Monthly Archives: October 2025

Google’s Pixel Buds Pro 2 are cheaper than ever for Prime Day

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The unfortunate reality of living in a world that’s largely abandoned headphone jacks is that you have to own a pair of wireless earbuds to listen to things on your phone. Accepting that, you might as well own a good pair of earbuds, and if you’re on Android, Google’s wireless earbuds are one of your best options. You can purchase a pair of Google’s Pixel Buds Pro 2 for $170 for Prime Day, $60 less than its normal $230 price. That’s a pretty great deal for a pair of wireless earbuds that rival Apple’s AirPods Pro 3.

The Pixel Buds Pro 2 are compact wireless earbuds with a touch-sensitive surface and a small circular ring in the back to help them stay in your ears. You can currently purchase the buds in bluish-gray “Moonstone,” off-white “Porcelain,” pink “Peony” or light black “Hazel” color options, but whichever you choose, you’ll get solid active noise cancellation and a collection of other helpful audio features. In terms of ANC, Engadget’s review of the Pixel Buds Pro 2 found that the earbuds do a good job of blocking out “low-to-mid-range noise” but still struggle to block out nearby voices. On the whole, though, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 sounds better than Google’s previous wireless earbuds, particularly when you’re listening bass-forward tracks.

The capabilities of the Pixel Buds Pro 2 extend beyond just listening to music, of course. Like its competitors, Google has turned its wireless earbuds into hearing protection, too. The Pixel Buds Pro 2 were recently updated to support what Google calls Loud Noise Protection, which can reduce incoming loud noises to protect your ears. That’s on top of features like Adaptive Audio, which can adjust noise cancellation and volume based on your surroundings, and Talk to Gemini Live, which gives you a hands-free way to have a free-flowing conversation with Google’s AI chatbot.

There might be other earbuds that offer better audio performance, but the Pixel Buds Pro 2 is the best option if you’re on Android and want a seamless experience. For $170 during Prime Day, that’s hard to pass up.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/googles-pixel-buds-pro-2-are-cheaper-than-ever-for-prime-day-130038433.html?src=rss

It’s Prime Day 2025 part two, and here are the best deals we could find

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Greetings, Arsians! Welcome to the second Prime Day of 2025, because apparently we didn’t buy enough stuff last time and Amazon still has things to sell. Our e-commerce gnomes have scoured the retail giant’s listings from top to bottom for the best deals, and now we’re bringing those deals to you! We’ll be updating the list below throughout the day on October 7 and October 8 as this two-day retail extravaganza progresses, so if you don’t see something you like at the moment, check back again later and perhaps something will tickle your fancy then. Happy shopping!

Fire tablets

Amazon Kindles

Wi-Fi devices

Storage devices

Amazon Echo devices

Chargers

Portable power stations

Streaming gear

Cameras

Laptops

Keyboards and mice

Monitors

Android phones

Indoor security cameras

Outdoor security cameras

Smart locks

TV and streaming devices

Soundbars and speakers

Fitness trackerss

Robot vacuums

Cordless vacuums

Games

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My Favorite Display/AR Smart Glasses Are Over $100 Off for Prime Day

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We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

Amazon Big Deal Days is on October 7-8, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools.

If you’re hoping to catch the future early, you should check out these XReal One AR smart glasses. They’re on sale for $449, down from $569.00. This is the lowest price they’ve ever been on sale on Amazon.

If you’re not familiar: XReal Ones are augmented-reality display glasses. They’re compatible with any device with USB-C video, and when you slip ’em on, it’s like looking at bright, clear 147″ high-def monitor. Plus, the built-in G1 chip gives you 3DOF augmented reality, so you can anchor your virtual screen into real space.

I have a pair of the XReal One Pro version of these glasses, and I highly recommend them, whether you want to have a second screen for productivity, play games in a new way, or just have the best entertainment experience possible on an airplane. I recently spent a day with them on, using them to replace every screen I look at, and it was like living in a science fiction movie.

