The 9th-gen iPad is on sale via Amazon for only $200. That’s a fairly substantial discount of 39 percent, as the regular price for this model is $330. The deal applies to both the dark gray and silver colorways.
This is a tablet Apple first released back in 2021, so it’s getting a bit long in the tooth. However, it’s still a fantastic machine, particularly for the price. We called it a “nice upgrade” in our official review. The battery life is on point, the screen is crisp and the performance is snappy. It’s an iPad.
This is a relatively ancient tablet with an equally ancient A13 Bionic chip. This isn’t the best iPad to buy for those looking for raw power. However, it’s the perfect tablet for those who want a media consumption machine on the cheap. Netflix in bed? Sign me up.
This sale is for the 64GB model and doesn’t apply to the 256GB version. The 9th-gen tablet is being discontinued, so it’s highly likely this is the last chance to pick one up at this price. Once the stock is gone, it’s all over.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/black-friday-deals-include-the-9th-gen-ipad-for-a-record-low-of-200-161404147.html?src=rss
Thanksgiving is a few weeks away, but there are some killer early Black Friday deals around already. For instance, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 have dropped back down to $170. That's $80 or 32 percent off the list price. It's not quite a record low, as the AirPods Pro 2 have been on sale for $169 in the past, but it's not far off at all.
We feel that the transparency mode, which is powered by Apple's H2 chip, is excellent. It sounds far more natural here than on any other earphones we've tested.
Other useful features include fast pairing and ease of switching between Apple devices, spatial audio, hands-free Siri and solid active noise cancellation. The earphones are IPX4-rated for water resistance too. On the downside, the touch gestures take a little getting used to.
The AirPods Pro 2 ran for about six hours and 15 minutes on a single charge during our testing. The charging case (the battery of which you can top up wirelessly or via USB-C) adds up to three extra charges.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-airpods-pro-2-are-back-on-sale-for-170-ahead-of-black-friday-150737558.html?src=rss
Thanksgiving is a few weeks away, but there are some killer early Black Friday deals around already. For instance, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 have dropped back down to $170. That's $80 or 32 percent off the list price. It's not quite a record low, as the AirPods Pro 2 have been on sale for $169 in the past, but it's not far off at all.
We feel that the transparency mode, which is powered by Apple's H2 chip, is excellent. It sounds far more natural here than on any other earphones we've tested.
Other useful features include fast pairing and ease of switching between Apple devices, spatial audio, hands-free Siri and solid active noise cancellation. The earphones are IPX4-rated for water resistance too. On the downside, the touch gestures take a little getting used to.
The AirPods Pro 2 ran for about six hours and 15 minutes on a single charge during our testing. The charging case (the battery of which you can top up wirelessly or via USB-C) adds up to three extra charges.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-airpods-pro-2-are-back-on-sale-for-170-ahead-of-black-friday-150737558.html?src=rss
In Engadget’s Slack rooms, our pets are high on the list of stuff we chat about — just behind work-adjacent tech stuff, insane current events, video games and food. We’ve bought plenty of high- and low-tech stuff to keep our furry friends fed, occupied, safe and happy and we’ve put together the best of what we tried here. Perhaps you’re shopping for your own very good boy or girl, or maybe you have a dutiful pet parent on your list — either way, the gadgets gathered here will make great gifts, according to the enthusiastic tail wags (or aloof meows) of our own fur babies.
Let's get this straight up front: The Vive Focus Vision isn't a competitor to the Meta Quest 3, or the recently released Quest 3S. At $999, how could it be? Instead, it's another stab at the high-end VR market for HTC Vive, an audience it's cultivated since the launch of the first Vive headset in 2016. While Meta has leaned more towards cheaper and more mainstream VR headsets over the last decade, HTC Vive has done practically the opposite, aiming for VR gearheads and enterprise customers with PC headsets like the Vive Pro 2 and feature-rich standalone models like the Focus 3.
You can think of the Vive Focus Vision as a cross between the Focus 3 and last year's goggle-like XR Elite. It's a standalone headset with two 16MP color cameras for mixed reality, built-in eye tracking and automatic interpupillary distance (IPD) adjustment. It could also be appealing to PC gamers with its $149 DisplayPort wired streaming kit, which gives you an uncompressed view of high-end VR experiences like Half-Life: Alyx.
