It would be a mistake to miss out on all of the SSD and storage deals brought on by Amazon Prime Day. These gadgets typically fall to some of the best prices of the year during Prime Day, and this year is no different. Some of our top picks for the best SSDs are on sale now, as well as portable drives, microSD cards and more.
Now’s the time to stock up, regardless of if you need a high-capacity SSD for your PS5 or a new portable SSD to offload photos and files from your daily driver. We collected the best Prime Day SSD deals here so you don’t have to go searching for them. And remember, Prime Day ends tonight
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/these-are-the-best-ssd-deals-from-samsung-crucial-and-others-that-are-still-on-sale-for-amazon-prime-day-093050481.html?src=rss
On the second day of Amazon's Prime Day sale, the deals on smaller gadgets and accessories are still going strong. In fact, as I was checking to make sure these deals were still live, I noted about five on the list that dropped a few dollars cheaper than they were yesterday. As a reminder, this list represents the best of the affordable tech gear that we at Engadget have tested, reviewed and know to be worth your time. Everything here is on sale for $49.99 or under to make up the best possible roundup of the Prime Day tech deals you can get for under $50.
As with all Engadget tech deals coverage, we only highlight discounts on gear we've tested or have otherwise used and know to be worthy of your money. We cross-checked our guides and reviews with the Prime Day deals Amazon has put forth to come up with what you see here. And we'll update these deals roundups throughout both days of Amazon's Prime Day sale.
Best Prime Day tech deals under $50
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/we-went-through-thousands-of-tech-deals-and-these-are-the-best-amazon-prime-day-deals-under-50-110004213.html?src=rss
Some of the world’s largest tech companies trained their AI models on a dataset that included transcripts of more than 173,000 YouTube videos without permission, a new investigation from Proof News has found. The dataset, which was created by a nonprofit company called EleutherAI, contains transcripts of YouTube videos from more than 48,000 channels and was used by Apple, NVIDIA and Anthropic among other companies. The findings of the investigation spotlight AI’s uncomfortable truth: the technology is largely built on the backs of data siphoned from creators without their consent or compensation.
The dataset doesn’t include any videos or images from YouTube, but contains video transcripts from the platform's biggest creators including Marques Brownlee and MrBeast, as well as large news publishers like The New York Times, the BBC, and ABC News. Subtitles from videos belonging to Engadget are also part of the dataset.
“Apple has sourced data for their AI from several companies,” Brownlee posted on X. “One of them scraped tons of data/transcripts from YouTube videos, including mine,” he added. “This is going to be an evolving problem for a long time.”
Apple has sourced data for their AI from several companies
One of them scraped tons of data/transcripts from YouTube videos, including mine
Apple technically avoids "fault" here because they're not the ones scraping
A Google spokesperson told Engadget that previous comments made by YouTube CEO Neal Mohan saying that companies using YouTube's data to train AI models would violate the paltform's terms and service still stand. Apple, NVIDIA, Anthropic and EleutherAI did not respond to a request for comment from Engadget.
So far, AI companies haven’t been transparent about the data used to train their models. Earlier this month, artists and photographers criticized Apple for failing to reveal the source of training data for Apple Intelligence, the company own spin on generative AI coming to millions of Apple devices this year.
YouTube, the world’s largest repository of videos, in particular, is a goldmine of not only transcripts but also audio, video, and images, making it an attractive dataset for training AI models. Earlier this year, OpenAI’s chief technology officer, Mira Murati, evaded questions from The Wall Street Journal about whether the company used YouTube videos to train Sora, OpenAI’s upcoming AI video generation tool. “I’m not going to go into the details of the data that was used, but it was publicly available or licensed data,” Murati said at the time. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has also said that companies using data from YouTube to train their AI models would violate of the platform’s terms of service.
If you want to see if subtitles from your YouTube videos or from your favorite channels are part of the dataset, head over to the Proof News' lookup tool.
