With each passing year, the phrase “Black Friday” becomes more of a misnomer. What was once a day of post-Thanksgiving special offers has become a month of sales promotions from retailers across the web. It’s happening again in 2023: Target, Best Buy and Walmart are already advertising their early Black Friday deals, while Amazon is price matching many of those discounts and has its own “Holiday Deals” landing page. Many other shops and manufacturers have (or will soon have) early deals as well.

This barrage of sales promos can be aggravating, but it also presents a good opportunity to get your holiday shopping done at something closer to your own pace. To help, we’ve rounded up the best Black Friday deals you can get right now below. There’s always a chance we get bigger discounts on November 24, but we’re already seeing all-time lows on LG’s A2 OLED TV, PS5 bundles, the 9th-gen iPad and other gadgets we like. We’ll be updating our list regularly in the lead-up to Black Friday, so check back if there’s anything else you’ve had your eye on. 

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd gen)

The latest version of Apple’s AirPods Pro is back on sale for $200 at Amazon and Target. That’s about $10 more than their record-low price and $50 off their 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.

Apple iPad (9th-gen)

Apple’s 9th-gen iPad is down to $249 at Amazon, Walmart and Target, which is a deal we’ve seen for much of the past month but still matches the tablet’s lowest-ever price. 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 still 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 want a more modern design, the iPad Air is the top pick in our guide, and it’s now on sale for $500. Be warned, though: A recent Bloomberg report says that Apple plans to launch new tablets in the spring. If you don’t need an iPad right away, it’s probably worth waiting.

Apple Watch Series 9

The new Apple Watch Series 9 has dropped to $349 at Amazon and Walmart in an early Black Friday deal. That’s $50 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, and the 45mm models have the same $50 discount, bringing them down to $379 each. 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 AirPods (2nd gen)

Starting on November 8, Walmart has the second-gen AirPods for only $69 — a new record low and the cheapest we’ve ever seen. These AirPods are a bit old at this point, but at this Black Friday price, they’re a great deal for anyone who just wants a pair of earbuds that will work seamlessly with their iPhone, iPad or MacBook.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5 is on sale for $800 right now, a record low, ahead of Black Friday. It’s one of the best foldable phones out there right now and we think it’s the best flip-style handset you can get. Samsung upgraded this year’s model with a faster processor, better cameras and its new Flex Hinge, which makes the device even more compact and eliminates the gap in between its screen when closed. The exterior display is even more useful and versatile now as well, with the capability of running full Android apps (after you tweak some software settings first).

Samsung T9 SSD

The latest Samsung T9 portable SSD is on sale for $130 right now for a 1TB drive, which is the best price it’s been since it came out last month. You can snag these Black Friday deals from Amazon or Samsung direct, and you’ll save $40 if you spring for the 2TB version or $100 on the 4TB model. 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.

PlayStation DualSense Wireless Controller

Amazon has 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.

PS5 + Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 bundle

If you or someone you love hasn’t gotten their hands on a PS5 yet and is itching to do so, this bundle with the console and the new Spider-Man 2 game is down to its cheapest price yet — $500. The PS5 remains one of the best gaming consoles you can get right now, and when we reviewed the new Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, we found it to be even better than its predecessor. In it, you can swap between playing as Peter Parker and Miles Morales, and it includes expanded combat mechanics.

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. 

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. You’ll see a $200 discount on the product page, but a clippable coupon will take the extra $100 off at checkout. 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.

Reverb music gear holiday sale

Reverb is currently hosting a holiday sale with discounts on a number of synths, pedals, guitars, and recording devices. One callout is the Native Instruments’ Maschine MK3, which is seeing a $300 discount making the $600 groovebox/drum machine/synth combo/controller just $299. The pad based controller will let you build full tracks from scratch without having to touch your mouse and keyboard. We’re fans of Native Instruments and have covered and reviewed their gear many times over the years. If you’re getting into desktop music-making, this is likely a sale you’ll want to check out.  

Blink camera bundle

Amazon Prime members can save 61 percent on a bundle of Blink cameras. The set includes two Outdoor 4 cameras, one Wired Floodlight Camera, one Mini Pan-Tilt Camera and one Sync Module 2, which lets you store clips locally. We named the Blink Outdoor 4 our favorite wireless security camera in our guide to the best smart home devices. 

It supports night vision, motion detection and lets you hear and talk to whomever is nearby. Since its wireless and weather-resistant, you can stick it almost anywhere outside and will run for up to two years on a set of AA batteries, which are conveniently also included. Just bear in mind that this will work with any smartphone, but Blink devices are made by Amazon so they’ll only work with Alexa-enabled displays and speakers.  

Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds

The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II are down to $199 at Amazon, 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 85-inch The Frame smart TV

The 85-inch Samsung The Frame smart TV is 23 percent off and down to a new record low of $3,300 at both Amazon and Samsung direct. 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.

Logitech G203 gaming mouse

Amazon is having a big sale on Logitech gaming accessories and peripherals, including gaming headsets, mice, keyboards and more. Of note is the Logitech G203 Lightsync wired gaming mouse, which is half off and down to only $20. It’s one of our favorite gaming mice thanks in no small part to its affordable price, but it’s also fairly lightweight and sturdily built with an ambidextrous design that will work for right- and left-handed users. Also discounted is the Logitech G733 Lightspeed wireless gaming headset, which is 20 percent off and down to $120. It has an attractive design with subtle LED lighting and a stretch band, and it has a solid wireless connection with audio to match.

Solo Stove early 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.

TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug

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.  

ProtonVPN early 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.

