Tag Archives: author_name|Lawrence Bonk

Rivian now offers a wall charger and $2,000 install credit with EV truck purchases

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Rivian is sweetening the pot just ahead of the Tesla Cybertruck launch by offering a free wall charger and a $2,000 installation credit when you buy an electric pickup. This deal’s only for the R1T truck and doesn’t apply to the company’s R1S SUV. The Home Charging Bundle, as it's called, will be in effect until the end of the year.

Here’s how it works. The wall charger ships a few days after ordering the truck, saving you around $800, and the purchase automatically provides a credit with Rivian’s installation partner Qmerit. Just contact Qmerit to set up an installation and it should be smooth sailing from there. According to the installation company, these installation projects typically cost $800 to $2,000, plus a $150 deposit to schedule a visit. In other words, Rivian’s deal should essentially make this free. It’s also worth noting that the R1T qualifies for that $3,750 tax credit.

This enticing offer comes just ahead of scheduled Tesla Cybertruck deliveries, which allegedly begin on November 30. Tesla’s experienced its fair share of controversy regarding the stainless steel dystopian wonder. The company originally instituted a strange policy that would fine Cybertruck buyers $50,000 if they attempted to resell the vehicle too soon, before reversing course after public outcry. There’s also this offputting video. It’s certainly been a long, strange trip since the truck-ish vehicle was announced back in 2019.

Of course, Rivian has had its own issues recently. The company instituted two, yes two, airbag recalls in less than a month. It’s also gone through a couple rounds of layoffs, which is not typically a good sign. It’s not all bad news, however, as Rivian is building a $5 billion manufacturing facility in Georgia.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rivian-now-offers-a-wall-charger-and-2000-install-credit-with-ev-truck-purchases-162252249.html?src=rss

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones are $50 off in an Amazon Black Friday deal

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The Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones are $50 off as part of an early Black Friday sale on Amazon. This brings the price down to $379 and represents a record-low for the recently-released flagship headphones. They just launched last month, so getting any deal at all is a nice surprise.

We loved these headphones in our official review, but thought they were a bit on the expensive side, so this deal couldn’t have come at a better time. We praised the best-in-class active noise cancellation technology, comfortable form factor and improved transparency mode. The sound quality is also on point, with “considerably warmer and clearer” audio signals when compared to previous models. We went as far to say that the QuietComfort Ultra headphones are finally letting Bose catch up to rivals Sony and Sennheiser in the sound quality department.

They also feature a unique spatial audio mode that claims to provide a more immersive listening experience, though we found these tools to be something of a mixed bag. Sometimes it makes songs sound significantly better, which is great, but other times it can muddy the audio a bit.

In any event, if you’re looking for some great headphones at a slightly reduced cost, this is your chance to fill up those stockings with premium audio ahead of the actual Black Friday sales.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-bose-quietcomfort-ultra-headphones-are-50-off-in-early-black-friday-sale-140058854.html?src=rss

Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 mobile chipset with AI acceleration

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Qualcomm just unveiled the latest mobile chipset to join its armada, the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3. Obviously, this is a refresh of the mid-range Snapdragon 7 Gen 2 and brings some new features to the table. We’ve long known that Qualcomm chips were about to get on-device AI integration, and the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 is no exception.

Nearly every aspect of this chip seems to have been designed with artificial intelligence in mind, with Qualcomm saying that the components “deliver across-the-board advancements to ignite on-device AI.” This should significantly speed up generative AI applications, with advertised benchmarks of just one second to create Stable Diffusion images from a text prompt.

Of course, a mobile CPU is more than just AI, despite what marketing wants you to believe, and the 7 Gen 3 seems powerful for a mid-range chipset. It boasts 2.63GHz peak CPU speeds, a 50 percent bump in GPU performance compared to the previous gen and “incredible power efficiency” that should ease the strain placed on your phone’s battery. Qualcomm also boasts that the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 will help unlock “extraordinary camera capabilities” and allow for increased 5G integration.