Update, July 16 2024, 3:17 PM PT: This story has been updated to include a statement from Google.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-nvidia-and-anthropic-reportedly-used-youtube-transcripts-without-permission-to-train-ai-models-170827317.html?src=rss
Big-ticket items might get the lion's share of the attention during Amazon Prime Day, but look below the surface and you'll find a bunch of deals on items that were already budget-friendly. Case in point: our pick for the best budget wireless earbuds, the Anker Soundcore Space A40, have dropped to $49. That's a discount of $31 and brings the earbuds back down to match their record-low price. This is just one of many Prime Day deals we have our eye on.
We feel that the Soundcore Space A40 buds deliver excellent active noise cancellation (ANC) performance, especially for a model in this price range. Anker employs an adaptive system by default that adjusts the ANC intensity based on the noise around you. You can set the ANC to strong, moderate or weak levels manually too and Anker claims it can block up to 98 percent of noise. It's worth noting that the ANC might not be as effective for blocking higher-pitch sounds, while the transparency mode does the trick, but it's not nearly as effective as what you'd find on more premium earbuds.
The Space A40 buds are pretty comfortable. They have a battery life of about eight hours, with the charging case adding around another 40. The default sound profile is warm and pleasant without totally blowing out the low end. You can tweak the EQ settings to your preference in the Soundcore app, which can help you refine the bass and higher frequencies. The touch controls are customizable too. Changes you make are saved directly to the earphones.
The IXP4 water resistance rating isn't super robust, but you'll be able to wear the Space A40 in light rain and at the gym without too much of a concern. What's more, there's multipoint pairing, so you can connect the earbuds to two devices at the same time — for what it's worth, we haven't encountered any significant connection issues.
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-bring-our-favorite-pair-of-budget-wireless-earbuds-down-to-only-49-170653500.html?src=rss
On day two of Amazon's Prime Day sale, we're still seeing deals on some great Lego sets. True, Legos may be slightly outside our tech purview, but an unofficial poll tells us that most people who are into gadgets also tend to love building with Bricks. A few noteworthy sets are going for up to 30 percent off for Prime Day and we rounded up a few of our favorites here. And there are plenty more Lego Prime Day deals to check out before the shopping event is over.
This Star Wars Luke Skywalker's X-Wing Fighter is down to $35 from its list price of $50. It's recommended for builders aged nine and above and has 474 pieces so it should keep you and/or (pun not intended) your kids busy for a while. The X-Wing has a retractable landing gear and a pair of spring-loaded shooters. You can convert the wings to attack position with the press of a button. The kit comes with Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and General Dodonna minifigures that you can place in the cockpit, while R2-D2 has his very own spot on board.
Marvel fans may be interested in picking up an Iron Man Nano Gauntlet that's kitted out with the Infinity Stones. This set usually costs $69, but it's on sale for $49. This 765-piece kit is geared toward adult builders. It comes with a stand and descriptive tablet, so the idea is to keep this on display, perhaps in your office, living room or den. The gauntlet also has jointed fingers, so you can position them as you like (perhaps with the middle one raised in the direction of a completed Thanos build).
Lego's relatively new botanical sets are super popular as of late, and we're seeing some discounts on a few of those sets. The Icons Wildflower Bouquet set is 20 percent off for Prime Day and down to a record low of $48, while the adorable Icons Tiny Plants Building set is 21 percent off and down to $40.
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/some-of-our-favorite-lego-sets-are-at-all-time-low-prices-for-prime-day-2024-111510687.html?src=rss
On day two of Amazon's sale, many other retailers have gotten into the deals frenzy with sales of their own. Places like Walmart, Target, B&H Photo, Best Buy and more are hosting some great deals. It's also the first day of PlayStation's Summer Sale, so if you need some more games for your PS4 or 5, this is a good time to snag a few. Brands including Sonos, Lego, and Sony are hosting promotions too. If you’ve exhausted our main Prime Day coverage and are looking for more — or if you’d simply rather not shop at Amazon — check out the best anti-Prime Day deals we could find below.
As with all Engadget tech deals coverage, we almost exclusively highlight discounts on gear we've tested or have otherwise used and know to be worthy of your money. We cross-checked our guides and reviews with the anti-Prime Day deals other retailers have put forth to come up with what you see here.
Site-wide anti-Prime Day sales
A variety of brands are hosting site-wide sales of their own. Some of the deals are no different than what you’d see on a typical Tuesday, but a few of the discounts seem like they were inspired by Amazon’s giant July bonanza.
