Overwatch 2 resurrects Pink Mercy cosmetic for a charity fundraiser

Finally, something the whole Overwatch community can get behind! For a limited time in 2018, Blizzard sold the Pink Mercy skin as a fundraiser in support of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. That was back in the day when Overwatch cosmetics only came in loot boxes, so the chance to directly purchase a skin while supporting a worthy cause was a big deal for the player base. Sales of the legendary look during that drive generated $12.7 million for the BCRF. And later this month, you can be pretty in pink once again.

The original Pink Mercy skin will be available for $14.99 starting June 25. Blizzard is also boosting its charity game with a brand new Rose Gold Mercy bundle for $19.99. For both items, 100% of the purchase price (minus any platform fees and taxes) will go directly to the BCRF. Players can buy these items through the Overwatch 2 in-game shop, or from the digital storefront on their platform of choice, such as the Battle.net shop, Microsoft Store, or PlayStation Store.

Pink Mercy charity skin bundle
Activision Blizzard

The preview Blizzard shared shows that the Rose Gold Mercy skin has a slightly different color scheme than the original, giving the support hero some rosy hair instead of her signature blonde. It also includes a heroic weapon skin, so that you can apply the pink look for her Caduceus Staff to any Mercy skin. The rest of the bundle includes three name cards, three sprays, and three player icons, all themed — you guessed it! — pink.

The BCRF charity drive will run from June 25 through July 8. It's a good time to get back into the game, especially since Blizzard has unlocked all new heroes and has made changes to reduce mid-match quitting.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/overwatch-2-resurrects-pink-mercy-cosmetic-for-a-charity-fundraiser-225022341.html?src=rss

Roomba Essential robot vacuums are on sale for as low as $180 right now

Roomba Essential robot vacuums are on sale via Amazon right now and there are some great deals. The iRobot Roomba Vac Essential Q0120 is on sale for just $180, which is a discount of nearly 30 percent.

The Vac Essential line is a slightly-upgraded rebrand of the fantastic Roomba 694, which topped our list of the best budget robot vacuums. The Q0120 boasts three different levels of suction to handle different types of messes and excels on both carpets and hard floors. It also features the same smart navigation algorithms as other iRoomba products, with sensors to help it avoid furniture and stairs.

Just like its pricier cousins, it’ll even return to the dock for juice on its own when running low on power. It can spot clean, handle corners and slide into tight spots like underneath beds and sofas. As a bonus, your cats will be absolutely terrified of or entranced with the thing.

One task the Q0120 can’t do, however, is mop. That’s where the iRobot Roomba Essential Y0140 comes into play, which is on sale for $200 instead of $275. This model can do everything outlined above, but it vacuums and mops in a single pass. You’ll never have to lift a finger ever again, except to empty debris from the robot. These models don’t come with self-emptying bins.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/roomba-essential-robot-vacuums-are-on-sale-for-as-low-as-180-right-now-161359265.html?src=rss

Govee smart lights are up to 35 percent off right now

Govee smart lights and fixtures are up to 35 percent off right now, as part of a far-reaching sale on Amazon. The deals include all of the smart bulbs, LED strips and flood lights you can shake a stick at, but perhaps the most notable item is the Govee Floor Lamp Pro. It’s on sale for $200 via a clippable coupon, which is a discount of $20.

This floor lamp easily made our list of the best smart LED light bulbs, despite being much more than a simple bulb. The Floor Lamp Pro is a slickly-designed lighting fixture that’s over two feet tall and displays multiple colors at once. The diverse array of hues on offer make it a great choice for simply lighting up a room or making sure you look alright during a Zoom meeting.

The fixture includes a Bluetooth speaker at the base, to allow for the occasional music-based light show. The speaker can even play a wide variety of white noise types for sleeping or meditating. I'm a white noise addict at all times of the day. Being a modern smart lamp, it also works with Alexa and Google Assistant.

The only bad thing to say about the Floor Lamp Pro is the exorbitant price, which typically clocks in at $220. Dropping it down to $200 doesn’t make it an impulse buy, but it's at least a bit more palatable.

