4 Pro is up for preorder now on Razer’s site, estimated to ship July 24th.

From The Verge via this RSS feed

Another useful feature has been discovered in the latest Kindle software update for those using ad-supported models. | Photo: Andrew Liszewski / The Verge

The release notes for the latest Kindle software update that launched a few weeks ago were vague, but some users have discovered a useful feature for anyone with cheaper ad-supported e-readers. In addition to more robust line and text spacing options, you now have the option to filter ads that “may not be appropriate for everyone” so they don’t show up on the Kindle’s lockscreen and homescreen, as spotted by The eBook Reader.

It’s part of the 5.18.3 software update for the Kindle Scribes, Kindle Colorsoft, and 11th and 12th generation versions of the basic Kindle and Paperwhite, which adds two new lockscreen ad options accessible in the “Your Account” section of the Kindle’s settings.

Opting for an ad-supported version of a Kindle can save you $20, but previously, you didn’t have any options to customize what types of ads you see. Although they can feature everything from cars to beauty products, the ads frequently feature books and are often based on your own personal browsing and reading habits. If you happen to read a lot of steamy romance novels with cover art that’s inappropriate for younger readers, you could be served ads for similar titles.

You can now turn off “Personalized Ads” so that the ads you see will no longer be based on your browsing or purchase history, and turn on “Filter ads,” which will hide inappropriate content. It will still be up to Amazon to decide what the company considers appropriate versus inappropriate ad content. If you’ve turned on ad filtering and are still seeing ads you’d rather not have showing up on your Kindle’s lockscreen, you’ll need to visit Amazon’s website and pay $20 to have the ads removed from your e-reader entirely.

From The Verge via this RSS feed

Subnautica 2 has been at the center of a contentious debate between leadership at its developer Unknown Worlds and the game’s publisher, Krafton Games. At stake is a $250 million payout, promised to Unknown Worlds if the studio hit certain revenue targets by the end of this year. But a company shakeup and the subsequent delay of Subnautica 2 has rocked the studio and potentially imperiled the promised payout.

On July 2nd, Krafton announced that Steve Papoutsis, CEO of The Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance Studios would be taking over as the CEO of Unknown Worlds, replacing the current leadership of Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire with immediate effect.

The following week, on July 9th, Unknown Worlds announced that early access for Subnautica 2 would be delayed to 2026. According to the announcement, Subnautica 2 was in good shape, but closed testing revealed “some insight that there are a few areas where we needed to improve before launching the first version of Subnautica 2 to the world.”

That same day, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reported that this delay was against the wishes of Unknown Worlds’ former leadership and that there were serious financial implications for this delay. According to Schreier’s report, when Krafton purchased Unknown Worlds, in 2021 it promised a $250 million bonus to the studio if it hit revenue targets by the end of 2025. Schreier’s reporting also indicated that the bonus was planned to be shared among the studio’s roughly 100 employees with some being promised bonuses in the seven figures.

With Subnautica 2’s delay, those revenue targets will likely not be hit, and those bonuses not paid out. In a statement to Bloomberg, Krafton said the delay was only to improve Subnautica 2’s quality, and it’s possible to envision a situation where Krafton delayed the game in order to get out of paying out the bonus.

However, Krafton has issued a new statement that seemingly throws cold water over this interpretation. The statement says that Krafton had “allocated approximately 90% of the up to $250 million earn-out compensation to the three former executives” with the “expectation” that the executives would “demonstrate leadership and active involvement in the development of Subnautica 2.” The statement then accuses the ousted leadership of essentially abandoning development on the game while affirming “fair and equitable compensation for all remaining Unknown Worlds employees.”

Here’s the statement in full, which you can also see on Krafton’s website.

To Our 12 Million Fellow Subnauts,

— Inevitable Leadership Change Driven by Project Abandonment–Despite Holding 90% of Earnout for Themselves

First and foremost, we sincerely thank you for your continued support, passion, and unwavering dedication to Subnautica. We wish to provide clarity on the recent leadership changes at Unknown Worlds, a creative studio under KRAFTON.

Background of Leadership Change

KRAFTON deeply values Subnautica’s unique creativity and immersive world-building. To provide fans with even better gaming experiences, we acquired Unknown Worlds, fully committed to supporting Subnautica’s future success. We collaborated closely with the studio’s leadership, who were central to the creation of the original Subnautica, to foster the optimal environment for a successful Subnautica 2.

