Back in the old days, there was no sure-fire indicator of box office poison more than a video game adaptation. The two mediums just didn't gel. That has changed in recent years and now all kinds of gaming mascots are getting their chance to appear in a major motion picture or, at the very least, a streaming series. Case in point? They're now making a movie based on Shinobi, as reported by Deadline.For the uninitiated, Shinobi is a famous hack-and-slash game developed by Sega in which you play as a ninja. There have been plenty of sequels throughout the years, though they mostly share the same basic story. Joe Musashi, the ninja, must beat up a bunch of very bad dudes. That's pretty much it.In other words, this is a blank canvas in which the filmmakers can do pretty much whatever they want without angering the online lore-keepers. Sam Hargrave has been tasked to direct the film for Universal, which is actually a decent choice. He made both Extraction films, with a third one on the way. These are solid action flicks and Shinobi is an action game.Ken Kobayashi is writing the screenplay, after working on the extremely underrated Sunny for Apple+. He was also involved with Moonfall and the Marvel adaptation Hit Monkey. Sega's Toru Nakahara, who has produced everything from the Sonic the Hedgehog cinematic universe, is also onboard.Shinobi is still in the early stages of development, just like how most Shinobi players only get past the early stages of the game because it's so dang hard. We don't know when it'll come out, nor do we have any casting news. We are, however, only a couple of months out from Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Keanu Reeves is in that one.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/shinobi-is-the-latest-video-game-to-get-the-big-screen-treatment-164013985.html?src=rss
The October version of Prime Day has arrived, and some of the best deals are already selling out. On Amazon, we're seeing the PS5 Slim Edition drop as low as $400 (for the all-digital console), but stock is a little unstable. As of writing this, it's current back in stock and on sale. If it disappears again, there's a good chance you'll find the same discount at Walmart. To back up: The PlayStation 5 is still a hot commodity nearly four years after its debut. While the $700 PS5 Pro is perhaps a little too on the pricey side, the svelte PS5 "Slim" line have all the power of the original PS5 units but in a more slender form factor. Given how chunky those first models were, that's nothing to sniff at. While the normally $449 PS5 Slim Digital Edition (the one without a disc drive) has dropped to $399, the regular edition can be yours for $449. If you want to split the difference, the Digital Edition can also be had for $449 with NBA 2K25 included. If you buy the Slim Digital Edition and later decide that you'd like a disc drive so you can use Blu-rays, DVDs or physical editions of games on your PS5, you can pick up an $80 attachment. However, it's worth noting that the add-on has been going in and out of stock in anticipation of the PS5 Pro, which doesn't have a disc drive built in but is compatible with the attachment. There's a large library of great PS5 games at this point, thanks to killer first-party titles such as Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and the utterly terrific Astro Bot. Sony is remastering some major games that debuted on PS4 for the console too, including both chapters of The Last of Us and Horizon Zero Dawn. There's a huge selection of great third-party games to jump into as well, like the latest EA Sports FC, Madden NFL and NBA 2K games for sports fans, Elden Ring and Baldur's Gate 3. And let's not forget the small matter of a new Call of Duty game dropping in a few weeks. So, if you do pick up a PS5 Slim, you'll have a ton of games to buy and check out. That said, a PS Plus Extra or Premium subscription might be what you want, as that will give you access to a large library of titles right out of the gate. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/prime-day-ps5-deals-include-the-ps5-slim-for-50-off-153513063.html?src=rss
If you're looking for a versatile oven and have a little counter space to spare, this Prime Day deal may be for you. Amazon has the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro on sale for $100 off. The stainless steel appliance that can do everything from toasting and roasting to slow cooking and dehydrating usually costs $400, but today, you can get it for a mere $300. The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is Engadget's pick for the best budget air fryer toaster oven. The appliance has a versatile skillset, including (deep breath) toast, broil, bake, roast, warm, pizza, proof, air fry, reheat, cookies, slow cook, keep warm and dehydrate. It has an internal capacity of one cubic foot - enough to fit a 14-pound turkey, five-quart Dutch oven, 9 x 13-inch pan or 12 muffin trays. The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro makes for a terrific second oven. But you could even use it as your primary one if you aren't in the habit of cooking things like a giant rib roast or full-sized New York-style pizza. However, it does take up a decent amount of counter space (at least as far as toaster ovens go), so make sure you can accommodate the 21.5-inch wide x 17.5-inch deep x 12.7-inch high appliance. The oven has an LCD to indicate which mode you're using, and you control it with a snazzy-looking series of knobs and buttons. It supports temps from 80 to 480 degrees Fahrenheit and includes a feature that automatically begins counting down the cooking timer when it finishes pre-heating. One thing to note is the appliance isn't app-friendly despite its smart" branding. For that, you would need the Joule upgrade model, which (unfortunately) isn't on sale. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/brevilles-smart-oven-air-fryer-pro-is-100-off-for-prime-day-163111071.html?src=rss
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead is set for an October 17 release, making it the first video game spinoff from the Quiet Place franchise. The premise involves sound-sensitive creatures that hunt by listening for prey, and one wrong move spells disaster, making it perfect for a horror game adaptation. The developers have just announced that A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead will feature noise detection support.Fans of the films already know that silence is the most important thing about this franchise. The characters try to move around without making noise because any sound will attract aliens with an extraordinary sense of hearing. To boost immersion, developer Stormind Games is implementing a Microphone Noise Detection" feature. If you make a sound in real life, the aliens can hear you through your microphone and potentially kill you.Playing without the microphone can be challenging enough since movement and interaction with objects make noise. But by activating it, the difficulty is sure to skyrocket. We expect increased heart rates and lots of screaming. The game is set to arrive on Steam, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, and you can pre-order it for $30 now.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/a-quiet-place-the-road-ahead-can-hear-real-world-sounds-through-your-controllers-microphone-153821754.html?src=rss
Many social media platforms take ideas from each other, and Meta seems to be doing something similar recently. As first reported by TechCrunch, Threads is testing a community groups feature that's similar to Subreddits and X Communities. Chris Messina, a Threads early adopter, discovered this after scanning the latest app update's code.Messina discovered references to Loops" in the code on Monday. Besides that, the code also mentions how users can join or leave communities as well as name a Loop community. In TechCrunch's report, an unidentified Instagram source confirmed that the feature is still in the earliest developmental phases and is not being tested yet.Messina said in his thread that users can join communities and discuss relevant topics, similar to the competition. However, since Threads doesn't use traditional hashtags, it's likely Loops will need a different tagging system.How Thread's Loops will work remains to be seen, as we haven't seen much of it. Alessandro Paluzzi, a developer and leaker, did manage to find out what Loops may look like, including a menu to create new Loops. Much more about this feature is still unknown, and we'll have to wait for official announcements to find out more.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/threads-code-shows-that-a-community-groups-feature-may-be-in-development-133729430.html?src=rss
Last week Ring announced a feature that will you to capture video 24/7 so you don't miss anything if a motion alert wasn't triggered. The challenge is that if you'll then need to wade through hours of footage to find an event. Now, the Amazon-owned company has introduced Smart Video Search, an AI feature for subscribers of the upcoming $20 Ring Home serivce that makes it faster and easier to find specific moments in your video history.The system is powered by Ring IQ, a combination of Ring AI technology and in-house expertise. It uses Visual Language Modeling (VLM) to match text to images and show results. That way, you can type specific queries into the Ring app to figure out why your garbage cans were knocked over, rather than scrolling through hours of video footage.For instance, you could search for "raccoon in the backyard last night" to see if it was one of those critters that upended your trash. Ring cites other examples, like typing "red bicycle in the driveway" and seeing footage that shows one of your kids teaching the other how to ride a bike. You could also use the feature to find out who took the last of the ice cream, according to Ring.It might seem a bit icky to spy on your own family that way, but Ring does say that it's a "leader in developing privacy features" and is committed to developing responsible AI. The system also uses a "sophisticated input moderation technique to prevent searching for offensive, inappropriate or harmful content."If you believe Ring's privacy claims (the company has a checkered history in that regard) and trust having more Amazon AI tech in your house, Smart Video Search is rolling out to select customers in public beta starting today. The feature will work on all ring video doorbells and cameras, and will roll out widely with the new $20 Ring Home subscription service on November 5th.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/ring-adds-ai-enabled-smart-video-search-as-part-of-its-upcoming-20-subscription-service-130049585.html?src=rss
Google may have to break off parts of its business, such as Chrome and Android, and share users' search data with its competitors, based on the proposed remedies the US Justice Department has submitted in a court filing. The DOJ said it's "considering behavioral and structural remedies that would prevent Google from using products such as Chrome, Play, and Android to advantage Google search and Google search-related products and features" after Judge Amit Mehta ruled in August that it illegally abused its monopoly over the search industry. That ruling was the result of a 2020 antitrust lawsuit filed by the DOJ and several states, accusing Google of "unlawfully maintaining monopolies" over search and search-related products.The department is also considering limiting or prohibiting Google from signing contracts with other companies to make its search engine the default option for their browsers and phones. In his ruling, Judge Mehta said that paying Mozilla, Apple, Samsung and other device makers to make Google as their default search engine was an illegal act meant to maintain its dominant position in the market. A Google executive previously revealed during a trial for the lawsuit that the the company paid Apple $26 billion. One of the department's other proposals is to restrict Google from being able to use search results to train its generative artificial intelligence models.In a blog post, Google's VP of Regulatory Affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland, called the DOJ's proposals "radical and sweeping." She said the government "seems to be pursuing a sweeping agenda that will impact numerous industries and products" and proceeded to enumerate how the proposals would affect consumers. Mulholland argued that forcing Google to share users' search queries and results with competitors could create major privacy and security risks, since the company protects them with its "strict security standards." She also said that splitting off Chrome or Android would break them, jeopardize their security and make patching bugs harder. It will "change their business models, raise the cost of devices, and undermine Android and Google Play in their robust competition with Apple's iPhone and App Store," she explained.Mulholland also argued that "hampering Google's AI tools risks holding back American innovation at a critical moment." Finally, she said that the government's "unreasonable restrictions" on Google's distribution contracts that make its search engine "easily available" would "create friction for people who just want to easily search for information." It could reduce revenue for companies like Mozilla and other Android smartphone makers, as well, leading to the lack of funds for further development and pricier smartphones overall.The DOJ has until November 20 to file a more refined set of remedies, while Google has until December 20 to propose its own fixes to the court.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/the-justice-department-could-force-google-to-break-itself-up-123041161.html?src=rss
