Everyone needs a hobby. And chances are there’s at least one person on your holiday shopping list who fancies themselves a musician. Whether they’re a casual synth noodler, a guitar virtuoso or a singer-songwriter we’ve got recommendations covering a range of price points. Some of these even make a great gift for music lovers who have been considering making the jump to music maker. Perhaps getting their first synth will kickstart a new obsession.

Soma Laboratory Ether

Fender Mustang Micro

Brand New Noise Spiro

Bastl Instruments Kastle Arp

Focusrite Scarlett Solo 4th Gen

Velcro One-Wrap Cable Ties

Samson Q2U USB Microphone

X-Protector Non Slip pad roll

Baby Audio Transit

Antares AutoTune Access

Arturia KeyLab Essential 49 mk3

Decksaver covers

Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us

Luvay Acoustic Guitar Pickup

Synthrotek Atari Punk Console DIY Kit

ValleyDesignsND Recording Sign

Puremagnetik Century Collection

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-gifts-for-music-lovers-160024143.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – The 17 best gifts for music lovers

Folks who are still sticking with Windows 10 (or who can’t install Windows 11 on their machine) may now be able to check out one of the most buzzed about features in years on their machine. Just a few days after Microsoft confirmed it would bring Copilot to Windows 10, users with eligible devices can install a Release Preview build that includes access to the generative AI-powered assistant.

You’ll need to be enrolled in the Windows Insider tester program to install the preview build and potentially try out Copilot on Windows 10 Home or Pro. There’s no guarantee you’ll get access to the chatbot immediately either. Microsoft says “It may take time for your device to be confirmed as eligible for Copilot on Windows so it may not show up right away.” To get swift access to Copilot when it’s confirmed your machine is eligible, Microsoft suggests turning on the ”Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” by going to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.

To run Copilot, your system will need at least 4GB of RAM and a display adapter that supports a resolution of at least 720p. Microsoft notes that the preview of the chatbot is only available in select markets (i.e. North America, and some areas of Asia and South America) for now, so you may be locked out on a geographical basis.

There are some other quirks that may preclude you from checking out Copilot on Windows 10. It won’t work if you position your taskbar on the left or right of your display. You’ll need to have the taskbar in a horizontal orientation. Copilot isn’t fully compatible with multi-monitor setups either. You’ll only see the icon on your primary display. In addition, Copilot won’t be available on Windows 10 Pro machines that are managed by an organization for the time being.

To fire up Copilot when it’s available on your device, click the icon that appears on the right side of the taskbar. Through the chatbot, you can ask questions, manage Windows features and interact with documents. As The Verge notes, Copilot works slightly differently on Windows 10, if only because some Windows 11 features aren’t available. Several key apps in the newer OS have their own generative AI-based features baked in.

It’s not exactly a major mystery as to why Microsoft is bringing Copilot to Windows 10. According to some estimates, Windows 10 still powers some 69 percent of Windows-based desktops, compared with the 26 percent or so that run Windows 11. That means hundreds of millions of PCs are still running Windows 10. If Microsoft can say Copilot is available on more than a billion computers (compared with the 400 million that are estimated to be running Windows 11), that could be more appealing to the company’s investors.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/windows-10-users-can-now-try-out-microsofts-copilot-ai-153316313.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Windows 10 users can now try out Microsoft’s Copilot AI

Nuclear research hub, the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), confirmed that it fell victim to a data breach on Tuesday. SiegedSec, a group of self-proclaimed “gay furry hackers,” took responsibility for the attack and claimed they accessed sensitive employee data like social security numbers, home addresses and more.

“We’re willing to make a deal with INL. If they research creating irl catgirls we will take down this post,” SiegedSec wrote in a post announcing the leak on Monday. 

The hacktivist group SiegedSec conducted a high profile attack on NATO last month, leaking internal documents as a retaliation against those countries for their attacks on human rights. The group commonly attacks government and affiliated organizations for political reasons, like targeting state governments for passing anti-trans legislation earlier this year.

While INL hasn’t responded to our request for comment yet, a spokesperson confirmed the breach to EastIdahoNews.com. “Idaho National Laboratory determined that it was the target of a cybersecurity data breach, affecting the servers supporting its Oracle HCM system, which supports its Human Resources applications,” the INL spokesperson said. The lab said it has reached out to authorities for help on how to proceed as it determines how to handle the breach. 

INL works as a Department of Energy affiliate researching nuclear reactors, among other projects like sustainable energy. It employs more than 5,000 people. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/self-proclaimed-gay-furry-hackers-breach-nuclear-lab-152034192.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Self-proclaimed ‘gay furry hackers’ breach nuclear lab

Android 14, the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system, arrived on October 4. Since then, it has slowly started rolling out to some newer phones, tablets and foldables. Android 14’s user-facing enhancements broadly fall into four categories: accessibility, customization, privacy and security. Below, is a list of all of the update’s biggest features, along with instructions on how to access and enable them.

To compile this how-to, I used a Pixel 8, so what follows reflects how things are done on stock Android. On some phones and tablets, certain options may be located in other parts of the operating system or require a slightly different process to turn on. Even if that’s the case, the instructions here should help you find your way around.

And if you want to find out when (or if) Android 14 will arrive on your device, check out our dedicated guide. In short, many manufacturers, including OnePlus and Nothing, are still finalizing their first stable Android 14 builds, and they may need more time to complete bug and quality assurance testing.

At the bottom of this how-to, you will also find information about Google’s ongoing QPR betas, which include bug fixes and enhancements the company is testing ahead of its first Android 14 Pixel Feature Drop.

Accessibility

Flash notifications

New to Android 14 are flash notifications, a feature that allows the OS to trigger your phone’s camera flash or brighten the screen when notifications arrive or an alarm goes off. This is particularly helpful to people who may be hard of hearing. Previously, support for flash notifications was spotty on Android, with some manufacturers – most notably Samsung – offering it while others did not.

Users can enable flash notifications from their device’s Settings menu. Swipe down from the top of your phone’s screen to access the Notification Shade, then swipe down again to expand the Quick Settings. Tap the cog icon on the bottom of right of the screen to access the main Settings menu. From there, tap “Notifications,” then “Flash notifications.”

Two toggles allow you to enable camera and screen flashes independently of one another, and, if you tap “Screen flash,” you can also tweak the color of the flash, with Pixel phones offering 12 different options.

Improved support for hearing aids

Flash notifications aren’t the only new Android 14 feature for those who may be hard of hearing. In Android 13 and prior, Google grouped hearing aids in with other Bluetooth devices. Now, the former have their own dedicated page within Android 14’s settings.

To access the page, open the Settings app, scroll down and tap “Accessibility,” then scroll down and tap “Hearing devices.” Here you will find an option for pairing new hearing aids with your phone, and a toggle that allows you to add dedicated shortcuts for said device. On Pixel devices, users can both add an accessibility button that lives on the side of their phone’s screen, and configure the volume buttons so that when you hold down both, your phone will take you directly to the hearing devices menu. There’s also a toggle that Google notes should improve compatibility with telecoils and reduce unwanted noise.

Larger fonts

For visually impaired users, Google has added support for larger fonts and smarter scaling. On Pixel devices, Android can now make text up to 200 percent larger where before the maximum was 130 percent. The new system is built around non-linear scaling, so text that is already big – such as titles and headings – won’t increase in size as much as other, smaller elements.

To increase the size of text and interface elements on your phone, open the Settings menu, then tap “Display,” followed by “Display size and text.” In addition to two sliding scales that allow you to change the size of fonts and everything on screen, this page features two toggles that you can turn on to bold all text and enable high contrast fonts.

The first time you tweak your phone’s font size settings, Android 14 will automatically add a font size settings option to the final page of the quick settings menu. You can access this menu by swiping down from the top of your phone’s screen to bring down the notification shade. Swipe down again to see the full quick settings menu. To edit the order in which menu items appear, tap the pencil icon that appears when the full quick settings menu is on screen, and then hold and drag the tiles you wish to move.

Better pinch to zoom functionality

In addition to more robust font scaling, Android 14 features a redesigned magnifier tool that allows users to quickly customize how much of the screen they’d like to see enlarged. The panel offers four different magnifier sizes and the option to enable diagonal scrolling. It also includes a scale you can use to increase or decrease the zoom level. To enable the panel, open the Settings menu, tap “Accessibility” followed by “Magnification. As with flash notifications, you can bind the magnifier tool to an on screen accessibility button or both volume buttons.

Customization

More wallpaper and lock screen customization

Although technically not new to Android 14, it’s more than likely that the two wallpaper features Google previewed at I/O 2023 will arrive on most non-Pixel handsets alongside Android 14. The new features allow users to create custom wallpapers with up to 14 of their favorite emoji or with the help of a built-in AI image generator.

The new customization settings are accessible directly from the homescreen. Long press the home screen and tap the top option, “Wallpaper & style” to open the relevant menu. From there, you can find the new AI and Emoji wallpaper options by tapping “More wallpapers.” Both options are situated at the top of the interface.

The AI option has a few limitations worth keeping in mind. To start, you must select a theme. As of this article, there are 12 on offer. Additionally, Google doesn’t currently allow you to write a prompt from scratch. Instead, each theme comes with a few parameters that the user can define, and here again the options are limited to the ones Google gives you.

The new lock screen customization options are accessible from the top of the “Wallpaper & style” screen. Tap “Lock screen,” and then drag your finger or thumb either left or right to scroll through the different options. To tweak the color and size of the clock, tap “Clock color & size.” For additional tweaks, including the new option to add up to two shortcuts to your phone’s lock screen, scroll down the interface.

Regional preferences

If you’re an American who lives abroad (or a foreigner who finds themselves frequently visiting the US), Android 14 allows users to set system-wide preferences for whether apps should display temperatures in Celsius or Fahrenheit or treat Sunday or Monday as the start of the week. Additionally, once you set those preferences, Android 14 knows to carry them over between backups. Separately, the OS offers more robust support for gendered languages like French and German.

