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Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Over the weekend, lots of sites reported that Apple analyst Ming-chi Kuo is claiming that the iPhones due to be released later this year won’t have chargers or EarPods in the box. If you want to know what most tech bloggers thought of the rumor, you can head over here to see all the tweets, almost all of which amount to “that sounds like a bad, user-hostile thing to do.”

I say good: drop the in-box charger (but I have a couple requests).

The clearest piece I’ve seen about pulling the charger out of the box comes from venture capitalist MG Siegler. He points out that there are four reasons that Apple might have for doing this: increased margins, shipping costs, the transition to a future no-port iPhone, and the environment. That list, for Siegler, is in order of importance for Apple.

Maybe! It very well might be the case that Apple is making this move for purely selfish reasons, charging the same amount of money and giving a customer less. It also means people who don’t already have a charger will be made to buy one — and boy howdy Apple’s own chargers aren’t the cheapest.

To all of those issues and more I say: yep, but I don’t care. Let’s talk about the scale of e-waste. In 2018, my colleague Nilay Patel interviewed Steven Yang, the CEO of Anker. Anker is the company that makes the most well-regarded external batteries and chargers and Yang was there to talk about his vision for the future of chargers and USB-C. He said:

There’s one hope we really have, not only at Anker but others in the industry, that’s really to turn chargers from majority being in-box to majority being bring your own charger.

Of course that would be good for Anker, which sells chargers. But it would also be good for the environment. Yang’s napkin math for how many of those little wall warts are sold every year are eye-popping:

[Say] every smartphone has a charger with it. We had 1.5 billion smartphones that shipped last year. ... That’s only for phones. When we have tablets, laptops, power drills, [and more], we estimate a total of four billion chargers (were shipped last year). We estimate about 300,000 tons of e-waste just from these in-box chargers.

The International Telecommunications Union estimates that “one million tons of external power supplies are manufactured each year.” Whatever the number that actually turns into waste ends up being, it’s unnecessarily high. Yang’s solution turns out to be very similar to the solution that the European Union has been pushing for: common, universal chargers.

To me, the scale of the e-waste problem outweighs the potential frustration that Apple is getting one over on consumers by making them buy a charger separately.

Which brings me to my requests, only one of which has a ghost of a chance.

First, Apple can solve a lot of that potential resentment by simply offering consumers a choice: a free charger with an iPhone or an Apple Store gift card for an equal value. Hell — for people that take the gift card, Apple gets to make some of that money back via its own subscription services or App Store cut anyway.

Second, I’d like Apple to finally do the right thing and switch the iPhone to USB-C. Apple switched its computers to USB-C, it switched the iPad Pro to USB-C, and nearly every other smartphone sold today is charged via USB-C. It would reduce e-waste. It would reduce the number of cables we’re all forced to carry around and keep track of. A major form factor change (as is rumored for the iPhone 12) presents a great opportunity for Apple to make the switch.

I am fully aware this is not going to happen, no need to tweet at me about it. I know.

Apple itself signed on to a pledge to support universal chargers along with other major consumer electronics companies, though there’s a big distinction between the plug on the charger end and the plug on the phone end. Apple is technically keeping its word by putting USB-C on one end.

By the way, one question that is still pending is whether the cable that (dear god, presumably) comes with the iPhone 12 will have USB-C on one end. Lots of people have drawers full of USB-A chargers, but I think those drawers may not have quite as many USB-C adapters.

If it pans out, Apple’s decision to yank the wall wart out of the box probably serves as more evidence that it’s sticking with Lightning. Existing iPhone users have chargers and cables sitting around to charge their new phones, but asking them to switch to USB-C and buy chargers is a bridge too far.

There have too many rumors about a forthcoming iPhone that only has wireless charging to ignore. So the idea is that Apple won’t switch to USB-C because it’s planning on moving directly to having no ports at all. Everybody seems to assume it’s coming, and I remain unconvinced it’s a good idea. Wireless chargers simply cost more, for one thing. For another, most wireless charging solutions are much too slow compared to what you can get with a good wired charger, so something faster needs to be developed. And, well, Apple doesn’t exactly have a strong track record with wireless charging innovation, does it?