Specifically, in addition to the initial $500 million purchase price, we allocated approximately 90% of the up to $250 million earn-out compensation to the three former executives, with the expectation that they would demonstrate leadership and active involvement in the development of Subnautica 2.

However, regrettably, the former leadership abandoned the responsibilities entrusted to them. Subnautica 2 was originally planned for an Early Access launch in early 2024, but the timeline has since been significantly delayed. KRAFTON made multiple requests to Charlie and Max to resume their roles as Game Director and Technical Director, respectively, but both declined to do so. In particular, following the failure of Moonbreaker, KRAFTON asked Charlie to devote himself to the development of Subnautica 2. However, instead of participating in the game development, he chose to focus on a personal film project.

KRAFTON believes that the absence of core leadership has resulted in repeated confusion in direction and significant delays in the overall project schedule.The current Early Access version also falls short in terms of content volume.We are deeply disappointed by the former leadership’s conduct, and above all, we feel a profound sense of betrayal by their failure to honor the trust placed in them by our fans.

KRAFTON’s Full Support for the Dedicated Development Team

To uphold our commitment to provide you with the best possible gaming experience, we made the difficult yet necessary decision to change the executive leadership. Subnautica 2 has been and continues to be actively developed by a dedicated core team who share genuine passion, accountability, and commitment to the game. We deeply respect their expertise and creativity and will continue to provide full and unwavering support, enabling them to focus solely on delivering the exceptional game you deserve.

KRAFTON’s Commitment to its Promises in Rewarding Employees

Additionally, KRAFTON has committed to fair and equitable compensation for all remaining Unknown Worlds employees who have continuously and tirelessly contributed to Subnautica 2’s development. We believe that the dedication and effort of this team are at the very heart of Subnautica’s ongoing evolution, and we reaffirm our commitment to provide the rewards they were promised.

Fans will always remain at the center of every decision we make at KRAFTON. Moving forward, we promise transparent communication and continued efforts to sustainably develop and expand the beloved Subnautica universe.

Honoring your trust and expectations is a core tenet at KRAFTON. We are committed to repaying your patience with an even more refined and exceptional gaming experience.

From The Verge via this RSS feed

Sony’s WH-1000XM6 just received their first cash discount.

Every model in Sony’s WH-1000XM lineup has consistently ranked among the best headphones you can buy, and thanks to Amazon Prime Day, several of the latest entries are on sale. Right now, for instance, the brand-new WH-1000XM6 are available from Amazon, Best Buy, and Sony for around $428 ($22 off), which is the first cash discount we’ve seen. If that’s too pricey, you can also pick up the XM5 at Amazon starting at $248 ($150 off), which remains their best price to date.

Sony WH-1000XM6

Where to Buy:

$449.99 $428 at Amazon $449.99 $429.99 at Best Buy $449.99 $429.99 at Sony

Sony WH-1000XM5

Where to Buy:

$399.99 $248 at Amazon $399.99 $298 at Sony $399.99 $299 at Best Buy

Unsurprisingly, the XM6 are the best noise-canceling headphones the company has ever made. The updated drivers deliver outstanding sound quality and clearer vocals than Sony’s last-gen model, while a new noise-cancellation chip renders them even more adept at blocking out ambient noise. Design-wise, they’re also more comfortable, with a wider headband that reduces pressure during marathon listening sessions. Plus, in a welcome return to form, Sony reintroduced the foldable design that frequent travelers had missed with the XM5.

If you’re not ready to spring for the latest model, the last-gen XM5 are nearly half the price and can still hold their own. Although they can’t match the XM6 in every category, they still offer a more comfortable fit, cleaner sound, and slightly better ANC than their predecessor, the XM4. They also sport excellent mics, making them a great option if you frequently take calls while using your headphones. They’re a strong all-around pick, though their inability to collapse makes them a little less travel-friendly than the newer XM6 and older XM4.

Last but not least, there’s the WH-1000XM4, the budget option of the trio. Despite being the oldest model, they still boast terrific noise cancellation, solid sound, and multipoint Bluetooth support, so you can connect to two devices at once. They also offer the same impressive 30-hour battery life found on newer models and, unlike the XM5, fold down in a pinch. The biggest drawback is call quality, as the mics aren’t as sharp as those found on the newer models. That being said, they’re currently on sale at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy for around $193, which is more $160 off the original MSRP.