To set your regional preferences, open the Settings menu, tap “System,” then “Languages,” followed by “Regional preferences.” When I sat down to write this story, searching for “Regional preferences” using the Settings app’s built-in search feature did not point me in the right direction. If you run into a similar issue, follow the menu flow described above.

Privacy and security

Data protection

Android 14 makes it easier to see how advertisers and other third parties are using your data – and thereby decide if you want to restrict your app permissions – with a new monthly notification that details any data sharing changes the apps on your phone may have made in the past 30 days. You don’t need to enroll in these to start seeing them, though a footnote on Google’s website notes this feature is only available for certain apps.

End of support for older apps

Android 14 doesn’t allow users to install apps that make use of application programming interfaces (APIs) that date back to and before Android 5.1. Google’s reasoning for this is that a lot of malware programs target vulnerabilities found in older and outdated APIs. In practice, this is mostly likely to affect older games that haven’t been updated in more than a few years. That said, if you have a Lollipop era app or game installed on your phone when you go to download Android 14, it will continue to work even after your phone starts running the new OS.

More nuanced photo and video sharing

Borrowing a page from iOS, Android 14 adds more nuanced sharing options for photos and videos. Now, when an app requests access to your media files, you can choose to give it access to all, none or only some of your photos and videos. Previously, this was an all or nothing proposition. You should see a new prompt reflecting the redesigned permissions the first time an app asks for access to your photos and videos.

If at any point you change your mind, you can review all of your app permissions from the Settings app. After opening the menu, tap “Apps,” then tap the name of the program you want to review (you may need to tap “See all apps” to find the specific one you’re looking for), followed by “Permissions” and then “Photos and videos.” If you plan to change the permissions for more than one app, there’s a helpful “See all apps with this permission” option that will appear toward the bottom.

Separately, Google has also tweaked Android’s Share Sheet. With Android 14, developers can add custom share targets to the interface, and the OS can pull in more app data to better inform the priority of actions. In theory, this should make the Share Sheet more consistently useful.

PIN enhancements

With Android 14, the humble pin has received a pair of enhancements. First, there’s a new option that allows you to disable the animation that plays on the lock screen when you input your PIN. In theory, this should make it harder for onlookers to spy your code. Second, there’s a new auto-confirm option that makes it so you don’t need to tap “Ok” after tying out your PIN, thereby reducing the time it takes to open your phone. For security reasons, this is only available with six-digit PINs.

Both options are found in the “Enhanced PIN privacy” section of the “Security” settings menu. The auto-confirm unlock is enabled by default when you set a six-digit PIN.

Everything else

Battery life

Android 14 doesn’t include any tentpole battery-related features like Marshmallow did with Doze. Nonetheless, Google claims the OS should be less of a power hog, thanks to refinements the company made to how the software handles background tasks, downloads and uploads.

Health Connect integration

In late 2022, Google released Health Connect, a platform it jointly developed with Samsung to enable health and fitness apps to more easily share data between one another without compromising on user privacy. With Android 14, Health Connect is integrated directly within the operating system’s Settings. It’s accessible from the “Privacy” page of the dashboard.

Ultra HDR

Lastly, Android 14 includes built-in support for Google’s new Ultra HDR picture format. The format embeds a high dynamic range tone map directly within the metadata of an image. On devices with HDR-compatible displays, Google says Ultra HDR will produce images with more vibrant colors and contrast. The nifty thing about the format is that it’s fully backward compatible with most devices. thanks to the fact it makes use of the .jpg extension. On devices with SDR displays, the viewer will see a regular SDR image.

What about the next two Pixel Feature Drops?

As mentioned above, Google is currently conducting two quarterly platform release (QPR) betas. For the uninitiated, these see the company testing tweaks that will eventually arrive as part of future Pixel Feature Drops. Google is expected to release the first one before the end of the year and the one after that in March. You can take part in the QPR1 and QPR2 betas by enrolling in the Android Beta for Pixel program.

Once the first Android 14 Pixel Feature Drop arrives, I’ll update this article to detail what’s new – since the release timing of specific features can change. In the meantime, what follows is a non-exhaustive list of the changes Google has been testing. Credit for spotting many of these goes to former XDA Developers reporter Mishaal Rahman.

QPR1

The highlight of the first beta is a redesigned “Software updates” page that is easier to find and brings together system, app and Play Store updates in one place. Considering the amount of taps it currently takes to manually check for updates, this is a welcome change.

Another notable enhancement sees Google tweaking the Pixel’s built-in Clock app to add weather information to the world clock page. This change is carried over to the app’s optional widgets.

QPR2

As for the second beta, the highlight here is a per-app screen recording option. This is a change Google has been teasing for a while, and it looks like it’s finally on its way early next year. Elsewhere, QPR2 adds an outline to the volume slider, making it easier to see just how loud your phone is at any given moment. Some people have also reported that QPR2 reduces the amount of time it takes to install software updates anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/android-14-googles-release-dates-new-features-and-everything-else-you-need-to-know-150057490.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Android 14: Google’s release dates, new features and everything else you need to know

Black Friday is right around the corner, but we wouldn’t blame you if you’ve felt like it’s been here for quite some time already. As its name suggests, Black Friday has typically been a one-day affair that’s brought limited-time deals across a wide range of products — including consumer tech. But the past couple of years have brought Black Friday deals earlier and earlier to the internet, and this year is no different. Amazon, Target, Best Buy and Walmart and several other retailers kicked off their Black Friday deals painfully early, with some starting as soon as late October. If you’re overwhelmed by the amount of discounts showing up in your feeds, you’re not alone.

To help, we at Engadget have collected the best Black Friday deals on tech that we could find thus far. Plenty of our favorite gadgets that we’ve tested and reviewed as of late are on sale, so these are the best Black Friday deals on the best tech you can buy for 2023. It’s possible we’ll see some additional price drops on Black Friday proper, but that likelihood becomes less and less as we get close to the actual day. We’ll be updating our list regularly in the lead-up to Black Friday, so check back to catch all of the latest Black Friday deals.

Apple iPad (9th Gen)

Apple’s 9th-gen iPad is down to a new low of $230 at Amazon and Target. This is the budget pick in our iPad buying guide, and it earned a review score of 86 in 2021. It’s the last iPad to use Apple’s old design language, so it has thick bezels, a Lightning port, a Home button and a non-laminated display. This variant also comes with a paltry 64GB of storage. At this price, though, it’s hard to do better if all you want is a large screen for streaming video, playing games and browsing the web. Its 10.2-inch display remains a step up from cheaper slates, its A13 Bionic chip is plenty fast for casual media consumption and its battery still lasts around 10 hours per charge. Most importantly, it’s the cheapest route into Apple’s huge app library, customer support and years of software updates. If you need more storage space, the 256GB model is also down to a low of $380.

Apple AirTags

A four-pack of Apple’s AirTags have dropped to $80, which is just about $5 more than the pack’s record-low price. If you’re unfamiliar, AirTags are small Bluetooth trackers that you can keep in your bag or luggage or attach to items like your keys so you can keep track of their location. The only catch is that these only work with Apple devices as their host device, so Android users will have to pick a tracker from another brand to get similar benefits. AirTags connect to Apple’s Find My network, so you can see where your stuff is in that app and even force the gadgets to ring so you can more easily find your belongings (if you’re within close proximity).

Apple Watch Series 9

The new Apple Watch Series 9 has dropped to $329 at Amazon, Walmart and Target in a Black Friday deal. That’s $70 off its usual price and the lowest we’ve seen since it debuted in September. That’s the price you’ll pay for the 41mm model, but the 45mm models are now down to $359 with the same $70 discount. The Series 9 took the crown of the best smartwatch you can get right now in our guide thanks to its new S9 SiP that brings slightly speedier performance and on-device Siri processing, the new Double Tap feature and other improvements.

Apple Watch SE

The Apple Watch SE has dropped to a record low of $179 for Black Friday, which is $70 off its usual price. It may not have all of the advanced health tracking features of the Series 9, but the SE has all of the basics you’d want in a smartwatch, including smart notifications, all-day activity tracking and perks like Fall and Crash Detection and Emergency SOS. If you’re looking for a good entry-point into the Apple Watch space, or a gift for someone who has never worn a smartwatch before, the Apple Watch SE is a great option.

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen)

The latest version of Apple’s AirPods Pro is back on sale for $190 at Amazon, Target and Best Buy. That matches an all-time low and comes in $60 below the pair’s usual going rate. The AirPods Pro are the “best for iOS” pick in our wireless earbuds buying guide thanks to their easy pairing and deep integration with Apple devices. Effective active noise cancellation (ANC), a superb transparency mode and a pleasingly warm sound profile help as well, as does a new “adaptive audio” mode that can adjust the earphones’ noise control settings based on your surroundings. That said, their battery life is just average at six-ish hours per charge, and you really have to use an iPhone to get anything out of them. 

We gave the Lightning-based version of the second-generation AirPods Pro a review score of 88 last year; this new iteration is almost identical, only it comes with a USB-C charging case and has a higher IP54 dust-resistance rating. If you don’t care about the updated charging port, note that the older Lightning version will be on sale for $169 at Walmart on November 22.

Apple AirPods (3rd Gen)

The third-gen Apple AirPods are back down to $140 at Amazon and Best Buy, matching the lowest price we’ve seen. Typically, the wireless earbuds have retailed between $10 and $20 higher over the past few months. We gave these AirPods a review score of 88 back in 2021: You can get better-sounding and more featured earbuds for much less, but if you’re an iPhone owner who hates the feeling of traditional in-ear headphones, it might suit you well. It has a mostly balanced sound despite its unsealed design, and it gets the usual AirPods conveniences like hands-free Siri, Find My device tracking and quick pairing with other Apple gadgets. Just don’t expect much in the way of deep bass or noise cancellation, as is the case with all earbuds with an “open” design.

