Another week is coming to a close, which means it's time for another roundup of good discounts on good tech. This week's highlights include the return of the best price we've seen for Apple's M2 MacBook Air, which is down to $849. No, this isn't the latest and greatest MacBook, and yes, a Bloomberg report this week said that Apple may debut a new M4 chip later in 2024. If you need a new laptop right now, though, the M2 model gets you most of the way to the newer M3 version for a good bit less cash. Beyond that, we've also found all-time lows for the 10th-gen iPad, Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K and a Nintendo Switch Lite bundle, among others. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still buy today.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-macbook-air-m2-returns-to-an-all-time-low-plus-the-rest-of-the-weeks-best-tech-deals-151559686.html?src=rss
Playdate, otherwise known as The Only Handheld That Actually Fits In My Tiny Hands, is almost perfect. It's a small yellow machine with a black-and-white screen and a crank on one side, and it's the home of fantastic, outlandish video games. The Playdate Catalog has more than 100 titles and there are hundreds more on sites like itch.io, created by new developers and established indies like Bennett Foddy, Lucas Pope and Keita Takahashi. Two years after its launch, Playdate is thriving. Panic, the company behind the device, said it's sold more than 70,000 units.
The one thing Playdate is missing is the Stereo Dock, a device that Panic announced back in 2021 and has been "coming soon" ever since. The Stereo Dock is a charging station, Bluetooth speaker, pen holder and stand for Playdate, and it looks like an adorable little tube TV when it's all put together. The Dock connects with Playdate magnetically and charges it wirelessly.
At least, it will do these thingswhen it actually comes out. Playdate Project Lead Greg Maletic told Engadget that Panic is still working on the Stereo Dock, and the hold-up is due to unexpected issues in its factory pipeline. There should be an official update in the coming months. Here's what Maletic said:
"We apologize to everyone with a Playdate who has been waiting patiently for the Stereo Dock; it’s been a trickier project than we anticipated and we had a few false starts. We thought we'd save some time on that project by having our factory do the software for the Stereo Dock, but we've learned that you don't always necessarily want that in some cases. The Stereo Dock is very much alive, we have the physical prototypes to prove it! We expect to have a formal update on when you can buy one later this year."
This isn't the first delay in Playdate's history. Panic had to postpone the handheld's release in November 2021 because of a serious battery issue that forced the company to swap suppliers last minute. Playdate shipments started rolling out about four months behind schedule, in April 2022. It was well worth the wait, according to most reviewers.
It's been two years to the month since Playdate came out, and we just published a re-review looking at the platform's growth and how this cranky yellow square has become a hub for innovation in game development. Read that right here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-playdate-stereo-dock-got-stuck-in-factory-limbo-but-its-still-coming-010517171.html?src=rss
8BitDo makes some of our favorite third-party game controllers. The gamepads work with a variety of devices (now including the Apple Vision Pro) and they’re well-built. Right now, you can pick up a bundle of an 8BitDo Ultimate Controller and charging dock for $56 on Amazon. That's 20 percent off and close to a record low. It’s the best price we’ve seen so far this year.
If you're a Prime member and you're signed in, you'll see that the controller is sold by 8BitDo directly. Otherwise, you'll see the peripheral for the same price, but a third-party seller is flogging it instead.
Along with other devices, the Ultimate Controller is compatible with Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck over Bluetooth or a 2.4g adapter. To connect wirelessly to a Windows PC, you'll need to use the adapter.
You can use a PC or mobile app to customize the sensitivity of the joysticks, triggers and vibrations, as well as to remap the buttons, add macros and create settings profiles that are saved to the controller. Other features include Hall effect sensing joysticks that will likely be more resistant to wear and drift than many other joysticks, a pair of back paddle buttons and motion controls.
While 8BitDo says that you'll get up to 22 hours of use out of a single charge, having a dedicated dock to plunk the Ultimate Controller into is handy. In a neat touch, the controller automatically turns off or on when you dock or undock it, respectively.
Overall, the Ultimate Controller is a great, flexible gamepad (for one thing, it's one of the few third-party controllers that can wake a Switch from sleep mode). After six months of using the peripheral, Engadget Senior Commerce Writer Jeff Dunn called it a "comfortable and versatile pro-style pad that should stay alive over the long haul" and "my endgame controller for both Switch and PC."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/8bitdos-ultimate-controller-with-charging-dock-drops-to-56-on-amazon-144529345.html?src=rss
Sometimes even the most die-hard coffee enthusiasts just want a quick cup of joe. Unfortunately, that often leaves people with sipping less-than-satisfactory java from traditional drip brewers. But now after years of customer requests, Fellow is finally releasing a machine that it claims can deliver a pour-over experience at the touch of a button. And after seeing it in action, there’s a lot to like.