Sony WH-1000XM4

Where to Buy:

$348 $193 at Amazon $348 $193 at Walmart $348 $194.99 at Best Buy

No matter which model you go with, though, Sony’s WH-1000XM headphones remain some of the best options available — and with these Prime Day discounts, now is a great time to upgrade.

Read our Sony XM4, XM5, and XM6 reviews.

From The Verge via this RSS feed

It’s shark season, and nobody knows that better than Alice Games, the developer behind the upcoming marine dentistry simulator, Shark Dentist: an aptly named horror roguelike in which you play — you guessed it — a shark dentist.

Despite its rather amusing title (“Shark Dentist” absolutely sounds like the kind of show you’d find airing on Discovery Channel in the middle of July), the game’s trailer shows off some pretty serious scares. Shark Dentist puts players into the scrubs of the world’s unluckiest (or bravest) veterinary dentist, who apparently only works on deadly marine animals with sharp teeth. Players must gently identify the source of a barely sedated shark’s dental woes and carefully find a way to solve them. Failure means death.

“Inspired by viral sensations like Buckshot Roulette, Shark Dentist blends dark humor, roguelike mechanics, and a deeply creepy aesthetic to deliver a horror experience like no other,” Alice Games said in a press release shared alongside the gory trailer.

There are quite a few variables players will need to keep track of to stay alive, from the shark’s heart rate and pain levels to its dose of anesthesia. A single slip-up will result in a swift and bloody death. There are a variety of tools at the player’s disposal, including a circular saw, which honestly seems like a recipe for instant death, but presumably has some sort of valid use. Utilizing the right tools and the right timing can mean the difference between a gross-but-successful tooth extraction and an unscheduled beheading, as the shark will immediately shake off the anesthesia and attack players the moment they make a mistake.

Oddly, the terrifying aquatic patient is hanging from the ceiling of a dingy basement. Why is the shark in a basement? Why is it hanging from the ceiling? Is the game’s protagonist practicing illegal shark dentistry? The trailer doesn’t give any away any answers, but players will presumably be able to uncover the truth when Shark Dentist launches for Windows PC. It’s currently available to wishlist on Steam, where its release date is listed as “coming soon.”

From Polygon via this RSS feed

Minecraft’s copper golems are a sloppy player’s dream. Got a base cluttered with small stacks of ores and tools? Too lazy to store your resources in the appropriate location? This tidy fellow will fix that for you.

Copper golems are currently available on Minecraft Bedrock Edition’s experimental features, where they require a somewhat unusual crafting method to spawn. Here’s how to get your very own copper golem.

How to enable copper golems

As of this writing, copper golems are only available as an experimental feature on Minecraft Bedrock Edition, which means you can’t spawn them in the default version of the game. As explained on Minecraft’s official website, Copper Golems will be released as part of the third game drop of 2025, an upcoming copper-focused update.

So, if you’d like to test copper golems now, make sure you’ve got Minecraft Bedrock Edition installed. Depending on your platform, here’s how to enable experimental features:

Windows PC and Xbox: Install Minecraft Preview. You can find it in the Microsoft Store or (if you have it) in the Game Pass app. If you’re playing on PC, after downloading, you must open the Minecraft Launcher and select “latest preview” instead of “latest release” before hitting the play button.iOS: Install the Testflight app and follow the instructions. The available slots are limited, but you will be notified if a slot opens up.Android: Open the Google Play Store, click on the Minecraft app, scroll down, and select “Join the Beta.”

No matter which platform you’re using, be sure to activate experiments in the world settings. If you change to a different world, you have to enable this again.

Copper golems are currently unavailable on Java Edition, but the Minecraft website promises that they’ll be added on Java Snapshots soon. Once the copper golem has been released on Java Snapshot, you must open the Minecraft Launcher and select “Latest Snapshot” in the drop-down menu on the left (instead of the default “latest release”) before pressing the play button to enable it.

How to make a copper golem

As copper golems do not spawn naturally, the only way to obtain one is through crafting. To create a copper golem, you must place either a carved pumpkin or a jack o’lantern on top of a copper block (normal pumpkins won’t work).

To obtain a copper block, use a stone pickaxe (or better) to mine raw copper. Copper veins look like grey stones with orange and greenish specks.

Once you’ve got at least nine pieces of raw copper, place them inside a furnace to smelt them. You can fuel the furnace with wood or charcoal. Wait for the smelting to finish, and you’ll have nine copper ingots.