Apple iPad Air

The iPad Air M1 is back down to a record low of $500 right now ahead of Black Friday. All color options are discounted. The Air is still the best iPad for most people at the moment, although we expect to see a fresh lineup with the latest M-series processor debut early next year. However, if you want a new iPad immediately, the Air offers speedy performance, good battery life, a slim design and Apple Pencil 2 support.

Apple iPad (10th gen)

The 10th-generation iPad is down to its lowest price ever at Amazon and Target. The 64GB model is just $349 for Black Friday in all four colors. That’s $100 off and $30 less than the previous low. We gave the revamped standard iPad an 85 in our review. Compared to the 9th-gen model, the new version ditches the Home button and comes with a larger, 10.9-inch display. The front-facing camera is now on the landscape edge, which is much more convenient for video calls, though the tablet (for some reason) still only works with the first generation Apple Pencil.

Apple M2 Mac Mini

Apple’s M2-powered Mac Mini desktops are also discounted for Black Friday: The 256GB model has dropped to $500 at Best Buy, while the 512GB model is on sale for $690 at Amazon with a clippable coupon. Though we expect an upgrade to the new M3 chip at some point over the next year, the current model is still a great option if you want a speedy desktop that runs macOS. It earned a score of 86 in our review, and it has a headphone jack, a Gigabit Ethernet port, two USB-A connectors, two Thunderbolt 4 USB-Cs and an HDMI 2.0 port.

Apple MacBook Pro M3

Apple released its its new M3-powered MacBook Pros just before Halloween, but the new notebooks are already on sale at Amazon, B&H and Best Buy. The entry-level 14-inch variant with the base M3 chip, 8GB of memory and 512GB of storage is $1,449, or $150 off Apple’s list price. We note in our review that the M3 chip may quickly begin to push the limits of what 8GB of RAM can handle, though. If you can afford to step up to a model with more memory, note that a version with Apple’s M3 Pro chip and 18GB of RAM is also $200 off at $1,799. An M3 Pro version of the larger 16-inch Pro, meanwhile, is $200 off at $2,299.

Hulu Black Friday deal

Hulu’s Black Friday deal is a great one for anyone who has not subscribed to the ad-supported tier yet. You’ll get one year of the service for only $12, which comes out to just $1 per month. That’s 85 percent off the standard monthly price and a great deal if you’ve been wanting to see what all the hype is about for shows like The Bear and Only Murders in the Building. The deal is available to new subscribers, and returning subscribers who have not been paying for Hulu for at least one month.

Dyson Airwrap

The coveted Dyson Airwrap is down to the cheapest price we’ve ever seen, just $480 when you clip the $20 coupon on Amazon’s product page. This hair tool uses the Coanda effect to keep air flowing around its barrel, helping you style your hair more easily. It also maintains a safe temperature for hair, resulting in less damage overall. You’re getting a number of accessories with this Airwrap bundle as well, including two differently sized barrels, separate brushes for soft or firm smoothing, a Coanda smoothing dryer and more.

Samsung Galaxy S23 smartphones

The entire Samsung Galaxy S23 smartphone lineup is on sale for Black Friday: you can grab the S23 Ultra for $900, the S23+ for $800 or the S23 for $700. These are some of the best Android phones you can get right now, and we recommend springing for the S23 Ultra if you’re able to. It has a big, bold 6.8-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a total of five cameras and a built-in S Pen. It also has an impressive battery life thanks to its 5,000 mAh cell.

Shark AI Ultra 2-in-1 robot vacuum and mop

Shark’s AI Ultra combo robot vacuum and mop is $300 off and down to its lowest price yet. It’s one of our favorite robot vacuums and a solid combo machine that will vacuum and mop for you, provided you change out its dustbin and water reservoir depending on the type of cleaning job you want it to do. It supports obstacle avoidance and home mapping, plus it comes with a self-emptying base that the machine utilizes during vacuuming jobs. The base is also bagless, so you do not have to worry about purchasing proprietary garbage bags for it over time.

Kobo Clara 2E

The Kobo Clara 2E ereader is down to $120 for Black Friday, which is $20 off its usual rate. This is the top pick in our ereader guide thanks in part to its design that makes it comfortable to use for long periods of time, its IPX8 water resistance, warm front light and lack of ads. The latter is noteworthy because it’s something you can only get on Amazon’s Kindles if you pay extra to remove ads. The Clara 2E comes with 16GB of storage, plenty to hold thousands of titles, and it integrates directly with Overdrive, making it super easy to borrow and download books from your local library.

Ember Smart Mugs

Ember Smart Mugs are down to record-low prices for Black Friday — you can pick up a 10-ounce mug for as low as $90, or a 14-ounce cup for as low as $110. These make great gifts for anyone on your list who may be otherwise hard to shop for, provided they enjoy a hot beverage every now and then. When used with their companion app, these mugs can keep drinks at an optimal temperature for up to 80 minutes, or even longer if the cup is kept on its charging coaster.

TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug Mini

The smart plug we recommend for most homes is TP-Link’s Kasa Smart Plug mini. A four-pack is on sale for $35 which is about $3 more than it sold for during Amazon’s October Prime day sale, :but still a decent $15 savings. Plugs like these are a simple way to add some smart capabilities to any home, letting you turn on lights with just your voice, set automated schedules and routines that are triggered by other activities. These would make a great stocking stuffer for anyone you know who’s curious about smart home connectivity but hasn’t yet taken the plunge.

Xbox gift card

You can pick up a $50 Xbox gift card for $45 right now at Amazon and Target, a digital item that would make a good gift for a gamer who’s otherwise hard to shop for. This card can be used on a number of things, including game downloads, in-game purchases, membership costs like Xbox Game Pass and more. If you or a loved one is loyal to a different console, there are other digital gift cards on sale, too. A $70 PlayStation Plus gift card is going for $63 right now, while a 12-month Nintendo Switch Family plan is slightly discounted from $35 to $32.

TP-Link Deco EX75 Wi-Fi 6E mesh router

TP-Link’s Deco EX75 mesh router system with two beacons is $100 off and down to a record low of $200. This is our top pick for a Wi-Fi 6 mesh router system, and the two-pack should cover up to 5,500 square feet with stable connectivity. When we tested the three-pack, we were impressed by how well the system balances power with user friendliness. Its network is reliable and fast, and its companion app is easy to use and clearly shows you things like all of the devices connected to your network, current speeds and more.

Xbox Series X

The Xbox Series X bundled with Diablo IV is down to $439 from Walmart. The console itself has a list price of $500 and the game is typically listed between $40 and $70, so this is like getting a $60 discount on the console plus a free copy of the huge action-RPG. If you’re a frequent Target shopper, note that the retailer is selling this same bundle with a $75 store gift card for $450. 

Xbox Series S

A starter bundle that includes a 512GB capacity Xbox Series S and a three-month subscription to Game Pass Ultimate is currently $240 at Microsoft. The console by itself has a list price of $300 and three months of access to Xbox’s service will set you back $51 after this year’s price hike (though the first month is often just $1 for new members).

Anker accessories sale

A slew of Anker chargers, cables, power adapters and other accessories are on sale for Black Friday at Amazon, with discounts ranging up to 37 percent. The deals extend to our favorite premium power bank, Anker’s Prime 20,000 mAH battery with charging base, which is $130 for the set and its lowest price ever. 

One of the company’s 67W USB-C chargers is 37 percent off, bringing it to $38 and matching its all-time low. Our top 65W fast wall charger, Anker’s 735 GaNPrime, is down to a new low price after a 38 percent discount. And the Anker Nano Power Bank is seeing one of its first discounts since coming on the market a couple months ago.

Meta Quest 2 VR headset

The Meta Quest 2 VR headset is $50 off and down to $249 at several retailers. That matches the best price we’ve seen. At Target and Amazon, you can get the device with a $50 gift card as well. Despite the launch of the impressive Quest 3, we still consider the Quest 2 to be one of the best VR headsets available right now — precisely because of its more affordable price. It’s still the best way to jump into VR without spending a ton of money, and the Quest 2 has the perks of being completely cordless and comfortable to wear for long sessions. The hardware includes fast-switching LCDs with a smooth 90Hz refresh rate, and it comes with Meta’s sold motion controllers.

Roku Streaming Stick 4K

Roku’s Black Friday sale knocks the price of its Streaming Stick 4K down to $30 at Amazon and its own online store. That represents a 40 percent discount. The Streaming Stick 4K is one of the best streaming devices available right now thanks to its support for all the major HDR formats, Dolby Vision and AirPlay 2, among other features. Roku’s TV interface remains super user-friendly, and this dongle also supports private listening with headphones paired to your smartphone via Roku’s companion app.

Sonos Black Friday sale

Sonos has kicked off its Black Friday sale for the year, bringing a range of discounts on smart speakers and home theater gear. The deals include the flagship Sonos Arc soundbar down to $719, which is a $180 discount. The mid-range Sonos Beam (Gen 2) and the more basic Sonos Ray are also on sale for $399 and $223, respectively; that’s a $100 drop for the former and a $56 drop for the latter. All three devices are recommendations in our guide to the best soundbars. In other home theater deals, the Sonos Sub (Gen 3) subwoofer is $160 off at $639, while the more compact Sonos Sub Mini is $86 off at $343.

Elsewhere, the Sonos Roam portable speaker is down to $134 from its usual $179, while the Sonos Roam SL — which is effectively the same device sans built-in microphones — is down to $119 from its usual $159. For a smart home speaker, the Sonos Era 100 is $50 off at $199. We highlight the Roam and Era 100 in our guide to the best smart speakers. For those looking to add Sonos functionality to existing audio gear, the Sonos Amp is now $599, a $100 discount, while the Sonos Port is now $399, a $50 discount.

