Author Archives: Sarah Fielding

Bose’s new QuietComfort headphones are $100 off right now

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Beyond the sound's quality, we want two things when it comes to headphones: a lightweight design and noise canceling. Bose's aptly named QuietComfort wireless headphones make a case for both and, right now, do so at a record-low price. The 2023 QuietComfort headphones are currently available for $249, down from $349 — a 29 percent discount. The sale applies to all colors: Cypress Green, Moonstone Blue, Black and White.

The newest iteration of the Bose QuietComfort wireless headphones improves on the QuietComfort 45. While many of the features (which we'll get into) are quite similar, the 2023 model offers adjustable ANC models and an option to save custom modes. The headphones are our choice for the best noise-canceling wireless headphones for 2024.

Bose's QuietComfort headphones also offer a soft earcup and padded band for that comfort component. They provide 24 hours of battery life with a 15-minute charge providing another two and a half hours of juice. As for sound quality, the QuietComfort headphones offer high-fidelity audio and adjustable EQ for even greater customization.

The Ultra QuietComfort model is also on sale, with a 12 percent discount dropping the cost to $379 from $429. They offer Breakthrough Spatialized Audio, Bluetooth 5.3 and "luxurious comfort." If headphones aren't your thing, Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds are available for $249, down from $299. Plus, you can grab the SoundLink Flex Bluetooth Speaker for $129 instead of $149.  

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/boses-new-quietcomfort-headphones-are-100-off-right-now-145839415.html?src=rss

Bose’s new QuietComfort headphones are $100 off right now

Posted on by

Beyond the sound's quality, we want two things when it comes to headphones: a lightweight design and noise canceling. Bose's aptly named QuietComfort wireless headphones make a case for both and, right now, do so at a record-low price. The 2023 QuietComfort headphones are currently available for $249, down from $349 — a 29 percent discount. The sale applies to all colors: Cypress Green, Moonstone Blue, Black and White.

The newest iteration of the Bose QuietComfort wireless headphones improves on the QuietComfort 45. While many of the features (which we'll get into) are quite similar, the 2023 model offers adjustable ANC models and an option to save custom modes. The headphones are our choice for the best noise-canceling wireless headphones for 2024.

Bose's QuietComfort headphones also offer a soft earcup and padded band for that comfort component. They provide 24 hours of battery life with a 15-minute charge providing another two and a half hours of juice. As for sound quality, the QuietComfort headphones offer high-fidelity audio and adjustable EQ for even greater customization.

The Ultra QuietComfort model is also on sale, with a 12 percent discount dropping the cost to $379 from $429. They offer Breakthrough Spatialized Audio, Bluetooth 5.3 and "luxurious comfort." If headphones aren't your thing, Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds are available for $249, down from $299. Plus, you can grab the SoundLink Flex Bluetooth Speaker for $129 instead of $149.  

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/boses-new-quietcomfort-headphones-are-100-off-right-now-145839415.html?src=rss

NVIDIA becomes the third most valuable US company at Alphabet’s expense

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NVIDIA is doing very well for itself, so much so that the chip maker has overtaken Alphabet, Google's parent company, to become the third most valuable company in the United States, Reuters reports. The news comes almost immediately after NVIDIA pushed past Amazon in the rankings, with the company now valued at $1.83 trillion. Worldwide, it sits in fourth, behind American companies Microsoft ($3.04 trillion) and Apple ($2.84 trillion) and the Saudi Arabian state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco ($2.07 trillion).

AI's boom over the last year is largely to thank for NVIDIA's jump in valuation, with about 80 percent of the high-end chip market in its hands. It created the H100 chip, which powers LLMs at OpenAI, Amazon, Meta and more. In January, Mark Zuckerberg said Meta will buy 350,000 of NVIDIA's H100 chips by the end of the year. 

Unlike most companies that are engaged in a competition over which will advance in AI the quickest, NVIDIA has its figurative hands in all baskets. The chip maker is also expanding its business to create custom chips for cloud computing firms. This additional offering can keep NVIDIA in the mix, even as AI manufacturers seek more bespoke options. 

NVIDIA's quarterly report will drop on Wednesday, February 21, and while it's expected to be positive, anything less than excellent could lower the company's valuation and, thus, ranking. Predictions set NVIDIA's quarterly earnings tripling to $20.37 billion and net profits jumping 400 percent to $11.38 billion. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nvidia-becomes-the-third-most-valuable-us-company-at-alphabets-expense-123503967.html?src=rss

NVIDIA becomes the third most valuable US company at Alphabet’s expense

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NVIDIA is doing very well for itself, so much so that the chip maker has overtaken Alphabet, Google's parent company, to become the third most valuable company in the United States, Reuters reports. The news comes almost immediately after NVIDIA pushed past Amazon in the rankings, with the company now valued at $1.83 trillion. Worldwide, it sits in fourth, behind American companies Microsoft ($3.04 trillion) and Apple ($2.84 trillion) and the Saudi Arabian state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco ($2.07 trillion).