Mobile chipsets are only as good as the phones they power, so Qualcomm has announced partnerships with OEMs like Honor and Vive. The company says there will be an announcement later this month to officially unveil the first smartphone that uses the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3. Maybe it’ll show up in the just-announced Honor Magic 6, which also boasts a built-in LLM.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/qualcomm-announces-snapdragon-7-gen-3-mobile-chipset-with-ai-acceleration-063019422.html?src=rss

Lucid’s Gravity electric SUV will have a max range of 440 miles

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Lucid’s Gravity all-electric SUV has been on our radar for a while now, since originally being introduced back in 2022. Now we have more details, including pricing, availability and those all-important range metrics. First, the bad news. This thing likely won’t ship until 2025, as production doesn’t officially ramp up until late 2024, as reported by Sustainable Mobility Solutions (SAE).

We already knew some details surrounding the EV, including the roomy three-row interior, but now we have range data. Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson promises a range of at least 440 miles, so it looks like it could inch further than that once the Gravity hits the assembly line. The company has stated in the past that this EV would boast a “greater electric range than any SUV on the market today.”

So let's look at some metrics. According to Kelly Blue Book, the Gravity will easily exceed this promise, as the current top-range EV SUV is the Fisker Ocean, with a max driving range of 350 miles per charge. As a matter of fact, if Lucid’s forthcoming SUV truly gets 440 miles per charge, that’ll place it near the top of the list for any electric vehicle, SUV or not. The only competition will be another Lucid automobile, as the Air Grand Touring sedan gets 516 miles per charge, according to MotorTrend.

Like the Air line, the Gravity is built on a 900-volt electrical architecture that supports DC fast-charging. The company says the forthcoming EV can go from 0 to 60 in 3.5 seconds, via its dual-motor setup, and boasts a payload capacity of 1,500 pounds with the ability to tow a further 6,000 pounds.

Beyond metrics, Lucid also lifted the veil on the interior of the SUV. The Gravity will boast a 34-inch OLED main display and an optional lower display, with multi-tasking available between the two. In other words, you can throw navigation on one screen and the media player on the other. These displays won’t get in the way of the dash cluster and will even offer gaming applications in the future, according to Derek Jenkins, senior vice president of design and brand at Lucid.

The steering wheel includes two touch controllers inspired by the Apple TV remote, as minute thumb movements select items from the infotainment screen and adjust dashboard display elements. Of course, this is a three-row vehicle, so there’s plenty of room for friends and family, if you’re into that kind of thing. It seats up to seven people.

As previously mentioned, the price should be around $80,000, though things could change before these cars hit showrooms in 2025.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lucids-gravity-electric-suv-will-have-a-max-range-of-440-miles-193859560.html?src=rss

Amazon’s Echo Show 5 falls to a record low of $40 in a Black Friday deal

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The Amazon Echo Show 5 smart display is on sale for $40 as part of an early Black Friday deal. This matches a record low price for the device and represents a savings of more than 50 percent, as the typical MSRP for the display is $90. The sale applies to various colorways, including white, charcoal and blue.

This discount is only for the device itself, so you’ll have to pay extra for accessories like a stand. The Echo Show 5 finds a lot of use as a smart home controller, so Amazon also sells bundles that ship with smart light bulbs, the Blink Mini security camera and an Alexa Emergency Assist subscription.

The Echo Show 5 easily made our list of the best smart displays in 2023 for a number of reasons. The diminutive 5.5-inch screen makes it easy to place just about anywhere in the home and allows it to double as a highly useful alarm clock. The ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the screen’s brightness so you can get some sleep and there’s a handy tap-to-snooze function. There’s even a sunrise alarm feature that slowly brightens the screen.

The smart home controls are handy if you have plenty of installed gadgets throughout the home. The Echo Show 5 is also a decent option for video calling, thanks to the integrated camera system. If the idea of an always-on smart display with a camera makes you feel a bit icky, it ships with a physical cover.

For those who balk at the relatively small 5.5-inch display size, Amazon is also selling the much larger Echo Show 10 for $160 as part of the same Black Friday deal. This represents a savings of $90.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-echo-show-5-falls-to-a-record-low-of-40-in-a-black-friday-deal-183059264.html?src=rss

Korg’s iconic ARP 2600 M synthesizer on sale for $1,150 via Reverb

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If you’ve been wanting to splurge on a classic-ish synthesizer this holiday season, now just might be your time to shine. Reverb’s offering a massive discount on 2021’s Korg ARP 2600 M recreation. This deal brings the price down to $1,150 instead of $2,000, a savings of $850 or 42 percent. It’s worth noting that this sale is for brand-new models and not refurbished synthesizers, further sweetening the deal.

