Tag Archives: Technology & Electronics

The Amazon Echo Show 5 drops to $50 for Prime Day 2024

Posted on by

Amazon Prime Day is finally here, and you can score excellent discounts on most of Amazon's own devices. One deal of note is on the Echo Show 5, which you can snag for only $50 right now. That's just a few dollars more than its previous record-low price. The Echo Show 8 is also on sale for $85, which is a new record low.

The Echo Show 5 easily made our list of the best smart displays, for a great many reasons. The 5.5-inch screen is diminutive, especially when compared to the Echo Show 8, but that just makes it fit better on a desk or nightstand. To that end, it doubles as a fantastic alarm clock. The ambient alarm light sensor adjusts the screen’s brightness automatically, which is a nice way to wake up, and the tap-to-snooze function allows for a few more minutes (or hours) of precious sleep.

There’s a camera, which is great for simple video calls but does bring some privacy concerns. Amazon ships this display with a physical camera cover to solve that issue. Just pop on the cover when you aren’t actually using the camera.

This isn’t a perfect smart display, though it’s a great one for the price. The main downside with the Echo Show 5 is that the speakers are not as powerful as those found with larger smart displays. This isn’t a dealbreaker. It’s still plenty loud, but you probably won’t use it to power a dance party. 

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-amazon-echo-show-5-drops-to-50-for-prime-day-2024-163031322.html?src=rss

The Echo Dot is on sale for only $25 for Prime Day 2024

Posted on by

Now that Prime Day 2024 is here, you can snag Amazon gear at some of the best prices we've seen all year. That includes the Echo Dot, which is down to $25 for the shopping event — that's only about $2 more than its record-low price. Also discounted are the Echo Pop, which you can snag for only $18, and the full-sized Echo, which is down to $55. As to be expected, these are some of the best Prime Day deals on tech — particularly Alexa-toting tech — that you can get this year.

The Echo Dot is a good way to get Alexa into your home without taking up too much space. It's also a good option for students who have little space to spare in cramped dorms and apartments, or anyone who wants to add a bit more smarts in their home office. It's one of our top picks for the best smart speakers you can get right now thanks to its minimalist, compact design, physical volume adjustment and mic-mute buttons and its general Alexa chops. The latest model is also a much better speaker than previous versions, with louder and clearer audio.

If you're on a tight budget, or you want to give Alexa a try without investing too much money, the Echo Pop is a good alternative now that it's down to $18. If you were to slice the Echo Dot in half, you'd get the Echo Pop. It makes for a decent bedside speaker, and it has built-in eero functionality, meaning you can extend the range of your home's Wi-Fi network with the Pop if you have an eero router already.

But for the best sound quality out of these, you'll want the regular Echo smart speaker. It has the biggest footprint of all three, and the biggest internal speaker along with a 3-inch, built-in woofer. In addition to Alexa chops, it has a temperature sensor and a Zigbee smart home hub inside, which allows you to connect gadgets like smart lights, smart door locks and more without the need for a separate hub.

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-echo-dot-is-on-sale-for-only-25-for-prime-day-2024-155547899.html?src=rss

Early Prime Day deals see Apple’s AirPods Max drop to a new record low

Posted on by

Prime Day is approaching as quickly as lunchtime hunger pangs and, as ever, there are some early deals to be had. One of the tastiest we've seen so far is a significant discount on Apple's AirPods Max. The over-ear headphones have dropped to $399. They've been hovering at around $449 for quite some time (after debuting at $549) and now they have dropped to a new record low price.

The AirPods Max have been around since 2020 (and are perhaps overdue for a USB-C flavored upgrade), but they're still a great option for those looking for over-ear headphones — especially if you're already heavily entrenched in the Apple ecosystem. We gave them a score of 84 in our review, with the audio quality, active noise cancellation (ANC) performance and battery life proving to be positives.

You can control the AirPods Max with an Apple Watch-style rotating crown and there's a separate button for switching between ANC and transparency modes. You'll need to use a Lightning cable to charge the headset, which will quickly pair to your iPhone and other devices that are signed into the same iCloud account. 

Unfortunately, AirPods Max do not support lossless audio from Apple Music due to a Bluetooth limitation, though spatial audio does work. It's also worth bearing in mind that there's likely a new AirPods Max model coming relatively soon, perhaps by the end of the year.

