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23 May

Amazon has canceled its Wheel of Time series

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After three seasons, Amazon’s live-action take on Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson’s Wheel of Time series is coming to an end. Though The Wheel of Time‘s third season was hailed by fans as the show’s strongest chapter yet, Deadline reports that Amazon has decided not to bring it back due to its relatively high production costs and flagging viewership numbers. Similar to Amazon’s Rings of Power series, The Wheel of Time was clearly a play to produce another Game of Thrones-style hit. When the series first debuted in 2021, it managed to capture an impressively large audience and become one…

23 May

Trump threatens Apple, Samsung and others with a 25 percent iPhone tariff

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President Donald Trump has threatened Apple and other smartphone manufacturers with a tariff of “at least 25 percent” for iPhones and similar hardware unless production is moved to the United States. “I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S. Thank your for your attention to…

22 May

Disney is suing YouTube for poaching a key media and sports executive

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As YouTube prepares to air an exclusive NFL opening week game for free on September 5th, it’s hiring former Disney exec Justin Connolly. The move has caused Disney to respond by suing both YouTube and Connolly, saying he was in the middle of leading the team negotiating Disney’s license renewal with YouTube. He’d most recently been running the streaming services and linear media networks at Disney, and will take over as YouTube’s new global head of media and sports, as first reported by Bloomberg. After spending more than 20 years at Disney and ESPN, he’ll be managing YouTube’s relationship with…

17 May

Amazon claims it’s ‘constantly inviting’ new customers to Alexa Plus

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Yesterday, Reuters ran a story with the headline “Weeks after Amazon’s Alexa+ AI launch, a mystery: where are the users?,” in which it detailed its difficulty locating first-hand accounts of the AI-upgraded assistants’ use online. The Verge asked Amazon about the story, and the company has responded to say that the idea that Alexa Plus isn’t available is “simply wrong.” Here’s the company’s full — and rather strongly-worded! — statement on the matter, provided by Amazon spokesperson Eric Sveum via email to The Verge: It’s simply wrong to say that Alexa+ isn’t available to customers—that assertion is false. Hundreds of…

17 May

Epic asks judge to make Apple let Fortnite back on the US App Store

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Epic CEO Tim Sweeney. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Epic is asking District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to order Apple to review — and approve if compliant with Apple’s guidelines — Epic’s submission of Fortnite to the US App Store in a new court filing. The company argues in the document that Apple is once again in contempt of the judge’s April order restricting it from rejecting apps over their use of outside payment links. In a letter from Apple that Epic shared late Friday, Apple writes that it won’t “take action on the Fortnite app submission until after the…

15 May

Meta asks judge to throw out antitrust case mid-trial

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Meta has filed a motion for judgment on the antitrust case it’s currently fighting in court. The motion argues that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has failed to produce any evidence that Meta unlawfully monopolized part of the social networking market, something the government argues it did through its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. The filing was submitted this evening, shortly after the FTC rested its case in a protracted trial before DC District Court Judge James Boasberg. “After five weeks of trial, it is clear that the FTC has failed to meet the legal standard required under antitrust law,”…

15 May

Tim Sweeney is mocking Apple for letting Fortnite fakes into the App Store

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Epic Games has been waiting for Apple to approve Fortnite for the US iOS App Store for nearly a week, and now Epic CEO Tim Sweeney is using X to try and put pressure on Apple. On Thursday, he highlighted examples of Fortnite lookalikes that are currently on the App Store and made a direct appeal to Apple CEO Tim Cook. In one post, Sweeney included screenshots of the App Store listing for a game called Fort Battle Royale Epic Shoot. A screenshot in the app listing shows a game with Fortnite-inspired graphics, but it’s clear if you look closely…

15 May

TikTok will show teens guided meditation after 10PM

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TikTok will interrupt teens’ feeds with guided meditation after 10PM. The platform has been testing the feature with a “wind down” prompt, but now it’ll show the notification with guided meditation by default to all users under 18. TikTok’s wind-down prompt initially only played calming music to remind teens to take a break from the app at nighttime. It was also only shown to teens under 16. But now, the prompts will include meditation, too, and will be available to adults who toggle on “Sleep Hours” from the Screen Time settings page as well. While testing its meditation feature, TikTok…

14 May

EA is bringing employees back to the office three days per week

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EA Sports FC 25. | Image: EA EA is asking employees to return to the office for three days per week under a hybrid model – and it sounds like the company will be significantly reducing remote hiring. CEO Andrew Wilson and president of EA Entertainment and technology Laura Miele sent emails to staff about the change, IGN reports. Kotaku’s Ethan Gach also reported on Wilson’s email. Corporate communications VP Justin Higgs confirmed the new hybrid model to The Verge. “We’ve adopted a globally consistent hybrid work model to bring teams together with greater clarity and intent – enabling faster…

11 May

Mexico is suing Google over how it’s labeling the Gulf of Mexico

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Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum speaking on April 22, 2025. | Photo by YURI CORTEZ/AFP via Getty Images Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Friday that her government is suing Google for relabeling the Gulf of Mexico as “Gulf of America” for US users, CBS News reports. The company had done so in Google Maps after President Trump ordered the name change at the beginning of his Presidential term. The lawsuit makes good on Sheinbaum’s February threat that Mexico would “proceed to court” if the company didn’t change the name, which it kept as Gulf of Mexico for users in Mexico, but…