Korg’s ARP 2600 M reissue was 39 years in the making, as it recreates a synthesizer that stopped production all the way back in 1981, which is before E.T. even came out. This is a relatively faithful remake, though it’s much smaller and lighter than the original, which accounts for the “M” (mini) moniker.

You still get those three iconic oscillators and a dual-mode, self-oscillating low-pass filter that lets you peruse different sounds drawing from ARP’s storied history. There’s even a true spring reverb tank included and a pair of built-in speakers, which are great for hashing out ideas but shouldn’t be used for microphone recordings. For laying down tracks, use one of the TS style jacks, as this model lacks XLR audio outs.

It’s worth re-emphasizing how much the miniaturized and lightweight form factor streamlines the music-making process, despite the lack of a dedicated keyboard. This thing is half the size of the original and weighs just 13 pounds, making it easy to gig with or to move between studios. As a reference, the original ARP 2600 weighed nearly three times that. Also, snagging an original 1970s model can set you back as much as $13,000.

This is part of Reverb’s Dream Deals event that offers steep discounts on a wide range of products, from Focusrite audio interfaces to Fender guitars, and beyond. All of these deals end when the instruments and gadgets sell out.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/korgs-iconic-arp-2600-m-synthesizer-on-sale-for-1150-via-reverb-180839298.html?src=rss

The Echo Dot drops to a record low of $23 in an Amazon Black Friday deal

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Amazon is selling the diminutive Echo Dot smart speaker for just $23 as part of an early Black Friday deal. That’s a record low price for the gadget and represents a savings of more than 50 percent, as it typically costs $50. This deal is for the latest and greatest Echo Dot, and not a model from several generations ago.

The sale applies to various colorways, like gray, blue and black. The Echo Dot may be small in stature, but there’s a reason it made our list of the best smart speakers in 2023. This thing is actually pretty useful. The sound quality won’t blow you away when compared to its larger siblings, but the speaker gets plenty loud. It also features a temperature sensor and built-in Eero capabilities.

The globe-shape is pleasing, the colors are on point and set-up is simple, thanks to the affiliated Echo app. We liked this smart speaker at $50, so we certainly like it at $23. If you’ve been wanting to experiment with Alexa but were waiting for a good deal, this is it. If you buy this speaker, make sure to ask Alexa to sing the song about cats. Trust me.

Amazon’s sale extends beyond the company’s tiniest smart speaker. You can also nab the standard full-sized Echo speaker for $55, which represents a savings of $45. Additionally, the Echo Dot with Clock is on sale for $35 instead of $60. As the name suggests, this is the above Echo Dot, but with an LED clock. If you don’t want to spring for this version, you can always just ask Alexa to tell you the time.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-echo-dot-drops-to-a-record-low-of-23-in-an-amazon-black-friday-deal-174541440.html?src=rss

Instagram update adds new camera filters and video editing tools for content creators

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Instagram is rolling out an app update that is surprisingly robust, bringing a whole bunch of new features to content creators. First and foremost, there’s finally some new camera filters, which should shake things up for a while. These filters range from “subtle color edits” to more expressive and stylized options.

There are some other minor Camera Roll improvements to make it easier to find what you need as you edit. These include updated previews, a refined search function and even the ability to zoom.

As for video editing, there’s a new undo/redo tool that lets you, surprise, undo actions and redo them with the press of a button. Instagram also says it's testing the ability to scale, crop and rotate individual clips as part of the editing process. The audio tools are also getting some love, as you can pull audio clips from a dedicated media hub to accompany a Reel. Followers can remix this content as they see it. If this sounds a lot like TikTok, well, that’s because it is.

To that end, there are 10 new English text-to-speech voices to choose from, though they are only available in select countries for now. Additionally, there are six new text fonts and styles available to caption up your Reels or Stories, in addition to bolded outlines that should really make your copy pop. Hopefully.

A doggo as a sticker.
Instagram

If you really want to make something weird, Instagram now allows you to pull any part of a photo or video and turn it into a custom sticker. This also works the other way around, so users can pull eligible content from a favorite creator and turn it into a sticker. This particular tool was aided in development by Meta’s custom Segment Anything AI.

