Tag Archives: Technology & Electronics

Apple’s iPad mini drops to a record low of $380

Posted on by

If you’ve been holding out for a deal on an iPad mini, it may be time to make a move. Apple’s mini-tablet has dropped to a record low on Amazon. Usually $499, the sixth-gen model with 64GB is on sale for a mere $379. If you want more storage, the 256GB variant, typically $649, is on sale for $529.

Although the iPad mini is a niche device these days, it’s still a terrific tablet for those who like something smaller to easily hold in one hand and stow away in a small bag or purse. It can serve as a fancy eReader (through Apple Books, Kindle or any other iPadOS reading app), and it’s handy for perusing other content, watching videos and FaceTiming friends. It even includes Apple’s AI-powered Center Stage feature, which keeps you in frame on video calls.

This sixth-generation model is several years old (it launched in 2021), but it’s still Apple’s newest model. It was the first to shed the old Touch ID home button design from iPads in the days of yore, moving to an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display that nearly covers its entire face. Like the iPad Air, its Touch ID sensor is on its power / sleep button, which is on the tablet’s side. It has a 2266 x 1488 resolution with 326 ppi.

Its battery life is rated for up to 10 hours, but it lasted around 12 in Engadget’s continuous video playback test. Powering it is the A15 Bionic chip, only one generation behind the A16 found in the (non-Pro) iPhone 15 series.

The iPad mini supports the second-generation Apple Pencil, which attaches magnetically to its side. The tablet includes a USB-C charging port, aligning with Apple’s current standard.

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-ipad-mini-drops-to-a-record-low-of-380-163004518.html?src=rss

Apple’s 13-inch M3 MacBook Air is $250 off right now and cheaper than ever

Posted on by

No matter how many years have passed since I had to prepare to go back to school, I can't help but feel like August requires getting some new equipment. If you're the same, then it's worth looking at the 23 percent sale on Apple's 2024 MacBook Air 13-inch Laptop with an M3 chip. The MacBook is currently available for an all-time low price of $850, rather than its usual $1099. The 15-inch model is also on sale, down to $1,050 from $1,299 — a 19 percent discount.

This model is our choice for Apple's best MacBook overall. We gave it a 90 in our review thanks to a solid bump in power over its predecessor and reliable features. It comes with an 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine. It also has 256GB of storage, 8GB of memory and up to 18 hours of battery life. Plus, we love the solid quad-speaker array, sturdy, sleek design and fast performance.

If you're in the market for a very heavy-duty laptop, then check out the 24 percent discount on Apple's 2023 MacBook Pro Laptop with an M3 Pro chip — our choice of best MacBook for creatives. The 512GB model with 18GB of unified memory is available for $1900, down from $2,499. The 2023 MacBook Pro offers a 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display with an Extreme Dynamic Range and 1000 nits of sustained brightness. This is the model to look into if you're going to be completing high-speed editing and incredible clarity.

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-13-inch-m3-macbook-air-is-250-off-right-now-and-cheaper-than-ever-140221470.html?src=rss

A four-pack of Apple AirTags is back on sale for $76

Posted on by

Apple’s AirTags are the best item trackers an iPhone user can get, and they’re going for cheap right now in a deal on Amazon. A four pack of AirTags — normally $100 — is 23 percent off, making it just $76. That’s only $1 more than the pack was selling for during Amazon Prime Day. AirTags tap into Apple’s Find My network, sending out a signal that can be picked up by nearby devices to guide you to your lost item.

AirTags work seamlessly with other devices in the Apple ecosystem and have a battery life of over a year. In addition to helping locate belongings you may have left somewhere outside the home, AirTags can also help you track down items you’ve misplaced in your immediate surroundings thanks to the Precision Finding feature in the Find My app. You can also ping the AirTag so it’ll play a sound that you can follow.

AirTags don’t have a loop or clip that would allow you to attach them to a keyring, so you’ll need to pick up a case if you want to do so. There are all sorts of accessories available for AirTags to secure them to your belongings, including keyring holders and cases designed to adhere to fabric so you can securely stick them in the lining of a jacket or purse. AirTags have an IP67 rating, meaning they’ll withstand dust and brief exposure to water, and the CR2032 battery is easily replaceable. The Find My app supports tracking up to 32 items.