The sixth and final episode of Slow Horses' fourth season lands on Apple TV+ today, giving me a flimsy excuse to urge you all to watch. It's a pulpy, fun and gripping British spy thriller that has finally started to garner some deserved attention. At six episodes a run, it's respectful of your time in a way plenty of other streaming series aren't. And while it's unafraid of showing you the brutal side of espionage, you can revel in its gloriously deathly sense of humor.Slow Horses focuses on Slough House, a department inside Britain's security service where agents are dumped. MI5 officers who can't be trusted with real work, or angered their superiors, are dumped in the administrative purgatory. Since you can't hand a spy a pink slip and send them on their way, they're parked at Slough House until they retire, or quit.The show stars Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, the antithesis of anyone's imagined vision of a real spy. Lamb is perpetually drunk, obsessed with his own bodily emissions and is unpleasant to be around. (As I said when the show started, Slow Horses delights in watching the once and hopefully-future George Smiley playing someone so grubby.)He's joined by Jack Lowden as River Cartwright, a would-be superspy and the scion of a great family of spymasters parked at Slough House for spoilery reasons. Of course, much as River may chafe at his exile, he's not quite able to live up to his own expectations. Much like the rest of the team, that Lamb delights in tormenting, River lacks some top-tier spy talents.Naturally, despite being a team of losers, misfits and boozers," Lamb and his crew are regularly drawn into MI5's grander intrigues. This time around, a central London shopping center is blown up, which precipitates a rabid hunt for the culprit. Except this time, the answers aren't in MI5's hands, but the slow horses themselves, but that's about as much as I can say.Much as I love the world the series depicts, drawn from Mick Herron's series of books, I adore its dialog. Creator Will Smith (not that one), who recently won the series' first Emmy, worked on The Thick of It. The British sitcom is the progenitor for Veep, and also laid the groundwork for Succession; two series that also share a love for the almost operatic use of profanity.A show like Slow Horses should be dominating the news cycle every single episode, but I think we all know why it remains in a smaller niche. That it's on Apple TV+ certainly limits the number of people who are able to watch it and, by extension, fall in love with it. After all, despite having the world's most well-heeled backer and access to every iPhone in the world, it still has a quarter of Netflix's user figures.But don't let its platform hold you back, especially when you can pay for a month's worth and watch all four seasons in a week, depending on your patience. It's certainly worth it.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/im-so-glad-slow-horses-is-a-hit-120003767.html?src=rss
We consider Apple's AirPods Prom2 to be the best wireless earbuds for iPhone owners, and you can snag a pair for less right now thanks to October Prime Day. The AirPods Pro are down to $169 for the sale event, which represents a decent discount over the regular $250 price. While these buds didn't get a full revamp in September like the standard AirPods did, Apple did bring a bunch of new features to the Pro 2 via a software update. Voice isolation is designed to make you sound better on calls, while Siri interactions let you use gestures like a head nod to say yes to Siri during times when you can't use your voice to reply. Arguably the biggest new feature coming to the AirPods Pro is the hearing test and the ability to use the earbuds as over-the-counter hearing aids. That hasn't rolled out just yet, but it's expected sometime before the end of the year. Otherwise, the AirPods Pro 2 have excellent sound quality, with equally solid ANC to match, plus a Transparency Mode that's hard to beat. Like all other Apple earbuds, the Pros support seamless pairing and switching between other Apple devices. So while they're great for folks with an iPhone, you'll get even more use out of them if you live within the Apple ecosystem and have other devices like an iPad or a MacBook. Their design might be a little stale at this point, and you could say their battery life is just average, but the AirPods Pro remain a solid option for iPhone users looking for a reliable pair of wireless earbuds. If you're not willing to spend quite so much, consider the AirPods Pro 4 with ANC, which just came out last month. These aren't the only AirPods on sale right now, either. Here are the best Prime Day AirPods deals we found:
Anyone could use an extra charging cable or a power bank to help them when they're having a long, busy day and their smartphone is about to die. Sale events like October Prime Day typically bring some of the best prices of the year to Anker charging gear, and this year is no different. We're seeing some of our favorite Anker accessories on sale for record-low (or close to them) prices, including magnetic power banks, charging adapters, docking stations and more.While there's always the chance that these deals come back around in a month for Black Friday, we recommend grabbing what you want now while the deals are available. These are the best Prime Day deals on Anker gear that we found for October Prime Day.Prime Day deals on Anker magnetic charging gearParticularly if you have an iPhone with MagSafe support, magnetic accessories can make charging up your phone even easier. On sale this time around are wireless, magnetic power banks and charging stations that can support multiple devices at once.
Elon Musk's Boring Company pitched that its Vegas Loop, underground tunnels built below Las Vegas, would reduce gridlock in some of the busiest parts of the city, offering a new transport solution that isn't a monorail. People are transported by ordinary Tesla vehicles in tunnels and terminals that are often difficult to get to. (At least, that was my experience earlier this year.)It hasn't been the transport game changer the company promised, though. A report from Fortune elaborated on what's actually happening in those tunnels, saying there have been at least 67 trespassing reports since 2022 and 22 instances of other vehicles following Teslas into the tunnels and stations.Boring's monthly reports to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority also showed several instances of property damage, theft, technical issues or injuries, near-misses and trespassing or intrusions." Some curated highlights include a skateboarder who snuck into the tunnels through a passenger pickup station and two people spotted sleeping in one of the tunnel stations.And yet (and yet!) county commissioners approved a plan last May to expand the tunnels to 65 miles and add 69 passenger stations.- Mat SmithThe biggest stories you might have missedThe best deals from Amazon Prime Day 2024 SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts are leaving the ISS on October 13The best projector for 2024Meta Quest 3S hands-onA $300 VR headset without major compromises.EngadgetIf you were intrigued by Meta's continued VR experiments but put off by the price of the Quest 3, then the Quest 3S may be for you. It's a slightly bulkier, slightly less sharp version of Meta's last standalone VR headset, but starting at $300, it's much less than the Quest 3's $500 launch price. There are compromises with display resolution and lenses, but it packs the same powerful processor as the Quest 3, so it should run games and apps just as quickly. Expect our full review soon, but so far we're impressed.Continue reading.DJI Neo reviewThe best $200 drone ever madeEngadgetThe DJI Neo may be an inexpensive, beginner-friendly drone, but it still has powerful features, like subject tracking and quick shots. Surprisingly, this is a cheap $200 drone arguably worth considering. Just be prepared for the noise it makes.Continue reading.Machine learning pioneers awarded the Nobel Prize in PhysicsIncluding Geoffrey Hinton, the Godfather of AI.Two scientists have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks." John Hopfield, an emeritus professor of Princeton University, devised an associative kind of memory that can store and reconstruct images and other patterns in data. Geoffrey Hinton, dubbed the Godfather of AI, pioneered a way to autonomously find properties in data, leading to the ability to identify picture elements.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-boring-companys-vegas-loop-plagued-by-lost-drivers-trespassers-and-skateboarders-111742611.html?src=rss
The Federal Communications Commission has given Starlink and T-Mobile permission to enable their satellite texting service for Florida residents ahead of Hurricane Milton's landfall. In an announcement on X, SpaceX said that Starlink's Direct to Cell satellites will provide emergency alerts for all phones and carriers, not just T-Mobile's, for those in affected areas. The companies have also enabled basic texting for T-Mobile subscribers, so that they can send and receive texts, as well as text 911 for emergencies, even if they get cut off from the carrier's network in the midst of the storm.SpaceX said the companies have activated Direct to Cell for Florida while it's also in the middle of delivering over 10,000 Starlink kits in response to Hurricane Helene. A few days ago, the FCC allowed T-Mobile and Starlink to activate their Direct to Cell service for North Carolina, where more than half of cell towers temporarily went out of commission due to the hurricane.Starlink's and T-Mobile's Direct to Cell service hasn't been fully deployed yet. They'd only sent and received the first text messages using the technology back in January. And while they're aiming to start offering their messaging service this year, T-Mobile said they'd deployed an "early test version" of it in the hurricane-hit areas.Users will know if their phone connects to a Starlink satellite if they only have one-to-two bars of signal and their network name says "T-Mobile SpaceX." The private space company said they'd have to manually try re-sending messages if they didn't go through the first time and that the service works best outdoors. If users can't get to open spaces safely, they can also try sending messages indoors near a window.
Truly good laptop deals can be few and far between, which is why you'd be remiss to sleep on an event like October Prime Day. While Amazon isn't the first place we'd go to buy a laptop, particularly if you're keen on speccing it out precisely as you need it to be, it can have solid, preconfigured models at good prices. October Prime Day deals have brought discounts to a few of our favorite machines, from MacBooks to Windows laptops to Chromebooks. If you're looking for your next daily driver or have a child who needs an upgraded laptop for school, these are the best Prime Day laptops deals you can get this year.Prime Day deals on Apple MacBooksWill Lipman Photography for EngadgetMacBooks are not exempt from our general laptop buying advice: if you want to truly make your next MacBook your own, you should go directly to Apple to get the specs you want. However, you can often find solid deals on entry-level machines at Amazon, and even some configurations with extra storage.
If you're looking to upgrade your entertainment setup, finding the best projector could be the perfect solution. Whether you're into binge-watching shows, hosting outdoor movie nights or even leveling up your gaming experience, modern projectors can help you do it all. Some are fantastic for creating that full home-theater vibe, while others are so good they could even replace your TV, offering huge screen sizes, sharp image quality and built-in smart features.