You can read our reviews of the Arc, Beam, Ray, Roam and Era 100 for more details on what to expect from those devices. Generally speaking, we like Sonos speakers for delivering relatively clean and balanced sound and a straightforward app that lets you connect to numerous music services. Their main appeal, however, is their ability to link up with the company’s other devices in one connected audio system. Deals on any Sonos gear are fairly uncommon, so this is a good chance to save if you’re looking to build out your own system. Sonos says this sale will run through November 27.

Google Nest Thermostat

Google’s Nest Thermostat is on sale for $90 right now, which is $40 off and close to a record low. It’s a pared-down version of the Nest Learning Thermostat, but it has plenty of smart features and should help you save on energy costs over time. This model is Energy Star-certified and will automatically turn temperatures down in your home when you leave the house, and you can adjust heating and cooling schedules from your phone.

Google Pixel 8 Pro

Google’s latest flagship smartphones are up to $200 off for Black Friday, including the Pixel 8 Pro, which you can snag for $799. The standard Pixel 8 is as low as $549 depending on the storage capacity you choose as well. These are the best Android phones available right now thanks to some substantial upgrades Google brought to each handset this time around. They both have upgraded Tensor G3 processors, vivid OLED displays with 120Hz refresh rates, excellent cameras and solid battery lives.

Google Pixel Buds Pro

The Google Pixel Buds Pro are on sale for $115 at Wellbots. That’s the best price we’ve ever seen on what we consider to be the best wireless earbuds for Android users. Google learned from its previous generations of earbuds and made the best model yet with the Pros; they have improved sound quality, a comfortable design with reliable touch controls and good noise cancellation and battery life.

Google Pixel Tablet

The Google Pixel Tablet is on sale for an all-time low of $399 at several retailers, including Amazon, Target, Best Buy and Google’s own online store. That’s $100 off the 11-inch slate’s list price and $10 less than the deal we saw during Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days sale last month. We gave the Pixel Tablet a review score of 85 earlier this year: Its crisp LCD display, clean software and solid Tensor G2 chip make it a solid Android tablet in its own right, but its biggest selling point is the charging speaker dock that comes with it. Plop the Pixel Tablet onto that and it becomes a Nest Hub Max-style smart display and smart home hub. This deal applies to the base model with 128GB of storage, but the 256GB version is also $100 off at $499.

iRobot Roomba Combo j5+

You can save $300 on the Roomba Combo j5+ robot vacuum and mop at Amazon, spending $500 for the machine and its self-emptying base. The more affordable Roomba 694 is $115 off as well. The Combo machine lets you vacuum and mop with one machine and it comes with a base into which the vacuum dustbin will empty its contents after every job. The cheaper Roomba 694 is one of the best robovacs for people on a budget thanks to its slim design, strong suction power and easy-to-use mobile app.

Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro

Breville’s Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is 29 percent off and down to $320 for Black Friday. That’s the best price we’ve seen since the start of this year on one of our favorite air fryers. This Breville machine is much more than an air fryer, though — it has 13 cooking functions and a capacity that can handle a full turkey, so it’s more like a mini convection oven that sits on your countertop. It’s best for people who love to cook and have big families, or those who maybe don’t have a traditional oven and want a versatile (and relatively small) appliance for their kitchen.

Fitbit Charge 6

Fitbit’s newest fitness tracker, the Charge 6, is $60 off right now and down to a record low of $100. It’s the follow-up to one of our favorite fitness trackers, the Fitbit Charge 5, and it brings back the physical side button that previous generations had and integrates even more with Google services. It has an AMOLED touchscreen that displays all of your activity stats and smart notifications, a built-in GPS for mapping outdoor workouts, a week-long battery life and the ability to display turn-by-turn directions on its screen from Google Maps.

Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite

Amazon’s most affordable Fire TV Stick is down to $16 for Black Friday, which is only $1 more than its record-low price. You’ll find decent discounts across most of the Fire TV lineup right now — including a $20 discount on the new Fire TV Stick 4K Max — and this model is the cheapest of the bunch. It supports HD video as well as most major streaming services, plus it comes with a pared-down version of the Alexa voice remote. If you want the most powerful dongle that Amazon makes with support for 4K HDR content and Wi-Fi 6, you’ll have to spend $40 for the new Fire TV 4K Max.

Sony WH-1000XM5

The Sony WH-1000XM5 is down to $328 at Amazon, B&H and others. Though this isn’t an all-time low, it’s about $70 off Sony’s list price and $20 lower than the headphones’ usual recurring sale price. The XM5 is the top recommendation in our guide to the best wireless headphones, as it offers a comfortable design, powerful ANC, crisp call quality and 30 or so hours of battery life. It also comes with a number of useful bonus features such as “Speak to Chat,” which automatically pauses your music when you start talking to somebody else. By default, its bass-heavy sound plays well with hip-hop and EDM, though you can easily customize the EQ curve through Sony’s app. We gave the XM5 a score of 95 in our review last year.

Sony WF-1000XM5

Sony’s WF-1000XM5, meanwhile, is the top choice in our guide to the best wireless earbuds, and it’s now down to a new low of $248 at Amazon, B&H and other retailers. Several other retailers have it for $2 more. Normally, these noise-canceling earphones go for $300. Like the over-ear XM5, this in-ear model delivers excellent ANC (with strong passive isolation), loads of helpful features and a warm sound that’s fun out of the box but can be customized if needed. Battery life is decent at seven or eight hours per charge and, notably, the design is lighter, smaller and altogether more comfortable than past Sony earbuds. The WF-1000XM5 earned a score of 87 in our review this past July.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra 

The latest flagship noise-cancelling headphones from Bose, the QuietComfort Ultra is seeing a $50 discount at Amazon, Walmart and Bose direct, among others. These headphones debuted last month and retail for $429 at full price. One of our concerns in our review was that higher MSRP, so this deal takes some of the sting out of the purchase. We found this pair to offer exceptional ANC, a comfortable fit and sound quality that has more bass plus “increased clarity and enhanced warmth” compared to previous generations of the QC cans. 

Anker Soundcore Space A40

The Anker Soundcore Space A40 is down to $54 for Black Friday, matching the lowest price we’ve seen. This is the top pick in our guide to the best budget wireless earbuds: It’s comfortable, it supports wireless charging and multi-device pairing, it can last up to 10 hours a charge and its ANC is remarkably effective for a sub-$100 pair. Its bassy sound should please most by default, but it can also be customized through a clean companion app. The only big negatives are its middling call quality and lack of wear detection.

Dyson Black Friday deals

Dyson Black Friday deals include a $200 discount on the Dyson V15 Detect Absolute, bringing the cordless vacuum down to $550. It’s hard to tell if this is a record-low price, but considering the standard V15 Detect is going for between $650 and $750 across the internet, we consider this to be a good deal. In addition to its strong cleaning power, the V15 Detect has a laser-powered optic cleaner head that illuminates the floor before you as you’re cleaning so you can see dust and grime more clearly. It also has a piezo sensor, which sizes and counts dust particles as you clean and shows you that information on its LCD display.

Amazon Echo Black Friday sale

Almost the entirety of Amazon’s Echo speaker lineup is on sale for Black Friday, with most bundled alongside a TP-Link Kasa smart bulb for no extra cost. The offers include the Echo Dot back at an all-time low of $23, the Echo Dot with Clock for $35 (a $25 discount), the standard Echo within $5 of its all-time low at $55, the larger Echo Studio for $155 and the entry-level Echo Pop back at its Prime Day price of $18.

Of those, the Echo Dot and base Echo are likely your best bets — the former is the “best under $50” recommendation in our smart speaker buying guide, while the latter is our “best under $100” pick. The Echo Studio is still decent if you want better audio quality, though it’s harder to recommend when the Sonos Era 100 is also on sale, while the Echo Pop is essentially a weaker-sounding Echo Dot for only a few bucks less. But if you’re building a smart home around Alexa, each device offers similar functionality.

Amazon Echo Show Black Friday sale

Along those lines, most of Amazon’s Echo Show smart displays are also discounted. The recently updated Echo Show 8, for one, is on sale for a new low of $105, while the smaller 5.5-inch Echo Show 5 is back down to an all-time low of $40. Those two typically retail for $150 and $70, respectively. Again, both devices come bundled with a free LED smart bulb. You can also get an Echo Show 5 with a Ring Video Doorbell for $65.

The Echo Show 8 is the top Alexa pick in our guide to the best smart displays; compared to the Echo Show 5, it packs a better screen, richer speakers and a much sharper camera for video calls. But if you want something closer to a smart alarm clock for your nightstand, the smaller display still delivers most of the same Alexa smarts. If you want a larger panel, the rotating 10.1-inch Echo Show 10 is $90 off at $160 as well. We gave that one a score of 83 back in 2021, though our review found the Echo Show 8 to be a better value for most.

Google Nest Hub

If you’re partial to the Google Assistant, Google’s Nest Hub is also on sale for $50 at Target and Walmart. That’s $10 higher than its all-time low but still $50 off Google’s list price. The Nest Hub is the top overall pick in our smart display buying guide, and we gave it a review score of 89 back in 2021. It has a 7-inch screen, so it’s a bit bigger than the Echo Show 5 but should still be compact enough to fit neatly in a bedroom or small office. While it lacks a built-in camera, that may be a selling point for those who especially sensitive to their privacy (though no smart display is truly privacy-conscious).

Ultimately, whether it’s worth getting a Nest Hub or Echo Show depends on what services you use: If you own a bunch of Nest devices and depend on apps like Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Photos, Google’s display will make sense. If you want a larger model with a webcam and stronger speakers, the 10-inch Nest Hub Max is also on sale for $129.