XReal has also lowered the price of its Beam Pro device by 20%. This optional “spacial computing companion” powers XReal glasses, adds a 3D camera, gives you enhanced controls, and improves the augmented reality experience.

Looking for something else? Retailers like Walmart and Best Buy have Prime Day competition sales that are especially useful if you don’t have Amazon Prime.

Our Best Editor-Vetted Prime Day Deals Right Now


Meta Quest 3S 128GB All-In-One VR Headset


—
$249.00

(List Price $299.99)

Ring Battery Doorbell Plus


—
$79.99

(List Price $149.99)

Amazon Fire HD 10 (2023)


—
$69.99

(List Price $139.99)

Deals are selected by our commerce team

Senate Dem Report Finds Almost 100 Million Jobs Could Be Lost To AI

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Hill: A Senate report released (PDF) Monday says AI and automation could replace nearly 100 million jobs across various industries over the next decade. The report, conducted by Democratic staffers on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), outlines how AI and automation will impact the American economy and workforce. Sanders, the ranking member on the HELP Committee, has warned of the consequences widespread use of AI and automation can have for workers.

As part of their investigation, staffers asked ChatGPT, OpenAI’s chatbot, to predict the impact of AI and automation on certain industries. Of the 20 workforces ChatGPT said would be most affected by the technological rush, 15 will see more than half of their workforces replaced by AI and automation over the next decade. The workforce most impacted will be fast food and counter employees. According to the report, more than 3 million fast food and counter workers will be replaced over the next 10 years, accounting for 89 percent of the workforce.

Other workforces that will be significantly affected include customer service representatives, laborers and freight, stock and material movers and secretaries and executive assistants — not including legal, medical and executive positions. The report said that 83 percent, 81 percent and 80 percent of those workforces, respectively, will be replaced in the next decade. […] Sanders, in a Fox News op-ed published Monday, doubled down on the report’s findings, saying increased technological capacity risks “dehumanizing” individuals. “We do not simply need a more ‘efficient’ society,” Sanders said. “We need a world where people live healthier, happier and more fulfilling lives.”


Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The Echo Spot Is 44% Off for Prime Day

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We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

Amazon Big Deal Days is coming October 7-8, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it’s over.

If you’re looking for a smart alarm clock that will help you gently ease into the day (and wind down at night), the 2024 Amazon Echo Spot is currently 44% off for Prime Day, marking its lowest price ever, according to price-trackers. An update to the original Echo Spot, the new version is available in three colors and is built around Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant. It also doubles as a speaker, integrating well with the rest of an Alexa-compatible smart home. 

As this PCMag review notes, it resembles the Echo Pop in shape (also on sale) but is slightly larger, featuring a speaker grille on the bottom and a vivid color touch screen. It has dual-band wifi and Bluetooth, and can be easily set up via the Alexa app. While it stays visible from a few feet away regardless of the lighting in the room you’re in, visibility drops if it’s viewed from an off-angle, and the resolution of 320 by 240 pixels doesn’t make it a first choice for visual communication and content, especially since it doesn’t have a camera or support video playback—though for those with privacy concerns, no camera is a perk.

However, it does show more information than the Echo Dot with Clock and has basic touch controls, allowing you to easily see the time and weather, check what music is playing, and adjust other smart devices in your home. According to the PCMag review, the speaker itself offers “decent audio with little bass” for its size, making it suitable for everyday listening, but is not a full-fledged speaker.

If you don’t mind the information on the display screen being somewhat limited and want a touch alarm clock that offers basic smart home controls, responds reliably to Alexa, and offers good sound quality for its size, the 2024 Amazon Echo Spot is a modern version of a clock radio that doesn’t try to do too much. However, if you want a full smart display experience or more powerful audio, this may not be ideal. Still, at $45, this bedside companion checks a lot of boxes. 

Looking for something else? Retailers like Walmart and Best Buy have Prime Day competition sales that are especially useful if you don’t have Amazon Prime.