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/a-four-pack-of-apple-airtags-is-back-on-sale-for-76-150547693.html?src=rss

NVIDIA’s Blackwell AI chips have reportedly hit a snag and may arrive months late

Posted on by

NVIDIA has discovered “design flaws” in its upcoming series of AI chips that may push their release back at least three months, The Information reports. The company has reportedly started notifying customers of the delay, including Microsoft. Large orders of the new Blackwell chips were initially slated to start shipping sometime this year, but sources told The Information that they’re now not expected until early 2025. In addition to Microsoft, the publication reports that Google, Meta and other major companies have placed bulk orders of the Blackwell chips that are collectively worth “tens of billions of dollars.”

NVIDIA announced the Blackwell series chips back in March, touting performance boosts of up to 30 times what’s achieved by its flagship H100, which serves as the backbone for some of today’s biggest AI systems. The company at the time also said the Blackwell chips could reduce “cost and energy consumption by up to 25x.” But according to The Information, citing sources involved with the Blackwell chip, “design problems arose unusually late in the production process.”

NVIDIA and its chip manufacturer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, are now doing test production runs to get to the bottom of the issues, according to The Information, which reports that the first big shipments may not go out until the first quarter.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nvidias-blackwell-ai-chips-have-reportedly-hit-a-snag-and-may-arrive-months-late-163009474.html?src=rss

Apple is fighting Tencent and ByteDance over in-app payments in China

Posted on by

Apple has been pressuring ByteDance and Tencent to close loopholes in China that funnel customers to external payment systems for making in-app purchases, according to a report by Bloomberg. Anyone living in the West knows the drill here. Apple wants that 30 percent commission.

Reporting indicates this pressure campaign began in May. Apple allegedly warned Tencent that it would reject crucial WeChat updates if it didn’t eliminate the ability for users to make payments outside of Apple’s ecosystem. Tencent complied with the original request, issuing an update in July, but Apple went one step further.

WeChat is home to thousands of third-party mini-games and experiences. Apple asked Tencent to disable in-game chat between creators and players, as that's another theoretical loophole that could funnel users to third-party payment systems. Tencent has yet to agree to this request.

Back in June, Apple reportedly did something similar with ByteDance. It threatened to withhold updates of Douyin, which is basically the Chinese version of TikTok, unless it plugged any gaps that steer users away from that much-coveted 30 percent commission. According to Bloomberg, ByteDance has yet to issue a formal response.

These are aggressive moves on the part of Apple. China is the world’s largest smartphone market, sure, but the iPhone isn’t the dominant brand throughout the country. As a matter of fact, the phone failed to crack the top five in sales last quarter and the company recently experienced a 6.5 percent decline in profits.

It’s also worth noting that both ByteDance and Tencent aren’t happy corporate warriors looking out for the little guy. These massive companies levy their own commissions on creators and likely didn’t want Apple cutting into their bottom lines.

An Apple spokesperson was unusually blunt in a statement to Bloomberg, simply saying that company guidelines dictate that the sale of all digital goods must go through its system and that the review team has the power to reject app submissions that violate that policy. Neither Tencent or ByteDance issued a comment to Bloomberg. 

China, like the rest of the world, has been cracking down on walled gardens like Apple’s App Store. Despite the country’s hesitance to continue allowing closed ecosystems controlled by a single entity, Apple CEO Tim Cook is bullish about its prospects in China. “We continue to be confident in the long-term opportunity in China,” he said during a recent earnings call. “I don’t know how every chapter of the book reads, but we’re very confident in the long term.”

Apple is facing numerous legal hurdles all over the world regarding its Hungry Hungry Hippos approach to gobbling up commission fees. The European Commission issued a ruling that dictates it must allow app developers to steer users to payment systems and offers outside of the App Store. The company also faces potential fines from the EU, to the tune of ten percent of global annual revenue. As for the US, Epic sued Apple over its developer transaction fee policy and many other companies have expressed their own concerns. It's also worth nothing that Tencent owns a 40 percent stake in Epic Games. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-is-fighting-tencent-and-bytedance-over-in-app-payments-in-china-155949462.html?src=rss

The Google Pixel 8a drops to a new low of $399

Posted on by

Our pick for the best budget Android phone is looking even better right now as the Google Pixel 8a has dropped to a new all-time-low price. You can pick up the device for $399. That's 20 percent off the regular price, and it's even lower than any of the deals we saw for it during Prime Day.