Samsung T9 SSD

The latest Samsung T9 portable SSD is on sale for $110 right now for a 1TB drive, which is the best price it’s been since it came out last month. You can snag this Black Friday deal from Amazon or Samsung directly. The T9 is the newest iteration of Samsung’s popular portable drive that we’ve long been fans of, and it supports read and write speeds of up to 2,000 MB/s. It also has dynamic thermal guard to prevent overheating, plus it comes with a USB-C to C and USB-C to A cords so you can use it with a variety of devices.

Samsung microSD card sale

If you need a new microSD card for your Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck or GoPro, a trio of Samsung microSD cards we recommend are also down their lowest prices to date. The 128GB version of the Samsung Pro Plus is down to $11 at Amazon, B&H, Best Buy and others, while the 256GB and 512GB models are down to $18 and $32, respectively. Beyond that, the 256GB Samsung Evo Select is on sale for a new low of $15 and the 256GB Samsung Pro Ultimate is available for $25.

The Pro Plus is the top overall pick in our microSD card buying guide, as it consistently ranked among the fastest cards we tested despite its relatively affordable price tag. The Pro Ultimate offers faster read speeds, so it could be worth the step up if you often move files between your card and a computer. The Evo Select is our “best value” pick: It’s slower than the other two, but it’s cheaper, and its losses won’t be hugely noticeable in devices that can’t take advantage of the extra performance such as the Switch. Each card comes with a 10-year warranty.

PlayStation DualSense Wireless Controller

Amazon, Walmart, PlayStation Direct and several other retailers have discounted a bunch of PlayStation DualSense controllers ahead of Black Friday, including many of the colorways that typically go for $75. You can pick up Cosmic Red, Starlight Blue, Nova Pink and other models for $50 each, which is just about a record-low price. These controllers work with the PS5 as well as PC, and they sport adaptive L2 and R2 triggers, haptic feedback and a built-in mic array.

Xbox Wireless Controller

If you need a spare gamepad for your Xbox, meanwhile, official Xbox Series X/S Wireless Controllers are as low as $40 at Microsoft and Best Buy. As with the DualSense deal above, this discount applies to various colors. Typically, we see the gamepad retail between $50 and $60 depending on the colorway. The Series X/S controller doesn’t have the DualSense’s advanced haptics and requires AA batteries for power by default — we recommend grabbing a rechargeable set — but some will always find its shape and asymmetrical joysticks more comfortable. It’s also simpler to set up and use on PC.

PS5 + Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 bundle

If you or someone you love hasn’t gotten their hands on a PS5 yet, a new Black Friday bundle pairs the $500 console with the new (and critically acclaimed) Spider-Man 2 game for no extra cost. The PS5 remains one of the best gaming consoles you can get right now, and we found the open-world game to be even better than its predecessor in our review. In it, you can swap between playing as Peter Parker and Miles Morales, and it includes expanded combat mechanics.

PS5 Slim + Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III bundle

You can get Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III for free with this $499 PS5 Slim bundle that’s roughly $60 off the price of buying each separately and available at multiple retailers. Sony announced this new svelte version of its console last month and it’s been popping up sporadically across the internet since then. Depending on the model you choose, it’ll be up to 24 percent lighter than the standard PS5 and it will take up about 30 percent less space overall.

Nintendo Switch OLED + Super Smash Bros. Ultimate bundle

The main Nintendo Switch deal for Black Friday bundles the $350 Nintendo Switch OLED with a digital copy of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and a three-month individual subscription to Nintendo Switch Online for no extra cost. This offer is available at Walmart, Target, GameStop, Best Buy and Nintendo’s own online store. Smash Bros. Ultimate was released way back in 2018, so it’s hard to call this an amazing deal, but the game remains one of the console’s best and still typically retails between $50 and $60 on its own. The Switch Online sub, meanwhile, goes for $8. If you’re late to the Switch bandwagon, you could do much worse for a free pack-in game — but keep in mind that Nintendo is expected to unveil its next console at some point in 2024. 

Backbone One

The Backbone One mobile game controller is down to $70 at Amazon, Target, Backbone’s online store and other retailers. That’s a $30 discount. Both the USB-C and Lightning models are on sale; the latter is compatible with Apple’s iPhone 15 series as well as numerous Android phones. We gave the Backbone a positive review last year, and we recommend it in our guide to the best gaming handhelds: It’s more cramped than a traditional gamepad, naturally, but it has all the requisite buttons to play modern games, it’s extremely easy to set up and it works well for remote streaming from your console or PC. If nothing else, it’s a much better value than the PlayStation Portal.

PlayStation, Xbox and Switch video game sales

If you’re all set on the hardware front, a truckload of PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch games have dropped in price for Black Friday too. Both Sony and Microsoft have rolled out holiday sales on their respective digital storefronts, while a number of physical games are down to new lows at Amazon, Best Buy and others. 

There are frankly too many deals for us to list them all here, but some highlights for PlayStation and Xbox owners include Assassin’s Creed Mirage and the dramatic action-RPG Final Fantasy XVI for $40 each, God of War Ragnarök for $35, Gran Turismo 7 for $30, the rhythm action game Hi-Fi Rush for $22, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Horizon Forbidden West for $20 each and Halo: The Master Chief Collection for $10. Many of those make our lists of the best PS5 games and best Xbox games. 

On the Switch side, the turn-based strategy game Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is on sale for $15, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and Luigi’s Mansion 3 are each down to $40 and the excellent 2D platformer Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is down to a new low of $30. There are plenty more games on sale beyond those, and we expect to see more PC game deals over the course of the week.

DJI Osmo Action 3 Creator Combo

As part of a larger sale on DJI cameras and accessories, the DJI Osmo Action 3 is seeing a discount as part of a bundle that includes two batteries, a 32GB microSD card and a case. Separately and not on sale, the set would run you $379, but is now down to $319. This isn’t the newest version of DJI’s GoPro Alternative camera, that one, the Osmo Action 4 isn’t on sale. The newer version has a larger sensor and improved dynamic range, but at a higher price. But if you don’t plan on shooting a lot of low-light footage, you may be happy with the performance of the Action 3. We put it through its paces in our review and liked the excellent video quality, and found it to be on par with GoPro’s Hero 10. The the magnetic clip mount and long-lasting, fast-charging battery are also reasons to buy. 

Masterclass Black Friday deal

Masterclass’ Black Friday deal gives you two memberships for the price of one, starting at $120 per year. That provides two individual memberships, while you can pay a total of $180 for access for two devices simultaneously, content downloads and a Family membership that covers six devices. Masterclass could be a good gift option for people who love to learn or collect hobbies as it provides access to hundreds of hours of video of masters of their craft explaining how they do their work. Some classes have exercises you can complete as well, making it feel more like a real class. This deal will be available until the end of the day on Black Friday proper.

Headspace Black Friday deal

Headspace’s Black Friday deal is back for 2023, knocking half off subscriptions for new and returning subscribers. You’ll spend $35 if you pay for one year upfront, or $6.50 per month if you choose the more frequent payment method. Headspace is a solid meditation and mindfulness app that packs a lot of value, including dozens of guided meditation sessions to choose from at various durations, “sleepcasts” and soothing audio to help you get better shut eye and curated yoga and fitness videos that can help you stick to your physical health goals.

Surfshark VPN

Surfshark’s Black Friday deal knocks up to 86 percent off two-year plans, and you’ll get a few extra months of service for free depending on the plan you select. We consider Surfshark to be one of the best VPN services available right now, particularly if you want a solid VPN at an affordable price. We believe the mid-tier plan, Surfshark One, will be the best for most people and a two-year plan is down to $2.69 per month, with an additional four months of services thrown in for free.

Samsung M80C Smart Monitor

Samsung’s Smart Monitor M80C is $300 off and down to $400 right now. The selling point for this display, and really any Samsung Smart Monitor, is that it pulls triple duty as an external display, a smart TV and an IoT hub. In addition to connecting it to your computer, you can use it standalone as a TV thanks to the built-in TV operating system and included remote, and the embedded SmartThings hub lets you directly connect things like smart lights and other gear to the display.

Motorola razr+

The Moto razr+ is 30 percent off and down to a record low of $700. It earned a spot in our best foldable phones guides thanks to handy exterior display that’s actually easier to use than that on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and its ability to fold in half and get super compact and pocket-friendly. It’s cameras are not on par with those on Samsung’s foldables, but it’s a generally solid flip phone with a ton of personality

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II

The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II are down to $199, which is the same as they went for for October Prime Day. During that sale you needed to be a Prime member to save, but now anyone can take advantage of the discount. They retail for $299, but have sold for $279 for the past few months, so this is still an $80 discount. We think they’re best wireless earbuds you can buy for noise cancelation, as they do a great job of blocking out the world. They also have a smaller, more comfortable fit than the previous generation and offer good audio quality.

Samsung The Frame QLED TV

The 55-inch Samsung The Frame smart TV is 35 percent off and down to a new record low of $978 at Amazon. Samsung itself has it for a couple bucks more. Other size options are also discounted. The Frame has been super popular thanks to its design, which mimics framed artwork when not in use. It has a matte, anti-reflective display and an included slim wall mount so you can get the true “artwork” effect when you hang it on the wall. As an actual TV, it supports 4K content and Quantum Dot technology, plus it runs on Samsung’s Tizen TV operating system.

Solo Stove Black Friday deal

Solo Stove’s Black Friday deals have knocked up to $245 off fire pit bundles, up to $100 off fire pits by themselves and even more. A standout is the Ranger Backyard Bundle 2, which is $145 off and down to $320. It includes the company’s most compact fire pit along with its accompanying shield, stand, lid and shelter. Everything you’d need for an easy setup right out of the box is included in this bundle, and the 2.0-version of the Ranger includes a removable base plate and ash pan, both of which make the fire pit much easier to clean.

