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Apple's new MacBook Air laptops are here as predicted, and while the upgrades are only on the inside, they're quite notable.

The new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air now both feature Apple's M3 chip, which the company says is up to 60 percent faster than the model with the M1 chip (Apple doesn't compare with the M2 chip, likely because the differences aren't that big).

The M3 chip offers some

• Scientists have found a mutation in our DNA that snipped our tails off.
• The mutation may have allowed our ancestors to walk upright.
• But it may also be behind a birth defect that still affects babies today.

We may have finally figured out why we begin developing tails in the womb

With a staff so involved with and fascinated by tech news and devices, you’ve got to believe that many members of The Verge staff have their own stash of smart stuff. We asked them to write about some of the smart devices they use themselves — and why — and here are some of the answers that we received.

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An efficient and

Apple just announced a refresh for the ever-popular MacBook Air series, just one month after launching the Vision Pro headset. The big takeaway here? The new MacBook Air is outfitted with the company’s proprietary M3 chipset. This chip was previously reserved for the more powerful MacBook Pro line and the latest iMac models, and it's coming to new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air models.

The M3 chip is

Apple has taken the wraps off a pair of new M3-equipped MacBook Air models. The 13- and 15-inch laptops are “up to 60 percent faster” than the M1 MacBook Air, according to Apple, and sport up to 18 hours of battery life. You can preorder both devices starting today, and they start shipping on Friday, March 8th.

The 13-inch MacBook Air will cost $1,099, while

• A young worker complained about feeling lonely in a hotel room for a work trip and sparked an online debate.
• Social media users are divided with some criticizing young people for not enjoying their own company.
• The US is facing a loneliness epidemic as young people feel increasingly

The EU has fined Apple €1.8bn for stifling music streaming rivals — the first penalty that the bloc has imposed on the tech giant. Antitrust regulators intervened following a complaint made by Spotify back in 2019. The Swedish streaming giant argued that Apple’s App Store rules harmed consumer choice and broke competition law. After a lengthy investigation, the EU took Spotify’s side. Brussels

When you’re buying a new smartphone, salesmen love pestering you to buy some increased protection — insurance, a case, and, obviously, a screen protector. The screen protector has long been hailed as a necessity, costing anywhere from $10 to $60. These little slips of plastic and glass have ballooned to a $50 billion…

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Have a question about the tech in your life? If so, maybe we can get them answered!

This week’s puzzle is difficult. Not because it has an exceedingly complicated solution, but because the idea that underlies it is deep and ingenious. I only know of one method to solve it, but I’m curious whether alternative approaches exist. Feel free to spitball half-baked ideas in the comments. You might find…

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• Russia is reducing its military flights in the Ukraine war, a report said. 
• It comes Ukraine shot down a series of Russian planes.
• Ukraine has used a range of tactics to counter Russia's air dominance. 

A Ukrainian kill streak against Russian fighter jets appears to have caused

• Elon Musk filed a lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI last week.
• Following the news, Altman resurfaced an old exchange with Musk by replying to the Twitter thread. 
• Altman was seemingly being sarcastic by writing "anytime" after Musk thanked him in 2019. 

Sam Altman seemed keen to attract Elon Musk's attention by resurfacing