Dante D'Orazio | The Verge The Verge is about technology and how it makes us feel. Founded in 2011, we offer our audience everything from breaking news to reviews to award-winning features and investigations, on our site, in video, and in podcasts. 2016-04-11T03:02:24+00:00 https://www.theverge.com/authors/dante-dorazio/rss https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/01/verge-rss-large_80b47e.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1 Dante D'Orazio Rich McCormick <![CDATA[Watch the new Suicide Squad trailer from the MTV Movie Awards]]> https://www.theverge.com/2016/4/10/11358024/suicide-squad-trailer-mtv-movie-awards 2016-04-10T23:02:24-04:00 2016-04-10T23:02:24-04:00

Now that Batman v Superman has been set loose on the world, Warner Bros is ready to ratchet up the hype for its next DC Comics film: Suicide Squad. The latest trailer for the band of misfits and bad guys was released during the MTV Movie Awards tonight.

As we saw in the last trailer, from this past January, Suicide Squad will see baddies Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Killer Croc, Jared Leto’s Joker, and more released from prison and teamed up to apparently do the government’s bidding as a type of black-ops group. Separately they’re some of DC’s biggest villains, but together they’re let loose on something even worse, described in a press release as “an enigmatic, insuperable entity.” There’s the danger that the combination of volatile personalities might break the squad apart, but today’s clip shows the unsavory group getting along fairly well: drinking, fighting, and quipping alongside each other. On closer inspection, the trailer appears to show something else, too — Batman, or at least his Batmobile, sliding across the street shortly before the clip’s end.

Suicide Squad hits theaters on August 5th. According to reports, the movie is currently undergoing reshoots to make it have a slightly lighter, more comedic tone.

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Dante D'Orazio <![CDATA[BlackBerry plans to release two mid-range Android smartphones this year]]> https://www.theverge.com/2016/4/10/11402880/blackberry-new-android-smartphone-plans-rome-hamburg 2016-04-10T17:11:37-04:00 2016-04-10T17:11:37-04:00

BlackBerry isn’t finished with the hardware business yet. CEO John Chen said this week in an interview with Abu Dhabi’s The National that two new BlackBerry smartphones are on the way: one with a physical keyboard, and another with a full touchscreen. Both will run Android.

But how will that be different than the Priv, the company’s first Android-powered smartphone? Since its launch late last year, it has failed to boost sales, which dropped to just 600,000 units last quarter.

Priv was “too high-end a product”

Chen now admits that the Priv was a misstep, telling the government-owned paper, “The fact that we came out with a high end phone [as our first Android device] was probably not as wise as it should have been.” He added that the $699 slider phone was “was too high-end a product,” noting that “a lot of enterprise customers have said to us: ‘I want to buy your phone, but $700 is a little too steep for me. I’m more interested in a $400 device.'” (The Priv’s price was recently dropped to $649.)

So the two new BlackBerry phones, which are rumored to be code-named the Rome and the Hamburg, will target a mid-level price point. BlackBerry executives are likely pushing for a sub-$500 price off-contract. And the company will keep pushing its marketing angle that it sells the only truly secure Android devices.

A set of very blurry images of new BlackBerry phones found on BlackBerry Central founder Dylan Habkirk’s BBM channel likely are renders of the two new devices, though the pictures don’t reveal much. No matter what they look like, these two smartphones will represent Chen’s last attempt at keeping BlackBerry as a hardware company: he’s previously targeted sales of 5 million phones per year in order to keep the unit profitable, and if he doesn’t get there soon, he’ll be pushed to abandon the effort.

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Dante D'Orazio <![CDATA[Actor Michael B. Jordan makes fun of Kobe Bryant in latest Apple TV ad]]> https://www.theverge.com/2016/4/10/11402274/kobe-bryant-apple-tv-ad-michael-b-jordan 2016-04-10T13:44:40-04:00 2016-04-10T13:44:40-04:00

Apple is turning to star power — once again — to sell its latest products. This time, it’s none other than NBA star Kobe Bryant and actor Michael B. Jordan demonstrating just what the company’s new Apple TV can do. The two are purportedly in Bryant’s trailer discussing a possible biopic on the legendary Laker, and Kobe wants to inspire the young actor with clips of himself in his prime. Jordan has a different idea for the role, however, and turns to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to draw inspiration for playing Bryant as a man fighting off the ravages of time (Kobe has announced plans to retire at the end of this season).