The Pixel 8a has the same Tensor G3 chip as the rest of the Pixel 8 lineup, which means you get access to the same AI features that its higher-end siblings have. We're fans of the cameras, 120Hz OLED display and battery life too (it lasted 20-and-a-half hours on our video rundown test). IP67 dust and water resistance is definitely welcome as is Qi wireless charging, even if it's not the fastest at a max capacity of 7.5 watts. Add all of that up and it's little surprise that the Google Pixel 8a earned a score of 90 in our review.

But that's not all, folks. The rest of the Pixel lineup is on sale too. The standard Pixel 8 with 128GB of storage is $499, which is $200 off the regular price. We gave that model a score of 90 in our review.

The Pixel 8 Pro pipped that, however, with a score of 93. That's our pick for the best Android phone on the market right now, and you can pick up one with 128GB of storage for $699, or $300 off.

This all comes with one key caveat in that Google is set to unveil the Pixel 9 lineup later this month. Those are expected to have more fancy features (some of which will come to Pixel 8 devices eventually), a more deeply integrated Gemini AI chatbot, an upgraded chipset and a revamped camera system. If you want the latest Pixel device — which will come with an extra year of software support — it'll be worth holding off for a couple of weeks. However, if you need a new phone of the Android variety right now, you can't really go wrong with any of the above options.

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/the-google-pixel-8a-drops-to-a-new-low-of-399-135125969.html?src=rss

Intel makes good on CPU instability issues by extending warranties by two years

Posted on by

Intel is extending the warranties for its controversial Core 13th and 14th-gen processors by two years, it has announced in a community post. The company says it will share more details in coming days, but for now, customers just waiting for their computers to conk out can at least know that they may not have to spend money to replace their processors. Intel revealed in July that after extensive analysis, it found that elevated operating voltage was causing these particular processor models' instability issues for a lot of people.

A microcode algorithm has apparently been sending incorrect voltage requests to the processor, causing users' computers to crash. The company is working on a patch that it plans to release in mid-August, but for some people, it may be too late: As Tom's Hardware notes, the patch will not fix processors that are already crashing. An indie gaming studio called Alderon Games reported that based on its personnel's observations, the processors' failure rate is 100 percent. Even CPUs that work well deteriorate and fail in the end. That's why an extended warranty is very much welcome, especially since some models only have a year-long warranty. 

"Intel is committed to making sure all customers who have or are currently experiencing instability symptoms on their 13th and/or 14th Gen desktop processors are supported in the exchange process," the company wrote in its announcement. It also admitted that "this has been a challenging issue to unravel and definitively root cause." For now, Intel advises those who purchased systems from computer manufacturers to reach out to the brand's support team. Meanwhile, people who purchased boxed CPUs for their PCs can contact Intel's customer support.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/intel-makes-good-on-cpu-instability-issues-by-extending-warranties-by-two-years-130010567.html?src=rss

Ohio becomes the fifth US state to recognize IDs in Apple Wallet

Posted on by

If you live in Ohio and constantly forget your wallet when you head out for a drive, we’ve got some good news for you: The state of Ohio became the fifth US state to accept driver’s licenses and official state IDs in the iPhone’s Apple Wallet app.

Digital identification in Apple’s wallet app can now be used across Ohio at Traffic Safety Administration (TSA) airport security checkpoints and select businesses and apps. The state is also working on implementing a free age verification app for businesses that require checking customers’ ID, according to WCPO Channel 9 in Cincinnati.

The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles has also created an instructional video that shows you how to add your license or state ID to your Apple Wallet if you’re a resident of the Buckeye State.

Ohio now joins Arizona, Colorado, Georgia and Maryland as states that accept and recognize digital licenses and IDs in the iPhone wallet app. If you’re not in one of those states, you may be joining that list soon since 24 other states and Washington DC and Puerto Rico are exploring or in the process of implementing mobile digital license regulations. Seven of those states are currently committed to implementing digital wallet access, according to 9to5Mac.