Our Best Editor-Vetted Prime Day Deals Right Now


Meta Quest 3S 128GB All-In-One VR Headset


—
$249.00

(List Price $299.99)

Ring Battery Doorbell Plus


—
$79.99

(List Price $149.99)

Amazon Fire HD 10 (2023)


—
$69.99

(List Price $139.99)

Deals are selected by our commerce team

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones are $100 off for Prime Day

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The battle for overall wireless headphone supremacy is fiercely contested every year, but when it comes to banishing undesirable noise, Bose usually comes out on top. That was certainly the case when we pitted 2025’s contenders for your cash against each other, and Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra took away the title of best noise-canceling headphones. And right now, the very same headphones are $100 off for Prime Day at $329.

Note that this deal applies to the previous generation QuietComfort Ultra, rather than the refreshed second-gen model Bose has just announced. These offer improved battery life, ANC and audio performance, and they also support lossless audio over a wired USB-C connection for the first time. However, these headphones also cost $449 out of the gate, which is considerably more than the heavily slashed price of their predecessor.

If you don’t have to have the latest and greatest in every product line, the first-gen QuietComfort Ultra will be more than enough for the vast majority of people. They still offer exceptional noise-canceling, very good sound and a comfortable design. Bose’s “Immersive Audio” spatial sound feature can be a bit hit and miss, but with the right content it can be incredible. And while $329 is still a lot of money, $100 is a big saving on what were very recently the best Bose headphones you can buy.

Click here for our rolling coverage of the best Prime Day 2025 deals, which we’ll be updating as the event rolls on.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-bose-quietcomfort-ultra-headphones-are-100-off-for-prime-day-123043790.html?src=rss

Supreme Court denies Google’s request to pause Play Store changes while it appeals Epic case

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Google has failed to convince the Supreme Court to block the injunction requiring the company to make major changes to the Play Store after it lost its case with Epic Games. The Verge and Reuters have reported that the Supreme Court has denied the company’s request for a partial stay on the injunction while it prepares to appeal. In a tweet, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said that developers “will be legally entitled to steer US Google Play users to out-of-app payments without fees, scare screens and friction” starting on October 22. 

The Supreme Court has thrown out Google’s stay request. Starting October 22, developers will be legally entitled to steer US Google Play users to out-of-app payments without fees, scare screens, and friction – same as Apple App Store users in the US! https://t.co/yO1g1NqXt3 pic.twitter.com/S64YvQLyYM

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) October 6, 2025

If you’ll recall, Epic accused Google of having an illegal monopoly on app distribution and in-app billing services for Android devices in its lawsuit. A federal jury sided with Epic Games in December 2023 and concluded that it had been negatively affected by Google’s policies. Google tried to get the court’s decision overturned, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided to uphold the court’s original ruling in July this year. The company intends to file an appeal to the Supreme Court on October 27 and had petitioned it for a partial stay of the permanent injunction. 

Since the Supreme Court didn’t grant Google’s request, it now has to allow developers to use payment methods other than its own billing system without fees by the end of the month. The company has to allow developers to steer their customers to those payment systems and to link to ways on how to download their apps outside the Play Store. Google can no longer strike deals with carriers or manufacturers to ensure Google Play exclusivity and the preinstallation of the app store either. By July 2026, the company has to allow users to download other app stores within Google Play and to make Play’s catalog available to its competitors, as well. 

“Android provides more choice for users and developers than any mobile OS, and the changes ordered by the US District Court will jeopardize users’ ability to safely download apps,” Google spokesperson Dan Jackson told The Verge. “While we’re disappointed the order isn’t stayed, we will continue our appeal.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/supreme-court-denies-googles-request-to-pause-play-store-changes-while-it-appeals-epic-case-121502132.html?src=rss

50 years on and still family-owned, this is why Basso manufactures its carbon bikes in Italy

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I take a swig of beer as my eyes adapt to the darkness. My ears are still adjusting to the pounding four-to-the-floor beats pulsing from the speakers. 

Had I spawned here without any prior knowledge, I’d wager I was at a DIY electronic-music festival or some sort of illicit cycling-themed hilltop rave – I certainly wouldn’t guess I was at a Wednesday evening club ride. 