If you’re down to browse, you may find a few worthwhile deals on the sale pages from:
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-anti-prime-day-deals-from-walmart-target-best-buy-and-more-164056737.html?src=rss
Google reportedly offered a group of EU-based cloud firms $512 million (€470 million) as an attempt to derail an antitrust settlement with Microsoft and force the continuation of a formal complaint, according to Bloomberg. The attempt failed and the settlement went through.
Here’s how it went down. A non-profit trade organization called the Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE) issued a complaint to the EU’s antitrust arm, alleging that Microsoft made it too difficult for business customers to change providers because the software was tied to Azure cloud services.
This led to a negotiation between CISPE and Microsoft to give the former better access to the latter’s technologies and end the formal complaint. That’s when Google, a rival to Microsoft, stepped in. The company allegedly offered the aforementioned financial package to the group, so long as they continued with the complaint. This is according to confidential documents and people familiar with the matter, all of which were vetted by Bloomberg.
The financial package broke down into two parts. The vast majority of Google’s offer included software licenses for its cloud technology over five years, with a value of $495 million or €455 million. The remaining amount was offered in cash, as well as a long-term partnership proposal. Amazon Web Services (AWS) also contributed money to Google's offer, despite being an actual member of CISPE.
Google’s deal was conditional, however, on CISPE continuing its EU antitrust complaint against Microsoft. This didn’t influence the cloud companies that comprise CISPE, which are mostly European firms. Instead, the group went in the opposite direction. It entered into a similar agreement with Microsoft that allows them to use enhanced Azure features and gives them the ability to offer Microsoft products and services on their local cloud infrastructures. There was also a cash payout agreement from Microsoft to CISPE of around $11 million, according to people familiar with the agreement.
"Microsoft's playbook of paying off complainants rather than addressing the substance of their complaint hurts businesses and shouldn't fool anyone," Amit Zavery, head of platform at Google Cloud, told CRN. “We are exploring our options to continue to fight against Microsoft's anti-competitive licensing in order to promote choice, innovation, and the growth of the digital economy in Europe.”
It’s worth noting that Zavery didn’t address the allegations that, well, Google did the same exact thing. According to The Register, an individual familiar with the matter called Google’s response “a bit rich.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-reportedly-offered-eu-cloud-firms-over-500-million-to-continue-antitrust-case-against-microsoft-160721324.html?src=rss
When Beats discontinued the Pill+ in early 2022, the company seemed to be done with portable Bluetooth speakers. At that point, it hadn’t debuted a new model in over six years, which is a far cry from the release schedule we’re accustomed to from Beats. But, to the surprise of many, the company has re-entered the crowded market with a redesigned Pill ($150). Taking more aesthetic cues from its older models instead of the most recent Pill+, the company sought a cure by completely re-engineered the inside of the device to improve sound quality. It also made the new Pill more rugged along the way, while doubling the battery life and adding modern features like lossless audio, remedying what ailed the previous aging model.
A prescription for better sound
While there are some visible changes, Beats did most of its overhaul on the inside of the new Pill. Most importantly, the company ditched the dual tweeter and dual woofer setup from the Pill+ in favor of a new design that only uses one of each. A larger, more powerful pill-shaped woofer provides more robust bass with less total harmonic distortion (THD) and a lower frequency range.
That single tweeter has been upgraded, too. The driver for mid-range and treble sits in its own housing and has a larger rear cavity. Beats says this setup decreases the crossover responsibilities for the tweeter and woofer in covering the Pill’s full sonic range. As a result, the two components work more efficiently as the tweeter is only tasked with mids and highs while the woofer cranks out the bass.
Another item Beats added on the new Pill is lossless audio over USB-C. The speaker can handle higher-quality tunes up to 24-bit/48kHz via a wired connection. This is my favorite way to listen to the Pill as the audio is more immersive with better clarity. Billy Strings’ Live Vol. 1 in Hi-Res Lossless on Apple Music is noticeably improved over listening via Bluetooth, for example. Of course, the speaker will also charge in this scenario since you’re physically connected to the laptop or whichever device it’s streaming from.