ProtonVPN Black Friday deal

Our favorite VPN service, ProtonVPN, is having a rare sale for Black Friday that brings a monthly subscription down to only $4 for a total of 30 months. That means you’ll pay $120 for two and a half years of access, which is a pretty good deal. ProtonVPN passed our tests with high marks, but what made it stand out among other VPN security services was its independently audited no-logs policy, and the fact that the company has proven they don’t comply with law enforcement requests to reveal data. If you want to jump in head-first with Proton services, the company has discounted Proton Unlimited, which includes access to VPN, Mail, Calendar, Drive and Pass, to just under $9 per month for the first year.

LG A2 OLED TV

We expect to see many more TV deals as we get closer to Black Friday, but for now one standout is LG’s 48-inch A2 OLED TV on sale for a new low of $550 at Best Buy. This is an entry-level model from 2022, so it’s limited to a 60Hz refresh rate, lacks HDMI 2.1 ports and doesn’t support other gaming-friendly features like VRR. That said, it’s still an OLED TV, so it delivers deep contrast, bold colors, wide viewing angles and low input lag. At this price, it should be a nice step-up option for smaller or secondary rooms. Just note that it can’t get as bright as higher-end OLED sets, so it’s best situated away from direct sunlight. 

Microsoft Surface Pro 9

A configuration of Microsoft’s Surface Pro 9 with an Intel Core i5-1235U processor, 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and Microsoft’s Surface Pro Keyboard is on sale for $1,000 at Best Buy. That’s $540 off Microsoft’s list price. If you don’t need the keyboard, a variant with a faster Core i7-1255U chip is down to a new low of $1,097 at Amazon, Microsoft, B&H and other retailers. That’s roughly $200 off the config’s usual street price. Another Core i7 model with 512GB of storage is on sale for $300 more.

In any event, the Surface Pro 9 tops our guide to the best 2-in-1 tablets. While its 12th-gen chip is about to be two generations old, this is still the device to get if you want the functionality of a laptop in the slim, touch-enabled design of a tablet. We’re past the point of the year when Microsoft would normally announce a refresh, but the current model should still be useful if you’re coming from an older Surface Pro that’s in desperate need of an upgrade.

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus

Lenovo’s IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus is on sale for $379 at Best Buy, which is $120 off its list price. This is the most recent version of the top pick in our Chromebook buying guide: Its 14-inch, 1,920 x 1,200 IPS touchscreen is good for the money, it’s plenty fast for the kind of web browsing and light work you’d do with Chrome OS and both its keyboard and trackpad are comfortable. This model comes with a Core i3-1315U processor, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of eMMC storage, one USB-A port, two USB-C 3.2 ports and a microSD card slot. It also has a decent 1080p webcam. The chassis isn’t especially light at 3.6 pounds, and we found the battery to last roughly seven hours in testing, which is just OK. But for less than $400, this is a strong value for those who just want an affordable notebook for the basics.

FAQs

When is Black Friday 2023?

Black Friday 2023 lands on November 24 this year, with Cyber Monday 2023 following up a few days later on November 27. However, the early deals have already begun. The entire month of November might as well be renamed Holiday Shopping Month as that’s when companies really start to get serious with their discounts.

What day is Black Friday 2023 at Walmart?

Walmart Black Friday deals will begin early this year on November 8. Walmart+ members will get a few hours of early access to Black Friday deals if they shop online on November 8, with access for everyone else starting later that day. Walmart will match its online Black Friday deals in stores starting November 10.

Will Amazon have a Black Friday sale in 2023?

Amazon will likely have a Black Friday sale in 2023. While the online retailer hasn’t made its deals known yet like Walmart has, Amazon will almost certainly have deals across all of the types of products it sells, including electronics. We anticipate seeing record-low prices on Amazon devices in particular, like Echo speakers, Fire TVs, Kindles and more. In years past, Amazon Black Friday deals have brought some of the best prices of the year on our favorite gadgets and gear, including headphones, tablets, smartwatches, robot vacuums and more.

What other retailers have Black Friday sales in 2023?

Most retailers have Black Friday sales, so you can expect to see Target, Best Buy, and others join Walmart and Amazon in discounting inventory to capitalize on holiday shopping interest. In the consumer electronics space, we expect most companies to have some sort of Black Friday promotion, so that means you will likely be able to get big-ticket items from brands like Apple, Samsung, Google, Sony, LG, Sonos and others for much cheaper prices.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/black-friday-2023-the-63-best-deals-you-can-get-right-now-from-amazon-target-walmart-and-others-143006574.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Black Friday 2023: The 63 best deals you can get right now from Amazon, Target, Walmart and others

Whether or not you understand your loved one’s desire to wake up before sunrise and get in a 5K is irrelevant when it comes to gifting. Athletes, especially runners, are pretty easy to shop for since they can never have too many of the essentials like socks, gloves, foam rollers, trackers and more. There are plenty of things you can get them that will make their runs more enjoyable, or help them recover more efficiently so they can best yesterday’s time today. Here are the best gift ideas for runners for this year’s holiday shopping season.

Theragun Mini

Rise and Run: Recipes, Rituals and Runs to Fuel Your Day

Roll Recovery R8

Spibelt

Bombas Running Socks

Trigger Point Grid Travel Foam Roller

Yoga Toes

TrailHeads Power Stretch Fingerless Gloves

Apace Vision LED Safety Lights

Garmin Forerunner 55

Beats Fit Pro

Goodr OG Sunglasses

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-gifts-for-runners-140015714.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – The best gifts for runners in 2023

Asking a question on Google Meet is getting a little more interactive. Google is rolling out a new gesture detection feature that lets you physically raise your hand to alert the group that you have a question versus clicking the raise hand button. Sure, it’s a minor thing, but after a long day sitting online, some movement doesn’t hurt.

The gesture detection feature works as long as your camera is on and your hand is clearly visible in the shot — Google recommends distancing it from your face and body. Hold it there momentarily while it recognizes that your hand is raised and alerts other participants. Yes, you may feel like you’re back in school, but who doesn’t love some nostalgia? 

Don’t worry if you’re an animated talker, waving your hands all over the place. Google Meet should deactivate gesture detection anytime you’re an active speaker, only turning it back on once you’re a silent participant again. While admins have no control over the feature, you can turn it off anytime by going to More Options, then clicking Reactions and Hand Raise Gesture. We all love to wave as the meeting is ending, so if that regularly triggers it, then you might want to turn it off. 

Gesture detection should roll out to Rapid Release domains in the next few days. Scheduled Release domains will experience a gradual rollout over the course of 15 days, starting on November 28. The feature is available across most Google Meet Workspace plans, including Business Standard and Plus, Education Plus and individual subscribers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-meets-hand-raise-feature-just-got-a-lot-more-real-132049238.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Google Meet’s hand raise feature just got a lot more real

There’s a seriously hefty list of Razer products on sale at Amazon right now for Black Friday, with the most deeply discounted accessories selling for up to 65 percent off their retail price. One of the accessories you can grab with a 65 percent discount is the Kiyo Pro Streaming Webcam, which is currently listed for $70.87 instead of its usual price of $200. You can use it for streaming, video conferencing or recording, and it’s capable of capturing uncompressed full HD 60 fps videos. It can also take HDR videos at 30 fps and comes with a large aperture, wide-angle lens with three field-of-view options. 

Meanwhile, the Razer Wolverine V2 Chroma wired controller is only $90 right now instead of $150. It comes with remappable back paddles with four extra triggers, non-slip grips for good ergonomics and responsive and tactile buttons. This wired controller is compatible with the Xbox Series X|S, the Xbox One and your PC. If you’re looking for a cheaper Xbox controller and don’t mind getting a less powerful model, the non-pro Razer Wolverine V2 controller is on sale for $46.12, down 54 percent from $100. It has two extra remappable multi-function buttons and a 3.5mm jack. Both controllers have a Hair Trigger Mode to enable an ultra-fast rate of fire.

You can also grab the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless Gaming Headset for $100, or $80 off its retail price, right now. Its closed earcups prevent sounds from leaking out and noise from getting in, it supports THX 7.1 surround sound, and it has a detachable mic. While it is a wireless headset, it comes with a 3.5mm jack so you can use it for console gaming. If you need a new mouse for PC gaming, though, the Razer Viper Ultimate Lightweight Wireless Gaming Mouse is on sale for $53.72, as well, which is 59 percent less than its retail price. It was designed to be light and fast, and it was created for both right-handed and left-handed users with programmable buttons on both sides. 

Yet another PC gaming accessory on sale is the Razer BlackWidow V3 Tenkeyless mechanical gaming keyboard that uses the brand’s green switches and is compatible with Razer hardware, Philips Hue and products from the brand’s partners. Currently being sold for $70, it’s down $20 from $90. And if you want a standalone console for your streams, there’s the Razer Stream Controller, which you can get for $200 instead of for $270. Even if you didn’t see anything you’d buy in this post, you may still want to check out Razer’s Black Friday deals page and scroll down until you get to the bottom, where a bunch of other discounted products are listed. 

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/razers-black-friday-deals-knock-up-to-65-percent-off-gaming-peripherals-125836307.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Razer’s Black Friday deals knock up to 65 percent off gaming peripherals

YouTube started cracking down on ad blockers earlier this year, but it escalated things this month when it locked out anyone trying to watch YouTube through apps, add-ons and extensions that skip its ads.

It’s even affected a lot of YouTube viewers not using workarounds though, with Firefox or Edge users reportedly having to wait around five seconds every time they load a video. In screen recordings shared on Reddit and other online forums, users show how their screen goes blank for a short period when they click on a YouTube video before the page loads, but we couldn’t replicate this at Engadget.

Based on code found by some Y Combinator and Reddit posters, Google’s anti-ad blocker mechanism may be causing the delays. The company said users with ad blockers installed “may experience suboptimal viewing,” no matter which browser they use.