When DJI revealed its tiny $200 Neo drone, I immediately saw how it could fit into my vlogger's toolkit to supplement my Mini 4 Pro and Mavic 3 Pro. Flying those sophisticated drones is a whole thing that requires planning. But the Neo can be launched spontaneously to grab quick and fun shots, thanks to features like palm takeoff and voice control. That ease of use also makes it ideal for the social media influencers. Though beginner-friendly, it's quite powerful. You get features from DJI's bigger drones like ActiveTrack, FPV capabilities and even support for DJI's Mic 2. And forget about the fuzzy video you may have seen on other cheap drones. The Neo can record in sharp 4K, making it suitable for content creators who need affordable aerial video. It's not perfect though, as the Neo is noisy and lacks vertical video, something influencers will likely want. Still, it looked like the kind of product that could appeal to all types of people, even creators like myself who already have multiple drones. To see how it performed, we put it through a variety of scenarios from events to weddings - and even flying just for fun. Design and features With a softly sculpted design and protective propeller guards, the Neo gives off safe, friendly vibes. It's DJI's lightest drone by far at 135 grams, less than half the Mini 4's heft, and is small enough to fit into a large jacket pocket. The device's diminutive size also means it's exempt from any drone license requirements. The Neo has a rich feature set, but all you need to start flying is your hand. Simply place the Neo in your palm, press the new mode button at front and it'll take off and perform one of six preprogrammed smart shots." Those are Follow (the drone tracks and follows you around), Dronie (it starts tight on your face then flies up and away from you), Circle (flies around you), Rocket (starts at face level and flies straight up), Spotlight (keeps you centered in the frame but doesn't move) and Direction Track (for vlogging). After you complete the shot, stick out your hand under the Neo to land it. Another great option for newbies is voice control, which lets you fly and record video by speaking into the Fly More app. I wasn't able to try this feature in my initial hands-on tests, but it has now been enabled via a firmware update. You can either tap on the voice button to say a command or enable the wake word settings. Then, you can just say, Hey Fly" to activate it. Steve Dent for Engadget For instance, saying the word dronie" will activate the dronie flight pattern and start recording. You can then change parameters using commands like closer," farther" and higher." It also includes the safety commands land," stop" and brake." The setting is a great way to give users some control over the social media-oriented quick shots without the need to touch a controller. It was straightforward to set up, and I found that it responded quickly and reliably to my commands. However, you'll need to keep the phone's mic close to your mouth when the Neo is nearby, or the propeller wailing will drown out your voice. Steve Dent for Engadget The Neo is also DJI's first drone that can be piloted using a smartphone alone. Switching the app into manual mode brings up a touch screen with full maneuvering controls. It also offers a camera/video mode and return-to-home toggle. There's a serious caveat to using it, though, as I'll detail shortly. For more serious piloting, the Neo supports multiple DJI controllers (sold separately), including the RC N3 model that requires a smartphone. You can even use it as an FPV drone with DJI's RC Motion 3 and DJI Goggles 3. Those controllers offer most of the features available on other DJI camera drones, like cinema, normal and sport modes, along with auto and manual video settings. What you won't see are any obstacle detection sensors, which is one reason the Neo is so cheap. The only crash protection measures are the camera's subject detection AI, a downward facing IR landing sensor and a rugged design that resists minor accidents. As for storage, there's no microSD card slot, so the Neo relies on the 22GB of internal memory that holds 40 minutes of 4K footage or 55 minutes of 1080p video. You can transfer the files to a PC or other device via the rear USB-C charging port. Again, this is less than ideal, but it keeps the price down. Performance Steve Dent for Engadget If you have low performance expectations for a 5-ounce, $200 drone, get ready to be pleasantly surprised - the Neo is maneuverable, fast and fun. It can hit speeds up to 18 mph in sport mode, which is half that of the Mini 4 Pro, but still at the upper end of this category. You can even fly it in fairly blustery winds up to 18 mph, though it could get blown into another county if you let it get too far away. The Neo can also fly twice that speed in manual mode, another feature that arrived in a post-launch firmware update, but requires DJI's FPV Controller 3. With that controller and the firmware update, I pushed it to its top speed. 36 mph is faster than any drone this size by far, but it never felt out of control. However, at that speed the noise level resembles a swarm of particularly irate hornets. The FPV Controller 3 also opens up the possibility of acrobatic (acro) flying, letting you perform flips, spins and other maneuvers. That's a lot of fun, especially knowing that the drone is not only crash resistant but costs just $200 - a pittance by drone standards. I'm not an acro pilot, but in the hands of an expert like quadmovr, the Neo can rip through some unbelievable moves. Steve Dent for Engadget For novices who want to try first-person video flying (FPV) but aren't ready for the tricky-to-use Controller 3, DJI's Goggles 3 and RC Motion 3 are better for FPV newbs. It's certainly not as nimble and quick as the Avata 2, but it's still a lot of fun. In fact, it's a great learning tool for wannabe FPV pilots with either of those controllers, thanks to the durability and low price. The Neo is ideal for event videography too, as you can maneuver it almost anywhere to get some cool or dramatic shots. At the same time, the propeller guards make it safe to use around people. Again, it's very noisy, so it's obviously not suitable to fly through something like a wedding or a best man's speech. The modes ActiveTrack, Spotlight and Point of Interest (POI) work just as they do on other DJI drones to track or follow you. A key mode for content creators is Direction Track, which lets you do walk-and-talk vlogging while keeping your face in view. With that setting, the Neo is usually flying backwards with no rear obstacle sensor, so you'll need a clear path. When I tested this, the drone veered into some tree branches and was thrown off course, but it kept on flying. I never try to crash drones on purpose, but did have a few mishaps. The Neo hit some trees before falling to the ground a couple of times, and bonked a hard interior floor on one occasion. It not only continued to function perfectly, but had nary a visible scratch, so DJI has done a good job with durability. That said, you can purchase a one-year insurance plan for the Neo at just $22, which covers accidents and loss of the drone. Steve Dent for Engadget With a controller and DJI's O4 transmission, the Neo has a 6.2 mile line-of-sight range in the US, or 3.7 miles in Europe where transmission power is limited. That's exactly half that of the Mini Pro 4, but pretty extraordinary given the size - though I'm not sure who'd ever want to fly such a lightweight drone that far away. I flew it about half a mile away with no loss of signal, and that was plenty far for my comfort level. Maximum altitude, meanwhile, is unlimited and set by the user. When using smartphone Wi-Fi control, maximum range is just 165 feet, so it's really just for indoor or nearby outdoor use. This is based on Wi-Fi limits, but it also effectively serves as a geofence for novices (the drone just stops and hovers if it gets out of Wi-Fi range). In addition, if you're using the palm or voice control, altitude is limited to around 100 feet. While small and light, the Neo's 1,435mAh lithium-ion Intelligent Flight Batteries support up to 17 minutes of flying time, or around 13 to 14 minutes in the real world - not bad in this category. With the Neo alone, it takes an hour to charge a single battery directly within the drone. However, if you spring for the $289 combo kit (including the drone, two extra batteries and a three-battery charger), you can juice three batteries in that same 60 minutes. Camera Steve Dent for Engadget The gimbal is tucked into a protective housing and can tilt up 60 degrees and down 90. The camera has a 1/2-inch 12-megapixel sensor with an ultra-wide 13mm equivalent focal length and f/2.8 aperture - about what you'd expect on a decent smartphone. The Neo's video specs are weaker than other DJI drones, but I was pretty happy with my footage considering the price of the Neo. It can shoot 4K 30p video and 1080p at up to 60fps, certainly good enough for most social media users. It also supports 4K in a 4:3 aspect ratio at 30fps, or 1080p in the same aspect ratio but up to 60fps. The camera doesn't tilt sideways like it does on the Mini 4 Pro, which means it can't do vertical video. That's unfortunate considering the target market, but adding that capability would also increase complexity and, no doubt, the price. The best bet for social media users is to shoot in 4K and then crop to a 1080x1920 9:16 resolution. There's also no D-LogM capability to boost dynamic range as seen on most other DJI drones, and with such a small sensor, low-light capability is poor. However, video is sharp and color accurate, which is well above what you'd expect in this price range. The 12-megapixel photos are also good enough for hobbyists and social media users. I expect the average buyer taking aerial shots of their home, family and vacations will be more than pleased. Steve Dent for Engadget The Neo also incorporates DJI's software-based RockSteady stabilization along with gimbal tilt stabilization. That should provide smooth enough video for most users, or you can disable the stabilization altogether and use DJI's GyroFlow app in post for better results. The Neo also supports HorizonBalancing, providing level video even if the drone banks up to 45 degrees. Note that for the 4:3 video modes, there's no electronic image stabilization, so you need to stabilize the footage later using GyroFlow or another app. The Neo can even capture audio with your phone just by tapping the Fly More app's audio record button. You'll get better quality by connecting an external microphone or using DJI's Mic 2. Since the Neo is extremely noisy, the Mic 2 will cancel out much of that prop screeching, leaving your voice clear and legible, albeit with some distortion. Wrap-up Steve Dent for Engadget DJI's Neo might be small in stature, but it can shoot good quality video and photos safely around people, and does so at a very reasonable price. It has clearly captured the public's imagination, as it's already been sold out on DJI's site despite only being on sale for a couple of weeks. Potential buyers range from novices up to experienced hands who want a small, people-friendly drone for Instagram stories and more. It's ideal for TikTok and other creators because it can act as a robot videographer, helping you record content by yourself. The main issues you'll have to live with are the noise, lack of vertical video and limited battery life. For $200, or $289 if you opt for the combo kit with three batteries and a charger, the Neo is a no-brainer for many creators. The only real competition is the $350 HoverAir X1, which costs more and offers lower-resolution video. But by providing higher quality video for less money, the Neo is a better value.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/dji-neo-review-the-best-200-drone-ever-made-010032884.html?src=rss
Cue my jealousy as my favorite headphones - which I paid full price for - go on sale for Amazon Prime Day. They also happen to be Engadget's favorite wireless headphones at the moment. The Sony WH-1000XM5 are currently available for $298, which is roughly $100 off and close to a record-low price. Best of all, the discount applies to all color options: black, midnight blue, silver and smoky pink. We gave the WH-1000XM5 a 95 in our review when Sony released them in 2022, and they are still holding up against all their newer competitors. One of the best things about the M5s is how comfortable they are. I've used them on a few transatlantic flights this year, and the fit, combined with the incredible active noise cancellation, meant I could sleep the whole way without any disruption. Plus, they have excellent sound quality, with double the processors and microphones of the WH-1000XM4s. The M5's predecessor is also on sale, with the WH-1000XM4 down to $228 from $348. Despite being an earlier model, these are still an amazing option and offer one thing the M5s don't: folding. Released in 2020, this model garnered a 94 in our review thanks to their great sound quality, ANC and comfort Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-prime-day-headphone-deals-include-the-sony-wh-1000xm5-for-298-094549320.html?src=rss