You can also pick up some nifty LED light strips for $80, which knocks 20 percent off the asking price. These offer Matter support and can be strung together to create the light show of your dreams.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/govee-smart-lights-are-up-to-35-percent-off-right-now-151755814.html?src=rss

The best Prime Day tech deals we could find ahead of Amazon’s sale tomorrow

Amazon Prime Day 2024 will be here tomorrow but the deals are already abundant. The online retailer has gotten into the habit of teasing early Prime Day deals leading up to the big event, with most of them being available exclusively to Prime members.

However, there are always some good tech deals on Amazon available to everyone at the same time. We’ve collected the best early Prime Day deals here so you don’t have to go searching for them. We’ll be updating this post regularly, so check back to see the latest discounts.

As a reminder (and for the uninitiated): Engadget treats tech deals with the same care as we would “regular” tech news. When we scour the web for deals, we’re looking not only for the best prices possible, but also the best products as well. Our goal with our deals coverage, especially surrounding events like Amazon Prime Day, is to surface only the best deals we can find on the gadgets we’ve tested and rated highly, or that we’ve used and know to be worth your money.

Amazon Prime Day 2024 lands on July 16 and 17 this year. The shopping event focuses on exclusive deals for Prime members, which means you’ll have to be a Prime subscriber on Prime Day to take advantage of most of the savings. Amazon still offers a 30-day free trial to new Prime subscribers, so you can start your free trial now to participate in the event.

No, but Prime Day usually happens during the summertime in the United States. In recent years, Amazon has held a second sale event in the fall as well, dubbed October Prime Day, which is similar to the summertime sale.

Amazon Prime Day focuses on exclusive deals available only to Prime members. However, if you don’t pay for Prime and have no intention of doing so, you should still check out Amazon on Prime Day for sales that are available to all shoppers — there are always a few of them.

Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-prime-day-tech-deals-we-could-find-ahead-of-amazons-sale-tomorrow-110027281.html?src=rss

Apple’s M3-powered MacBook Air laptops are up to $150 off right now

The M3-powered MacBook Air laptops have only been out a few weeks and there’s already a fairly substantial discount. Amazon is selling both versions of the laptop for up to $150 off. This brings the price of the 15-inch model down to $1,150, thanks to a discount of $100 and a clippable coupon worth $50. If that’s too much screen real estate for you, the 13-inch model is $100 off and currently an even $1,000.

The M3 MacBook Air isn’t a huge change from its predecessor, but the additional horsepower makes it the best Apple laptop for most people. We loved the sturdy form factor, ultra-fast performance and the excellent speakers. The trackpad and keyboard are also top-tier.

In our review, we mentioned the excellent display and the lightweight design. We actually called the M3 MacBook Air “impossibly thin for a notebook” and praised its unibody aluminum case. There are some tradeoffs when compared to the M3 MacBook Pro, including no option for a Pro version of the chip, but the line between the two models is getting blurrier and blurrier. The Air will get the job done, even when making music or editing videos. The Pro line will do this stuff faster, but Apple’s ultraportable laptop is not just for browsing the web anymore.

There are some minor nitpicks worth going over. First of all, there’s no USB-C port on the right side, which could make it difficult to integrate the computer into a pre-existing home office setup. The display’s also limited to a 60Hz refresh rate, which could be an issue with some AAA games.

It’s worth noting that both of these deals are for the standard version of each laptop with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of solid-state storage. However, you can up both the RAM and storage and still get a discount. The 16GB/512GB 15-inch model costs $1,500 as part of this sale, a discount of $200, and the specced out 13-inch version costs $1,350, which is a savings of $150.

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-m3-powered-macbook-air-laptops-are-up-to-150-off-right-now-172834917.html?src=rss

Apple’s M3-powered MacBook Air laptops are up to $150 off right now

The M3-powered MacBook Air laptops have only been out a few weeks and there’s already a fairly substantial discount. Amazon is selling both versions of the laptop for up to $150 off. This brings the price of the 15-inch model down to $1,150, thanks to a discount of $100 and a clippable coupon worth $50. If that’s too much screen real estate for you, the 13-inch model is $100 off and currently an even $1,000.

The M3 MacBook Air isn’t a huge change from its predecessor, but the additional horsepower makes it the best Apple laptop for most people. We loved the sturdy form factor, ultra-fast performance and the excellent speakers. The trackpad and keyboard are also top-tier.