Elsewhere, Apple's AirPods Pro are also on sale. You can snap up a pair for $169, which is 32 percent off the regular price of $249. That's not a bad deal at all if you prefer an in-ear format for your audio needs. AirPods Pro also have some features that the AirPods Max lack, including an adaptive mode that brings together ANC and transparency.

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/early-prime-day-deals-see-apples-airpods-max-drop-to-a-new-record-low-150058492.html?src=rss

The best Apple AirTag Prime Day deal we’ve seen discounts a four-pack to $75

Posted on by

Prime Day deals have come for many of Apple's devices, including its smallest accessories. You can pick up a four-pack if AirTags for $75 right now, down from their usual $100 price tag. If you just want one of the Bluetooth trackers, you can pick up a single pack for $24 as part of the Prime Day Apple deals.

We've been seeing the price of the four-pack fluctuate over the past 48 hours — they've gone up and down from around $88 to $75 for the multi-pack, and in and out of stock. We recommend keeping an eye out on this today if you're keen on snagging a few AirTags for Amazon Prime Day 2024.

Apple's AirTags can pair with your iPhone or iPad and appear in the Find My app. The devices are about an inch and a quarter in length and width, with a battery that lasts about a year at a time. The device is also water and dust resistant, so you don't have to worry about it getting too gross if it's on your dog's collar, for instance. 

Plus, newer iPhone models utilize ultra-wideband technology to give you detailed instructions when locating one. Unfortunately, you'll still need to get a holder if you want to attach an AirTag anywhere, but we have you covered with our guide to the best Apple AirTag accessories for 2024. 

If you only need one or two AirTags, head over to the sale on individual ones. Right now, you can pick up one AirTag for $24, down from $29 — a 17 percent discount. This deal is also a record-low price, with you technically able to get three for less than the four-pack (though for another $3, it might be worth getting an extra one). 

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-apple-airtag-prime-day-deal-weve-seen-discounts-a-four-pack-to-75-143919395.html?src=rss

Early Prime Day deals discount the AirPods Pro to a new low of $169

Posted on by

If you're in the market for some new tech then Amazon's early Prime Day deals have you covered. The latest deal worth shopping is a 32 percent discount on the second-generation Apple AirPods Pro. The Prime Day sale brings them down to $169 from $249 — a new all-time low price. These earbuds are our choice of best wireless earbuds for iPhone users. 

The second-gen AirPods Pro came out in 2022 and are still Apple's newest in the series. We gave them an 88 in our review thanks to an H2 chip that produces solid noise cancellation and an excellent transparency mode. You can also swipe for volume control and access Personalized Spatial Audio. Plus, Apple shrunk the ear tip, added a built-in speaker to the case and switched out the lightning port for a USB-C one. 

If you're looking for something a bit cheaper, check out the deal on Apple's third-gen AirPods. They've dropped to a new all-time low of $129 from $169 — $11 cheaper than the sale we saw yesterday. For one-fourth off their sticker price, you get AirPods that are comfortable, offer excellent audio quality and are IPX4 sweat and water resistant. Plus, they have six hours of continual battery life and 30 hours total with the case. 

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/early-prime-day-deals-discount-the-airpods-pro-to-a-new-low-of-169-130559143.html?src=rss

Logitech G launches a new $80 gaming mouse

Posted on by

Logitech G has a new toy for gamers to try out. The brand — which is the gaming arm of Logitech — has released the G309 LIGHTSPEED Wireless Gaming Mouse for $80 in black and white. The mouse is Powerplay compatible, meaning you can use it without an AA battery if you also own the Logitech G PowerPlay Wireless Charging System.

The new mouse also has Logitech's Hero 25K sensor, which provides exceptional accuracy while being power-efficient. It offers 400 IPS with a sensitivity of up to 25,600 DPI. Plus, without a battery, it weighs just over one-tenth of a pound (68 grams) and just under two-tenths of a pound (86 grams) with one AA battery. 

Speaking of battery, the Logitech G309 LIGHTSPEED Wireless Gaming Mouse lasts for 300 hours of ongoing gameplay at a 1ms report rate in LIGHTSPEED with just one AA alkaline battery. If you switch the mouse to Bluetooth, that amount doubles to 600 hours. 