Of course, it’s all just good fun in the name of selling Apple TVs and demonstrating the streamer’s Siri capabilities. And it’s just the latest Apple spot that highlights celebrities using its products: we’ve recently seen ads with the Cookie Monster, Taylor Swift, Aubrey Plaza, and Jamie Foxx, to name a few. If this ad has piqued your interest, be sure to check our review of the set-top box: it may not be “the future of TV,” as Apple claims, but it is a nice streamer.


Verge Reviews: Apple TV

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Dante D'Orazio <![CDATA[Watch Clarkson, Hammond, and May struggle to name their new car show on Amazon]]> https://www.theverge.com/2016/4/10/11402060/clarkson-hammond-may-amazon-top-gear-teaser-video 2016-04-10T13:24:59-04:00 2016-04-10T13:24:59-04:00

BBC silenced some skeptics when it released its first trailer for the new Chris Evans-led Top Gear, but Amazon doesn’t want you to forget about the original trio: Clarkson, Hammond, and May. No, there isn’t a teaser for their new high-profile car show on Amazon Prime Video, but we do get to see some of their classic banter in what appears to be the first video promotion for the new show.

In the clip, the three presenters poke fun at each other as they struggle — mightily — with coming up with a name for their show. It’s all fun and games, but naming the show might not be a trivial matter: Jeremy Clarkson claimed on Twitter that they are forbidden from using the word “gear” in the name, for fear of incurring the legal wrath of the BBC. Whatever the name turns out to be, the show is expected to premiere sometime later this year — shooting is currently underway.


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Dante D'Orazio <![CDATA[HTC 10 flagship leaks again before expected announcement on April 12th]]> https://www.theverge.com/2016/4/10/11401468/htc-10-leak-photos-rumored-specifications 2016-04-10T10:50:56-04:00 2016-04-10T10:50:56-04:00

HTC is expected to unveil its latest flagship smartphone on Tuesday, but a new leak is giving us our best look yet at the device. It’s rumored to be called the HTC 10 (it’s replacing last year’s HTC M9, but the “M” is gone), and Dutch site GSM Helpdesk claims to have accurate information and photos of the new handset. According to the site, the phone will be available “worldwide” in mid-May.

A different kind of BoomSound

As we’ve seen before in leaked renders and previous photos of the device itself, HTC is sticking with its tried-and-true design language, but with oversized beveled edges on the rear this time around. This generation does appear to be borrowing more from last year’s One A9, however, with a simplified layout that lacks the bold HTC logo and the distinctive dual speakers found on the front of HTC’s past flagships.

That said, GSM Helpdesk claims that stereo BoomSound speakers are still present, even if they aren’t plainly visible here. Going off of an official teaser from HTC, it seems a speaker built into the earpiece will pair with a smaller speaker along the bottom edge for a decidedly non-traditional stereo BoomSound setup. There’s also a traditional physical home button, which is said to be equipped with a fingerprint sensor — a must for any flagship in 2016.

The rumored specifications line up with previous leaks: we’re looking at a 5.2-inch, QHD (1440 x 2560) display powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 chipset and 4GB of RAM. There’s also said to be a 12-megapixel “Ultra Pixel” camera with optical image stabilization and laser autofocus — we hope it’s a setup that will make us forget some subpar Ultra Pixel cameras of old. The front camera will reportedly come in at 5 megapixels, with OIS as well, which is a rare feat. The bottom edge is said to carry a USB-C port, and the device is reportedly powered by a hefty 3,000mAh battery. The phone’s expected to be available in black, gold, or silver, the latter of which will be available with a black or white front bezel.

We expect to hear much more about the HTC 10 — if that’s what it’s called — on Tuesday morning. Tune in then.

Update 4:23PM ET: Added details on HTC’s expected BoomSound arrangement on the new smartphone.