Amazon Prime Day deals are here, flooding the internet with all kinds of wild discounts. Even Ooni pizza ovens are available at remarkable prices. For instance, the Karu 16 is now $519, which is $281 off the usual price. That's quite a sale. The Karu 16 is the company's largest multi-fuel model, meaning you can choose between wood, charcoal and gas. There's a hinged glass door for peeping in on your pies and a digital thermometer for zeroing in on the absolute correct temperature. To that end, the oven can reach a crust-charring 950F. The 16" in the name refers to the size of the interior, which translates to larger pizza pies when compared to rival ovens. This also means that the oven can accommodate pans and large cast iron cookware, so it can whip up stuff other than pizza. However, pizza rules and other types of food drool. The major downside here is regarding the price. The typical cost is $800, which is a massive splurge for a pizza oven. This sale alleviates much of that frustration. However, the Karu 16 requires a gas burner for that type of cook, and these burners are sold separately. Today's discounts aren't just for the Karu 16. The company's Volt 12 electric pizza oven is also on sale for $720, which is a discount of $180. As the name suggests, this is an indoor appliance that runs on good ole electricity. It can actually reach a maximum temperature of 850 F, which is a fantastic metric for an indoor oven. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ooni-pizza-ovens-are-up-to-280-off-for-amazon-prime-day-114521277.html?src=rss
Amazon's October Prime Day sale kicked off today, and it includes a nice little savings on one of this year's highest-rated OLED TVs. We're referring LG's C4 OLED smart TV lineup, which has dropped in price, bringing the 55-inch model down to a record low of $1,297 - that's roughly $700 off. While it's typical to see TV prices fall throughout the year, starting basically soon after the TVs get announced, that doesn't change the fact that these are some of the steepest discounts we've seen since the C4 launched. You can save hundreds of dollars on other sizes, too. As a refresher, the C4 is the company's mid-grade line of OLED TVs. Each model includes the updated Alpha 9 Gen 7 chip, which makes menu navigation much snappier. They also boast improved brightness when compared to previous models. These TVs almost hit 1,000 nits of brightness, which is a little dimmer than a Mini LED panel and not quite on par with some sets that use advanced QD-OLED panels, but still better than many OLED alternatives. There's a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz, which is fast enough to get the most out of a PS5 or Xbox Series X and good for PC gaming as well. Along those lines, these sets are compatible with G-Sync and AMD FreeSync. The PC gaming bona-fides are strong with this one. One of the cool features of this smart TV is enhanced compatibility with LG soundbars. Newly-released soundbars will connect wirelessly to the television, clearing away the endless clutter of cables from the living room. The 65-inch model is also on sale for $1,497, which is a good $200 off that set's usual street price over the last few months. And for the big spenders, the massive 83-inch version is available for $3,997. That's $1,403 or so off that model's typical price. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/prime-day-tv-deals-include-lg-c4-oled-smart-tvs-at-record-low-prices-184104211.html?src=rss
X is coming back online in Brazil after officials lifted a ban that took the service offline for five weeks. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said Tuesday that regulators could take steps to resume the platform's service" as the company had complied with the court's demands.The order for now ends a long-running dispute between Elon Musk's X and Moraes. Moraes had demanded X block certain accounts in Brazil, which the company had described as censorship orders." The dispute also ensnared Starlink, which had its Brazilian bank accounts frozen after X initially refused to cooperate with the Supreme Court's demands. The company eventually relented by blocking the accounts in question and paying close to $5 million in fines.X is proud to return to Brazil. Giving tens of millions of Brazilians access to our indispensable platform was paramount throughout this entire process," the company wrote in a statement. We will continue to defend freedom of speech, within the boundaries of the law, everywhere we operate."While the standoff is now over, X's outage in Brazil helped boost at least one rival: Bluesky. The service, which began as a project at Twitter under former CEO Jack Dorsey, said it added more than 2 million new users in the days immediately following the ban.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/x-is-back-in-brazil-after-a-five-week-ban-231406758.html?src=rss
Social media can play a critical role in spreading information (and misinformation) during a crisis. In an effort to promote the former and curb the latter, the White House has started getting active on Reddit.The profile was created on January 7, 2021, the day after insurrectionists stormed the Capitol in Washington DC. However, today was the first time the account did any public posting. All of the posts from the White House profile today have been sharing information related to relief efforts in response to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, which have been causing devastation along the east coast of the US. So far, the content shared on Reddit is very similar to what the official White House team is posting on X.While today is the debut of a non-partisan White House account, federal officials have taken to the subreddits in the past. Barack Obama hosted an AMA on the platform during his tenure, but it was under his own account rather than through the auspices of the office.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/the-white-house-has-started-posting-on-reddit-230533023.html?src=rss
Smaller yet useful tech accessories - batteries, cables, phone cases and so on - are what keep the big ticket items working for us. And Amazon's Prime Day sale is an excellent time to stock up on these humble sidekicks. Only problem is, not everything on Amazon's site passes muster, and the cheaper stuff can be particularly questionable.Luckily, we've tested plenty of smaller devices for one buyer's guide or another, so we think any items picked from this list should serve you well. Here are the best Prime Day Tech deals under $50.Best Prime Day tech deals under $25Photo by Jeff Dunn / EngadgetIf you've got $25 and some change in an account somewhere, you can get something decent from Amazon's sale (particularly if you're a Prime member and don't have to pay for shipping). We searched for the most useful tech we could find and came up with smart home speakers, cameras and plugs, plus a mouse, a streaming stick and some cable - all for less than $25.
Following 11 months of testing, Mastodon is releasing one of its biggest updates of the year. In a blog post attributed to CEO and founder Eugen Rochko, the non-profit detailed its 4.3 release on Tuesday, promising improvements for nearly every part of the social media experience.Perhaps most significantly, Mastodon has overhauled how notifications work. To start, the platform will now group boosts and favorites together so that users aren't bombarded with notifications when one of their posts goes viral. At the same time, Mastodon is introducing new filters to make it easier to ignore notifications from people you don't follow, newly created accounts and those who send you unsolicited private mentions. With the new feature, you can choose to see those notifications, prevent them from ever reaching your phone or send them to a separate inbox for later viewing.Separately, Mastodon is introducing a new set of notifications designed to inform users if a server moderator made a decision that affects their account. Specifically, if a mod takes direct action against your account, you receive an in-app message you can't miss." The platform will also notify users when they lose followers due to moderator decisions and offer the option to export a list of affected accounts.Alongside those changes, Mastodon has redesigned a few different parts of its app. Starting with the compose window, the company says the new interface makes it easier to rearrange media, as well as see content warnings and word filters.Elsewhere, Mastodon has refreshed its web client, tweaking the software's color palette, iconography and link previews. Utility emails, including those users receive following a password reset, have gotten a once-over, too. On the interface front, Mastodon has reworked confirmation dialogues to better describe how muting and blocking will affect the user. For example, if you're about to block a server, the app will detail exactly how many followers you stand to lose from that decision.On the subject of followers, Mastodon has added a new recommendation carousel that users will see after scrolling past the first post on their feed that's older than four hours. At the same time, the company has tweaked recommendations to make them more relevant to people. Rounding things out, Mastodon has refreshed website embeds and made it easier to follow the author of a trending news article.The enhancements come after X recently changed how its block button works, a move some have argued has made the platform even less desirable to use. Rochko doesn't mention X specifically - or Meta and Bluesky, for that matter - but does point to a general desire to make Mastodon more attractive to everyday users.One of [our] ongoing efforts is to make Mastodon easy and delightful to use. We've invested a significant amount of money and time into working with professional designers and performing user testing over the last few years, but we really ramped up our efforts in 2023," he wrote. Mastodon is quite a large application, and our resources remain very constrained compared to our corporate competitors, but we've made significant progress on improving the look and feel of Mastodon across the board."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/mastodons-new-notifications-wont-blow-up-your-phone-after-a-viral-post-anymore-211215016.html?src=rss