AI's boom over the last year is largely to thank for NVIDIA's jump in valuation, with about 80 percent of the high-end chip market in its hands. It created the H100 chip, which powers LLMs at OpenAI, Amazon, Meta and more. In January, Mark Zuckerberg said Meta will buy 350,000 of NVIDIA's H100 chips by the end of the year. 

Unlike most companies that are engaged in a competition over which will advance in AI the quickest, NVIDIA has its figurative hands in all baskets. The chip maker is also expanding its business to create custom chips for cloud computing firms. This additional offering can keep NVIDIA in the mix, even as AI manufacturers seek more bespoke options. 

NVIDIA's quarterly report will drop on Wednesday, February 21, and while it's expected to be positive, anything less than excellent could lower the company's valuation and, thus, ranking. Predictions set NVIDIA's quarterly earnings tripling to $20.37 billion and net profits jumping 400 percent to $11.38 billion. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nvidia-becomes-the-third-most-valuable-us-company-at-alphabets-expense-123503967.html?src=rss

Apple’s MacBook Pro with M3 Pro chip falls back to a low of $1,799

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While Apple's MacBook Pro is a clear choice for most creatives over its MacBook Air counterpart, the higher cost is prohibitive. If that's been stopping you from picking one up, then you're in luck: Apple's 2023 MacBook Pro with a M3 Pro chip is currently on sale for $1,799, down from $1,999. The 10 percent discount still leaves the 14-inch laptop with a few hundred dollars between it and even the most expensive 2023 MacBook Air, but it's worth it if you want the 11-core M3 Pro's extra power.

Apple released the new 2023 MacBook Pro last November with three different M3 chips: the standard, M3 Pro, and M3 Max. The mid-range model is what's currently on sale and offers a 14.2-inch screen, a Liquid Retina XDR display and a magic keyboard with touch ID. It has 18GB of RAM, a 14-core GPU and 512GB of SSD storage. Plus, it has 18 hours of battery life when starting out.

This MacBook Pro also has a 1080p HD camera and a Spatial Audio-equipped sound system with six speakers. It's also very connection-friendly, with an HDMI port, a headphone jack, MagSafe charging port, three Thunderbolt 4 points and an SDXC card slot. 

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-macbook-pro-with-m3-pro-chip-falls-back-to-a-low-of-1799-110557157.html?src=rss

DuckDuckGo’s privacy-focused browser gets cross-device syncing and backups

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It's no secret that using the internet usually means handing over most of your personal information – consciously or not. DuckDuckGo bills itself as an alternative to this, protecting its users' privacy, and now it’s providing users an easier way to access their information from multiple places. The browser has announced a new sync and backup feature that shares bookmarks, email protection settings and passwords across devices.

Basically, DuckDuckGo users who choose it for its lack of data sharing can still get the advantages of using the same browser on multiple devices without wondering who gets access to their searches. The entire process is end-to-end encrypted, with DuckDuckGo never receiving any information as the key for decryption is stored on the individual's devices.

The update means that individuals can share information, for example, from their DuckDuckGo browser on their PC or Mac to their Android or iPhone and vice versa. Mobile phones and tablets can link with a QR code, while computers require users to enter a code. There's no need to sign in, but users will want to download a Recovery PDF. It allows people to access synced data if a device breaks, including Email Protection, which removes hidden trackers and creates unique and private email addresses. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/duckduckgos-privacy-focused-browser-gets-cross-device-syncing-and-backups-130017599.html?src=rss

Instacart cuts 250 jobs after reporting increased revenue

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Another day, another layoff occuring in the tech world. Instacart, the popular grocery delivery and pick-up service has announced the termination of 250 employees — about seven percent of its workforce. The layoffs are primarily individuals in management, as Instacart told Engadget that it was moving towards a flatter organization. The company also said that it was disbanding some teams working on smaller projects in favor of focusing on bigger bets like retail-powered media and off-platform ads. Most of the layoffs will go into effect by March 31 with Instacart estimating that the process will cost the company between $19 million and $24 million due to factors like severance pay and employee benefits.

Instacart released the news along with its fourth-quarter earnings. Despite choosing to layoff employees, the company reported a six percent increase in revenue, jumping from $803 million to $804 million, year-over-year. At the same time, Instacart is seeing the voluntary departure of three of its executives: the chief operating officer, chief technology officer and chief architect.