Starting at $365, the Aiden certainly isn’t cheap. That said, compared to the $500 grinders and pricey accessories that so many aficionados lust after, this might seem like a bargain to some. But the big difference between the Aiden and traditional coffee machines is that unlike a typical drip-based brewer, it features an adjustable showerhead that mimics the process of a traditional pour-over. Fellow also uses a thick film Ferro Techniek heating element which is said to deliver exact water temperatures (down to a single degree and up to 210F). When combined with the ability to adjust things like bloom time, the amount of water used and more, you get a ton of control over the brewing process. Fellow even includes two different baskets: a single-serve option that delivers a slightly more nuanced product or a batch filter to accommodate big crowds (up to 10 cups at a time).
The Aiden's carafe is double-walled as Fellow wanted to avoid a built-in hotplate which could potentially scorch your coffee.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
The Aiden also features a guided brew process that walks you through various settings, though you can always create your own profiles or download instructions directly from participating roasters via a QR code and Fellow’s free companion app. That said, I appreciate that if you don’t want to break out your phone just to make a cup of coffee, you can still set programs, start a brew and input data directly into the machine via its bright color LCD screen and large control dial.
But the best thing about the Aiden is how easy and convenient it is to use. It features a 1.5L reservoir and its heating element is completely silent so you can brew a cup in the morning without disturbing the peace. Once you have your favorite brews dialed in, starting a batch is as simple as dumping in some grounds and hitting start (and adding water to the tank if you haven’t done that already). The machine will remind you when you need to run a clean cycle or descale it. Because its showerhead is super precise, if you schedule it to run in the morning before you wake up, it will be ready exactly when you tell it. Not a minute too early or late. There’s even a cold brew setting that will slowly drip water through the grounds throughout the day (and of course you can set how long or short this takes) instead of relying on a prolonged immersion like you would otherwise.
The Aiden comes with two different brewing baskets and a switch for you when you need to change between single-cup and batch brew functions.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
However, one feature the Aiden doesn’t have is a keep warm function, but that’s because most coffee lovers tend to stay away from machines with built-in hotplates that can result in scorched joe. Instead, Fellow relies on a thermal double-walled carafe to keep things warm until you can get to it (which probably won’t be long if you’re in need of caffeine).
Finally, while your tastes may vary, I like the Aiden’s minimalist design. It’s short enough that it should fit under most kitchen cabinets and its sleek lines and boxy shape make it a cinch to clean. And while I only got to sample a single cup, the Scandinavian light roast I tried retained a lot of the subtle vanilla and hickory notes that would normally be stamped out by traditional drip brewers.
That said, it’s important to remember that the Aiden isn’t meant to replace your V60 or Aeropress or whatever your preferred brewing method is. It’s simply meant to provide a higher quality joe than what your standard drip brewer can make for situations where you don't have the time or energy to make a cup yourself. From what I’ve seen so far, it does just that.
Pre-sale for the Aiden is live today, with shipments expected to begin sometime this September. Additionally, anyone who pre-orders will get a bag of coffee each from Onyx Coffee Lab, La Cabra and Verve Coffee Roasters specifically designed for this machine along with scannable brewing profiles.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-fellow-aiden-brewer-makes-coffee-good-enough-for-snobs-with-a-single-button-143023095.html?src=rss
Back in 2019, the FCC banned US carriers, which were then starting to deploy their 5G networks, from using subsidies to buy equipment from companies deemed a national security threat. Chinese manufacturers Huawei and ZTE were at the top of that list. Now, China is implementing a similar measure: According to the Wall Street Journal, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has ordered state-owned mobile operators, including the two biggest carriers in the country, to phase out foreign chips.
The regulator has reportedly told China Mobile and China Telecom, along with all other state-owned carriers, to check their networks for any semiconductors that weren't manufactured locally. It then asked them to determine a timeline to replace them. The Journal's sources said that it's now possible to switch to domestic chips, thanks to improvements in their quality and performance over the past few years. Chinese companies like Huawei were forced to design their own semiconductors after getting hit by trade sanctions, in order to be self-sufficient and in case they're no longer able to import chips from the US and its allies. The Chinese government, in turn, is supporting their efforts and is raising $40 billion in funds to help the domestic semiconductor industry.