Go to your crafting station and place one copper ingot in each of the nine resource slots. Click on the copper block in the window on the right to obtain a copper block.

To obtain a carved pumpkin, you must first locate a pumpkin in the wilds. They usually spawn in grassy biomes. Use any tool on the pumpkin to collect it, then use the shears tool (made from two iron ingots) on it to turn it into a carved pumpkin.

While you can change the carved pumpkin into a jack o’lantern by combining it with a torch at a crafting station, this isn’t necessary to spawn a copper golem.

Place the copper block on the ground, equip the carved pumpkin in your right hand, and place it on the copper block. As you will notice, not only does this spawn a copper golem, but it also transforms the copper block into a copper chest. This copper chest is linked to the copper golem’s task (more on that below).

There’s currently no copper golem spawn egg available in Minecraft Creative Mode, but you can spawn a copper golem the same way as described above.

How to use the copper golem

Copper golems function as adorable little housekeepers. They will automatically store and sort items for you by taking them from the copper chest (the one that spawned along with the golem itself) and placing them in normal storage chests. So, whenever you return from a mining trip, you can drop all your resources in the copper golem’s chest and let the little guy put them away.

If you destroyed the golem’s original copper chest or if you want to move it, don’t worry; the copper golem will use any copper chest within close vicinity. Keep in mind that the chest must be copper, or the golem will ignore it. For example, if you place two diamond chestplates in two separate, ordinary chests, the copper golem won’t touch them. If you place one of these armor pieces inside a nearby copper chest, however, the golem will take it and store it in the same chest as the first diamond chestplate.

How to change your copper golem’s color

Just like any other unwaxed copper item, the copper golem will oxidize over time. This doesn’t seem to affect its performance at all, but if you prefer a red-brownish golem over a green-blueish one, you can take a honeycomb and use it on the golem.

Copper golems spawn with the same level of oxidation as the copper block you’ve used, so if you used a fully oxidized piece, the copper golem will spawn fully oxidized as well. Using a waxed copper block won’t spawn a waxed copper golem though — you have to do that manually.

From Polygon via this RSS feed

Missile Command Delta is a new take on a classic 1980 arcade game by Atari. I saw a trailer and was immediately taken with what seemed like an ingenious reinterpretation of the brilliant but archaic original’s gameplay. I couldn’t wait to get stuck in.

So you can imagine my disappointment when the game turned out to be a tepid, poorly written first-person narrative game, in which I prodded listlessly about an abandoned bunker, solving tedious puzzles and chatting to my character’s shallow, stereotyped friends. Only occasionally was I allowed to play an excellent new Missile Command game.

The original Missile Command might be the ultimate Cold War video game, or at least the purest expression of one. Intercontinental ballistic missiles streak down from the top of the screen toward six cities at the bottom. Using a trackball, you aim your own missiles to detonate in their path, hoping to catch the incoming projectiles in the coruscating bloom of your missile’s explosion. Playing the game, you’re in a frantic defensive state, erecting a fragile, temporary barrier against the constant threat of nuclear doom raining down from above.

Missile Command is one of the classic designs of video gaming’s earliest days. But it’s been more resistant to revival than contemporaries like Pac-Man, in part because its control scheme doesn’t map well to buttons or sticks. (Mouse works better — I remember a version for the original Apple Macintosh — but is arguably too easy.) Tasked with the modern remake by Atari, developers 13AM Games and Mighty Yell have come up with an ingenious solution: turning it into a turn-based tactical puzzle game.

In Missile Command Delta, the field of play is now a board of hexagons. Each turn you are presented with enemy missile trajectories, and can launch up to three missiles from your arsenal in defense. Missiles come in many different types, presented as cards, with different ranges and energy costs. One-stage missiles detonate on that turn, while two-stage missiles will take two turns to reach their destination; on detonation, they create a flower-shaped fireball of seven hexes that will destroy any enemy missiles (or friendly ones, for that matter) that are in range or that try to pass through their blast radius on that turn.

It’s a wonderfully efficient and absorbing design that works just as well in the puzzle-like training missions, which have carefully curated attack patterns and “decks” of missiles to use, as it does in the for-real missile attacks, which are more free-form. All Missile Command Delta needed to do was give me as many of these missions to play as the designers could come up with.