"Our LIGHTSPEED technology, in conjunction with our Hero sensors, has advanced to the point where all gamers, from the world's elite esports pros athletes to the first time gamer, know they can trust Logitech G mice to perform every time," Ujesh Desai, vice president and general manager of Logitech Gaming, said in a statement.

The Logitech G309 LIGHTSPEED Wireless Gaming Mouse is available now and includes a LIGHTSPEED USB receiver, USB cable extender, grip stickers and an AA battery. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/logitech-g-launches-a-new-80-gaming-mouse-120004581.html?src=rss

Prime Day deals include a pair of Blink Mini 2 cameras for $40

Posted on by

Amazon Prime Day typically brings some of the best prices of the year on all things Amazon — think gear like Echo speakers, Fire TV Sticks and, in this case, Blink cameras. A number of Blink packs are on sale for Prime Day, and one of the best deals is on a two-pack of Blink Mini 2 cams. You can grab the set for only $40 right now, which represents a $30 discount. This is the latest version of the camera, which was originally released earlier this year. That’s a pretty quick turnaround for this kind of massive discount.

For the uninitiated, the Blink Mini 2 is a tiny security camera with a surprising amount of tech. The image quality has been massively improved over the original model and there’s a built-in LED spotlight that allows for color night vision. The smartphone app displays live 1080p footage with two-way audio and there’s a motion-detection algorithm that’ll send out alerts.

These cameras are great for use inside of the home, but they can handle outside use so long as you purchase the weather-resistant power adapter. You can also use the Mini 2 with other Blink products for a comprehensive home security system. For instance, these cameras can be used as a plug-in chime for the Blink Video Doorbell. Nearly every aspect of the camera can be controlled via Alexa because, you know, Amazon.

There are plenty more features available with these cameras, but that leads to the one downside. Many of them are paywalled behind a monthly subscription. You can stream live video for up to 90 minutes, get smart notifications, share clips and store clips for up to 30 days. All of these features require a Blink subscription plan, starting at $3 per month. You do get a 30-day trial with this purchase.

Also, for those with small homes who don’t actually need two security cameras, you can pick up a single unit for $20. All purchases include a mounting kit, a USB cable and a power adapter.

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/prime-day-deals-include-a-pair-of-blink-mini-2-cameras-for-40-115051024.html?src=rss

The Morning After: Nothing’s CMF sub-brand announces a $200 smartphone with a modular back

Posted on by

Nothing’s budget-friendly sub-brand, CMF, is getting experimental with its latest device lineup. There’s a smartphone, watch and earbuds, but I’m most intrigued by the CMF Phone 1. The back cover is interchangeable, so users can swap to different colors and designs on the fly. The company says the removable cover makes accessing the phone’s internal components easy for repairs. 

There’s also an accessory point on the back cover, which when unscrewed, can attach to fold-out stands, card holders and lanyards. It’s like a customizable case already part of your phone. That speaks to me, someone who won’t shut up about Peak Design’s modular case accessories for iPhone and Android phones alike.

This pseudo-modular design is far cooler than anything else listed on the phone’s spec sheet (8-core MediaTek Dimensity 7300 5G processor, 6.67-inch Super AMOLED display flagship-grade 50MP main camera), but it’ll be joined by companion earbuds and a smartwatch.

TMA
Nothing

The companion watch has multiple band styles, but users can also swap out the bezel to “switch fluidly between styles to suit any occasion.” Meanwhile, the second-gen CMF earbuds have a giant control dial on the case that can be assigned to volume, skip tracks or anything else you might want to do with the buds. Available now, the CMF Phone 1 costs $200, and the watch and buds launch on July 11th.

Oh and set your alarms for tomorrow, because Samsung Unpacked 2024 is happening. It's time for foldables. 

— Mat Smith

How to watch Samsung Unpacked 2024

Microsoft Notepad just got spellcheck

Overwatch 2’s Transformers skins get an animated trailer

​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!

TMA
Amazon

Amazon has revealed an all-new Echo Spot ahead of Prime Day. It’s very much like the original Echo Spot that came out in 2017. Has anything changed in the interim? Yes, the front face is now split between a hemispherical display and speaker. Amazon says the new model has better sound and a sharper display. And it’s still a pretty simple alarm clock. While the RRP is $80, it’s already on sale for $45.