That angst can wait, though. This year, the angst about charging will be whether or not Apple puts a power adapter in the box. I say pull it. We’ll deal and — maybe more importantly — we just might start thinking more about how our tech purchasing habits affect the planet.

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Reviews and previews

┏ The best Chromebooks to buy in 2020. Monica Chin:

What most buyers want in the best Chromebook are likely the same things they want in any laptop: a good keyboard, solid build quality, long battery life, a nice screen, and enough power to do the things you want. More Chromebooks can meet those qualifications than ever before, but these are the ones that rise above the rest.

┏ Sony WF-SP800N review: noise cancellation for your workouts. Chris Welch:

The 800Ns don’t sound quite the same or as refined as the 1000XM3s, and they still lack wireless charging and simultaneous pairing with two devices. But they pack a bass wallop and offer plenty of EQ fine-tuning. Unlike Sony’s last gym-focused wireless earbuds, these have a more subdued design that clearly takes after the 1000XM3s.

┏ LG Velvet review: sleek, not smooth. Sam Byford:

The LG Velvet is an unusual phone that doesn’t really have any direct competitors; it’s an attractive mid-range device in a world of okay-looking ultra-powerful flagships. If you don’t care about screen refresh rates and camera performance as much as you do slick looks and a lightweight design (or a bulky dual-screen case), it could well be for you, particularly if 5G is also a priority. For everyone else, though, it might be a tough sell. We don’t have final US pricing announced yet, but I think it’ll be hard to recommend if it comes in at more than $600 with the Dual Screen.

┏ Level Lock review: smarts you can’t see. Dan Seifert:

The Level Lock is a new smart lock that bucks those trends: once it’s installed, it’s completely invisible and hides all of its electronics and mechanics inside your existing deadbolt lock.

┏ Cyberpunk 2077 hands-on: Night City overflows with choices. A preview from Nick Statt:

After playing a small slice of Cyberpunk 2077 — approximately four hours, including the opening character customization and the in-game combat tutorials — that’s my big takeaway: this game has an almost preposterous amount of freedom of choice and customization. You can look however you want, talk and act however you want, and pretty much handle any situation in a half-dozen different ways, to the point that making any one decision can feel very overwhelming.

And the ban played on

The entire internet was abuzz with bans yesterday, as social platforms rushed to finally enforce their rules against hate groups all in a rush. As of this writing, Reddit, Twitch, and YouTube had done so. In a perhaps related story, the three or four days previous saw major advertisers very publicly pulling their ad dollars from social media platforms over hate speech issues.

Were those companies looking to reduce their ad spend during the pandemic anyway? Sure. Were social media companies looking to protect their bottom line in addition to making genuinely moral stands? Maybe. Whatever the real motivations, I’ll take it. It’s the mirror of one of the most important rules of dealing with online trolls: you can’t actually know the genuine intention behind their posts, so you just have to focus on what’s literally said and what the effects are.

My colleagues Casey Newton and Zoe Schiffer will cover all of that in The Interface newsletter later today in more depth than I can here. So, hey: subscribe!

┏ Unilever will pull ads from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for the rest of the year.

┏ Dr Disrespect breaks silence, but Twitch still refuses to say what’s going on.

┏ Reddit bans r/The_Donald and r/ChapoTrapHouse as part of a major expansion of its rules.

┏ Twitch temporarily bans President Trump.

┏ YouTube bans Stefan Molyneux, David Duke, Richard Spencer, and more for hate speech.

┏ India has banned TikTok, WeChat, and other China-based apps.