Google Wallet is also accepted in four states including Arizona, Colorado, Georgia and Maryland. Phone users with Android 8 or high can save their IDs to Google Wallet. This feature is not yet available for foldable devices, according to Google’s help section.

Apple added the ability to store driver’s licenses in the digital wallet app with iOS 15 in 2021. Apple Wallet is also recognized as an accepted form of identification or access in other societal sectors. Residents of the UK received an update last year that allows them to see their bank account totals from the Apple Wallet App. The Apple Wallet also allows hotel guests to store their room key cards in the app starting in 2021 with the Hyatt hotel chain.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ohio-becomes-the-fifth-us-state-to-recognize-ids-in-apple-wallet-211807995.html?src=rss

Ohio becomes the fifth US state to recognize IDs in Apple Wallet

Posted on by

If you live in Ohio and constantly forget your wallet when you head out for a drive, we’ve got some good news for you: The state of Ohio became the fifth US state to accept driver’s licenses and official state IDs in the iPhone’s Apple Wallet app.

Digital identification in Apple’s wallet app can now be used across Ohio at Traffic Safety Administration (TSA) airport security checkpoints and select businesses and apps. The state is also working on implementing a free age verification app for businesses that require checking customers’ ID, according to WCPO Channel 9 in Cincinnati.

The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles has also created an instructional video that shows you how to add your license or state ID to your Apple Wallet if you’re a resident of the Buckeye State.

Ohio now joins Arizona, Colorado, Georgia and Maryland as states that accept and recognize digital licenses and IDs in the iPhone wallet app. If you’re not in one of those states, you may be joining that list soon since 24 other states and Washington DC and Puerto Rico are exploring or in the process of implementing mobile digital license regulations. Seven of those states are currently committed to implementing digital wallet access, according to 9to5Mac.

Google Wallet is also accepted in four states including Arizona, Colorado, Georgia and Maryland. Phone users with Android 8 or high can save their IDs to Google Wallet. This feature is not yet available for foldable devices, according to Google’s help section.

Apple added the ability to store driver’s licenses in the digital wallet app with iOS 15 in 2021. Apple Wallet is also recognized as an accepted form of identification or access in other societal sectors. Residents of the UK received an update last year that allows them to see their bank account totals from the Apple Wallet App. The Apple Wallet also allows hotel guests to store their room key cards in the app starting in 2021 with the Hyatt hotel chain.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ohio-becomes-the-fifth-us-state-to-recognize-ids-in-apple-wallet-211807995.html?src=rss

Meta’s Threads has 200 million users

Posted on by

The Threads app has passed the 200 million user mark, according to Meta exec Adam Mosseri. The milestone comes one day after Mark Zuckerberg said that the service was “about” to hit 200 million users during the company’s latest earnings call.

While Threads is still relatively tiny compared to Meta’s other apps, it has grown at a much faster clip. Zuckerberg previously announced 175 million users last month as Threads marked its one-year anniversary, and the Meta CEO has repeatedly speculated that it could be the company’s next one-billion-user app.

“We've been building this company for 20 years, and there just are not that many opportunities that come around to grow a billion-person app,” Zuckerberg said. “Obviously, there's a ton of work between now and there.”

Continuing to grow the app’s user base will be key to Meta’s ability to eventually monetize Threads, which currently has no ads or business model. “All these new products, we ship them, and then there's a multi-year time horizon between scaling them and then scaling them into not just consumer experiences but very large businesses,” Zuckerberg said.

While Threads has so far been able to capitalize on the chaos and controversy surrounding X, Meta is still grappling with how to position its app that’s widely viewed as an alternative to X. Mosseri and Zuckerberg have said they don’t want the app to promote political content to users that don’t explicitly ask for it. This policy has even raised questions among some Meta employees, The Information recently reported.

Thread’s “for you” algorithm is also widely viewed as slow to keep up with breaking news and current events. Mosseri recently acknowledged the issue. “We’re definitely not fast enough yet, and we’re actively working to get better there,” he wrote in a post on Threads.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/metas-threads-has-200-million-users-211656147.html?src=rss