Unfortunately, someone decreed that this clever tribute to a minimalist 45-year-old arcade game needed to have a story. And that the story should be about a bunch of teens breaking into a seemingly abandoned military bunker, decades after its last use, just as an extremely geopolitically vague war breaks out. And that the story should be delivered in the tired form of a first-person puzzle mystery in which you rifle through drawers for key items and study the many memos strewn around for clues.

I sort of get the attempt to construct a more modern frame around Missile Command’s Cold War theme, and indeed the meta reference to the age of the game itself. Discovering and playing it on old computers with giant, circular CRT displays in a dusty bunker is a cool idea. It’s the only idea the game needed — though “need” is a stretch, because the sharp design of the tactics game speaks so succinctly for itself. The concept also would have worked much better in a more specific period setting, especially considering the story’s gestures toward 1980s kids’ movies like The Goonies and, especially, 1983’s WarGames, in which a young hacker accesses a military supercomputer and brings the world to the brink of World War III.

The real issue, though, is the lackluster execution of Missile Command Delta’s first-person mystery — Blue Prince it is not — and the pointlessness of its inclusion to begin with. 13AM Games and Mighty Yell game up with an original and distinctive game and embedded it within a derivative and rote one that plays like a legion of other indie wannabes. It’s a dilution of something special, and it shows a sad lack of confidence in the game’s core idea.

Not every kind of game design needs a narrative frame; not every story needs to be a J.J. Abrams-style mystery box. The original Missile Command, as basic as it was, told a story about the late 20th century’s pervasive fear of armageddon that was powerfully resonant in its time, and will be remembered a lot longer than this one.

From Polygon via this RSS feed

Microsoft is now starting to change its Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) to a newly designed black version. It’s the first major change to the BSOD since Microsoft added a sad face to the screen in Windows 8, and Microsoft is now removing that frowning face and QR code in favor of a more simplified black screen.

The new BSOD is rolling out to Windows 11 Release Preview users today, meaning it should appear for all Windows 11 users in a matter of weeks. The simplified BSOD looks a lot like the black screen you normally see during a Windows update.

It will list the stop code and faulty system driver, making it easier for Windows users and IT admins to see what’s causing a BSOD on a PC. “This is really an attempt on clarity and providing better information and allowing us and customers to really get to what the core of the issue is so we can fix it faster,” said David Weston, vice president of enterprise and OS security at Microsoft, in an interview with The Verge in June.

Microsoft did briefly turn the BSOD to a black screen in test builds of Windows 11 in 2021 , but this time it’s making the change permanent. The change to the BSOD arrives as part of an update to Windows 11 that also includes Microsoft’s new Quick Machine Recovery (QMR) feature, which is designed to quickly restore machines that can’t boot properly. QMR is part of larger effort by Microsoft to improve the resiliency of Windows in the wake of last year’s CrowdStrike incident.

From The Verge via this RSS feed

Copper armor and tools are officially coming to Minecraft as part of the upcoming copper update. Instead of chopping the local flora with a flimsy stone axe, early-game players will soon be able to use tools made from sterner stuff.

Although the attack power is the same as their stone equivalent, in terms of durability and mining speed, copper tools and armor perform better than stone, but worse than iron. The question is, do you really need copper items to bridge this gap? Why not swap your stone gear for iron, like the good old days?

Should you make copper tools?

Upon starting a new game of Minecraft, you must use whatever your bare hands can get — which is wood, mostly. As hacking away at rocks with a wooden pickaxe merely yields stone, not ore, upgrading to stone tools is the logical next step. From there, you can finally mine raw iron and start working on a full iron loadout — at least, that’s how it used to be.

While playing on Minecraft’s test branch, I found it significantly easier to obtain a large stack of copper ore compared to iron ore, as each block of copper drops twice the number of resources. Naturally, this makes it easier to craft copper tools and armor, despite requiring the same number of ingots. No surprises there.

I also noticed a significant improvement in mining speed when comparing copper axes and pickaxes to their stone predecessors. True, iron is even faster, but stone to copper felt like a greater jump in efficiency.

That said, I still prefer to upgrade from stone tools to iron tools. Part of the reason is that, despite the higher resource rarity, iron tools don’t require a high number of ingots. As you usually start mining copper and iron at the same time, you’ll likely find enough iron ore on your first mining trip to craft an iron axe, pickaxe, and more. But even more importantly, I wasn’t able to mine any redstone, gold, diamonds, or emeralds with the copper tools. I considered bringing both copper and iron tools on my next mining trip (copper for basic resources, iron for special stuff), but I might as well use iron only and benefit from the higher speed and durability.