┏ Twitch reckons with sexual assault as it begins permanently suspending streamers. Jake Kastrenakes:

Streamers don’t trust that Twitch is about to change. Shear has been CEO for nearly nine years — since before Twitch was Twitch. (He was a co-founder of the site’s predecessor, Justin.tv.) “Statements are cool, but when you’ve got a past history of doing the exact opposite, well I’m not gonna believe what you’re saying until I see action,” Katie Robinson, who streams as PikaChulita, told The Verge.

More from The Verge

┏ Lululemon is buying exercise hardware startup Mirror for half a billion dollars.

┏ The human cost of Trump’s guest worker ban. Russell Brandom:

The Verge spoke to four people affected by the order — some caught outside the country and unable to return, others on US soil but unable to leave. All four requested anonymity out of the reasonable fear that immigration officials might retaliate if they spoke out publicly. Their statements have been edited for clarity, and in some cases, identifying information has been removed.

┏ Microsoft to permanently close all of its retail stores. I have shopped and gotten support in the San Francisco Microsoft score at least a dozen times and every single time without fail was impressed by the knowledge and helpfulness of the employees.

Not many stores like that left. I am Old Enough to remember being able to go to Radio Shack and have the people there know a lot about circuitry and such. A Radio Shack manager was the first person to show me a Motorola StarTAC.

I hope it’s true that the internet has filled this gap, but when I was a kid being able to go to the mall and hang out at a store where the employees Knew Their Shit is one of the things that got me interested in tech in the first place. The Microsoft Store felt like that.

Of course, the Radio Shack comparison is apt because ...uh it was possible to hang out at the Microsoft Store and talk to the employees because, er, it was never that busy (unlike Apple Stores). So probably not a money maker for Microsoft.

┏ Apple News just lost The New York Times.

┏ Google will now auto-delete location and search history by default for new users.

┏ Google to let you use a Fi number and a Voice number on the same account.

Volkswagen muss Kunden Schadenersatz zahlen, die ein Auto mit illegaler Abgasnachbehandlung gekauft haben.

Your life probably involves a lot more videoconferencing now than it did a few weeks ago – even if it already did involve a lot. That’s not likely going to change anytime soon, so why not make the most of it? The average MacBook webcam can technically get the job done, but it’s far from impressive. There are a number of ways to up your game, however – by spending either just a little or a whole lot. Whether you’re just looking to improve your daily virtual stand-up, gearing up for presenting at a virtual conference, or planning a new video podcast, here’s some advice about what to do to make the most of what you’ve got, or what to get if you really want to maximize your video and audio quality.

Level 0

Turn on a light and put it in the right place

One of the easiest things you can do to improve the look of your video is to simply turn on any light you have handy and position it behind the camera shining on your face. That might mean moving a lamp, or moving your computer if all your available lights are in a fixed position, but it can make a dramatic difference. Check out these examples below, screen grabbed from my Microsoft Surface Book 2 (which actually has a pretty good built-in video camera, as far as built-in video cameras go).

The image above is without any light beyond the room’s ceiling lights on, and the image below is turning on a lamp and positioning it directed on my face from above and behind the Surface Book. It’s enough of a change to make it look less like I got caught by surprise with my video on, and more like I actually am attending a meeting I’m supposed to take part in.

Be aware of what’s behind you

It’s definitely too much to ask to set dress your surroundings for every video call you jump on, but it is worth taking a second to spot check what’s visible in the frame. Ideally, you can find a spot where the background is fairly minimal, with some organized decor visible. Close doors that are in frame, and try not to film in front of an uncovered window. And if you’re living in a pandemic-induced mess of clutter, just shovel the clutter until it’s out of frame.

Know your system sound settings

Get to know where the input volume settings are for your device and operating system. It’s not usually much of an issue, because most apps and systems set pretty sensible defaults, but if you’re also doing something unusual like sitting further away from your laptop to try to fit a second person in frame, then you might want to turn up the input audio slider to make sure anyone listening can actually hear what you have to say.