— Mat Smith

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The biggest stories you might have missed

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Teenage Engineering made a toy car that costs $250

Objet d’ork.

Teenage Engineering just revealed a toy car/doodad that costs $250. Yes, it’s $250 for a little (but stylish!) piece of metal with wheels you can roll around a desk for a bit before getting bored. The company tends to release two kinds of products: Expensive, yet pretty darn cool, audio devices and, well, everything else. The toy car falls squarely in the latter camp. The company seems to be readying another announcement for later today too.

Continue reading.

Sam Altman reinstated as OpenAI CEO five days after being fired

There’s now a three-person board with one original member.

Sam Altman is returning to OpenAI as CEO after his firing five days ago, the company announced in a post on X. The OpenAI board caused chaos when it fired CEO Sam Altman on Friday and reopened discussions with the former chief executive regarding his possible reinstatement on Tuesday. According to the report, board members “largely refused to engage” with Altman until Monday but faced a revolt from most of the company’s workers, who threatened to walk unless the OpenAI board resigned and reinstated Altman. Twitch co-founder Emmett Shear is interim CEO, but he also threatened to step down, saying Altman’s termination was “handled very badly,” which led to negotiations with Altman.

Continue reading.

Sonos’ long-rumored headphones may appear April 2024

The company may be developing a TV streaming box as well.

According to a Bloomberg report, Sonos’ first attempt at headphones would directly compete with Apple’s AirPods Max, as well as devices from Sony and Bose. The company reportedly plans to charge over $400 for its over-the-ear headphones — around the same as Sony’s $400 highly regarded WH-1000MX5, but cheaper than Apple’s $549 AirPods Max.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-youtubes-fight-against-ad-blockers-led-to-sub-optimal-viewing-121559650.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – The Morning After: YouTube’s fight against ad blockers led to ‘sub-optimal’ viewing

Producing music with friends and colleagues from afar can be tricky but, hopefully, it’s about to get a bit smoother. Endlesss, a remote music creation platform, is rolling out a feature called Clubs that could make it easier to share and blend ideas. The new tool is reminiscent of Discord — something Endlesss (yes, with a triple s) outright states in its promotion.

Endlesss Clubs are live chat channels where members can add riffs, make comments, combine parts and share files. Just like Discord, members can belong to multiple Clubs, and each has different channels, depending on what people want to create. 

The company first announced the upcoming release of Endlesss Clubs back in August. “Music-makers all have to compete for attention on the same distribution platforms. This results in bad outcomes for everyone but the very best,” Tim Exile, founder and CEO of Endlesss, said at the time. “We’re excited to provide community-owned places for music-makers of all levels to go deep with their people.”

Stable Diffusion’s generative art can now be animated, developer Stability AI announced. The company has released a new product called Stable Video Diffusion into a research preview, allowing users to create video from a single image. “This state-of-the-art generative AI video model represents a significant step in our journey toward creating models for everyone of every type,” the company wrote. 

The new tool has been released in the form of two image-to-video models, each capable of generating 14 to 25 frames long at speeds between 3 and 30 frames per second at 576 × 1024 resolution. It’s capable of multi-view synthesis from a single frame with fine-tuning on multi-view datasets. “At the time of release in their foundational form, through external evaluation, we have found these models surpass the leading closed models in user preference studies,” the company said, comparing it to text-to-video platforms Runway and Pika Labs. 

OpenAI has been hit with another lawsuit, accusing it of using other people’s intellectual property without permission to train its generative AI technology. Only this time, the lawsuit also names Microsoft as a defendant. The complaint was filed by Julian Sancton on behalf of a group of non-fiction authors who said they were not compensated for the use of their books and academic journals in training the company’s large language model. 

In their lawsuit, the authors state how they spend years “conceiving, researching, and writing their creations.” They accuse OpenAI and Microsoft of refusing to pay authors while building a business “valued into the tens of billions of dollars by taking the combined works of humanity without permission.” The companies pretend copyright laws do not exist, the complaint reads, and have “enjoyed enormous financial gain from their exploitation of copyrighted material.”

Sancton is the author behind Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica’s Journey Into the Dark Antarctic, which tells the true survival story of an 1897 polar expedition that got stuck in the ocean in the middle of a sunless Antarctic winter. Sancton spent five years and tens of thousands of dollars to research and write the book. “Such an investment of time and money is feasible for Plaintiff Sancton and other writers because, in exchange for their creative efforts, the Copyright Act grants them ‘a bundle of exclusive rights’ in their works, including ‘the rights to reproduce the copyrighted work[s],'” according to the lawsuit. 

As Forbes notes, OpenAI previously said that content generated by ChatGPT doesn’t constitute “derivative work” and, hence, doesn’t infringe on any copyright. Sancton’s lawsuit is merely the latest complaint against the company over its use of copyrighted work to train its technology. Earlier this year, screenwriter and author also Michael Chabon sued OpenAI for the same thing, as did George R.R. Martin, John Grisham and Jodi Picoult. Comedian Sarah Silverman filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Meta, as well. Sancton is now seeking damages and injunctive relief for all the proposed class action’s defendants. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/openai-and-microsoft-hit-with-copyright-lawsuit-from-non-fiction-authors-101505740.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – OpenAI and Microsoft hit with copyright lawsuit from non-fiction authors

OpenAI introduced voice chats with ChatGPT on Android and iOS back in September, giving users the option to have actual back-and-forth conversations with the chatbot if they want to. The company only made the feature available to Plus and Enterprise subscribers back then, though, with the promise that it will eventually release it to other groups of users. Now, OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman has announced on X that voice conversations on ChatGPT have started rolling out to all free users on mobile. 

When the company first introduced voice chats, it admitted that the capability to create “realistic synthetic voices from just a few seconds of real speech” presents new risks. It could, for instance, allow bad actors to impersonate public figures or anybody they want. As a result, it decided that ChatGPT’s voice feature will focus on conversations. It’s powered by a text-to-speech model that can generate “human-like audio from just text and a few seconds of sample speech.” OpenAI worked with voice actors to create the capability and offers five different voices to choose from. 

We checked our ChatGPT app on Android and have yet to gain access to voice conversations, which indicates that the feature could take sometime before reaching everybody’s accounts. It’s not quite clear if users have to opt in to be able to access it, but paid subscribers had to enable it by going to Settings and then to New Features when voice chats rolled out. 

Brockman announced the capability’s wide release after he had already left his seat as President of OpenAI. He quit of his own accord after the company’s board fired Sam Altman as CEO, causing mayhem with senior staff members resigning in protest and the rest of the employees threatening to quit unless he’s reinstated. Shortly after he made the announcement, OpenAI announced that Altman and Brockman had been reinstated and will be returning to their posts. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/chatgpts-voice-chat-feature-is-rolling-out-to-free-users-085549323.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – ChatGPT’s voice chat feature is rolling out to free users

Ubisoft is the latest company to join what seems to be a growing list of advertisers pulling their campaigns from Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter. The company has confirmed to PCGamer and Axios that it has indeed paused its advertising on the website, possibly making it the first video game publisher to do so. While Ubisoft didn’t elaborate on its reasoning behind the decision, X’s advertisers have been suspending their advertising activities on the social network after Musk supported an antisemitic tweet and Media Matters published a research showing brands’ advertisements next to Nazi content. 

IBM, Apple, Disney, Paramount, Warner Bros, Sony and Comcast have all paused their advertising on X. Lionsgate pulled its ads, as well, specifically citing Musk’s tweet as the cause. Axios says Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR ad campaign was still showing up for X users as recently as Monday morning, and it’s unclear if it stopped advertising on the social network before or after Linda Yaccarino published a statement calling Media Matters’ report “misleading and manipulated.” 

X’s CEO issued a call for users and advertisers to “stand with X,” claiming that “not a single authentic user on [the website] saw IBM’s, Comcast’s, or Oracle’s ads next to the content in Media Matters’’ article.” Shortly after that, X officially filed a lawsuit against the media watchdog, accusing it of “knowingly and maliciously manufactur[ing] side-by-side images depicting advertisers’ posts on X Corp.’s social media platform beside Neo-Nazi and white national fringe content.” In its complaint, X explained that Media Matters had to create the right conditions, which included following accounts that post fringe Neo-Nazi and white nationalist content, in order to see ads right next to antisemitic posts. 

Media Matters called the lawsuit “frivolous” and an attempt to “bully X’s critics into silence” in a statement sent to Engadget. The organization also told us that it “stands behind its reporting and looks forward to winning in court.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ubisoft-has-suspended-advertising-on-elon-musks-x-074507139.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Ubisoft has suspended advertising on Elon Musk’s X

Sam Altman is returning to OpenAI as CEO after his firing five days ago launched the company onto one of the wildest rollercoaster rides in tech history, the company announced in post on X. Former president Greg Brockman, who resigned on Friday in protest, will also return, The Verge‘s sources say. The original board has been disbanded and replaced by a new, temporary three-man board with Bret Taylor (chair), Larry Summers and original board member Adam D’Angelo. 

The agreement has been struck “in principal,” and must still be approved by all parties. The only job of the initial board will be to vet and appoint a permanent board with up to 9 members that will resent OpenAI’s governance. One of those seats will likely to go Microsoft and Altman himself, The Verge reported.

Altman confirmed the news in a separate post. “With the new board and with Satya’s support, I’m looking forward to returning to OpenAI and building on our strong partnership with [Microsoft],” he said. That means Altman wouldn’t join Microsoft after all, though he added that he felt his decision at the time “was the best path for me and the team.” 

“We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella added in another post. “We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance.”

Another major OpenAI investor, Thrive Capital, issued a statement calling Altman’s return “the best outcome for the company, its employees, those who build on their technologies and the world at large.” Helen Toner, who reportedly had a hand in ousting Altman in the first place, posted “and now, we all get some sleep.” 