Should Mojang decide to make copper ore mineable with the wooden pickaxe (which, after testing it in the update preview, doesn’t seem to be the case), copper tools would become far more valuable as the next step before iron— but then again, this would disturb the natural order of the blocky world far more severely. It’s probably best to let copper tools remain an optional step, one that should be skipped if possible.

What about copper armor?

Copper armor sets, on the other hand, are amazing. Although the full copper armor set provides 5 armor points instead of the iron set’s 7.5 armor points, crafting the copper set saves you from a choice between safety and progression. Requiring a whopping 24 ingots in total, full outfits are costly, so I usually end up wearing a leather fit as I spend my hard-earned iron on tools, weapons, buckets, compasses, shears, and other useful items. With copper being little more than a fancy building material up until now, spending it on armor seems a wise idea.

Speaking of the uses of copper, beware that you may want to save some copper ore to craft a copper golem. Furthermore, as the copper update is still in its testing phase, keep in mind that some of the functionalities and stats may be changed before the update’s full release. But based on what we know so far; yes, copper armor and tools are good in Minecraft, predominantly as an iron-saver.

If you’re eager to test the copper armor and weapons yourself, you can do so by enabling Minecraft’s experimental features. As of this writing, the copper update is only available for testing in Minecraft Bedrock Edition, but it will be added to Java snapshots in the future.

From Polygon via this RSS feed

A Tesla Inc. robotaxi in Austin, Texas, US, on Sunday, June 22, 2025.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is eyeing San Francisco for his next robotaxi city — to which I say, good luck to you, sir.

Musk acknowledged that the company is still waiting on “regulatory approval,” which hints at the uphill company Tesla will face in pushing this process forward. (Get it? Uphill? San Francisco?)

The company scored a big win earlier this year when the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) granted Tesla’s application for a ride-hail permit, a required first step in the automaker’s quest to launch a robotaxi service in the state.

But the permit does not authorize Tesla to offer rides to the general public or operate a full-fledged ride-hailing service. To operate a commercial robotaxi service in California, any company would need to obtain three permits from the California DMV: testing with a safety driver, fully driverless testing, and deployment of autonomous vehicles. Right now, Tesla only has one of these permits: testing with a safety driver.

But the permit does not authorize Tesla to offer rides to the general public or operate a full-fledged ride-hailing service.

If Tesla wants its service to look similar to the one it launched last month in Austin — driverless, but with a safety monitor in the driver seat; paid rides, but invite only — it will also need to obtain these additional DMV permits. It will also need to apply for CPUC’s autonomous vehicle passenger program, which it has yet to do. That’s a lot of hoops to jump through, and a stark contrast from Texas, where all that was required was proof of insurance.

California regulators will likely have a lot of questions for Tesla, including explanations for some of the high-profile mistakes its robotaxis committed in Austin. They may want to know how active a role its remote operators play in each vehicle’s operation. They may ask about “phantom braking.” And they will probably ask about the steering wheel from that photo. (You know the one I’m talking about.) Tesla will also need to submit a lot more data to California watchdogs than Texas currently requires, including miles driven, disengagements, and vehicle collisions.

If anything goes wrong, California could come in and revoke Tesla’s robotaxi permits. That’s what happened to Cruise when the company’s employees failed to disclose an incident in which one of its vehicles drug a woman several feet after she was struck in a hit-and-run.

Speaking of disengagements, companies that operate self-driving cars in California are required to submit annually data to the state’s DMV listing the number of miles driven and the frequency at which human safety drivers were forced to take control of their autonomous vehicles. The last time Tesla submitted a disengagement report was 2019, when it reported driving only 12.2 miles autonomously as part of demo around its then-Palo Alto headquarters. Tesla hasn’t submitted any reports since then, arguing that its testing is focused on Level 2 driving.

But there are signs that Tesla is ramping up its efforts in California. Earlier this year, Business Insider reported that Tesla registered over 220 test drivers and 100 vehicles for an autonomous driving permit in the state. That’s an increase over the 59 drivers and 14 vehicles it had registered in a previous application from 2022.

From The Verge via this RSS feed

Bluesky is adding age verification to its platform in the UK as part of efforts to comply with the country’s Online Safety Act. In an update on Thursday, the platform says it will let users verify their age by scanning their face, uploading an ID, or entering a payment card.