It’s probably controllable directly in whatever app you’re using, but on Macs, also try going to System Preferences > Sound > Input to check if the level is directly controllable for the device you’re using, and if tweaking that produces the result you’re looking for.

Level 1

Get an external webcam

The built-in webcam on most notebooks and all-in-ones isn’t going to be great, and you can almost always improve things by buying a dedicated webcam instead. Right now, it might be hard to find them in stock, since a lot of people have the same need for a boost in videoconferencing quality all at the same time. But if you can get your hands on even a budget upgrade option like the Logitech C922 Pro Stream 1080p webcam I used for the clip below, it should help with sharpness, low light performance, color and more.

Get a basic USB mic

Dedicated external mics are another way to quickly give your setup a big boost for relatively low cost. In the clip above, I used the popular Samson Meteor USB mic, which has built-in legs and dedicated volume/mute controls. This mic includes everything you need, and should work instantly when you plug it in via USB, and it produces great sound that’s ideal for vocals.

Get some headphones

Headphones of any kind will make your video calls and conferences better, since it minimizes the chance of echo from your mic picking up the audio from your own speakers. Big over ears models are good for sound quality, while earbuds make for less obvious headwear in your actual video image.

Level 2

Use a dedicated camera and an HDMI-to-USB interface

If you already have a standalone camera, including just about any consumer pocket camera with HDMI out capabilities, then it’s worth looking into picking up an HDMI-to-USB video capture interface in order to convert it into a much higher quality webcam. In the clip below I’m using the Sony RX100 VII, which is definitely at the high end of the consumer pocket camera market, but there are a range of options that should give you nearly the same level of quality, including the older RX100 models from Sony .

When looking for an HDMI interface, make sure that they advertise that it works with videoconferencing apps like Zoom, Hangouts and Skype on Mac and Windows without any software required: This means that they likely have UVC capabilities, which means those operating systems will recognize them as webcams without any driver downloads or special apps required out of the box. These are also in higher demand due to COVID-19, so the Elgato Cam Link 4K I used here probably isn’t in ready stock anywhere. Instead, look to alternatives like the IOGear Video Capture Adapter or the Magewell USB 3.0 Capture device, or potentially consider upgrading to a dedicated live broadcast deck like the Blackmagic ATEM Mini I’ll talk more about below.

Get a wired lav mic

A simple wired lavalier (lav) microphone is a great way to upgrade your audio game, and it doesn’t even need to cost that much. You can get a wired lav that performs decently well for as little as $20 on Amazon, and you can use a USB version for connecting directly to your computer even if you don’t have a 3.5mm input port. Rode’s Lavalier GO is a great mid-range option that also works well with the Wireless GO transmitter and receiver kit I mention in the next section. The main limitation of this is that depending on cord length, you could be pretty limited in terms of your range of motion while using one.

Get multiple lights and position them effectively

Lighting is a rabbit hole that ends up going very deep, but getting a couple of lights that you can move to where you need them most is a good, inexpensive way to get started. Amazon offers a wide range of lighting kits that fit the bill, or you can even do pretty well with just a couple of Philips Hue lights in gooseneck lamps positioned correctly and adjusted to the right temperature and brightness.

Level 3

Use an interchangeable lens camera and a fast lens

The next step up from a decent compact camera is one that features interchangeable lenses. This allows you to add a nice, fast prime lens with a high maximum aperture (aka a low ‘f’ number’) to get that defocused background look. This provides natural-looking separation of you, the subject, from whatever is behind you, and provides a cinematic feel that will wow colleagues in your monthly all-hands.

Get a wireless lav mic

A lav mic is great, but a wireless lav mic is even better. It means you don’t need to worry about hitting the end of your cable, or getting it tangled in other cables in your workspace, and it can provide more flexibility in terms of what audio interfaces you use to actually get your sound into the computer, too. A great option here is the RODE Wireless GO, which can work on its own or in tandem with a mic like the RODE Lavalier GO for great, flexible sound.