A research company published a damning report about Roblox on Tuesday, accusing the company of inflating its active user counts and enabling predatory behavior on the platform. Although Hindenburg Research has a somewhat notorious reputation, the report at least raises questions about the platform's safety and viability.First, Hindenburg Research is known for taking deep dives into public companies' practices, finding sketchy behavior and publishing it. However, as noted by Simon Carless, a gaming industry veteran and author of the GameDiscoverCo newsletter, Hindenburg also tends to short-sell the companies' downfalls, literally betting that its research will lead to their failures. Reuters notes that Hindenburg has previously sunk the share prices of Super Micro Computer and stocks owned by investor Carl Icahn, India's Gautam Adani.So, despite making some eyebrow-raising points in the report, you may want to take Hindenburg with more than a few grains of salt. On the other hand, some of its investigations have led to SEC investigations.As for the specific claims, the researchers say Roblox's stock price is partly based on misleading data. Hindenburg states that Roblox is inflating stats like user numbers and engagement, conflating daily active users with visitors. Our research indicates that Roblox is lying to investors, regulators, and advertisers about the number of people' on its platform, inflating the key metric by 25-42%+," Hindenburg Research wrote. We also show how engagement hours, another key metric, is inflated by an estimated 100%+."Hindenburg quotes former Roblox employees in its report. One claims the company can track users with alt accounts, but its public user tracking doesn't adjust for those. If I have 10 alts [alternate accounts], because I'm farming Pet Simulator on 10 accounts and all of those are running a script on different virtual machines in my computer - they're all still coming out of the same IP address," Hindenburg quotes the former employee as saying. I made all 10 of those accounts. Their names are similar. Their account creation times are similar...I'm still one player, not 10."De-alting" Roblox's numbers, which means adjusting for alt accounts to get a more accurate picture of player count, would allegedly lead to much lower numbers. One of the former Roblox employees reportedly told Hindenburg, Let's say if that number [DAUs] is not de-alted, I think the actual one would be like anywhere between 30 to 20% lower..."A Roblox spokesperson provided Engadget with a published statement denying Hindenburg's claims. The company noted that it regularly includes a note to investors explaining how its operating metrics are calculated - and has done so since its initial public filing.The financial claims made by Hindenburg are misleading," Roblox wrote. The authors are short sellers and have an agenda irrespective of the substance of Roblox's business model and results."Carless also advises taking the researchers' claims with grains of salt. Our view on this is that there's no systemic bad behavior' by Roblox here," the former game developer and GDC co-runner wrote. The game is giant and chaotic, so of course there are going to be bots and weird behavior all over the place."Speaking with Reuters, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter went even further, accusing Hindenburg of getting gaming metrics all wrong. There are many interesting points in that report, but they seem to misunderstand a lot about how games work," Pachter reportedly said. He said the research firm measured engagement based on a session." However, gamers typically log on multiple times daily, playing various games. The Hindenburg test looks like it measured session length for a single game for each user," Pachter said.Hindenburg's report also accuses Roblox of compromising child safety in order to report growth to investors." It even goes as far as accusing the platform of allowing pedophiles to flourish on the platform.For the second quarter of 2024, in a push toward profitability, Roblox reported a 2% year-over-year decline in its trust and safety expenses," Hindenburg wrote, highlighting the company's shift to AI moderation. Core to the problem is that Roblox's social media features allow pedophiles to efficiently target hundreds of children, with no up-front screening to prevent them from joining the platform."Roblox's child safety problems have been reported before.Hindenburg said it tried to set up an account under Jeffrey Epstein," only to find the username was taken, along with 900+ variations." One account, JeffEpsteinSupporter," reportedly had multiple badges for spending time in children's games. Others had disturbing usernames alluding to grooming or raping minors. Even if those accounts were made by attention-starved teens or young adults using edgelord attempts at humor," those allegations, if true, represent a colossal moderation failure.Roblox wrote that it takes user trust and child safety seriously. Every day, tens of millions of users of all ages have safe and positive experiences on Roblox, abiding by the company's Community Standards," the company wrote in a statement. Roblox takes any content or behavior on the platform that doesn't abide by its standards extremely seriously, and Roblox has a robust set of proactive and preventative safety measures designed to catch and prevent malicious or harmful activity on the platform."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/short-sellers-accuse-roblox-of-inflating-user-stats-and-enabling-child-exploitation-205635537.html?src=rss
Artificial intelligence is expected to have an impact on the upcoming US election in November. States have been trying to protect against misinformation by passing laws that require political advertisements to disclose when they have used generative AI. Twenty states now have rules on the books, and according to new research, voters have a negative reaction to seeing those disclaimers. That seems like a pretty fair response: If a politician uses generative AI to mislead voters, then voters don't appreciate that. The study was conducted by New York University's Center on Technology Policy and first reported by The Washington Post.The investigation had a thousand participants watch political ads from fictional candidates. Some of the ads were accompanied by a disclaimer that AI was used in the creation of the spot, while others had no disclaimer. The presence of a disclaimer was linked to viewers rating the promoted candidate as less trustworthy and less appealing. Respondents also said they would be more likely to flag or report the ads on social media when they contained disclaimers. In attack ads, participants were more likely to express negative opinions about the candidate who sponsored the spot rather than the candidate being attacked. The researchers also found that the presence of an AI disclaimer led to worse or unchanged opinions regardless of the fictional candidate's political party.The researchers tested two different disclaimers inspired by two different state requirements for AI disclosure in political ads. The text tied to Michigan's law reads: "This video has been manipulated by technical means and depicts speech or conduct that did not occur." The other disclaimer is based on Florida's law, and says: "This video was created in whole or in part with the use of generative artificial intelligence." Although the approach of Michigan's requirements is more common among state laws, study participants said they preferred seeing the broader disclaimer for any type of AI use.While these disclaimers can play a part in transparency about the presence of AI in an ad, they aren't a perfect failsafe. As many as 37 percent of the respondents said they didn't recall seeing any language about AI after viewing the ads.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/viewers-dont-trust-candidates-who-use-generative-ai-in-political-ads-study-finds-194532117.html?src=rss
Amazon's October Prime Day sale kicked off today, bringing a wide range of discounts on gadgets and gear we recommend. We have a roundup with all of the offers worth your attention, but if you're specifically looking to grab a new laptop, one of the event's best Apple deals cuts the entry-level M2 MacBook Air down to $749. That's $50 below the notebook's usual street price in recent months, $250 less than buying from Apple directly and a record low for what we consider the best budget MacBook on the market. In our initial M2 MacBook Air review, we were impressed by the laptop's thinner design, gorgeous 13.6-inch display, great quad-speaker setup and the M2 chip's excellent performance. It had been our top pick for the best MacBook, period, but the new M3 model has taken that top slot. However, the M2 Air doesn't skimp - those on a budget (or anyone simply looking to save some cash) will still get a lot of laptop and a lot of power choosing this machine. One could argue, and our Daniel Cooper did, that the best thing about the M3 MacBook Air was the price drop given to the M2 Air after its launch. The M3 chip is pretty similar to the M2, and while there's no doubt that those who want the latest and greatest should get an M3 machine, an M2 laptop will be more than enough for most people using it as a daily driver. And, when you consider the M2 started at $1,200 when it first came out in 2022, it makes this discount even more compelling (it only received a price drop to $1,000 after the M3's debut). There are other discounts on the MacBook lineup at Amazon at the moment, too. The M3 MacBook Air is $250 off and down to $849, which is only $50 more than its record-low price. The 15-inch MacBook with an M3 chip is $255 off and on sale for $1,044. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/prime-day-laptop-deals-include-the-m2-macbook-air-for-a-record-low-of-749-on-amazon-121848050.html?src=rss
Uber has come up with a relatively low-cost way of getting to and from a New York City airport: a shuttle bus. Starting today, the company is offering rides between LaGuardia Airport and transit hubs in Manhattan for $18 a pop. For the first month of the service, Uber is offering half-price rides for $9, The Wall Street Journal reports.This would be far cheaper than a cab for a solo traveler. It's also more expensive, but perhaps less of a hassle, than taking public transit - there's a free shuttle between the airport and the subway.One route will take passengers between Penn Station and the airport, and the other will run between Port Authority, Grand Central Terminal and LaGuardia. If you're Manhattan-bound, you'll still need to make your way to your home, hotel or Airbnb after you get to the drop-off point.The vans can transport 14 passengers at a time. The service will run between 5AM and 10:45PM ET every day with trips leaving every half hour or so. You can book a spot in a shuttle up to seven days in advance and bring a personal item and a 50-pound bag on board. Before you get on the van, you'll need to show the driver a QR code and PIN that Uber sends you. An Uber shuttle-fleet partner called EPS is operating the rides, but the shuttles have Uber branding.Uber shuttles have been available in various locations since 2019, but this is the first time the company is offering such trips to and from an airport. Earlier this year, Uber started running shuttles to and from concerts and sports games. It plans to offer shuttles to more airports in the coming months and years.The company announced the service as part of its Go-Get Zero event, at which it highlighted some new sustainability efforts. Among those is a new EV-only option that will debut in 40 cities in which Uber has enough electric vehicle drivers available.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/uber-starts-offering-18-shuttle-rides-between-manhattan-and-laguardia-airport-193520618.html?src=rss
If you're in the market for a new Android phone, take note: Samsung has discounted the majority of its Galaxy S24 lineup as part of Amazon's latest October Prime Day sale. The deals bring the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra down to $998, which is 23 percent off the jumbo-sized phone's list price and about $100 off its street price on Amazon in recent months. If the premium path isn't your style, the Galaxy S24+ is also on sale for $750, while the standard Galaxy S24 is on sale for $600. We'll quickly run through each offer below. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra This is a particularly nice price cut for the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which has a list price of $1,300. That means you can keep an extra $300 compared to buying from Samsung directly and walk away with one of our top Android phones of 2024. The Ultra impressed us with the upgraded titanium frame, improved display and camera options, and AI capabilities that offered function as well as flash. Its performance from a new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC offered a 30 to 35 percent spike over the previous year's chip. One of the only downsides our review found was the price tag, so a sale like Prime Day is a great time to snap up something from the higher end of the Samsung line. Samsung Galaxy S24+ This Prime Day deal can save you $250 on the Galaxy S24+, which normally costs $1,000. The S24+ was expected to be a minor iteration on the Samsung product line, but this mid-range option provided a solid experience for customers who aren't interested in shelling out for the bleeding-edge features on top-flight, premium end of phone models. This models had respectable performance speeds in our tests, boasted a Quad HD+ screen and offered notably long battery life. The specs may not blow your mind, but it still showcased the possibilities of Samsung's Galaxy AI suite. Samsung Galaxy S24 Sometimes, you want to keep it simple. The introductory Galaxy S24 model is getting a $200 discount on its $800 baseline package for Prime Day. Like the S24+, this phone probably isn't going to be a conversation starter, but it's a solid choice for a workhorse device that gets daily use. And like its mid-range counterpart, the S24 packed solid battery performance into its 6.2-inch frame and it has a Full HD+ screen. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-prime-day-samsung-galaxy-deals-include-up-to-25-percent-off-the-galaxy-s24-lineup-101558797.html?src=rss