This latest move by China follows its ban on the use of Intel and AMD processors in government computers. Prior to that, China also prohibited the use of US-made tech in all government institutions and public bodies and banned local firms from buying chips made by US memory manufacturer Micron Technology. Intel and AMD will most likely suffer heavy losses from this latest development, since they provide most of the chips used for mobile networks around the world. China was also Intel's largest market in 2023 and accounted for 27 percent of its revenue. In addition to losing some of their biggest customers, the companies will now have to face competition from Chinese manufacturers, as well.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/china-reportedly-orders-state-owned-mobile-carriers-to-replace-foreign-chips-133001488.html?src=rss
Those looking to pick up a smartwatch for the first time, or upgrade from an older model, should check out the sale running on Amazon right now on the Apple Watch Series 9. Certain sizes and colors have deep discounts, including the 41mm Product Red version that's down to a record low of $295 — more than $100 off its regular price. The 45mm model with cellular connectivity is also on sale by way of a clippable $80 coupon, which brings the final price down to an all-time low of $350.
The Apple Watch has been at the top of our list of the best smartwatches for quite some time, and the Series 9 (introduced in September 2023) is a big update from its predecessor. It runs on a new S9 SiP, which is the most meaningful upgrade to the wearable's processor in years. While we didn't notice a huge jump in general performance — the Watch has been speedy and responsive for a long time — the SiP update does allow for faster Siri responses and enables offline Siri interactions.
The latest model also supports the new Double Tap gesture based on Assistive Touch. This allows you to navigate the Watch's interface without actually touching the screen, doing things like dismissing timers or starting workout tracking using finger gestures. You can only use Double Tap in specific instances in watchOS 10, but those actions are made easier and more accessible with this feature.
In addition, the Series 9 has a second-gen ultra wideband (UWB) chip that works with a new Find My iPhone interface, plus its screen is brighter than previous versions. All of those things combine make the Series 9 feel like the biggest update to the Watch in a few years. Nevertheless, the caveats remain the same as they have been for some time: you can only use the Apple Watch if you're an iPhone user, and it lags behind the competition when it comes to sleep tracking. Battery life contributes to the latter, but you'll still get a full day's worth of use before you need to charge it up overnight.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-apple-watch-series-9-is-on-sale-for-as-low-as-295-right-now-131012915.html?src=rss
Playdate came out two years ago, and it’s still miniscule and yellow with a black-and-white screen and a delightful crank on its side. Today, the device has a built-in library of more than 100 titles, none of which are Call of Duty, Dark Souls, The Last of Us or any other big-budget, mainstream game — and this is precisely what makes it so damn charming. The community that’s sprung up around this palmheld is lively and creative, and scrolling through the Playdate tags on itch.io or github feels like hanging out in a friendly underground clubhouse populated by crank-obsessed video game freaks.
It’s less disturbing than it sounds, I promise.
For real though, Playdate has only gotten cuter and more relevant with age. Firewatch publisher Panic and hardware studio Teenage Engineering unveiled the device in February 2019, pitching it as a sub-$200 handheld with a monochromatic screen, a crank and seasonal drops of free games. Pre-orders for Playdate opened in July 2021 and the plan was for shipments to start by the end of that year. However, in November, Panic discovered a severe battery issue in its production line and the company was forced to swap suppliers and delay the release. Playdate officially landed in players’ hands in April 2022, and overall, reviewers found that it was entirely worth the wait.
Panic
Playdate shipped with 4GB of flash storage and 24 free games, including Crankin’s Time Travel Adventure from Keita Takahashi’s studio uvula and Zipper by Bennett Foddy. Playdate has always supported sideloading, too, meaning it’s easy to get titles from itch.io and other distribution sites on the device. In March 2023, Playdate’s Catalog went live, offering a curated selection of 16 games for purchase. Panic also upped the price of Playdate from $179 to $199 at this time, citing rising manufacturing costs.
Today, Panic has sold roughly 70,000 Playdates and its Catalog features over 100 games, with more added regularly. Panic held a software showcase in February and the headliner was Mars After Midnight, a Playdate-exclusive project from Papers, Please and Return of the Obra Dinn creator Lucas Pope. Mars After Midnight came out on March 12, and Playdate had a big games sale that week, just like a grown-up storefront would.