Bluesky will perform age verification through Kid Web Services (KWS), an Epic Games-owned tool that developers can use to implement age verification and parental controls on their platforms. If users don’t want to verify their age, or if they’re under 18, they will still be able to have an account with certain features limited. Bluesky will block “adult-appropriate content” and turn off certain features, such as direct messaging.

The UK passed the Online Safety Act in 2023, which privacy advocates have warned will “lead to a much more censored, locked-down internet for British users.” Another part of the law is coming into force on July 25th, requiring sites and apps containing porn and harmful content to provide “highly effective age assurance.” Platforms that don’t comply with the new rules will face fines of up to £18 million ($24 million) or 10 percent of their worldwide revenue, whichever is higher.

Once the age requirements take effect, Bluesky says it will show a notification to users in the UK asking them to verify their age. Based on the images shared by Bluesky, it looks like UK users will first have to register their email with KWS, which will send them instructions on how to verify their age. “In addition to these updates, we’ll continue to look at how we’re doing to shield children from unwanted content, and how we can improve,” Bluesky writes in the update.

From The Verge via this RSS feed

Hyundai just unveiled its second-ever performance EV, the Ioniq 6 N, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex, England. The new variant carries over a lot of what made the Ioniq 5 N so appealing, while adding a little more range and a little more giddyap.

But more importantly is a suite of features designed to mimic the best parts about high-performance vehicles, like shifting, engine noise, and drifting. Hyundai recognizes that just because it’s swapped the roaring 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 engine with twin electric motors doesn’t mean it needs to leave behind all the hair-raising, goosebump-inducing sensations of steering an insanely powerful sedan around a racetrack.

Based on Hyundai’s RN22e concept, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 N uses the same powertrain as the Ioniq 5 N. That includes the same 84kWh battery pack, which is Hyundai’s fourth-generation, and the same chassis, cooling system, and motors. Still, Hyundai says the Ioniq 6 N can drive up to 291 miles (469 kilometers) on the WLTP cycle, which is 13 miles (21 km) more than the Ioniq 5 N. The EPA estimates will be released later, but it seems likely to exceed the Ioniq 5 N’s 221 mile EPA-rated range.

The twin motors, one on each axle, can put out a combined 641 horsepower (478 kW) of power and 568 foot-pounds of torque while using the N Grin Boost function, which lasts about 10 seconds. After that, the total horsepower falls to 601 (448 kW) and 546 ft-lb of torque.

The Ioniq 6 N’s acceleration is sure to shove you back in your seat, with a 0-62 mph time of 3.2 seconds when N Launch Control is engaged. That’s a bit quicker than the Ioniq 5 N’s 0-62 mph time of 3.25 seconds. And the Ioniq 6 N’s speed tops out at 160 mph (257 kilometers per hour).

Charging the 84kWh battery is sure to be a speedy affair, thanks to the 800-volt architecture of Hyundai’s Electric Global Modular Platform. When fast charging at speeds of up to 350 kW, the Ioniq 6 N can go from 0 to 80 percent in about 18 minutes, the company says.

Hyundai also says that its battery conditioning feature should improve the performance and lifespan of the battery, while its optimized thermal management control and an increased capacity in the coolant heater significantly reduce the conditioning time.

A little more range and a little more giddyap

The N group also added drift features, a button on the steering wheel that adds a 10-second boost of power and torque, launch control, race modes, and specialized battery conditioning for various modes to ensure that you’re getting all the power you can from the battery and motors.

And Hyundai had a few more tricks up its sleeve with the addition of N e-Shift, which simulates an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. The shift feature is now “fully compatible” with the rest of the automaker’s suite of performance features, including N Launch Control, N Drift Optimizer, N Grin Boost, and N Torque Distribution. (Trust me, I get no pleasure from reporting these thoroughly silly brand names.) And its Ambient Light Shift N feature will sync different light shades to shift points, so that every gear shift is seen as well as felt.

Automotive fakery is nothing new. But it’s certainly getting more prominence in the EV era, with a whole galaxy of faux sounds piped through external speakers and simulated gear shifting. Hyundai is just the latest automaker to dip its toes into these treacherous waters.

No word yet on price, though I think it’s safe to assume it will slot way under luxury performance EVs like the Lucid Air Sapphire, Audi RS e-tron, and Porsche Taycan. The base Ioniq 6 starts at $37,850, while the Ioniq 5 N starts at $67,800 — so probably somewhere in between.

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