But Basso, as I’m about to find out over the next few days, takes great pride in doing things differently.

We’re at the summit of a short, steep stretch of road just above Bassano del Grappa, Italy, waiting for the weekly ‘Carbo Ride’ peloton to complete a timed mid-course hill climb. 

I’d wager your club ride doesn’t look like this. Basso

Basso flags flutter in the evening breeze. To my left, marketing and product manager Leonardo Basso leans against his Instagrammable company-branded Land Rover Defender, squinting into the night. 

“Here they come!” he exclaims as the first riders rip through the darkness in a blur of red and white light.

Participants congregate at the top – many straddling Basso bikes – chatting and comparing segment times. 

After this, it’s just a short cruise back into town for the hard-earned pay-off: refreshments and free pasta at Basso’s bustling community hub, Bassano Club House. It’s a fitting introduction, both to the brand and the town that fostered it.

Local knowledge

Basso’s Club House is the heart of the brand’s community Basso

Basso was born in Bassano almost 50 years ago, but unlike most brands, which outsource production to Asia as they grow bigger, Basso has doubled down on keeping operations local.

After a short but restful night’s sleep in one of the Club House’s five rooms (the Italians don’t do early nights), I meet CEO Alessandro Basso to find out more. 

As we drive the 10 minutes to the brand’s HQ, he talks me through the local riding in detail.

“There are lots of routes that go to Venice, to the seaside, to the beach,” he explains as we speed through emerald-green Italian countryside. “But Bassano is really the gateway to the mountains. When you go north, you have Monte Grappa and Asiago. Behind that, you can ride the Alps. Left and right, it’s all the wine country – smaller hills, rolling terrain. I mean, you don’t want a two-hour climb every day, do you?”

Crucially, Bassano and the surrounding areas have a bit of everything. 

MTB trails, gravel tracks, iconic Giro d’Italia climbs – this makes it the ideal setting for a local brand developing and testing new bikes. 

“There’s a big variety,” Alessandro agrees. “From a brand perspective, you can do everything from your doorstep when it comes to testing. There’s one particular MTB loop we use for this purpose. It’s a minute away from the office.”

For Basso, building bikes in Italy is about more than heritage. Basso

For Alessandro, building in Bassano is less about the perceived prestige of the ‘Made in Italy’ label and more about quality assurance.

“Made in Italy is important,” he explains. “But the most important thing is that we manage the whole supply chain of our bicycles. This way, we know exactly who put their hands on each and every product. 

“We know what time of the day it was, what the temperature was like, even the level of humidity. We know everything. This gives us complete control over the quality of every single bike we make, no matter what.”

Nerve centre

Basso is proud to keep its production close to home Basso

We pull up outside Basso’s head office and step inside. The brand already does everything locally, including carbon-fibre manufacture and painting. But the ultimate goal is to have everything housed under one roof. 

To achieve this, Alessandro is in the process of expanding the facility I’m standing in right now.

There’s already a brand-new warehouse, where bikes are assembled on the production line before being carefully boxed up to be shipped all over the world. 

“This one’s going to Canada,” Alessandro tells me, inspecting the shipping notes of one package. “And these are going to one of our distributors in Germany,” he says, scanning another.

“Each frame produced here is assigned a unique code,” Alessandro explains. “This allows it to be tracked through every stage of the production and pre-assembly process. It means we have complete traceability from start to finish.”

Past the towering stacks of boxes and rows of mechanics tinkering away lies a cavernous expanse of empty space. This, Alessandro tells me, will soon be home to Basso’s in-house carbon-fibre production unit, testing facility and paint room. “Like I said,” he reiterates, “the entire process from start to finish.”

The patriarch

Basso is still closely involved in the operations of his eponymous brand. Basso

To understand the Basso brothers’ vision for the future of the brand, it first helps to understand their father and company founder, Alcide Basso. 

When he founded the brand in 1977, it was just him – a teenager in a garage with some tubes and a few tools. But even then, the focus on quality and attention to detail was there.