Hardware: An aging CPU
As intriguing as its new features are, though, the more I tested the Focus Vision, the more it felt like a missed opportunity for HTC’s Vive VR platform. For one, it's running the same Snapdragon XR2 chip as the Focus 3 and Quest 2. That chip originally debuted in 2020, and it simply seems inexcusable in a high-end headset today. Both the $300 Quest 3S and $500 Quest 3 sport the XR2 Gen 2 processor, which is 2.5 times faster than the original chip and also has up to eight times faster AI processing. For a high-end headset at the tail-end of 2024, I would have expected HTC to at least match the power of far cheaper competitors, or – even better – to include Qualcomm's newer XR2+ Gen 2 chip.
The Focus Vision is also still using older Fresnel lens optics, which are prone to artifacts and light bleeding, instead of the sharper pancake lenses in the Quest 3. At least HTC shoved in 12GB of RAM this time around, compared to the 8GB found on the Focus 3 and Quest 3. And the company still has a resolution advantage over the Quest 3: The Focus Vision delivers 2,448 by 2,448 pixels per eye, compared to Meta's 2,064 by 2,208 pixels per eye. HTC Vive's 120-degree field of view also delivers a greater sense of immersion than the 110-degree FOV in the Quest 3.
The Focus Vision shines best when it comes to overall build quality and comfort. Even though it's made of plastic like the Quest 3, it's a sturdy device that clearly looks more high-end than Meta's offerings. Ample cushioning helps the Focus Vision rest comfortably on your forehead and behind your noggin. And its halo-like head strap, together with the ability to flip up the visor, makes it easy to slip on over large glasses.
Best of all, the Focus Vision features a removable battery at the back of its headstrap. That provides a helpful counterweight to the bulky front-end, and it could conceivably let you stay in wireless VR all day if you've got enough spare batteries. The headset also has a small built-in battery, which allows you to stay in your VR session even when you're swapping out the larger rear power cell. This is the sort of thing we'll probably never see in a consumer Quest headset, as it's simply too expensive to implement, and Meta isn't building for enterprise customers who demand continuous wireless. (And to be fair, it's also easy to just plug the Quest 3 into a USB battery pack.)
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
In use
Using the Focus Vision doesn't feel much different than the Focus — a headset I liked when I reviewed in 2021, but as a business-focused device I warned that no consumer should actually buy it. That's not too surprising, I suppose, since both headsets share the same basic design, displays and CPU. In standalone VR mode, playing the Maestro demo genuinely made me feel like I was conducting an orchestra (an experience I also had on the Quest 3S), and I enjoyed hopping around a few virtual worlds in VR Chat.
Other experiences, like the classic underwater VR short theBlu, felt just as immersive as they did on clunkier tethered headsets. While I could tell the Focus Vision didn't have the best lenses around, and I wished it had more graphical horsepower, it still delivered a thrill as I stood in the middle of a sunken shipwreck, waiting for an enormous blue whale to pass by. It was also nice to see the Vive app storefront a bit more populated than it was in 2021. Still, it pales in comparison to Meta's Quest library, which has far more titles and plenty of compelling exclusives (including Star Wars titles like the Vader Immortal series and Tales from the Galaxy's Edge).
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
We already knew that HTC Vive could build a decent headset – the Focus Vision’s controllers and speakers are just as capable as they were on the previous model – but what about the Focus Vision's new features, like mixed reality and eye tracking? Unfortunately, there's not much to say just yet. There are a handful of mixed reality experiences available, like the creation app Figmin XR and the shooter Yuki, but they're not exactly mind blowing. The Focus Vision's 16MP mixed reality cameras deliver a fuzzy view of the real world (similar to the Quest 3 and 3S), so it's not nearly as immersive as something like the far pricier Apple Vision Pro.
The Focus Vision's eye tracking feature also refused to work for me entirely, even after I tried to calibrate it without glasses multiple times. That didn’t seem like a huge loss though, as there are only a handful of games in the Vive store that support it (like Capsule Critters and Mare). It's a feature that seems more useful for developers who want to build their own eye tracking experiences, than it is for people who just want to play games with eye tracking.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
Solid stand-alone VR
A better selling point for the Focus Vision is its ability to stream uncompressed desktop VR experiences — but only when you invest in the $149 DisplayPort streaming kit. While Meta's Quest's headsets have been able to connect to PCs for years, first via USB-C cables then wirelessly, they also deliver a heavily compressed view of desktop VR. By going straight to the DisplayPort connection on your video card, HTC Vive aims to deliver something closer to what we saw with the Vive Pro 2 and other dedicated PC headsets.