Billy Steele for Engadget
All of this creates much-improved sound quality on the new Pill. The Pill+ was no slouch by 2015 standards, but portable Bluetooth speakers have come a long way in nine years. The rebuild under the hood provides great clarity with punchy highs, full mids and booming bass for much of the volume range. At maximum loudness though, things are more of a jumbled mess as the speaker can’t maintain the crisp, clear detail it offers at around 85 percent and below.
For Balance and Composure’s “Cross To Bear,” the Pill accurately replicates the snappy kick drum and snare combo with the droning bass line over top. Guitars weave through in a layered fashion and the vocals cut clean in the mix. The low-end tone provides depth to this alternative rock track that many speakers this size can’t. The Pill also does a respectable job with boomy hip-hop songs from Run The Jewels and Kaytranada, although the speaker does start to struggle when the bass is super deep, like on RTJ4’s “Out Of Sight.” The tone isn’t as clean as most other songs I tested from the genre.
Amplify and Stereo modes return from the Pill+ to expand the capabilities of the Pill – if you have two of them. The first simply offers bigger, louder sound since you’re using the power of two speakers. The second creates a true stereo pair with dedicated left and right channels. Both work well, but if you’re only using the onboard controls to activate Stereo mode, you have to remember to join the speakers in Amplify mode first. There’s no option in the iOS settings to do this, but you can activate the modes inside the standalone Beats app for Android.
The Beats Pill’s design
Billy Steele for Engadget
One visible design change is the drivers now sit at a 20-degree angle. Beats says it did this to improve sound projection and it delivered. The new Pill does a better job of beaming audio in the direction of your ears when it’s sitting on a shelf or a table, rather than just blasting it straight out the front. I was especially struck by how well the Pill projects low-end tone on boomy hip-hop and electronic tracks.
Four buttons line the top of the Pill for a complete suite of physical controls. The power button, which is on the left, also handles pairing, battery status, voice assistant, USB-C audio and reversing the charging direction. In the middle, the redundantly named Center button offers the media controls while also playing a role in activating Amplify and Stereo modes. And on the right sit the two volume buttons. These are all dimpled circle buttons that work reliably and are easy to find by touch.
The new Pill is also built for the great outdoors. Beats engineered this speaker with IP67-rated dust and water resistance, while the Pill+ didn’t have an IP rating at all. This number means the Pill is fully dust tight and can survive full immersion up to 30 minutes in depths of one meter (just over three feet). That’s plenty of protection for a day at the beach or the pool without having to worry about terminal damage. Beats also included a loop strap that attaches to the end of the speaker for easy carrying or hanging up the unit.
The Beats Pill as a speakerphone
Something Beats is hyping on the new Pill is the ability to use it as a speakerphone. This functionality has been available on Bluetooth speakers before, but the company says its combination of a noise-learning algorithm and full duplex capability (both sides can hear clearly without being cut off) leads to a better experience. I found this to be true during my testing as the Pill sounds much better than most earbuds in quiet spaces. The audio quality on calls suffers when the speaker is trying to battle background noise; however, it’s still your voice that comes through clearly rather than a loud fan or some other distraction.
Battery life
Beats says the new Pill will last up to 24 hours on a charge, which is ample power for a few days. During my testing, I noticed that the speaker could actually muster more. It might be because I kept volumes around 35 to 40 percent most of the time, since the Pill is really loud at 50 percent. After 14 hours of listening to music on both my laptop and iPhone, I still have 70 percent battery left.
If you do find yourself in a pinch, the Pill is equipped with Beats’ Fast Fuel feature that gives you two hours of use by plugging in for 10 minutes. What’s more, the speaker will charge while connected to another device, like your laptop, via a USB-C cable. The Pill has a charge-out feature that can top up your phone or other small devices too, and you can reverse the charging direction with a triple tap on the power button.
The competition
There are so many alternatives to the Beats Pill, with plenty of them available for $100 or less. I would recommend reading our in-depth guide on the best bluetooth speakers that has some suggestions as well as what to look for when you’re shopping. I will point out the JBL Charge 5 from that list, primarily due to its sound quality. It’s just as durable as the Pill and you can use two for a stereo setup or sync it with any PartyBoost-enabled JBL devices. The Charge 5 also has up to 20 hours of battery life and a built-in power bank to top off your phone, making it a great deal at under $150.