Two years post-launch, it’s clear that there’s no single formula for a Playdate game. Chopter Copter, for instance, turns the Playdate on its side and uses the crank as a helicopter-style rotor, spinning the propeller cap on a demon trapped in a gothic tower. Cranking controls this horned dude as he slices through flying enemies, leaving bits of meat and bone to fall out of the narrow frame. And then there are titles like Word Trip, a simple yet addictive letter-shifting game that I would recommend to all Wordle fans. Playdate supports first-person shooters, detective mysteries, bullet hells, shoot-em-ups, puzzle games, RPGs, pocket pets, rhythm situations, action-adventures, racing sims and all manner of subgenres, including some that have been invented just for the platform.
Root Bear by TEAM ROOT
Across Playdate’s UI and games, the crank transforms into hundreds of different tools. There are the standard iterations like crank to scroll and crank to buy, but there’s also crank to pour a drink, crank to fly, crank to fish, crank to spin a record, crank to build a city, crank to control time, crank to crank, crank to survive. Literally every game on Playdate reveals a new use case for the crank or helps demonstrate the absurd level of detail possible on a 400 x 240 1-bit display. Many games do both of these things — and Mars After Midnight is one of them.
As the creature in charge of a community room on a Martian colony, Mars After Midnight players crank open an observation window and identify the correct aliens for each session, while also providing snacks, cleaning up with two long tentacles and planning future support groups. Players use the crank to slam the room’s peephole open and shut, but the game also fully incorporates Playdate’s A and B buttons, D-pad and speaker, rolling out fresh mechanics at a steady pace. The game is populated by adorable, bumbling aliens and cartoonishly cute set pieces, and it even introduces an entire language.
Like the vast majority of Playdate games, Mars After Midnight doesn’t feel like a pared-down version of a bigger idea; it was simply meant to be a colorless, crank-powered experience.
Mars After Midnight by Lucas Pope
I’ve encountered one consistent issue with Playdate, and it’s something that I didn’t think would be a huge problem when I first reviewed it in 2022. The lack of backlight in its display is noticeable and occasionally annoying, particularly in low-light spaces. I often find myself tilting the screen toward a nearby window or lamp, and the device is pretty much unplayable on a dark plane or bus, or without a light source after sunset. If you remember trying to play an original Game Boy at night in the backseat of your parents’ car, waiting for the street lights to flicker past the window at regular intervals, it’s a lot like that. There’s a tinge of nostalgia here, but it’s mostly just kinda frustrating.
Playdate’s biggest issue, however, might be the Stereo Dock. Panic unveiled the Stereo Dock in mid-2021 — it’s a truly adorable charging stand, Bluetooth speaker and pen holder that matches Playdate’s pleasant yellow hue. I’ve wanted to plop one on my desk since it was announced, but the Stereo Dock has been “coming soon” for two years now.
It really is still coming, Playdate Project Lead Greg Maletic told Engadget.
"We apologize to everyone with a Playdate who has been waiting patiently for the Stereo Dock; it’s been a trickier project than we anticipated and we had a few false starts,” Maletic said. “We thought we'd save some time on that project by having our factory do the software for the Stereo Dock, but we've learned that you don't always necessarily want that in some cases. The Stereo Dock is very much alive, we have the physical prototypes to prove it! We expect to have a formal update on when you can buy one later this year."
Panic
If the worst thing about Playdate is the fact that people can’t get enough of it, then it sounds like things are going well. The device hasn’t faced any widespread recalls or hardware issues, its storefront is growing, its development pipeline is ridiculously easy to enter, and people are still interested in buying it (and the Stereo Dock, one day).
With Playdate, Panic has created a new pocket of curious game enthusiasts, and it’s provided a platform for innovation that will ripple across all sectors of development. Playdate is a simple, small gaming machine with a single twist — a crank — and in its first two years on the market, it’s unearthed wells of creativity in the indie scene. By paring down the graphics and adding a new input method, Playdate changes the way we think about how games are played and made. As many of the industry’s most influential studios are trapped in a cycle of mass layoffs and regularly scheduled crunch, it’s a fantastic time to rethink what we’re all actually doing here. Playdate makes this process natural, accessible and entertaining.
Panic
A device like Playdate doesn’t just happen. I wouldn’t be worried about revisiting this thing two years post-launch if it were too underpowered, overcomplicated or unserious, but this isn’t a funny gimmick from a company on a press tour. The sense of elegance, care and proper prioritization built into Playdate is what makes it a blank canvas for so many different styles of game development. Playdate is a little yellow inspiration machine; it’s a physical reset button for the entire industry. Actually, I guess it’s a reset crank.