In our review, we mentioned the excellent display and the lightweight design. We actually called the M3 MacBook Air “impossibly thin for a notebook” and praised its unibody aluminum case. There are some tradeoffs when compared to the M3 MacBook Pro, including no option for a Pro version of the chip, but the line between the two models is getting blurrier and blurrier. The Air will get the job done, even when making music or editing videos. The Pro line will do this stuff faster, but Apple’s ultraportable laptop is not just for browsing the web anymore.

There are some minor nitpicks worth going over. First of all, there’s no USB-C port on the right side, which could make it difficult to integrate the computer into a pre-existing home office setup. The display’s also limited to a 60Hz refresh rate, which could be an issue with some AAA games.

It’s worth noting that both of these deals are for the standard version of each laptop with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of solid-state storage. However, you can up both the RAM and storage and still get a discount. The 16GB/512GB 15-inch model costs $1,500 as part of this sale, a discount of $200, and the specced out 13-inch version costs $1,350, which is a savings of $150.

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-m3-powered-macbook-air-laptops-are-up-to-150-off-right-now-172834917.html?src=rss

Apple’s 10th-gen iPad falls to an all-time low of $300

Apple's 10th-gen iPad has become a much better value after a permanent $100 price cut earlier this month, and now a new discount has made it even more affordable. The 10.9-inch tablet is on sale for $300 at Amazon, which is the lowest price we've seen to date. Just note that you'll need to clip an on-page coupon to see the full discount, and that the deal only applies to the blue and silver finishes as of this writing. For reference, Apple sells the slate for $349, though we previously saw it drop around $330 a couple weeks back. 

Be aware that this deal is for models with 64GB of storage; if you need more space, 256GB versions are also $49 off and down to a low of $450. Again, just clip the on-page coupon to get the final price. All of these offers are available at Costco as well, but only for subscribers to that retailer's membership plan. (Amazon's deals are likely price matches.) Costco's listing says the sale will run through May 31.

We gave the 10th-gen iPad a review score of 85 back in October 2022, and it's now the budget pick in our iPad buying guide. The latter is somewhat by default, since this is the only iPad available for less than $350. Still, it's a great tablet for the money. It has a similar design as the more expensive iPad Air, with a crisp display, a clean aluminum frame, thin bezels, a Touch ID reader and a USB-C port. Its battery life is about the same at 10-ish hours, and its A14 Bionic chip remains plenty fast for the things most people do with an iPad, be it streaming Netflix, playing the occasional game or doing basic work. Like Apple's pricier tablets, its front camera is located on its long edge, which is a more natural location for group FaceTime calls.

To be clear, if you can afford one of the new iPad Airs, we think it's worth it. Those are available in 11- and 13-inch sizes and include a host of upgrades that add up to a more pleasing experience. Those include a faster and more futureproof M2 chip, double the RAM and default storage and a laminated display (which means there's no visible "gap" between the front glass and the display itself). The Air is also compatible with better accessories, such as the new Pencil Pro stylus. Here, you're limited to the cheaper USB-C Pencil, which lacks pressure sensitivity, or the old first-gen Pencil, which requires a mess of adapters to charge. If you can find a last-gen iPad Air for cheap before it goes fully out of stock, that should remain a better value as well. Still, if you just want a tablet for the essentials and are looking to spend as little as possible, the entry-level model gets you the core iPad experience at a good price. This deal only furthers that.

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-10th-gen-ipad-falls-to-an-all-time-low-of-300-141556793.html?src=rss

Apple’s 10th-gen iPad falls to an all-time low of $300

Apple's 10th-gen iPad has become a much better value after a permanent $100 price cut earlier this month, and now a new discount has made it even more affordable. The 10.9-inch tablet is on sale for $300 at Amazon, which is the lowest price we've seen to date. Just note that you'll need to clip an on-page coupon to see the full discount, and that the deal only applies to the blue and silver finishes as of this writing. For reference, Apple sells the slate for $349, though we previously saw it drop around $330 a couple weeks back. 