Use in-ear monitors

You still want to be using headphones at this stage, but the best kind to use really are in-ear monitors that do their best to disappear out of sight. You can get some dedicated broadcast-style monitors like those Shure makes, or you can spring for a really good pair of Bluetooth headphones with low latency and the latest version of Bluetooth. Apple’s AirPods Pro is a great option, as are the Bang & Olfusen E8 fully wireless earbuds, which I’ve used extensively without any noticeable lag.

Use 3-point lighting

At this stage, it’s really time to just go ahead and get serious about lighting. The best balance in terms of optimizing specifically for streaming, videoconferencing and anything else your’e doing from your desk, basically, is to pick up at least two of Elgato’s Key Lights or Key Light Airs.

These are LED panel lights with built-in diffusers that don’t have a steep learning curve, and that come with very sturdy articulating tube mounts with desk clamps, and that connect to Wi-Fi for control via smartphones or desktop applications. You can adjust their temperature, meaning you can make them either more ‘blue’ or more ‘orange’ depending on your needs, as well as tweak their brightness.

Using three of these, you can set up a standard 3-point lighting setup which are ideal for interviews or people speaking directly into a camera – aka just about every virtual conference/meeting/event/webinar use you can think of.

Level 4

Get an HDMI broadcast switcher deck

HDMI-USB capture devices do a fine job turning most cameras into webcams, but if you really want to give yourself a range of options, you can upgrade to a broadcast switching interface like the Blackmagic ATEM Mini. Released last year, the ATEM Mini packs in a lot of features that previously were basically only available to video pros, and provides them in an easy-to-use form factor with a price that’s actually astounding given how much this thing can really do.

On its own paired with a good camera, the ATEM Mini can add a lot to your video capabilities, including allowing you to tee up still graphics, and switch to computer input to show videos, work live in graphics apps, demonstrate code or run a presentation. You can set up picture-in-picture views, put up lower thirds and even fade-to-black using a hardware button dedicated to that purpose.

But if you really want to make the most of the ATEM Mini, you can add a second or even a third and fourth camera to the mix. For most uses, this is probably way too much camera – there are only so many angles one can get of a single person talking, in the end. But if you get creative with camera placement and subjects, it’s a fun and interesting way to break up a stream, especially if you’re doing something longer like giving a speech or extended presentation. The newer ATEM Mini Pro is just starting to ship, and offers built-in recording and streaming as well.

Use a broadcast-quality shotgun mic

The ATEM Mini has two dedicated audio inputs that really give you a lot of flexibility on that front, too. Attaching one to the output on an iPod touch, for instance, could let you use that device as a handy soundboard for cueing up intro and title music, plus sound effects. And this also means you can route sound from a high-quality mic, provided you have the right interface.

For top level streaming quality, with minimal sacrifices required in terms of video, I recommend going to a good, broadcast-quality shotgun mic. The Rode VideoMic NTG is a good entry-level option that has flexibility when it comes to also being mountable on-camera, but something like the Rode NTG3m mounted to a boom arm and placed out of frame with the mic end angled down towards your mouth, is going to provide the best possible results.

Add accent lighting

You’ve got your 3-point lighting – but as I said, lighting is a nearly endless rabbit hole. Accent lighting can really help push the professionalism of your video even further, and it’s also pretty easy and to set up using readily available equipment. Philips Hue is probably my favorite way to add a little more vitality to any scene, and if you’re already a Hue user you can make do with just about any of their color bulbs. Recent releases from Philips like the Hue Play Smart LED Light Bars are essentially tailor made for this use, and you can daisy chain up to three on one power adapter to create awesome accent wall lighting effects.

All of this is, of course, not at all necessary for basic video conferencing, virtual hangouts and meetings. But if you think that remote video is going to be a bigger part of our lives going forward, even as we return to some kind of normalcy in the wake of COVID-19, then it’s worth considering what elements of your system to upgrade based on your budget and needs, and hopefully this article provides some guidance.