Hearst has become the latest major US publisher to sign an agreement to license its content to ChatGPT creator OpenAI. As part of a partnership announced on Tuesday, content from more than 60 Hearst-owned publications will appear in ChatGPT and other OpenAI products. Some of the publisher's more notable properties include Esquire, Cosmopolitan and Elle. It also owns newspapers like the San Francisco Chronicle. When Hearst content appears in ChatGPT, the software will provide citations and direct links.The organizations did not disclose the financial terms of the agreement. Unlike the partnership OpenAI signed with Dotdash Meredith in May, its deal with Hearst doesn't appear to include a plan for the two firms to collaborate on ad tech.As generative AI matures, it's critical that journalism created by professional journalists be at the heart of all AI products," said Jeff Johnson, president of Hearst's Newspapers unit. This agreement allows the trustworthy and curated content created by Hearst Newspapers' award-winning journalists to be part of OpenAI's products like ChatGPT - creating more timely and relevant results."The announcement comes less than a week after news broke that OpenAI had recently raised a record-breaking $6.6 billion in new venture capital funding. Since the start of 2024, OpenAI has signed licensing agreements with The Financial Times and Conde Nast, the owner of publications like Vogue, The New Yorker and Wired. At the same time, not every publisher has been so keen to work with the AI giant. At the end of last year, The New York Times sued OpenAI, with Alden Capital Group, the owner of publications like The Chicago Tribune and New York Daily News, later launching a suit of its own.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-partners-with-cosmopolitan-and-elle-publisher-hearst-180517248.html?src=rss
Roli is no stranger to quirky musical instruments. After all, it pioneered the idea of a squishy" MIDI controller. The company's latest tool, however, could be its weirdest. The Roli Airwave is an AI-infused piano teaching gadget that also doubles as a digital theremin. Yes, the same high-pitched theremin that has appeared on hit records like The Beach Boys' Good Vibrations"and Erykah Badu's Incense."The Airwave is basically a tall stand with a camera on top. This camera points downward to track the player's finger movements on a connected MIDI keyboard. Movements are tracked in real time and beamed to a tablet, which then displays visuals to teach users how to correctly play a song and fix any mistakes they are making. It'll even try to fix bad playing posture.The Airwave uses machine intelligence and computer vision to track the player's hands and to offer its advice on where those hands should be placed. There's some machine learning baked into this system when analyzing live footage to come up with accurate teaching methods.The affiliated app also integrates with ChatGPT, allowing for natural language queries. For instance, users can ask relevant questions about the song being learned or general-use queries about music theory. Being as how a player's hands would be occupied when in the midst of a piano tutorial, these questions can be asked by voice instead of by typing into a virtual keyboard. This won't beat interacting with a real piano tutor, but it'll likely be easier than hunting for a needle in the YouTube video haystack.Basically, 100 percent of your time when you practice, you're going to practice correctly now," Roli's CEO, Roland Lamb, told Wired. So you'll be developing good habits over time."The Airwave isn't just for students. The device is also being marketed as an outlet for experimental music-making. There are five inputs that adjust various parameters via hand movements. This means that players can use one to radically change the sound of the instrument being played.With the simple raise of their hands, creators can transform a piano into a full orchestra, just as a conductor would, or morph mellow synth pads into searing leads with a tilt of a wrist," Roli wrote in a press release.Now onto the caveats, and there are a few. This is nifty tech, of that there's no doubt. However, there's a significant barrier of entry. First of all, the Airwave itself will cost $300 when it releases in February. The device cannot be used on its own. It requires a pre-existing Roli keyboard, like the $1,400 Seaboard Rise 2 or the much cheaper Lumi (now called the Piano M.) Also, to access the teaching tools, users will need to bring in their own tablet. There are apps for both Android and Apple devices, but only newer iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab models will be supported.Finally, budding piano players will also have to fork out $15 a month to access the Roli Learn music education subscription service. If money's no object, this looks like a fairly novel way to learn the piano.Roli says the Airwave is just the first release in what it's calling its Music Intelligence (MI) platform. The company writes that the Roli MI platform will be the foundation of a roadmap of future intelligent products, starting with Airwave." Preorders for the Airwave are available right now.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/the-roli-airwave-is-a-high-tech-keyboard-teaching-tool-inspired-by-the-theremin-172342147.html?src=rss
It's Prime Day again, and Amazon has the Sonos Era 100 speaker, the critically acclaimed successor to the Sonos One, on sale for $50 off. The deal could be worth a look if you're eyeing a terrific-sounding home speaker or want to expand your existing Sonos setup. Usually, it is $249, but you can order the Sonos Era 100 today for only $199. If home theater is your priority, you can also save up to $110 on the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) or Ray soundbar. The Sonos Era 100, which only arrived last year, sounds better than its successor and has more convenient controls and easier TruePlay tuning. The latter automatically adjusts its sound based on your room's acoustics. Previously requiring a phone (and iPhone only, leaving out Android users), the feature now uses the speaker's built-in mics for Quick Tuning." (iOS device owners can optionally still use the more advanced TruePlay tuning for a more thorough setup.) The speaker is surprisingly loud and has more potent bass than the Sonos One lineup it replaced. It has two tweeters for better high-end output. Engadget's Nathan Ingraham found the speaker's sound quality to surpass that of the One, offering a full-bodied listening experience. You can optionally buy two (or a second while on sale if you already own one) for a stereo pair. Use the Sonos app (which has had problems lately, but the company is working to improve it) to link your two speakers, providing a richer listening experience with stereo separation. It also supports Amazon Alexa and Sonos' assistant for voice control. If you have a Sonos soundbar, you can set it up as a rear speaker for surround sound while watching TV or movies. Speaking of soundbars, Amazon Prime Day also has a couple of those on sale, too. The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) soundbar, typically $499, is available for $399. The speaker has a compact design and enhanced sound quality with Dolby Atmos support. The Sonos Ray, the company's entry-level soundbar, is on sale for $110 off. An upgrade over your TV's built-in speakers, the solid speaker is good for TVs in smaller spaces. You can get the Sonos Ray for $169 (typically $279). Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sonos-speakers-and-soundbars-are-up-to-20-percent-off-for-prime-day-162830423.html?src=rss
Fourteen years after it debuted on PS3 and Xbox 360, and endless rumors later, Red Dead Redemption is finally coming to PC. It will hit the Rockstar Store, Steam and the Epic Games Store on October 29 with the Undead Nightmare standalone expansion included.Developer Double Eleven helped Rockstar with the port, which has many of the bells and whistles you'd come to expect from a PC version of a classic. Rockstar says RDR will run at up to 144Hz (no unlocked framerates, sadly) in a native 4K resolution if you have capable hardware. There's support for HDR 10 along with Ultrawide (21:9) and Super Ultrawide (32:9) monitors. You'll be able to play with a keyboard and mouse too.Upscaling tech in the form of NVIDIA DLSS 3.7 and AMD FSR 3 is supported. So too are NVIDIA DLSS Frame Generation, adjustable draw distances, shadow quality settings and other things that would sound like newfangled gobbledygook to John Marston.Rockstar brought RDR to PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch last year, but it's the PC version that many folks have long been waiting for. I can't wait to see what modders do with this one.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/red-dead-redemption-finally-comes-to-pc-14-years-after-its-original-release-141709270.html?src=rss
As TikTok faces the possibility of a ban in the United States, a new study sheds light on the type of accounts US adults follow on the platform. According to the report, published by Pew Research, political content and news are only a small fraction of the accounts US adults follow in the app.The report is based on an analysis of 227,946 accounts followed by 664 TikTok users who participated in the study. Of those accounts, less than one percent were politicians, civic actors or traditional media outlets and journalists," Pew found, noting that the typical U.S. adult on TikTok follows no accounts in each of these categories."Instead, people were more likely to follow accounts that posted about entertainment and pop culture, humor and viral dance clips. To the extent Americans' followed accounts discuss politics, it tends to be mixed with other topics," Pew writes. Some 43% of all followed accounts that discussed politics or current events during the study period also discussed entertainment and pop culture."Pew Research CenterThe content of users' following feeds doesn't offer a complete picture of what people see on TikTok. The app defaults to the algorithmic for you" feed, which is made up mainly of recommendations. And even though most users may not choose to follow explicitly political accounts, previous research from Pew found that 45 percent of US TikTok users report seeing at least some" content about politics or political issues in the app.The question of what US users see on TikTok has been more closely scrutinized over the last year. Some lawmakers stepped up calls for a ban of the app last fall after TikTok critics used hashtag data to suggest that the app was disproportionately recommending pro-Palestinian content. The company said such takes were the result of unsound analysis." TikTok stopped showing view counts for specific hashtags earlier this year.While Pew's report doesn't touch on TikTok's algorithmic recommendations, the authors note that follows are an important signal for the app. User interactions with posts from the accounts they follow play a nontrivial role in shaping their For You page,'" the report says. And studying these followed accounts can give us a better understanding on the content that users actively choose to look for on the platform."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/most-us-tiktok-users-arent-following-political-accounts-study-says-140053492.html?src=rss
Google has released a new feature for Docs that will make it easier to break down - and, later, to find and access - information into separate sections. It's adding tabs to Docs, so that you can "build content in a way that makes it possible for you to find what you're looking for quickly." Instead of creating multiple Doc files or merely using headings to organize information, you can write down whatever you want into distinct tabs, which will be much quicker to parse than a lengthy document. Tabs could also make collaborating with classmates or co-workers less chaotic.In its announcement, Google enumerated several examples of how tabs could help people. "A project manager," the company wrote, "can create a tab for budget, roles and responsibilities, goals, and key dates so that their working team can stay on track." In addition to Google's examples, we could also see the feature being useful to authors, who can use separate tabs for their outline, character profiles, plot plans, scenario details and other important notes.Document tabs will take up the left-hand section of the Google Docs interface. You can create several subtabs under each tab if you want to break down the information that's supposed to go into that section each further. If you edit a tab's name, you'll also be able to set an emoji to best represent what it's about, which will then replace the default article icon. The new feature has already started rolling out and will be making its way to all Google Workspace users, as well as everyone with personal Gmail accounts, over the next 15 days.GoogleThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/google-docs-adds-tabs-to-help-you-stay-organized-130016429.html?src=rss