Wrap-up
I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t have a new Beats speaker on my 2024 Bingo card. But, I’ll also be quick to confess that I enjoyed my time with the new Pill, mostly due to its much-improved sound quality. Doubled battery life, lossless audio over USB-C and a more rugged build set the Pill up to compete with popular models from Ultimate Ears, JBL and others. Plus, Beats took a chunk out of the price, making this new model a much more palatable offering at $150. While the audio isn’t as good at extreme volumes and the bass tone isn’t as consistent on some tracks, overall audio quality is the best aspect of the Pill. And that makes it a solid addition to your music regimen.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/beats-pill-review-a-revival-worth-the-wait-160056269.html?src=rss
We're seeing steep discounts for Amazon Prime Day on the latest Samsung Galaxy smartphones — the regular ones, not the Z Flip or Z Fold that were just announced. You can get a whopping $325 off the Galaxy S24 Ultra right now, which brings the final price down to a record low of $975. Prime Day phone deals have also brought all-time-low prices to the Galaxy S24 and S24+, knocking them down to $600 and $750, respectively.
Engadget’s pick for the best premium Android phone, the S24 Ultra has the best display available on a phone today: a 6.8-inch color-rich AMOLED screen with razor-sharp QHD+ resolution. In addition, this year’s model takes a page from Apple’s book by switching from an aluminum to a titanium frame, and its camera has a 5x optical zoom. It even includes an S-Pen (stylus) for more precise and versatile input.
Perhaps more intriguing than traditional phone specs is the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s suite of AI tools. The phone’s Galaxy AI features include proofreading texts, editing images, transcribing recordings and more.
The Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ are also heavily discounted for as part of the Prime Day deals. Although not quite super-premium like the Ultra, these are still flagship-quality phones with the powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor. In addition, they carry over much of what already worked in the S23 series, including similar camera hardware and battery life.
The standard S24 models also include Samsung’s Galaxy AI suite. You can run some generative AI tools locally, and there’s an additional option to set them to never leave for phone, which is handy for privacy. Features include live translation for voice calls, a live interpreter for in-person conversations, note assist for summaries and formatting, writing assist from the keyboard and image editing.
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-amazon-prime-day-phone-deals-include-up-to-325-off-samsung-galaxy-s24-smartphones-101533773.html?src=rss
We're seeing steep discounts for Amazon Prime Day on the latest Samsung Galaxy smartphones — the regular ones, not the Z Flip or Z Fold that were just announced. You can get a whopping $325 off the Galaxy S24 Ultra right now, which brings the final price down to a record low of $975. Prime Day phone deals have also brought all-time-low prices to the Galaxy S24 and S24+, knocking them down to $600 and $750, respectively.
Engadget’s pick for the best premium Android phone, the S24 Ultra has the best display available on a phone today: a 6.8-inch color-rich AMOLED screen with razor-sharp QHD+ resolution. In addition, this year’s model takes a page from Apple’s book by switching from an aluminum to a titanium frame, and its camera has a 5x optical zoom. It even includes an S-Pen (stylus) for more precise and versatile input.
Perhaps more intriguing than traditional phone specs is the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s suite of AI tools. The phone’s Galaxy AI features include proofreading texts, editing images, transcribing recordings and more.
The Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ are also heavily discounted for as part of the Prime Day deals. Although not quite super-premium like the Ultra, these are still flagship-quality phones with the powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor. In addition, they carry over much of what already worked in the S23 series, including similar camera hardware and battery life.
The standard S24 models also include Samsung’s Galaxy AI suite. You can run some generative AI tools locally, and there’s an additional option to set them to never leave for phone, which is handy for privacy. Features include live translation for voice calls, a live interpreter for in-person conversations, note assist for summaries and formatting, writing assist from the keyboard and image editing.
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-amazon-prime-day-phone-deals-include-up-to-325-off-samsung-galaxy-s24-smartphones-101533773.html?src=rss