The layoffs follow only a short time after Instacart's September 2023 IPO. Unlike many companies that barely (or didn't) survive the COVID-19 pandemic, Instacart thrived. It allowed people to stay and still receive their groceries and other necessary items. Now, it exists in 5,500 cities and, like most companies of the past year, is focusing on building its AI capabilities. But, despite its increased revenue, the company's layoffs signal that not everything is going as planned over at Instacart. 

Update, Feb 14 2024, 5:45PM ET: This story has been updated with additional details from Instacart about the parts of the organization affected, and to note that Instacart primarily isn't letting people go who are working on their ads products. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/instacart-cuts-250-jobs-after-reporting-increased-revenue-112503431.html?src=rss

X will host a new ‘WWE Speed’ weekly series starting in the spring

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WWE has been shaking up its broadcast platforms recently, with the latest development coming via a partnership with X, formerly known as Twitter. The pair have signed a two-year deal for a new weekly series called WWE Speed, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The show will be exclusive to X and feature timed matches lasting under five minutes.

Well-known wrestlers across the WWE franchise are set to participate in WWE Speed. The plan is for the show to be shot with a studio audience, with new episodes airing every week, starting this spring. WWE Speed will be the latest sports show on X. The platform aired exclusive content in partnership with Fox during the last FIFA World Cup. This year, it will work with NBC Universal to stream segments during the Paris Olympics.

As for the WWE world, X isn't the only company getting in on the action. The news follows Netflix's recent acquisition of WWE's flagship show, Monday Night Raw, for a reported $5 billion over 10 years. The deal includes weekly shows in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and more, along with airings of the WWE shows NXT and SmackDown in countries outside of the US. International audiences will also get access to documentaries, new shows and more original series starting next year.

Netflix users in the US will likely have to wait a while for access to more WWE programs. NBC Universal is reportedly paying $1.4 billion over the next five years to broadcast Smackdown on USA Network, while the CW is paying between $100,000 and $250,000 for the same time period to air NXT.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/x-will-host-a-new-wwe-speed-weekly-series-starting-in-the-spring-103013383.html?src=rss

Meta and TikTok sue over paying the EU’s fee for policing content

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Meta and TikTok owner ByteDance are not keen on the idea of paying the European Union to regulate them. The companies have challenged a supervisory fee set forth by EU moderators, who are now required to monitor Meta, TikTok, and other major platforms under the Digital Services Act (DSA), Politico reports. Meta first announced its action, with ByteDance following suit a day later.

Under the current arrangement, all designated companies must split the €45.2 million ($48.7 million) that EU's regulators argue is necessary to properly supervise the 20 Very Large Online Platforms and two Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs). Each regulated platform has 45 million or more users with its financial contribution based on the size of that number. They also can't owe more than 0.05 percent of its 2022 net profits. However, companies like Amazon and Pinterest that reported little to no profits won't owe anything. Meta, on the other hand, got a €11 million ($11.9 million) bill under the current arrangement. ByteDance has not publicly announced how much it owes.

Meta takes issue with the European Union regulators' methodology for choosing each company's fees. "Currently, companies that record a loss don't have to pay, even if they have a large user base or represent a greater regulatory burden, which means some companies pay nothing, leaving others to pay a disproportionate amount of the total," a Meta spokesperson remarked. Failure to comply with the fee could lead to a fine of up to six percent of a company's global revenue.

The DSA went into effect in 2023, with Meta's and ByteDance's VLOP designations came alongside other major sites, like Google and X, formerly known as Twitter. Along with the fee, VLOPs must comply with specific regulations like transparent advertising and content moderation, sharing data with the European Commission and cooperating with an annual independent audit.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-and-tiktok-sue-to-get-out-of-paying-the-eus-fee-for-policing-content-123511827.html?src=rss

Sony’s WH-1000XM5 ANC headphones are just $280 right now

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Some devices easily stand out in their category, and in the case of headphones, that's Sony's WH-1000XM5 model. If you've been coveting our favorite wireless headphones, there's good news: Sony's WH-1000XM5 headphones are currently down to $280 from $400 — a 30 percent discount. Woot is offering them at this low price for the next four days or until they sell out. Though Amazon owns Woot, it doesn't have the same return policy as its parent company.

Sony's WH-1000XM5 are great for many reasons — we gave them a 95 in our review for a reason — but one of their best features is how incredibly comfy they are when worn. They only weigh 0.14 ounces less than the WH-1000XM4s, but improved weight distribution and a slimmer headband mean they feel much lighter on your head and ears. 

Tech-wise, the M5s offer double the processors and microphones devoted to noise canceling compared to the M4. Then there are 30mm carbon fiber drivers, which give music greater depth, and DSEE Extreme, which boosts the sound quality. The only aspect of the headphones that's frustrating compared to their predecessor is storage. The M5s don't fold, so their storage case is bulky to carry around. 

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sonys-wh-1000xm5-anc-headphones-are-just-280-right-now-104013435.html?src=rss