After playing half an hour of Half-Life: Alyx, I can confirm that the Focus Vision delivers a solid desktop VR experience, especially for a standalone headset. But given that it already costs $999 and requires an additional $149 accessory to get there, it's hard to tell who will find this compelling. True VR heads have likely already invested in serious desktop setups like the Valve Index, or the recent Bigscreen Beyond (which uses absurdly clear microLED screens like the Vision Pro).
The beauty of connecting standalone headsets to PCs has always been about value. It was a huge bonus when the $300 Quest 2 could deliver adequate desktop VR. But that just isn't the case for the Focus Vision. I suppose if you’re a developer who wants a single device for testing both standalone VR and complex desktop experiences, or working for a business that needs multi-use VR headsets, the Focus Vision could fill some sort of need. But either way, that seems like a fairly niche use case.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
The Focus Vision’s auto-IPD adjustment, which scans your eyes and physically moves the lenses to be in the ideal position, was also hit-or-miss for me. Sometimes it worked just fine and landed near my prescribed IPD of 66. But sometimes the automatic process would land on an IPD of around 72, which made everything look a bit blurry. And occasionally the feature just wouldn’t work at all. Auto adjustment is helpful if you’re sharing a headset with other people, but otherwise manually choosing your preferred IPD is far more useful.
During my typical standalone usage, the Focus Vision lasted for around one hour and 45 minutes, close to the two-hour estimate from HTC Vive. That’s less than what I typically see on the Quest 3 and 3S, but at least you can purchase additional batteries and easily swap them. The built-in battery, which enables hot swapping, lasts for about twenty minutes, but it’s also not something you’ll typically be stressing.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
Should you buy the Vive Focus Vision?
Despite my issues, the Focus Vision still sits in an interesting position in the world of VR – especially since Meta gave up on the Quest Pro, which would have been a close competitor. It still delivers decent standalone VR, despite using an aging CPU and lenses. And if you don’t want the clutter of SteamVR sensors in your office, it’s a smart way to tap into powerful PCs for more immersive VR experiences (so long as you buy the $149 DisplayPort kit). But for a $999 headset, it’s a shame HTC Vive didn’t try harder to make the Focus Vision stand out.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/htc-vive-focus-vision-review-a-premium-vr-headset-with-average-performance-150029763.html?src=rss
Let's get this straight up front: The Vive Focus Vision isn't a competitor to the Meta Quest 3, or the recently released Quest 3S. At $999, how could it be? Instead, it's another stab at the high-end VR market for HTC Vive, an audience it's cultivated since the launch of the first Vive headset in 2016. While Meta has leaned more towards cheaper and more mainstream VR headsets over the last decade, HTC Vive has done practically the opposite, aiming for VR gearheads and enterprise customers with PC headsets like the Vive Pro 2 and feature-rich standalone models like the Focus 3.
You can think of the Vive Focus Vision as a cross between the Focus 3 and last year's goggle-like XR Elite. It's a standalone headset with two 16MP color cameras for mixed reality, built-in eye tracking and automatic interpupillary distance (IPD) adjustment. It could also be appealing to PC gamers with its $149 DisplayPort wired streaming kit, which gives you an uncompressed view of high-end VR experiences like Half-Life: Alyx.
Hardware: An aging CPU
As intriguing as its new features are, though, the more I tested the Focus Vision, the more it felt like a missed opportunity for HTC’s Vive VR platform. For one, it's running the same Snapdragon XR2 chip as the Focus 3 and Quest 2. That chip originally debuted in 2020, and it simply seems inexcusable in a high-end headset today. Both the $300 Quest 3S and $500 Quest 3 sport the XR2 Gen 2 processor, which is 2.5 times faster than the original chip and also has up to eight times faster AI processing. For a high-end headset at the tail-end of 2024, I would have expected HTC to at least match the power of far cheaper competitors, or – even better – to include Qualcomm's newer XR2+ Gen 2 chip.
The Focus Vision is also still using older Fresnel lens optics, which are prone to artifacts and light bleeding, instead of the sharper pancake lenses in the Quest 3. At least HTC shoved in 12GB of RAM this time around, compared to the 8GB found on the Focus 3 and Quest 3. And the company still has a resolution advantage over the Quest 3: The Focus Vision delivers 2,448 by 2,448 pixels per eye, compared to Meta's 2,064 by 2,208 pixels per eye. HTC Vive's 120-degree field of view also delivers a greater sense of immersion than the 110-degree FOV in the Quest 3.