The Kindle that lets you take handwritten notes is on sale for Amazon Prime Day. The 16GB model of the Kindle Scribe is currently $85 off and down to $255 instead of the usual $340. That's not an all-time low - the ereader hit $240 as recently as July's Prime Day - but this is the lowest price we've tracked since then. And, while there's likely a new Kindle or two on the horizon, nothing is confirmed just yet. The Kindle Scribe is our pick for the best E Ink tablet that's also an ereader. The latency is next to nothing when it comes to drawing and handwriting notes, and we like that the basic stylus is included in the price (instead of coming as a separate purchase like with some E Ink slabs). You also get a number of brush types to choose from, like fountain pen, marker and pencil, and it's easy to create and manage notebooks in which you can put those stroke styles to work. We gave the device a score of 85 in our full review of the Kindle Scribe, again praising the writing experience as well as the premium build and ample screen size. One caveat is the lack of support for writing in the margins on most Kindle ebooks. While there's a small library of titles that allow you to scribble directly on the page, they're mostly crosswords and planner titles. For most ebooks, you'll make notes in a pop-up window linked to the text. As an ereader, the Scribe has a few abilities other ereaders don't, such as letting you read two pages side-by-side when the screen is in landscape orientation. It also has a flush-front display and auto-adjusting warm front lights. We also like how easy it is to read borrowed library books on a Kindle. Plus a recent update enabled handwriting-to-text conversions that you can email to your contacts. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-kindle-scribe-is-85-off-for-prime-day-120059393.html?src=rss
Prime Day has returned for the fall, which means there are tons of deals to check out at Amazon. Robot vacuums (and cordless ones for that matter) are some of the machines we most recommend picking up during sale events like this because you can often save hundreds on the stick price. One of the best Prime Day robot vacuum deals we found is on the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+, which is a vac-and-mop hybrid. You can snag it for $800 right now, which is $600 off. This is our pick for the best robot vacuum and mop combo. The Roomba Combo j9+ covers all the bases - and floor types - as it offers just about everything you could want in such a device. It has strong suction, the ability to give your floors a deep scrub and the intelligence to avoid obstacles. The accompanying Clean Base not only allows the Combo j9+ to self-empty, it refills the robot's liquid tank with water or solution. As such, you shouldn't have to empty the debris bin or top up the base's liquid tank for weeks at a time. You can set up vacuuming and mopping routines, and ask Alexa or Google Assistant to start an ad hoc cleaning. The Combo j9+ can map out your home faster than previous models and you can label objects to help direct the Roomba to clean a specific area. The Combo j9+ is certainly a more premium option, but there are other Roombas on sale for Prime Day. Another vacuum and mop combo (Y0140) has dropped from $275 to $219. Meanwhile, you can pick up the even more budget-friendly Roomba Q0120 vacuum for $190. It usually costs $250. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/irobots-roomba-combo-j9-robot-vacuum-and-mop-is-600-off-for-prime-day-172009289.html?src=rss
Didn't we already have a Prime Day? Yes, but that was Amazon's July Prime Day - this one is in October. While it typically doesn't offer the same breadth of deals (or deep discounts) as the OG day, if you've been keeping your eye on a certain pair of AirPods, Kindle tablet or, randomly this year, a lot of Lego, then you might be in luck. Some highlights include $154 off AirPods Max (both Lightning and the recent USB-C version), the recently launched Ring pan-and-tilt security camera for $50 and Anker's travel-friendly MagGo 3-in-1 Charging Station that can charge an Apple Watch, AirPods and smartphone all at once down to $88. Sony's best headphones, another perennial Prime Day attendee, are on sale too: The WH-1000XM5 are on sale for $298, that's $101 off. If you're shopping for a phone, though, no iPhones are discounted. Boo. However, the Pixel 8a is $100 cheaper ($399) and the OnePlus 12 is down to $650. We'll be pulling the best deals into a single place, right here. - Mat Smith The biggest stories you might have missed
Amazon has the Dyson Airwrap available for close to an all-time low. The Prime Day sale shaves $100 off the price of this innovative styling tool, which can reduce styling time and potentially boost your hair's long-term health. Usually $600, Amazon's Prime Day sale drops the tool's price down to $500. The secret sauce to the Dyson Airwrap is the Coanda effect, which describes airflow's tendency to follow a curved surface's path. In this case, the air jets follow the Airwrap's barrel or brush attachment. This phenomenon helps avoid the extreme heat (which can cause long-term damage) many competing products use. The Dyson Airwrap measures the airflow's temperature over 40 times per second, ensuring it stays within a safe range for your hair. Dyson advertises that the device can simultaneously dry and straighten hair with up to 58 percent less frizz and fewer flyaways than the original model. (This sale is for the 2022 upgrade, which followed the 2018 original.) The tool includes six attachments for different hair types, styles and lengths. It comes with two barrels (in 1.6-inch and 1.2-inch lengths), two smoothing brushes (soft and firm), a round volumizing brush and a Coanda smoothing dryer. A filter cleaning brush and storage case are also in the box. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/save-100-on-the-dyson-airwrap-for-october-prime-day-111540673.html?src=rss
Amazon Prime Day is a peak time to make upgrades to home tech, with some steep discounts on gadgets that might feel like too much of a splurge at list price. If you've been considering letting a machine take over vacuuming responsibilities in your house, then the Shark AI Ultra Robot Vacuum is on sale for just $300. That's the lowest price we've seen for this gadget; normally you need to shell out up to $420 to add it to your housework routine. The model on sale today is a version of the one we found to be a top all-around performer in our tests of robot vacuums. The Shark AI Ultra model is a bag-free vacuum, which we appreciate since it removes the recurring cost of replacing bags every few months. It's also a self-emptying model and this version is the 60-day capacity, meaning you can go two months before you need to get involved in disposing of the accumulated dust and dirt. Shark says it gets 120 minutes of runtime. If you want a more heavy-duty option, the Shark Detect Pro Robot Vacuum is also on sale this Prime Day for $400. This model has the same bagless and self-emptying features as the Ultra and a 30-day capacity. It also can lift itself to better navigate around obstacles while it runs, and it uses blasts of air to better clean up corners and edges that are typically difficult for a round vacuum to reach. The average battery life is a little shorter than the Ultra at 110 minutes, but still a solid amount of cleaning time. The Prime Day discount can save you $150 off the usual $550 price tag for the Detect Pro. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/prime-day-deals-include-this-self-emptying-shark-robot-vacuum-for-a-record-low-price-110002458.html?src=rss
Amazon's October Prime Day sales event is here and the deals are rolling in. The Dyson V15 Detect Plus cordless vacuum is on sale for $700, which is a discount of $50. This isn't just any cordless vac. The V15 Detect topped our list of the best cordless vacuums for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the suction power is impressive. Cordless vacuums can struggle in this department, but the V15 makes short work of even the smallest dust and debris." We were consistently shocked by how much cat hair was hiding in the carpet during our tests. The Detect" in the model's name refers to a light embedded within the Fluffy Optic cleaning head, which is a brush roll intended for hard floors. This helps illuminate patches of dust and debris build ups, so the vacuum can do its job on the first pass. It's worth noting that this model ships with other head attachments, but they don't include the same light. There's also a nifty LCD screen that lets users know exactly what's being sucked up into the machine, with data on the size and frequency of debris particles. This isn't really necessary, but it's fun to see all of the gunk being removed from a home during a cleaning session. The V15 Detect even ships with a piezo sensor that automatically adjusts the internal engine depending on how dirty the floors are. This is a slightly upgraded version of the V15 Detect, thus the Plus" in the name. There's an improved filter with this one that promises to trap 99.99% of particles as small as 0.3 microns." Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/prime-day-deals-include-50-off-the-dyson-v15-detect-plus-cordless-vacuum-093012161.html?src=rss
Amazon's October Prime Day 2024 is a great time to shop for holiday gifts for that photographer on your gift list, or pull the trigger on a camera or accessory you've been lusting after. There are some particularly good offers this year from many of the major brands including Sony, Canon, DJI, GoPro and Fujifilm.Many models are priced well under $500 and some premium models, including Canon's EOS R5, the GoPro Hero 12 and Sony ZV-1F, have significant discounts. We've rounded them up here and if you're unsure about a model, you can see the recommendations in our 2024 camera guide.Prime Day camera deals: Engadget's top picksGoPro Hero 12 Black for $299 ($50 off)
We could all use a little help keeping track of our stuff, and Bluetooth trackers can do just that. Apple's AirTags are some of the most popular available and you can pick them up for less right now thanks to Prime Day deals. A four-pack of AirTags is 19 percent off and down to $80, bringing the price per tag down to just $20 each. If you only need one, you can get a single AirTag for $25. These are our top pick for the best Bluetooth trackers for iPhone users, thanks to their seamless connection with the iOS device and their integration with Apple's Find My network. It takes mere seconds to pair and AirTag to your iPhone, assign it to your stuff and start monitoring its location via the Find My app. We found AirTags to be quite accurate when locating lost things out in the while, and those with newer iPhones can take advantage of their ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless compatibility. When you're close enough to your lost stuff, your iPhone can show you on-screen directions to lead you right to it. AirTags also have solid separation alerts, which will notify you if you, say, leave a coffee shop without your bag or leave your jacket behind at a restaurant. In our testing, we got roughly 1,200 feet away before getting most separation alerts, which isn't too far and should mean you cna easily (and quickly) return to grab your things before anything nefarious happens to them. The main thing to know about AirTags, aside from their iOS exclusivity, is the fact that you don't have a built in keyring hole. That means you'll need an AirTag holder or case if you plan on attaching the small disk to your keys. If you want to use it to monitor a wallet or a backpack, you could more easily get away with just slipping it into an interior pocket. Also, AirTags run on coin-cell batteries; you shouldn't have to replace it for a couple of years, though, and battery replacement is quite simple. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-airtags-are-nearly-20-percent-off-for-prime-day-072900571.html?src=rss
Last Prime Day (way back in July), Amazon dropped the price of Apple's current-model iPad mini to $380. October has now brought us a shiny new Prime Day sale and a new low price on the smallest Apple tablet, making it just $350. That's a hefty $149 discount off the $499 sticker price.