It’s no secret I’m a fan of the reMarkable, a tablet with a paper-like display that’s focused on text and sketching rather than rich media and games. The sequel to the original, announced today, looks to make a good thing even better.

Designed for the creation and consumption of monochromatic content like long documents, e-books, notes and sketches, the reMarkable set itself apart as a more minimalist alternative (or complement) to the likes of the iPad or Surface. The device was crowdfunded and has sold more than 100,000 units; meanwhile, the company has grown and attracted a $15 million A round. One sees in retrospect that the money helped launch this successor.

The most obvious change is to the design. It has a bold asymmetrical look with a chrome band along the left side, indicating the tablet’s main use as an alternative to a paper notebook: Hold it with your left hand and write with your right. Sorry, lefties.

The new tablet is just 4.7 mm (0.19 in) thick, thinner than the iPad Pro and Sony’s competing Digital Paper tablets, both of which are 5.9 mm. Let’s be honest — at these levels of thinness it’s getting hard to tell the difference, but it’s an accomplishment nevertheless.

Probably the best thing about the original reMarkable, however, was how good it felt to write and draw on, and the company has spent the last few years improving that wherever they can. For one thing, the already very small delay of about 40 ms between touching the screen with the stylus and a line appearing has been nearly cut in half.

That’s an area where every milli-unit counts. The lag on a real pen and paper is zero, of course, and while the reMarkable was good, there was still a very slight lag, especially when making large gestures or lines. As the company explained to me:

The hardware to further push the latency down further did not exist, so we decided to invent the technology ourselves. We redesigned both the hardware and software architecture that controls the display through a completely new display controller that changes how the display itself is electrically controlled, down to the voltages and electrical currents applied in complex waveforms to each individual pixel, millions at a time. The result is a 20ms latency, smoother ink flow with less jitter, and a completely uncontested digital writing experience perfected.

I intend to investigate this myself once I get my hands on one of the new devices. The company worked with E Ink, the main manufacturer and investor in e-paper type displays, to accomplish the new display, which has the same specs as the previous one otherwise: 10.3 inches, monochrome, 1872×1404 resolution for 226 DPI.

Here’s the inevitable, yet well-executed, aspirational promo video:

The software running on the reMarkable has received several major updates since the product made its debut, adding things like handwriting recognition, a new interface, better performance and so on. But one of the most requested features is finally coming with the new device: saving articles from the web.

Unfortunately they didn’t answer my specific request of adding Pocket integration, deciding instead to roll their own with a Chrome plugin that sends a reformatted web page to the device. Unfortunately I use Firefox, but I can make an exception for this.

The company is claiming a 3x boost to battery life, using the same 3,000 mAh battery, based on performance improvements throughout and a more efficient (but more powerful) dual-core ARM processor. That means two weeks of use and 90 days of standby. This is welcome news, because frankly the battery life and power management on the last one were not great.

Lastly, the “Marker” itself is getting an upgrade I’ve desperately wanted since the first day I tried the tablet: an eraser. You could always erase by selecting that tool, of course, but now one of the tips of the stylus will activate it automatically, a feature borrowed from Wacom and accomplished in collaboration with them. Of course, the eraser-enabled “Marker Plus” costs $99, $50 more than the plain one. They both stick onto the tablet via magnet, though.

“We’ve worked closely with Wacom the last two years to create Marker Plus, the most beautiful pen we have ever made,” reMarkable co-founder and CEO Magnus Wanberg told TechCrunch. “In addition to premium materials and design, it features an end-cap eraser that works seamlessly with the reMarkable software. We’ve fined-tuned the eraser sensor in collaboration with Wacom’s engineering team to make sure it looks and feels like just a real eraser on paper.”

But overall you’re looking at a much cheaper package. The reMarkable, for all its merits, was not cheap at $700. The reMarkable 2 will sell for $399 if you pre-order, and comes with a Marker and a nice folio case. For anyone who was on the fence about the first one, the sequel may prove irresistible.