The Focus Vision shines best when it comes to overall build quality and comfort. Even though it's made of plastic like the Quest 3, it's a sturdy device that clearly looks more high-end than Meta's offerings. Ample cushioning helps the Focus Vision rest comfortably on your forehead and behind your noggin. And its halo-like head strap, together with the ability to flip up the visor, makes it easy to slip on over large glasses.
Best of all, the Focus Vision features a removable battery at the back of its headstrap. That provides a helpful counterweight to the bulky front-end, and it could conceivably let you stay in wireless VR all day if you've got enough spare batteries. The headset also has a small built-in battery, which allows you to stay in your VR session even when you're swapping out the larger rear power cell. This is the sort of thing we'll probably never see in a consumer Quest headset, as it's simply too expensive to implement, and Meta isn't building for enterprise customers who demand continuous wireless. (And to be fair, it's also easy to just plug the Quest 3 into a USB battery pack.)
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
In use
Using the Focus Vision doesn't feel much different than the Focus — a headset I liked when I reviewed in 2021, but as a business-focused device I warned that no consumer should actually buy it. That's not too surprising, I suppose, since both headsets share the same basic design, displays and CPU. In standalone VR mode, playing the Maestro demo genuinely made me feel like I was conducting an orchestra (an experience I also had on the Quest 3S), and I enjoyed hopping around a few virtual worlds in VR Chat.
Other experiences, like the classic underwater VR short theBlu, felt just as immersive as they did on clunkier tethered headsets. While I could tell the Focus Vision didn't have the best lenses around, and I wished it had more graphical horsepower, it still delivered a thrill as I stood in the middle of a sunken shipwreck, waiting for an enormous blue whale to pass by. It was also nice to see the Vive app storefront a bit more populated than it was in 2021. Still, it pales in comparison to Meta's Quest library, which has far more titles and plenty of compelling exclusives (including Star Wars titles like the Vader Immortal series and Tales from the Galaxy's Edge).
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
We already knew that HTC Vive could build a decent headset – the Focus Vision’s controllers and speakers are just as capable as they were on the previous model – but what about the Focus Vision's new features, like mixed reality and eye tracking? Unfortunately, there's not much to say just yet. There are a handful of mixed reality experiences available, like the creation app Figmin XR and the shooter Yuki, but they're not exactly mind blowing. The Focus Vision's 16MP mixed reality cameras deliver a fuzzy view of the real world (similar to the Quest 3 and 3S), so it's not nearly as immersive as something like the far pricier Apple Vision Pro.
The Focus Vision's eye tracking feature also refused to work for me entirely, even after I tried to calibrate it without glasses multiple times. That didn’t seem like a huge loss though, as there are only a handful of games in the Vive store that support it (like Capsule Critters and Mare). It's a feature that seems more useful for developers who want to build their own eye tracking experiences, than it is for people who just want to play games with eye tracking.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
Solid stand-alone VR
A better selling point for the Focus Vision is its ability to stream uncompressed desktop VR experiences — but only when you invest in the $149 DisplayPort streaming kit. While Meta's Quest's headsets have been able to connect to PCs for years, first via USB-C cables then wirelessly, they also deliver a heavily compressed view of desktop VR. By going straight to the DisplayPort connection on your video card, HTC Vive aims to deliver something closer to what we saw with the Vive Pro 2 and other dedicated PC headsets.
After playing half an hour of Half-Life: Alyx, I can confirm that the Focus Vision delivers a solid desktop VR experience, especially for a standalone headset. But given that it already costs $999 and requires an additional $149 accessory to get there, it's hard to tell who will find this compelling. True VR heads have likely already invested in serious desktop setups like the Valve Index, or the recent Bigscreen Beyond (which uses absurdly clear microLED screens like the Vision Pro).
The beauty of connecting standalone headsets to PCs has always been about value. It was a huge bonus when the $300 Quest 2 could deliver adequate desktop VR. But that just isn't the case for the Focus Vision. I suppose if you’re a developer who wants a single device for testing both standalone VR and complex desktop experiences, or working for a business that needs multi-use VR headsets, the Focus Vision could fill some sort of need. But either way, that seems like a fairly niche use case.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
The Focus Vision’s auto-IPD adjustment, which scans your eyes and physically moves the lenses to be in the ideal position, was also hit-or-miss for me. Sometimes it worked just fine and landed near my prescribed IPD of 66. But sometimes the automatic process would land on an IPD of around 72, which made everything look a bit blurry. And occasionally the feature just wouldn’t work at all. Auto adjustment is helpful if you’re sharing a headset with other people, but otherwise manually choosing your preferred IPD is far more useful.