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Dante D'Orazio <![CDATA[SpaceX releases photos of its rocket launch and first-ever sea landing]]> https://www.theverge.com/2016/4/9/11399374/spacex-falcon-9-sea-landing-photos-pictures-drone-ship 2016-04-09T17:18:20-04:00 2016-04-09T17:18:20-04:00

In case you somehow missed it, SpaceX made history yesterday afternoon when it successfully landed one of its Falcon 9 rockets on a remotely-piloted barge at sea. The success came after a few failed attempts over the past year, but it represents a major milestone in the company’s efforts to lower the cost of spaceflight by reusing rockets for multiple launches. We already watched the landing live, and it’s been immortalized in GIFs and a crisp 4K video, but there’s nothing like still photography to appreciate the moment. SpaceX has published a series of photos to let you take it all in — you can enjoy them below.


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Dante D'Orazio <![CDATA[SpaceX Falcon 9 launch and sea landing in photos]]> https://www.theverge.com/2016/4/9/11399376/spacex-falcon-9-launch-and-sea-landing-in-photos 2016-04-09T17:16:05-04:00 2016-04-09T17:16:05-04:00 Dante D'Orazio <![CDATA[Watch the second animated short for Blizzard’s new shooter, Overwatch]]> https://www.theverge.com/2016/4/3/11355828/overwatch-widowmaker-animated-short-blizzard-alive-video 2016-04-03T16:18:31-04:00 2016-04-03T16:18:31-04:00

Blizzard has released the second in a series of four short animated videos ahead of the launch of multiplayer shooter Overwatch on May 24th. It’d be easy to write off the game — Blizzard’s first new property in nearly two decades — as just another arena shooter. But it’s far more than that: the studio is a master at building universes, and Blizzard wants Overwatch to be the beginning of an entirely new one. That’s the point of these slick videos, which flesh-out the game’s characters (or “heroes” in MOBA-speak).

The video tells us a bit more about Amélie LaCroix, known as the Widowmaker. She’s a French assassin, as you could probably guess, which means she’s the sniper class. That grappling hook you see in the video is also one of her abilities in the game, which is handy. In the animated short, called “Alive,” we learn Widowmaker’s backstory — without giving too much away, it seems she has a thing for spiders and she’s all about living for the kill. You can watch the video above, and the first short, “Recall,” about Winston, is embedded below. Two more such videos are expected before the game’s release on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on May 24th.

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Dante D'Orazio <![CDATA[New drone video shows Apple’s massive new spaceship campus is coming together]]> https://www.theverge.com/2016/4/3/11355654/apple-campus-2-spaceship-april-drone-video 2016-04-03T14:01:30-04:00 2016-04-03T14:01:30-04:00

Apple’s new headquarters is no simple office building. Yes, it looks like a UFO. And, yes, it is estimated to cost close to $5 billion dollars. But it is shaping up impressively ahead of its planned late 2016 or early 2017 completion date. Just a few months ago, the buildings appeared to be in little more than their primordial stage. Now, the latest aerial drone video of the Cupertino, CA, campus shows that glass and solar panels are starting to be put in place, and buildings look to be topped off. There’s even a new peek at the auditorium where future Apple events may be held. Say what you will about Apple (and this extravagant office building), but this will truly be something to behold when it’s complete.

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Dante D'Orazio <![CDATA[Siri can now answer more of your baseball questions]]> https://www.theverge.com/2016/4/3/11355466/siri-can-now-answer-more-of-your-baseball-questions 2016-04-03T12:53:24-04:00 2016-04-03T12:53:24-04:00

Opening Day is here, and baseball fans are getting some welcome Siri upgrades for the new season. Siri now has some more baseball smarts: it can answer questions about more detailed statistics, according to Apple, including historical stats going back to the beginning of baseball records. You can also get information on career statistics, and there’s now specific information for leagues other than the Majors — there are 28 other leagues, including the Minors, that are covered now.

Sports scores have been in Siri since iOS 6 in 2012, and the new searches certainly make the voice assistant more helpful for those gameday questions about a statistic. That said, Siri still feels very limited. More peculiar, specific questions like, “When was the last time the Yankees had a perfect game?” yielded a generic search for the Yankees. Other searches just yielded a Google query. And results that did work had inconsistent presentation — some similar searches had were displayed in an Apple-designed frame, whereas others were a simple copy of a Wolfram Alpha result. In either case, improvement is good, and it’s definitely good that baseball’s back.

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