Finally, there are some updated tools for creators to keep track of their slow and steady rise to viral fame. The Retention Chart will offer a moment-by-moment insight into how many people are watching your content, though it’s not rolling out for a couple of months. The rest of these tools are available today.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/instagram-update-adds-new-camera-filters-and-video-editing-tools-for-content-creators-171537564.html?src=rss

Microsoft Black Friday deals include up to $800 off the Surface Pro 9

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Microsoft is offering a steep, and relatively rare, discount on the Surface Pro 9 hybrid tablet as part of a larger Black Friday sales event. The savings fluctuate depending on which model you purchase, but you could save $800 on the absolute top-of-the-line model with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, bringing the price down to $1,800 from $2,600. This is a record-low deal for this particular SKU.

The discounted models offer 8GB to 32GB of RAM and 256GB to 1TB of solid-state storage. You have your choice between the 12th Gen Intel i5, the 12th Gen Intel i7, Microsoft’s proprietary Arm-based SQ2 chip or even the latest SQ3 chip. With this in mind, discounts range from $50 all the way to the aforementioned $800. Unfortunately, these deals don't ship with a keyboard or a stylus. 

There has been some confusion between the Arm-based models and the Intel models. Simply put, the Intel models are for power users and the Arm-based models are more for general use. Yes, even though the SQ chips are newer, the Intel chips are faster. In our review of last year’s Surface Pro 9 SQ3, we called it a compromised machine compared to its Intel-based siblings.

With that said, the Surface line is well-regarded for a number of reasons. The 13-inch screen is gorgeous, the form factor is on-point and Microsoft makes it easy to source replacement parts, unlike certain rivals.

These deals are also available on Amazon, if that’s your preferred retail experience. You can grab an Intel i7 version with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of solid-state storage for $1,100, a savings of $500. You can also grab the aforementioned flagship tablet for $1,800, the same price as ordering directly from Microsoft. The company's wider Black Friday deal also offers discounts on the Laptop 5 and Laptop Studio 2, among others. 

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-black-friday-deals-discount-the-surface-pro-9-by-up-to-800-161628594.html?src=rss

Unity launches a suite of AI tools intended to simplify game creation

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Unity just announced that its Muse AI platform is officially available as an early access build for general use. Originally unveiled back in July, Muse is a package of AI-powered tools intended to streamline the game development process, particularly for those who lack the time or patience for intensive coding. It costs $30 per month.

Unity Muse is described as an “ever-expanding suite of AI-powered features” made for developers of all skill levels. The platform lets you source usable code by interacting with a chatbot. This bot will also answer any questions you may have about what to do next, as it has complete access to the platform’s resource library. These types of bots are becoming a key tool in the game designer’s arsenal.

There’s also a tool designed specifically to streamline the creation of 2D sprites, which is perfect for all of you budding Metroidvania designers out there. It’ll automatically generate sprites that match predetermined parameters and will give you several variations, allowing you to pick the best match.

Muse offers a similar process to generate textures appropriate for use in both 2D and 3D projects. The sprite and texture tools have been trained entirely on data and images that Unity owns or has licensed. This ensures the platform won’t accidentally run afoul of any copyright law. Unity says Muse results will never contain any “people, logos or recognizable artistic styles.”

The company says that the sprite and texture tools are just the beginning. In the coming months, Muse will boast AI mechanisms for animating characters and for setting NPC behaviors, among other tasks. You won’t need to code to do any of it, which is becoming something of a trend in the industry. Muse subscribers also get access to a rapid-prototyping and collaboration platform called Sketch.

The availability of Muse wasn’t the only announcement at today’s Unity Unite conference. The company also provided more details on Sentis, a forthcoming AI-powered neural engine that goes well beyond sprites and textures, as it can solve complicated coding problems and even create new in-game features from scratch. Sentis is currently in open beta and will launch to the public sometime next year.

The company also announced a set of cloud-connected tools to further assist with collaborations and it offered up some availability details on the long-awaited Unity 6. It’s coming next year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/unity-launches-a-suite-of-ai-tools-intended-to-simplify-game-creation-100039970.html?src=rss