Since Apple never bothers to put its own products on sale, we have to rely on third party retailers to do it for them. Amazon Prime Day is always a good bet for Apple deals (as long as you're not looking for new, unlocked iPhones) and this October event is no different. Right now, Apple's over-ear headphones, the AirPods Max, have returned to $395. That's a record low and one we first saw during July's Prime Day sale. Note this is the model with a Lightning charging port. During the iPhone 16 event in September, Apple announced new standard AirPods but didn't reveal a new pair of over-ear phones. Instead, the AirPods Max were given a couple of new colors and an upgrade to a USB-C port. Those models aren't seeing the same discount, however. If you're fine using an older charging method and don't need one of the new colors, you can save a decent amount of cash. We should also point out that new Max headphones may come next year, but they aren't likely to be near this price. Internally, the models are the same, with the same balanced audio and solid active noise cancellation we experienced during our review of the cans back in 2020. Our reviewer, Billy Steele, noted that the Max headphones are on the heavy side at 385 grams but that the design makes them feel remarkably light. The onboard controls are also a joy to use and the integration with Siri is helpful. Our main complaint with the Max is the high asking price. At $395 that issue is mitigated a bit, putting them around the same price as the top pick in our headphone guide. Still, for Apple fans who crave the brand's premium build and aesthetic, this is a pretty good deal. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-airpods-max-return-to-an-all-time-low-of-395-for-prime-day-072754255.html?src=rss
The Apple Watch may be our top pick for the best smartwatch you can get right now, but not everyone is going to feel comfortable spending $400 on a wearable - particularly if you've never had one before. Instead, we recommend the Apple Watch SE for folks who fit into that category, and October Prime Day deals are making it even more tempting to pick one up. The Apple Watch SE has dropped to a new low of $170 for the sale event, which is about $80 off. While there were rumors Apple was going to release a new Watch SE in September alongside the latest iPhones, that didn't materialize. The second-gen SE remains the most up-to-date version of the wearable, and it has very specific omissions to get its price down, namely the lack of an always-on display, no blood oxygen or temperature monitoring and no support for the Double Tap feature introduced with the Series 9. But otherwise, the Apple Watch SE has all of the core features that the main Apple Watch Series 10 does including all-day activity and sleep monitoring, heart rate tracking, emergency calling, up to 50 meters of water resistance, crash detection and excellent workout tracking. It has a built-in GPS for making the latter even better, mapping outdoor activities like runs, and bike rides. And since it syncs seamlessly with iPhone, you can consider it an extension of your handset. That means you'll receive call, text and app notifications to your wrist and you can decide which are important enough to whip out your phone for, or which can be left for later. That said, arguably the biggest downside of the Apple Watch SE is one that all Apple Watches share - they only work with iPhones. But chances are, if you're even considering an Apple Watch at all, you likely have the phone you'd need to use it (Android users should consider Samsung or Google wearables instead). And at this sale price, it'll be hard to beat for iPhone users who are new to smartwatches or if you're looking for a gift for an iPhone user in your life who you know is keen on tracking their activity more consistently or looking at the phone less throughout the day. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-apple-watch-se-drops-to-a-new-low-of-170-in-this-prime-day-deal-072721213.html?src=rss
October Prime Day has brought a bunch of sales to Amazon's own tech, including its Echo smart displays. Among these deals is an all-time-low price on one of our top picks for the best smart displays, the Echo Show 8. You can pick up this midrange, mid-sized model for $85, which is $65 off its regular price. We'd say any time you can get the Show 8 for less than $100, it's a good deal, but this but this is the best price we've seen and it hasn't been this cheap since Prime Day in July. We consider this to be the best smart display with Alexa compatibility due to the fact that it combines a lot of handy features and is almost a goldilocks size. The Show 8 has an eight-inch 1,280 x 800 touchscreen, which is just big enough to clearly see recipes and watch videos comfortably without being too large that it would take up too much space on a countertop or side table. The Show 8 has an improved 13-megapixel camera with auto-framing, which will make for better video calls with friends and family. The camera can also double as a security device, allow you to check in on your home when you're away. And when you're not using it, or if you just prefer extra privacy, there's a physical shutter that will cover the camera entirely. Of course, devices like the Show 8 are designed to showcase Alexa's talents. You can use the voice assistant through the smart display to check weather forecasts, refer to your calendar to know when your next appointment is, bring up the show you were binge-watching on Netflix and more. This model also has a built-in Zigbee smart home hub, which means you can directly connect smart home gear like smart light bulbs and plugs without the need for an extra hub. And if those IoT devices have Alexa smarts, you can use voice commands to control them as well. If you're looking for something a bit more nightstand-friendly, there are other Alexa smart displays on sale right now, too. The Echo Show 5 is down to $50, while the recently revived Echo Spot has dropped to $45. The former is also one of our favorites thanks to its compact design, ambient light sensor and sunrise alarm feature. The Echo Spot just came back into the lineup a few months ago, and Amazon's billing it as a true smart alarm clock. It has a cute, circular design with a bold, half-moon shaped screen that can show the time, weather, alarms, currently playing music and more. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/prime-day-deals-include-the-echo-show-8-for-an-all-time-low-price-131553591.html?src=rss
If you've had your eye on Blink security cameras to make your home a bit more safe, October Prime Day has you covered with some good discounts. A number of security cameras and bundles are on sale for the event, with one of the most impressive discounts being on a bundle that includes both the Blink Outdoor 4 and the Blink Mini 2 for just $50. That's a massive savings of $90, or 64 percent, which is a record low. You get the Blink Sync Module 2 in this bundle as well, making it a great option for those who don't have an existing Blink system already. The Blink Outdoor 4 security camera easily made our list of the best smart home devices, and for good reason. Despite having outdoor" in the name, this camera also excels with indoor use. The device runs on two AA batteries, so pop it in the backyard, the basement, the kitchen or wherever. The batteries last a full two years before running out. It's weather resistant and supports night vision, motion detection and two-way audio. You need a subscription to store clips in the cloud, but it also integrates with USB flash drives via the Sync Module 2 peripheral (sold separately.) It offers Alexa support, which is nice, but doesn't work with any other smart assistants. The Blink Mini 2, which also comes in this bundle, is a simple little security camera with color night vision, a built-in spotlight, two-way audio and motion detection. It needs to be plugged into an electrical socket or a USB port to work. This Amazon sale features another bundle with two Mini 2 cameras for $42. Another notable deal is for a bundle that includes three Outdoor 4 cameras and the Blink Video Doorbell, along with the Sync Module 2 for saving clips to a flash drive. This one costs $120, which is a massive savings of $200. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice in the lead up to October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/blink-security-cameras-are-up-to-64-percent-off-for-prime-day-153819713.html?src=rss
In our review of the OnePlus 12, we said the smartphone's affordability was one of the best things about it. Now, thank's to Amazon's upcoming Prime Day sale, that's an even more compelling point. A 19 percent discount drops the price to $650 for the model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. That's a a new all-time low (it's gone for $700 a few times previously). The model with 16GB/512GB is also $150 off and down to $750. Other than being a great value for a flagship phone, the OnePlus also has solid cameras that take sharp and clear images. Just note that the camera module is strikingly bulky and you'll see a watermark from Hasselblad (the camera company OnePlus partners with) unless you opt to remove it. The battery life is another win. We measured a lifespan of over 26 hours in our video rundown test. And after just 10 minutes of wall charging, the phone got from 10 to 55 percent. It refilled to 37 percent in the same amount of time sitting on a OnePlus wireless charger, which is available separately for $50. The design is pleasingly "retro" (if you can apply that term to an aesthetic that harkens back a mere five years) with the rounded corners and tapered edges of something like the Galaxy S10+. The OnePlus 12 also takes notes from the past when it comes to AI - in that it mostly forgoes the buzzy new tech in favor of basic (but solid) smartphone functionality. The screen and processor are fully modern, however, with a super bright and crisp 120Hz screen and a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip that we found to offer fluid performance, despite clocking in a tad low on some benchmarks. Elsewhere, Amazon is also selling the OnePlus Open for $1,300, which is a $400 discount on the phone we named the more affordable pick for a flagship foldable. That's a price the Open has hit previously, as recently as last month. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-oneplus-12-smartphone-drops-to-a-record-low-of-650-for-prime-day-220729473.html?src=rss
Nintendo's new Switch bundles are here. As the seven-year-old console takes its victory lap ahead of the Switch 2, the standard Switch and the OLED model are now available in the new bundles announced in September. The systems are each packaged with redemption codes for a 12-month Switch Online membership and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The standard bundle costs $300, and the OLED variant costs $350. The baseline bundle includes the standard Switch with a 6.2-inch LCD and red and blue Joy-Cons. Meanwhile, the OLED console has a 7-inch OLED display and white Joy-Cons. For only $50 extra, the latter gives you extra screen real estate along with the richer colors and deeper blacks of OLED. Although the standard model still looks good, comparing them side-by-side makes the $50 more expensive OLED one hard to turn down. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has been one of the console's flagship titles since its arrival shortly after the console itself in 2017. Initially released for the Wii U, the Switch revamp of the racing classic adapts its controls well to the portable system. The game's optional smart steering feature helps make it more fun for those who frequently drive off-course and spend the next 30 seconds trying to get back on as their competitors lap them. (Raises hand.) The game looks terrific on the Switch's screen - especially the OLED - and it runs in an enhanced 1080p mode when docked. Nintendo Meanwhile, Switch Online enables online play on Mario Kart 8 and many other titles, along with cloud-based saves. You also get access to hundreds of old-school games from the NES, SNES, Game Boy and Game Boy Advance, N64 and Sega Genesis (Mega Drive) eras. You'll find Nintendo's own Mario, Zelda and Metroid classics there, along with plenty of third-party fare to keep you entertained. The biggest caveat to this bundle is that the Switch 2 (or whatever Nintendo calls its successor) is on the horizon. Although Nintendo hasn't announced the successor yet, the company is rumored to reveal it anytime. The sequel is expected to have a more powerful processor, more RAM and storage and support for NVIDIA's DLSS upscaling tech. But even if Nintendo unveils the console soon, it isn't expected to arrive until sometime in 2025, so it won't be an option for this holiday season either way.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendos-discounted-switch-bundles-are-now-available-174016292.html?src=rss
If you're active on Meta's Threads app, then you've probably encountered some amount of engagement bait in your for you"" feed. Now, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has acknowledged the issue, saying that the company is working to get it under control" after a spike in such posts.We've seen an increase in engagement-bait on Threads and we're working to get it under control," Mosseri said in a post on Threads. He didn't say what steps the company is taking but said there would be more to come" on the issue.Mosseri's comments are the first time the Meta executive has acknowledged the problem that's become an increasingly prominent topic of discussion on Threads. Because the app defaults to the algorithmic for you" feed, engagement bait style posts that attract a lot of replies often go viral on the app even if it's the type of content many users say they don't want to see.But addressing the issue could be tricky because what people often refer to as engagement bait" takes many forms in the app. There are downright spammy posts that lift the kind of copypasta content that's shared widely on Facebook (here's a particularly egregious recent example). There are accounts that post open-ended AskReddit-style questions. And then there's the rage-bait posts, as recently documented by Business Insider's Katie Notopoulos.Those posts, which often touch on polarizing topics, seem like they're only meant to elicit angry responses from other users who have a controversial opinion from someone they don't know thrust into their timeline. For example, I've seen dozens of posts with hundreds of replies about whether young children should be allowed on airplanes. In her experiment, Notopoulos got more than 1 million views and 5,000 replies on a post - heavily inspired from a two-year-old viral tweet and Reddit post - about not feeding children who come over for playdates.And while Mosseri and Meta haven't explained why it's proved so easy to game Threads' algorithm to go viral with this kind of content, it seems to be related to how the app has prioritized replies in deciding what to surface to users. Not all comments or replies are good," Mosseri said.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-is-working-to-fix-threads-engagement-bait-problem-173135011.html?src=rss
Many fans of 2014's Alien: Isolation video game praised its graphics, story and general gameplay, making it a bit of a standout from many other games adapted from a movie. It even received seven separate DLC packs. Gamers have been enjoying this cult classic on mobile and Switch for a while now, but today, on the game's 10th anniversary, the developers announced that they're developing a sequel.Yes, you heard us right. Alien: Isolation now has a sequel in early development. If you don't believe us, take the official X account's word for it.We currently don't have any other details on this sequel, but a look back at reviews for Alien: Isolation should give you hope we'll get another solid game here. If the sequel is anything like the original, then you can expect horror, stealth and second-guessing yourself just as the claws of an alien take your life.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/sequel-to-2014s-alien-isolation-is-now-in-development-162213148.html?src=rss
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