The timeline over the last week reads like “a legit telenovela,” as one of my colleagues put it. It commenced with the shocking termination of CEO Altman late in the day on Friday, November 17th, followed by Brockman announcing that we would quit in protest. OpenAI then appointed CTO Mira Murati as interim CEO. The board stated that Altman was terminated for not being “consistently candid” in communications, a confusing comment that only generated more speculation. 

The drama continued on the weekend, as Nadella was reportedly “furious” over the decision, particularly because Microsoft was only given a few minutes of notice before the decision was publicly revealed. On Saturday he announced that Microsoft “remained committed” to its OpenAI partnership, but simultaneously revealed that he was hiring Altman to head a new AI division. By the end of the weekend, Murati was replaced as CEO by Twitch co-founder Emmett Shear.

On Monday, nearly the entire OpenAI staff told the board in an open letter that it would resign and join the new Microsoft subsidiary if Altman didn’t return to the company as CEO. Things weren’t looking great when the board failed to respond to the letter by the stated deadline, despite a post from co-founder Ilya Sutskever taking some blame for the situation. Compounding things, Shear threatened to step down as CEO, saying Altman’s termination was “handled very badly.”

Yesterday, it was reported that Altman was again negotiating with the board to return as CEO. However, as recently as a few hours ago, it still looked like Altman would be heading to Microsoft and perhaps taking many of OpenAI’s employees with him. Shear’s threat to quit lit reportedly a fire under OpenAI’s board, which restarted negotiations with Altman in earnest, leading to today’s announcement that he’d be coming back after all. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sam-altman-is-reinstated-as-openai-ceo-five-days-after-being-fired-070037749.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Sam Altman is reinstated as OpenAI CEO five days after being fired

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is already one of the best EVs on the market. It’s comfortable, it’s practical, it looks great and, with 320 horsepower, it’s pretty quick, too. But, pretty quick isn’t quick enough for some folks, and if that’s you, Hyundai has a solution.

Meet the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. That extra letter means twice the power, 641 to be exact, plus countless suspension and chassis upgrades that make this an absolute lunatic. Even more impressive, though, are the software upgrades. The 5 N includes perhaps the most customizable driving modes of any EV on the planet, plus even a selection of fake engine noises and even a fake transmission that you can shift.

It’s quite a package and, as I learned, quite a monster on the track too. The only question is how much it’s going to cost. That we don’t know yet, but we should find out soon, with the Ioniq 5 N hitting dealerships in March. Watch the video below for the full story.

Tesla, which hosts 50,000+ supercharging stations for electric vehicles globally, is rolling out a new fee system that the company hopes will free up charging traffic at its stations. Supercharger idle fees will roll out globally, while congestion fees will specifically be implemented in the US.

Idles fees will kick in and start charging drivers on a per-minute basis when a car remains stationed at a charging point after it has already been fully recharged. Through the Tesla app, the company says drivers will be alerted when their charge is near complete and once again when their cars reach a full charging threshold. For every additional minute an EV remains parked in a charging station and connected to a Supercharger, Tesla will charge the driver an idle fee of up to 50 cents per minute, or $1.00 per minute when the charging station is at full capacity. These fees will vary by what country you’re in. The company will waive fees if a car is moved after a five-minute grace period.

Tesla explains the move by stating that a car driver would “never leave a vehicle parked by the pump at a gas station” and that the same logic should apply to Superchargers. In addition to idle fees, certain Supercharging locations will start charging congestion fees, which will be incurred when charging stations are busy and a vehicle’s battery is over 90 percent. When charging, cars won’t be charged a congestion fee, which will cost US drivers $1.00 a minute. This is to encourage drivers to only charge up as much as they need for their trip, rather than take the time to top off their battery completely.

As more automakers adopt the North American Charging Standard (NACS) used by Tesla’s Superchargers, more EV drivers are gaining access to high-speed charging networks. And while the availability of charging stations is a crucial factor for increasing EV adoption among drivers in the US, Tesla has said that congestion is an issue the company has kept its eye on. The new fee system could help clear up the influx of new EV drivers that are charging at Tesla Supercharging stations as more mainstream electric cars are adopted by the public, while the fees will contribute to the company’s bottom line. Analysts estimate that the Tesla Supercharger network will become worth between $10 and $20 billion annually by the end of the decade.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/teslas-idle-fees-will-charge-drivers-who-keep-their-cars-plugged-in-after-theyve-topped-up-230601570.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Tesla’s idle fees will charge drivers who keep their cars plugged in after they’ve topped up

Amazon’s Black Friday deals have dropped the Kobo Clara 2E ereader to a record-low price. This model is Engadget’s top pick for the best ereader in 2023, with its terrific design, intuitive navigation and seamless library book borrowing. Typically $140, the Clara 2E is only $120 right now on Amazon and Kobo.

After spending countless hours trying eight models from five different brands, Engadget chose the Kobo Clara 2E as the top ereader for most people. Despite being pricier than the baseline Kindles, Engadget’s Amy Skorheim loved the Kobo’s intuitive design, IPX8 water resistance (it can handle submersion in two meters of water for 60 minutes), warm light and lack of ads.

The device has a 6-inch touchscreen with “ComfortLight Pro,” Kobo’s branding for adjustable brightness and warmth. It has 16GB of storage, enough for around 12,000 ebooks, and its battery life lasts for “weeks.” It has a pleasant onboarding experience, walking you through account setup and asking about your favorite books to help improve its algorithmic recommendations. It even nudges you toward its library lending feature (through Overdrive integration), a rare example of a company notifying you of free alternatives to its digital wares. We found the borrowing process to be seamless.

Most importantly, the Kobo Clara 2E provides a top-notch reading experience. The device is light (only six ounces) and has a textured back that makes longer reading sessions more comfortable. We found the quality of its front light to make it the most paper-like of any ereader we tried, and adjusting brightness is as easy as swiping your finger down the screen’s left edge. It was also the most responsive to touch of any ereader we tested. It even has a quick wake-up feature that, after pushing its button, immediately jumps to the page you were last reading without any swiping past ads or extra taps.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-kobo-clara-2e-ereader-drops-to-a-record-low-price-for-black-friday-221518316.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – The Kobo Clara 2E ereader drops to a record-low price for Black Friday

With all of the price hikes streaming services have undergone lately, Engadget recently asked whether streaming was still worth it. Ultimately, our answer is yes, but we can’t help but notice how much more expensive these services are now than they once were. Now that Black Friday is here, you have an opportunity to save a little on the monthly costs of your TV subscription services. Max, Hulu, Paramount+, and a few of the live TV streaming services are currently running discounts, with savings of up to 85 percent. These are the best streaming deals we found for Black Friday 2023 so far. 

Max

Hulu

Paramount+

Fubo

SlingTV

Philo

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-black-friday-streaming-deals-for-2023-220004474.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – The 6 best Black Friday streaming deals for 2023

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao is set to plead guilty to federal money laundering charges and step down from his position at the company he founded. Zhao and the cryptocurrency exchange have reached a plea deal with the government, which conducted a multi-year investigation into the company, CNBC reports. As part of the settlement, Binance will forfeit $2.5 billion and pay a $1.8 billion fine. Zhao is slated to personally pay $50 million.

Zhao will be prohibited from having any involvement with Binance for three years. As part of the plea deal, Zhao will plead guilty later on Tuesday to violating and causing a financial institution to violate the Bank Secrecy Act, according to Reuters.

Binance, Zhao and others were accused of failing to institute an effective anti-money laundering program. According to the Justice Department, they willfully violated economic sanctions “in a deliberate and calculated effort to profit from the US market without implementing controls required by US law.” Court documents state that the lack of anti-money laundering measures led to Binance facilitating almost $900 million in financial transactions in violation of sanctions against Iran between 2018 and 2022.

In a statement, Zhao confirmed he is stepping down as CEO, with the company’s former global head of regional markets Richard Teng taking over the top job. “Today, I stepped down as CEO of Binance,” Zhao wrote on X. “Admittedly, it was not easy to let go emotionally. But I know it is the right thing to do. I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility. This is best for our community, for Binance, and for myself.” 

Zhao now plans to take a break before perhaps getting more involved in investing. However, “I can’t see myself being a CEO driving a startup again. I am content being an one-shot (lucky) entrepreneur.”

The settlement resolves criminal charges related to breaching sanctions regulations, conspiracy and conducting an unlicensed money transmitter business. Meanwhile, former compliance chief Samuel Lim will reportedly face charges as part of the deal.

This is a major settlement between the company and agencies such as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Treasury Department. The CFTC charged Binance, Zhao and Lim with violating its rules, as well as the Commodity Exchange Act, earlier this year.

“Binance turned a blind eye to its legal obligations in the pursuit of profit. Its willful failures allowed money to flow to terrorists, cybercriminals, and child abusers through its platform,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. “Today’s historic penalties and monitorship to ensure compliance with US law and regulations mark a milestone for the virtual currency industry. Any institution, wherever located, that wants to reap the benefits of the US financial system must also play by the rules that keep us all safe from terrorists, foreign adversaries, and crime, or face the consequences.”

Binance will remain in operation, albeit under stricter rules. It will need to ensure it abides by anti-money laundering regulations by beefing up its compliance program. The company will also have to appoint an independent compliance monitor.

In June, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Binance and Zhao, alleging that they helped US traders bypass restrictions and violated securities laws by, among other things, mishandling funds. The SEC also claimed that (in similar allegations to those laid against rival exchange FTX) Binance commingled billions of dollars of customer money with the company’s own funds. The SEC charges were not resolved in this settlement.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/binance-founder-changpeng-zhao-steps-down-as-ceo-will-plead-guilty-to-federal-charges-210627469.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Binance founder Changpeng Zhao steps down as CEO, will plead guilty to federal charges