Go on, turn it. It’s so much fun.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/playdate-revisited-two-years-with-the-little-yellow-inspiration-machine-125517060.html?src=rss
OpenAI has brought the new GPT-4 Turbo to paid ChatGPT users. The company announced the news on X (formerly Twitter), sharing that its large language model has improved math, logical reasoning, coding and writing skills. In reference to the latter, a response to its initial post states that "when writing with ChatGPT, responses will be more direct, less verbose, and use more conversational language." Notably, in December, Microsoft integrated GPT-4 Turbo with its CoPilot AI chatbot and image generator DALL-E 3.
When OpenAI announced GPT-4 Turbo in November, it highlighted major upgrades to the system powering ChatGPT. At the time, OpenAI claimed that GPT-4 Turbo could receive six times as many pages of text — 300, compared to the previous 50. Given the breadth of information provided, this expansion could mean more complex prompts and responses. The large language model can also create captions or descriptions of image prompts and handle text-to-speech requests.
GPT-4 Turbo has even advanced since its initial announcement. OpenAI had initially increased its world knowledge to April 2023, a good jump from GPT-4's September 2021 cutoff. Now, GPT-4 Turbo has information all the way up to December 2023.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/paid-chatgpt-users-can-now-access-gpt-4-turbo-123031501.html?src=rss
A wave of AI assistant devices is finally launching, and the first is Humane’s slickly designed AI Pin. Humane calls it the “first wearable device and software platform,” a magnetic clippable wearable, with a projector, camera, mic, speakers and its own internet connection.
Is this what replaces the smartphone? A tiny device that projects its own screen, with ostensibly no touch controls, just a voice assistant to get things done. No, not really at all.
After a while trying to make a voice-centric assistant work for her, Cherlynn Low said the AI Pin is “slow, finicky and barely even smart.” Check out her detailed review.
The Rabbit R1 will be completely different, right? Right?!
The deal doesn’t extend to other Universal artists.
Taylor Swift’s music has returned to TikTok after a ten-week hiatus. The music left the platform after negotiations broke down between the social media app and Swift’s label, Universal Music Group. Intriguingly, the deal did not include provisions for fellow UMG artists, so Billie Eilish, The Weeknd and Drake.
X will no longer allow users to hide their blue checks, regardless of whether or not they paid for premium. On Thursday, the app began notifying users that “the hide your checkmark feature of X Premium is going away soon.” X unexpectedly began adding blue checks to accounts of “influential” users with at least 2,500 followers who pay for a premium subscription. While Elon Musk suggested the change was meant to be a perk, some — including formerly verified users — were less than pleased with the presence of a blue badge, lest others suspect they actually paid for a subscription. (I would read a thesis on how Elon Musk ruined verified ticks on social media.)
Apple’s parts pairing continues to hamper the self-repair movement.
Consumers and repair shops will soon be able to employ genuine used Apple parts to fix devices rather than having to order new components. The company claims that used parts “will now benefit from the full functionality and security afforded by the original factory calibration.” The initiative will start with the iPhone 15 this fall. As things stand, if you swap in a used screen from another iPhone for your crunchy screen, certain features, such as True Tone and automatic brightness adjustment, may not work. The upgraded self-repair program should resolve that.
Humane’s hyped up AI Pin is finally here and, unfortunately, it stinks. This week, Cherlynn and Devindra are joined by Michael Fisher (AKA MrMobile) and Wired Reviews Editor Julian Chokkattu to chat about the AI Pin and the many ways it fails. It’s often inaccurate, it takes crummy photos, and it gets way too hot. Not so great for something you’re supposed to wear all day! Is there any hope for AI-dependent gadgets? Also, Washington Post columnist Christopher Velazco joins to discuss Apple’s approval of used iPhone components for repairs.
Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcast, Engadget News!
Topics
Too much heat, too few features: Humane’s AI pin doesn’t live up to the hype – 1:09
Other News: Apple will allow devices to be repaired with secondhand parts soon – 44:08
Google’s Next 24 event announces AI video generation tool, ARM-based CPU for data centers, and Google Photos tools for all subscribers – 53:10
Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Devindra Hardawar Guests: Michael Fisher (MrMobile) and Julian Chokkattu Producer: Ben Ellman Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/engadget-podcast-humane-ai-pin-review-110052283.html?src=rss