I meet Alcide in the Bassano Club House. Like me, he’s fresh from Basso HQ, where he can still be found on an almost daily basis. 

When he’s not consulting on matters regarding the business, you might even catch him in the workshop, where he still builds the occasional Basso Viper frame – the only classic steel bicycle left in the company’s range.

Basso remains true to its original Italian manufacturing. Basso

I’ve spent the afternoon carefully preparing a set of questions for Alcide, but within seconds of him pulling up a chair and ordering a drink, it becomes apparent that this is going to be more of a strap-in-for-the-ride type of interview.

“This is the bible!” Alcide proclaims as he proudly flicks through a carefully preserved copy of the first-ever Basso catalogue. 

He stops at a page filled with complex diagrams detailing his own personal research into how different tube thicknesses react to varying levels of heat. 

“I wasn’t an engineer. I learned by making mistakes. I studied the materials, the welding, the microstructure. I had to understand what happened when you changed the thickness or temperature. That was the foundation of Basso – that’s what set us apart from the other Italian brands.”

Bicycles are in Alcide’s blood. His brother, Marino, was a world champion road racer, and he remembers growing up surrounded by cycling paraphernalia. 

“I liked working with the mechanical side of things, so when I was 18, I began welding frames.”

A meeting with Harry Hall changed the trajectory of the brand for good. Basso

Business was slow at first, but Alcide remembers the sale that started it all in 1978 – Harry Hall Cycles in Manchester. 

Alcide met the man himself at Milano Bike Show, and before he knew what was happening, Hall had taken it upon himself to visit Alcide’s garage in Bassano and watch a Basso frame being built. A week later, Alcide received an order for 35 bicycles.

“It’s just me! I can’t possibly make that many bicycles! But he told me he would wait for them, and he did.”

A distribution agreement with two key German suppliers kicked off the brand’s growth – and the rest, as they say, is history. Basso

That order helped take Basso to the next level, but it was when Alcide travelled to Germany to visit his other brother at university that things really kicked off. 

He knew there were plenty of high-end automotive marques headquartered nearby in Stuttgart. If German consumers appreciated a well-engineered car, perhaps they would also value a well-engineered bicycle. 

So, Alcide embarked on a full-blown German sales mission armed with his catalogue and a frame, determined to speak with anyone and everyone who might be interested. 

Eventually, it paid off when two colossal German sporting goods suppliers, Brügelmann and Stier, took an interest.

“We expanded operations, and after eight years, we were selling 5,000 frames a year in the UK and Germany alone,” Alcide says.

Core values continue

Basso remains family owned, and is proud of its roots in its hometown. Basso

No matter how big Basso gets, Alcide’s core values remain central. “Basso is a unique company,” he says. “Almost 50 years as a family business. Many other Italian companies have stopped or been sold to investors – we are still here.

“Now it is the second generation – my sons and my daughter – but the most important thing we transfer is attention to detail. Growth is one thing, but controlling quality alongside it is harder. We don’t just want to make more, more, more. We want to make better. That is why we control every detail ourselves.”

‘You can’t ride fast if you’re not comfortable’

The SV is Basso’s newest road bike. Basso

Basso has evolved with the times, without losing sight of its founding principles. The same is true of its bikes. 

The brand’s latest creation, the SV, is a prime example, fusing cutting-edge technology with a methodical approach to geometry, speed and comfort.

After wrapping up with Alcide in the Club House, I’ve got about five minutes to throw some kit on and take one out for an evening spin with his other son, Leonardo. 

The SV is a stunning bike – and comfortable. Basso

As we cruise out of Bassano and into the rolling hills to the west, Leonardo gives me the lowdown on the bike I’m riding.

“With high-end road bikes, you usually had two options – a bike designed for the pros, or an all-road bike,” he explains. “The middle ground wasn’t really developed. That’s where the SV comes in.

“We tried to understand who is buying these very expensive pro-level bikes. Naturally, most are not professional racers. So, the focus with Sempre Veloce was simple – you can’t ride fast if you’re not comfortable on the bike. We call the concept ‘performance comfort.’”