During my typical standalone usage, the Focus Vision lasted for around one hour and 45 minutes, close to the two-hour estimate from HTC Vive. That’s less than what I typically see on the Quest 3 and 3S, but at least you can purchase additional batteries and easily swap them. The built-in battery, which enables hot swapping, lasts for about twenty minutes, but it’s also not something you’ll typically be stressing.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
Should you buy the Vive Focus Vision?
Despite my issues, the Focus Vision still sits in an interesting position in the world of VR – especially since Meta gave up on the Quest Pro, which would have been a close competitor. It still delivers decent standalone VR, despite using an aging CPU and lenses. And if you don’t want the clutter of SteamVR sensors in your office, it’s a smart way to tap into powerful PCs for more immersive VR experiences (so long as you buy the $149 DisplayPort kit). But for a $999 headset, it’s a shame HTC Vive didn’t try harder to make the Focus Vision stand out.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/htc-vive-focus-vision-review-a-premium-vr-headset-with-average-performance-150029763.html?src=rss
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has suspended the production of advanced AI chips for Chinese companies, according to the Financial Times. The Taiwanese semiconductor chip manufacturer has reportedly notified its clients from China that it will stop producing AI chips for them, particularly models 7 nanometers and smaller, starting this Monday. If a Chinese company orders products that fall within that category, they'll have to go through an approval process that'll likely involve the US government.
The manufacturer's new policy could be a direct result of its discovery that Huawei had used its chips in AI accelerators without its knowledge. A Canadian research firm called TechInsights was the one that notified the company that it discovered the presence of TSMC-manufactured products in Huawei's hardware. It was a violation of the trade sanctions the US Commerce Department had imposed against Huawei way back in 2020 that prevented it from acquiring chips made by foreign firms. More recently, it revoked its licenses that allowed Intel and Qualcomm to manufacture chips for its devices.
TSMC reported TechInsights' findings to the US Commerce Department, which is now investigating how it had happened. The company denied any working relationship with Huawei and also stopped selling its chips to the client it believes had been illegally forwarding them to the Chinese brand. The Times' sources said that TSMC made the decision to suspend the production of AI chips for Chinese clients altogether, because it wants to show the US government that it's "not acting against US interests." Its new policy could have a big impact on the AI efforts of its Chinese clients. Baidu, for instance, had plans to build hardware for its AI business powered by a series of chips made by TSMC.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/tsmc-will-reportedly-stop-making-advanced-ai-chips-for-chinese-companies-143029506.html?src=rss
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has suspended the production of advanced AI chips for Chinese companies, according to the Financial Times. The Taiwanese semiconductor chip manufacturer has reportedly notified its clients from China that it will stop producing AI chips for them, particularly models 7 nanometers and smaller, starting this Monday. If a Chinese company orders products that fall within that category, they'll have to go through an approval process that'll likely involve the US government.
The manufacturer's new policy could be a direct result of its discovery that Huawei had used its chips in AI accelerators without its knowledge. A Canadian research firm called TechInsights was the one that notified the company that it discovered the presence of TSMC-manufactured products in Huawei's hardware. It was a violation of the trade sanctions the US Commerce Department had imposed against Huawei way back in 2020 that prevented it from acquiring chips made by foreign firms. More recently, it revoked its licenses that allowed Intel and Qualcomm to manufacture chips for its devices.
TSMC reported TechInsights' findings to the US Commerce Department, which is now investigating how it had happened. The company denied any working relationship with Huawei and also stopped selling its chips to the client it believes had been illegally forwarding them to the Chinese brand. The Times' sources said that TSMC made the decision to suspend the production of AI chips for Chinese clients altogether, because it wants to show the US government that it's "not acting against US interests." Its new policy could have a big impact on the AI efforts of its Chinese clients. Baidu, for instance, had plans to build hardware for its AI business powered by a series of chips made by TSMC.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/tsmc-will-reportedly-stop-making-advanced-ai-chips-for-chinese-companies-143029506.html?src=rss
If you want your home cleaned by a robot that leaves you as little work as possible, Wellbots has a deal for you. The iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max Robot + AutoWash Dock has an unwieldy name but a robust feature set. The do-it-all cleaning machine vacuums, mops, self-empties dirt, refills its mopping solution and washes and dries its mopping pad. You can take $425 off the robovac with coupon code ENGBF425.