Be aware that this deal is for models with 64GB of storage; if you need more space, 256GB versions are also $49 off and down to a low of $450. Again, just clip the on-page coupon to get the final price. All of these offers are available at Costco as well, but only for subscribers to that retailer's membership plan. (Amazon's deals are likely price matches.) Costco's listing says the sale will run through May 31.

We gave the 10th-gen iPad a review score of 85 back in October 2022, and it's now the budget pick in our iPad buying guide. The latter is somewhat by default, since this is the only iPad available for less than $350. Still, it's a great tablet for the money. It has a similar design as the more expensive iPad Air, with a crisp display, a clean aluminum frame, thin bezels, a Touch ID reader and a USB-C port. Its battery life is about the same at 10-ish hours, and its A14 Bionic chip remains plenty fast for the things most people do with an iPad, be it streaming Netflix, playing the occasional game or doing basic work. Like Apple's pricier tablets, its front camera is located on its long edge, which is a more natural location for group FaceTime calls.

To be clear, if you can afford one of the new iPad Airs, we think it's worth it. Those are available in 11- and 13-inch sizes and include a host of upgrades that add up to a more pleasing experience. Those include a faster and more futureproof M2 chip, double the RAM and default storage and a laminated display (which means there's no visible "gap" between the front glass and the display itself). The Air is also compatible with better accessories, such as the new Pencil Pro stylus. Here, you're limited to the cheaper USB-C Pencil, which lacks pressure sensitivity, or the old first-gen Pencil, which requires a mess of adapters to charge. If you can find a last-gen iPad Air for cheap before it goes fully out of stock, that should remain a better value as well. Still, if you just want a tablet for the essentials and are looking to spend as little as possible, the entry-level model gets you the core iPad experience at a good price. This deal only furthers that.

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-10th-gen-ipad-falls-to-an-all-time-low-of-300-141556793.html?src=rss

LG C4 OLED TVs are down to record-low prices ahead of Memorial Day

LG’s latest OLED smart TVs are on sale via Amazon. These are the C4 models and not the pricier G4 flagship displays, but they still boast plenty of bells and whistles for the discerning couch potato. The deals apply to just about every size, from 42-inches all the way up to 83-inches.

The best discount for most people, however, is for the 55-inch evo C4. This model is available for $1,697, which is 15 percent off. The 65-inch model is also 15 percent off, bringing the price down to $2,297.

No matter which size you choose, this is a lot of TV bang for your buck. The LG C4 evo series feature powerful Alpha Gen 7 chips, improved brightness when compared to previous generations and plenty of built-in AI for upscaling and the like. They also include gorgeous OLED panels.

The brightness levels on these panels hit nearly 1,000 nits, which is a fantastic metric for OLED screens. It’s not as bright as Mini LED TVs, but it’s getting there. In addition, these TVs support 144Hz refresh rates for gaming and compatibility for both G-Sync and AMD Freesync. These sets can even pair wirelessly with compatible LG soundbars, for a hassle-free way to experiment with surround sound.

As previously mentioned, all C4 sizes are discounted, but that doesn’t mean they are budget-friendly. Even with today’s discount, the 83-inch model clocks in at a whopping $5,000. The 77-inch model comes in at $3,297 and the diminutive 42-inch version costs $1,297.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lg-c4-oled-tvs-are-down-to-record-low-prices-ahead-of-memorial-day-160940240.html?src=rss

Amazon’s Kindle Scribe dips back to an all-time low, plus the rest of this week’s best tech deals

Apple and Google recently held events to showcase new products and services. From a deals perspective, that means some older iPads are hitting new low prices — we even spotted a few modest $30 and $50 discounts on brand new iPad Air and iPad Pro models. Google's latest smartphone, the Pixel 8a, shipped this past Tuesday, but a few retailers are still offering pre-order deals of a free $100 gift card with purchase. There were plenty of deals on other tech too, like a return to an all-time low on the Kindle Scribe, a sale on one of our favorite outdoor pizza ovens and discounts on a couple of Anker portable chargers that'll keep your phone topped off as you do what you do. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today. 

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-kindle-scribe-dips-back-to-an-all-time-low-plus-the-rest-of-this-weeks-best-tech-deals-163858971.html?src=rss