This is the first Basso road bike with a significantly sloping top tube. 

The stack is higher, the reach a little shorter, the tyre clearance a generous 35mm, and the wheelbase slightly longer, which gives more stability without losing responsiveness. 

As someone who rides a slammed road bike at home, my spine is grateful for the more practical geometry, but aesthetically, it still looks like a real race weapon. 

Angular lines, raw-carbon finish, narrow bars – proof that ‘comfortable’ isn’t always a synonym for ‘boring’.

Community matters

The Bassano Club House is the heart of the brand. Basso

As we coast back into town, I can see the famous Bassano del Grappa nightlife beginning to bloom. Under the warm glow of streetlights, Bassano Club House and its neighbouring bars are all bustling with activity. We grab the two remaining seats outside and order ourselves a well-earned beer. 

We’re not the only people who’ve popped in for a post-ride pint. The tables out front are occupied in equal parts by casual diners and sweat-streaked cyclists, helmet straps dangling freely. Inside, cleats clatter across tiled floors, and various Basso bikes hang resplendent on the walls. 

“People can come, they can stay here, they can hire a bike,” Leonardo says. “We also have a workshop, a kitchen and a retail space too.”

It’s a living extension of the Basso brand and a place for Bassano’s cycling community to come together. 

From Alcide’s garage in 1977 to the bustling Bassano Club House today, Basso has always been about more than bicycles. 

The frames may be lighter, faster and more advanced, but the spirit is unchanged: a family business rooted in its hometown, fuelled by community, and driven forward by the firm belief that the best bikes are built close to home.

Prime Day deals include the Google Pixel 9a for a new record low

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At its typical $499, the Google Pixel 9a is Engadget’s pick for the best mid-range phone. But when it’s $150 off, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better deal on any piece of tech. Right now, you can get Google’s budget-friendly phone for a record-low $349 thanks to Amazon Prime Day.

The Pixel 9a may lack the cutting-edge sizzle of ultra-premium phones that cost triple what you’ll pay here. But in return, you get strong performance, a sleek design, a robust battery that lasts over 28 hours and camera quality that rivals that of competitors costing $1,000 or more.

The phone has a simple design with an aluminum frame and a recycled polycarbonate back. It has an IP68 rating for solid protection against dust and water. On the front, you have a spacious 6.3-inch OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The screen’s brightness can reach an impressive 2,700 nits, matching the standard Pixel 9. Its resolution is a crisp 1080 x 2424 (422 PPI).

In Engadget’s tests, the Pixel 9a’s camera “preserved more details and produced a generally better-looking image” than the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s. (If you aren’t familiar, that’s a $1,300 phone.) The Pixel 9a does lack a dedicated telephoto lens. But Google has included the Super Res Zoom AI upscaling feature to help compensate for the loss.

Amazon’s deal includes all four colors available for the phone: obsidian, porcelain, peony and iris. There’s no guarantee stock will last through all of October Prime Day, so you may want to consider pouncing soon if this deal is for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/prime-day-deals-include-the-google-pixel-9a-for-a-new-record-low-120044455.html?src=rss

Prime Day deals include the Beats Pill for only $80

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Amazon Prime Day is officially here and bringing all-new low prices on some of our favorite speakers. That includes the Beats Pill, one of our picks for best portable Bluetooth speakers.  

Right now, you can get the Beats Pill for $80, down from $150. The 47 percent discount brings the speaker to $18 less than its July Prime Day price. Notably, like in July, only the Kim Kardashian branded version in light or dark grey is on sale. However, other than Kardashian holding the speaker in a product image, the devices are identical to other Beats Pills. 

Beats released the Pill in late 2024 after nearly a decade without a new portable speaker, and two years since it had discontinued the Pill+. We gave the 1.5-pound speaker an 83 in our review thanks to a huge increase in sound quality and double the battery (24 hours) of previous Beats speakers. It also offers lossless audio over USB-C, a durable build and IP67-rated water and dust resistance. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/prime-day-deals-include-the-beats-pill-for-only-80-114554645.html?src=rss