Unveiled this summer, the (deep breath) Roomba Combo 10 Max Robot + AutoWash Dock is iRobot’s most advanced (and expensive) robot vacuum to date. Although its $1,399 MSRP prices it out of most homes, this deal makes it more reasonable for folks who don’t mind splurging for a cutting-edge cleaner that lets you spend your time doing something fun.
Its dock can hold dirt and debris for up to 60 days, and its mopping pad and self-cleaning tank store water for up to seven. It seamlessly transitions from vacuuming to mopping, automatically retreating its mopping system and turbo-charging its suction on carpets.
On hard floors, it can vacuum and mop simultaneously. In addition to its other sensors, the Roomba has a camera to locate dirt — and it can spot the dirtiest areas up to eight times more frequently than other models.
The robot can map your home (like many of today’s models), but iRobot says it does so seven times faster while automatically labeling room types. Its software uses past cleaning data to predict each room’s cleanliness, adjusting its suction accordingly.
Use Engadget’s exclusive code ENGBF425 to lower that price to a more manageable $974.
iRobot
You can also save at Wellbots on the Roomba J9+. The vacuum-only model has a three-stage cleaning system, multi-surface rubber brushes and high-end suction power. (And it looks pretty dang stylish!) Usually $899, our code ENGBF325 brings it down to $574.
For a more affordable vacuum / mop system, the Roomba Combo j7+ gives you a rock-solid wet-dry cleaner without all the cutting-edge bells and whistles in the highest-end model. This model has a 96.4 percent debris removal rating, obstacle avoidance and a four-stage cleaning system. Included are an edge-sweeping brush, dual multi-surface rubber brushes and power-lifting suction. It can empty its contents without intervention for up to 60 days. Usually retailing for a daunting $999, this model is on sale for $675 with coupon code ENGBF325.
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/early-black-friday-deals-include-up-to-425-off-roomba-robot-vacuums-140100100.html?src=rss
If you want your home cleaned by a robot that leaves you as little work as possible, Wellbots has a deal for you. The iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max Robot + AutoWash Dock has an unwieldy name but a robust feature set. The do-it-all cleaning machine vacuums, mops, self-empties dirt, refills its mopping solution and washes and dries its mopping pad. You can take $425 off the robovac with coupon code ENGBF425.
Unveiled this summer, the (deep breath) Roomba Combo 10 Max Robot + AutoWash Dock is iRobot’s most advanced (and expensive) robot vacuum to date. Although its $1,399 MSRP prices it out of most homes, this deal makes it more reasonable for folks who don’t mind splurging for a cutting-edge cleaner that lets you spend your time doing something fun.
Its dock can hold dirt and debris for up to 60 days, and its mopping pad and self-cleaning tank store water for up to seven. It seamlessly transitions from vacuuming to mopping, automatically retreating its mopping system and turbo-charging its suction on carpets.
On hard floors, it can vacuum and mop simultaneously. In addition to its other sensors, the Roomba has a camera to locate dirt — and it can spot the dirtiest areas up to eight times more frequently than other models.
The robot can map your home (like many of today’s models), but iRobot says it does so seven times faster while automatically labeling room types. Its software uses past cleaning data to predict each room’s cleanliness, adjusting its suction accordingly.
Use Engadget’s exclusive code ENGBF425 to lower that price to a more manageable $974.
iRobot
You can also save at Wellbots on the Roomba J9+. The vacuum-only model has a three-stage cleaning system, multi-surface rubber brushes and high-end suction power. (And it looks pretty dang stylish!) Usually $899, our code ENGBF325 brings it down to $574.
For a more affordable vacuum / mop system, the Roomba Combo j7+ gives you a rock-solid wet-dry cleaner without all the cutting-edge bells and whistles in the highest-end model. This model has a 96.4 percent debris removal rating, obstacle avoidance and a four-stage cleaning system. Included are an edge-sweeping brush, dual multi-surface rubber brushes and power-lifting suction. It can empty its contents without intervention for up to 60 days. Usually retailing for a daunting $999, this model is on sale for $675 with coupon code ENGBF325.
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/early-black-friday-deals-include-up-to-425-off-roomba-robot-vacuums-140100100.html?src=rss