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Nintendo may be releasing a cheaper version of the Switch this June, according to a report from Bloomberg, which corroborates earlier rumors that Nintendo is working on a budget model of its popular portable console. It's still not clear what changes Nintendo would make to yield a cheaper Switch, although some have speculated that the new console could feature a smaller display or remove the dock capability for a cheaper and more mobile-focused device. While Nintendo has yet to release its official numbers for the last fiscal year, according to Bloomberg, analysts estimate that Nintendo shipped 17.5 million Switch consoles. That number would beat out Nintendo’s revised estimate of 17 million units, but it would still fall short of the original (and highly ambitious) 20 million console goal. A cheaper model of the Switch could help Nintendo boost sales, a strategy that we’ve already seen the company use in the past with products like the Nintendo 2DS, a less powerful and b...

Spoiler alert: This article does not address or reveal any plot points from Avengers: Endgame. It's just a recommendation for a specific refresher course. Trust us on this one. Ahead of the release of Avengers: Endgame, anti-spoiler mania has reached a point of frenzy, driven in part by the directors' anti-spoiler statement, a seemingly actively malicious pro-spoiler movement, and an extremely popular social media hashtag urging people not to be dicks about it. The Verge is so on board that our spoiler-free review doesn’t reveal a single plot point from the movie, and neither will this post. We're just here to say that the film, as a whole, ties back into a whole lot of Marvel Cinematic Universe history. It's a phenomenally referential film, and you can expect months to come of "Endgame Easter eggs you missed" posts and videos and listicles, mostly created by people who really underestimate your intelligence and your attention to detail, and hope you...

Apple has cut the price on the  HomePod  by $50, in what appears to be a permanent price drop from $349 to $299 for the smart speaker,  via  9to5Mac . This new discount isn’t the lowest HomePods price we’ve seen — last year saw holiday sales at retailers  as low as $249  — but unlike those sales, the new price isn’t a temporary deal, which could help juice up sales of the pricey speaker. Still, at $299, it remains one of the more expensive smart speakers on the market, especially compared to products like the Google Home, Amazon’s Alexa, or the Sonos One. The updated price still underlines the fact that Apple doesn’t have any budget options for integrating Siri into a smart home like Amazon and Google do with the Echo Dot and Home Mini products, respectively. The price cut seems to be universal across the various regions where the HomePod is sold. (The UK price has dropped from £319 to £279, for example.) The price change is effective immediately on Appl...

WhatsApp Business, a version of the messaging app that lets small businesses connect with their customers, is now rolling out worldwide on iOS. The free app  launched on iOS last month  but only in a limited number of countries. WhatsApp Business has been  available on Android since last year . Unlike the standard WhatsApp messaging app, WhatsApp Business lets business owners set up a profile to share company details like their email or store address, and also have access to greetings and away messages to manage interactions with customers (who contact them using the standard WhatsApp client). WhatsApp’s web interface is also supported by the app. The WhatsApp Business app should not be confused with the WhatsApp Business API, a paid service designed for much larger companies. The API allows businesses to send out notifications like boarding passes and receipts, as well as respond to customer queries. It’s currently one of the few ways  WhatsApp monetizes itself di...

Google is shutting down the  Google Play Artist Hub  at the end of the month, reports  9to5Google . First  launched in 2012 , the hub allowed smaller indie artists to upload and sell their music through the Google Play store and Google Play Music service. The hub is no longer accepting new signups, and will not let existing members upload or edit their music as of April 30th. The demise of the Artist Hub comes as Google shuffles its main music offering. In its email to artists announcing the shutdown, Google said “With the launch of YouTube Music last year, we eventually plan to replace Google Play Music with YouTube Music.” It added, “we encourage you to become a YouTube Artist if you aren’t already,” and recommended a list of YouTube partners to sell music through the service. Last year the company said that YouTube Music  will eventually get all of Google Play Music’s key features . After artists cease being able to upload or edit their music on April 30th,...