Continue reading.

Scalpers have used a security researcher’s findings to reverse-engineer “nontransferable” digital tickets from Ticketmaster and AXS, allowing transfers outside their apps. The workaround was revealed in a lawsuit AXS filed in May against third-party brokers adopting the practice.

Ticketmaster and AXS lock ticket resales inside their platforms, preventing transfers on third-party services, like SeatGeek and StubHub. Although the companies claim the practice is strictly a security measure, it also conveniently allows them to control how and when their tickets are resold. Hackers have used the research findings (read up on the saga here, courtesy of 404 Media) to shift tickets across and resell them.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-nothings-cmf-sub-brand-announces-a-200-smartphone-with-a-modular-back-111506263.html?src=rss

Xbox cloud gaming is now available on some Amazon Fire TV sticks

Posted on by

Xbox cloud gaming has officially arrived for Amazon Fire TV sticks, making for an extremely budget-friendly way to play some of the latest and greatest releases. Users can play games directly from the Xbox app, though there are some caveats.

First of all, this service is only available for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, which is the most expensive tier at around $17 per month. Also, it only works with the Fire TV Stick 4K and the Fire TV Stick 4K Max. These are both recent releases, though the Xbox press release suggests that more devices will receive the functionality at a later date. We already thought the Fire TV Stick 4K Max was a perfect fit for retro gaming, but now that also goes for AAA gaming.

Finally, you need a compatible Bluetooth-enabled wireless controller, but there’s no shortage of those around. You do want to make sure you pick one with the familiar Xbox button layout, so we recommend something like the SteelSeries Nimbus+ and Stratus+ controllers. However, anything with the right buttons and Bluetooth should work. This includes actual Xbox gamepads.

So what can you play if you meet the above criteria? Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is likely the best game streaming platform on the planet, allowing access to a massive library of titles. This includes recent AAA releases like Starfield and Forza Horizon 5 and renowned indies like Sea of Stars and Death’s Door. Just like any streaming platform, titles come and go at will.

A Game Pass Ultimate subscription also gives you access to online multiplayer, day-one releases (like that upcoming Indiana Jones game) and various discounts. Subscribers even get a bonus EA Play membership.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xbox-cloud-gaming-is-now-available-on-some-amazon-fire-tv-sticks-181530197.html?src=rss

Early Prime Day deal discounts the Apple Watch Series 9 to $300

Posted on by

An early Prime Day deal has the Apple Watch Series 9 for $100 off. Several color options are available for Apple’s latest model, Engadget’s pick for the best overall smartwatch. The sale brings the Apple Watch down to a record low of $300.

The Apple Watch Series 9 adds Double Tap, a gesture for hands-free controls. With the feature activated, tapping your index finger and thumb together twice can unleash shortcuts for scrolling through widgets, controlling music tracks and more. Great for when you’re holding something like a dog leash or bag of groceries, Double Tap will get more valuable in watchOS 11, as Apple is giving third-party developers an API to customize what the gesture does in individual apps.

Not much has changed on the watch’s outside from its predecessor, but there are other improvements on the inside. That starts with a new S9 SiP that enables Double Tap, on-device Siri processing (great for privacy and when you’re offline) and zippier navigation of watchOS. It also speeds up Siri’s Raise to Speak feature by capturing a rolling two-second audio buffer to understand your requests faster.

The chip also includes a new second-generation ultra-wideband (UWB) chip, also found in the iPhone 15 series. It unlocks a new precision interface for pinging your paired phone if you aren’t sure where it is: The watch will show how many feet away it is as it guides you to the buried (in a couch cushion) treasure.

The Apple Watch Series 9 has a broader range of brightness, reaching a maximum of 2,000 nits (double its predecessor) and a minimum of 1 nit. This can help the watch emit just the right amount for a wider variety of lighting conditions.

The $300 price for Amazon Prime Day is for the 41mm case, the smaller of the two. But the 45mm model is only $330 (usually $429). Not every color is on sale, and some require you to click a “clip coupon” box, so look closely at prices on the product page before checking out.

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/early-prime-day-deal-discounts-the-apple-watch-series-9-to-300-164458596.html?src=rss