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K

Amazon’s latest Fire TV Stick 4K and Fire TV Stick 4K Max have received their first discounts since they arrived in September. The former is $20 off at $30, while the latter is $15 off at $45. Between the two, the Max has a slightly faster processor clocked at 2.0GHz (instead of 1.7GHz), 16GB of internal storage (instead of 8GB) and support for the Wi-Fi 6E (instead of just Wi-Fi 6). It also includes Amazon’s “Ambient Experience” mode, which displays artwork and widgets when the streamer is idle. That said, both dongles should be quick to load content. Both support the requisite streaming apps, Dolby Atmos and all the major HDR formats as well.

The downsides are the familiar ones with Fire TV devices: The UI is saddled with ads and not shy about nudging you toward Amazon services like Prime Video and Freevee. But if you often use those apps (or Alexa) and just want a competent 4K streamer for cheap, that may not be an issue. 

On the higher end of the Fire TV lineup, the Fire TV Cube is also on sale for $110. That ties the all-time low for the streaming box/Alexa speaker hybrid. You can also pair the Fire TV Stick 4K Max with Blink’s 1080p Video Doorbell for $65 total, though that offer is only available for Prime members and is only scheduled to run through November 3.

Google Nest Hub

If you’re partial to the Google Assistant, Google’s Nest Hub is also on sale for $60 at Target, B&H, Best Buy, Google’s online store and others. That’s $20 higher than its all-time low but still $40 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. That’s a $100 discount. 

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. 

Apple MacBook Air (15-inch)

A configuration of Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Air with an M2 chip, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage is down to $1,449 at Best Buy. That’s $250 less than Apple’s MSRP. If you can live with less memory, a version with 8GB of RAM is on sale for $1,250 at Amazon with an on-page coupon. Either way, the MacBook Air is the top pick in our laptop buying guide, as it has just about everything we want from a mainstream notebook: A premium design, a comfortable keyboard and trackpad, a lovely display, long battery life, great speakers and solid performance. Compared to the 13-inch Air, this model has more powerful speakers alongside its larger screen. We gave it a score of 96 in our review this past June.

The MacBook Air’s main downsides are that it only has two Thunderbolt ports and, as always, it’s virtually impossible to upgrade after the fact. Plus, with the recent introduction of the new M3 chip, the countdown is on for a refresh. A recent Bloomberg report says that Apple plans to launch an M3-powered MacBook Air at some point in 2024, though that shouldn’t make this current model obsolete if you need a new laptop right away. 

Target video game sale

A few bestselling gaming titles are currently part of Target’s buy-two-get-one-free sale, including Final Fantasy XVI for the PS5, which we called action-centric and storyline driven. Other titles include Hogwarts Legacy, which we said was alive with magic; It Takes Two which we recommend in our co-op games guide; and Diablo IV, which we found mechanically perfect though lacking in depth. Of course, Black Friday hasn’t hit yet, and when it does, it’s likely that many of these games will get individual discounts, without making you buy three games at once. 

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/the-25-best-black-friday-deals-from-amazon-target-walmart-and-others-that-you-can-get-right-now-143011018.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – The 25 best Black Friday deals from Amazon, Target, Walmart and others that you can get right now

“Tech toys” doesn’t have to mean video games –not that there’s anything wrong with some time curled up with excellent titles like Tears of the Kingdom and Spider-Man 2. But when it’s time to step away from the TV and engage with the real world, there are still ways to play that involve gadgets and science and all the other STEM goodness that we love here at Engadget. We’ve got playtime covered for kids and adults, as well as interests ranging from cuddly to competitive.

Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Game Controller

Bumpas Cute Cuddle Pal

Leapfrog Chat and Count Emoji Phone

Yoto Mini

LEGO The Insect Collection

Tamagotchi Uni

Make It Real: Mini Pottery Studio

Spin Master Bitzee

Vital Hero Batman

Hot Wheels Rift Rally

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-tech-toys-for-kids-140038520.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – The 10 best tech toys for kids in 2023

On the surface, Apple’s new iMac is easy to evaluate. It’s almost identical to the 2021 iMac, with its lovely 24-inch screen and multicolor exterior. In fact, the only difference between the new iMac and the old one is a new chip, the M3 processor. 

As such, everything that we liked about the iMac in 2021 holds true here. It’s an extremely well-designed machine, the screen looks lovely, and But the issues we had with it — particularly the specs of the lower-end model — are harder to ignore.

First, the good news. The M3 chip inside the new iMac (paired with 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage in the model I tested) provides more than enough power for my daily workflow. Of course, as a journalist my needs are moderate. I don’t edit 4K movies or run intense music-creation software, and most things I do can be accomplished in a browser. But a ton of Safari tabs coupled with my usual apps like Messages, Photos, Slack, Bear, Apple Music and Trello never slowed it down. More power-hungry apps like Lightroom or Photomater never stuttered either, as I edited and exported RAW photos. I’m particularly glad that the M3 iMac supports up to 24GB of RAM this time around, up from 16GB on the M1 model.

The M3 iMac is also capable of running modern games, at least those that are available for it. In a tale as old as time, game options on the Mac lag far behind what you’ll find on Windows, but the situation is improving. Titles like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Lies of P are the kinds of games you usually wouldn’t expect to see on a Mac. That’s part of an overall trend this year, with other big blockbuster games like the Resident Evil 4 remake, Resident Evil Village and Death Stranding either available now or coming soon.

Both Baldur’s Gate 3 and Lies of P ran well on the iMac. They weren’t running at the highest resolution, but they were still totally playable. And other games from the Mac App Store like NBA 2K24 Arcade Edition and Skate City from Apple Arcade worked without a hiccup — but given those games have to run across a huge variety of lower-powered devices, good performance is basically a given. While no one is going out there buying a Mac with cutting-edge gaming in mind, I am still glad that there are more options than there were a few years ago.

Benchmarks show the M3 is a modest improvement over the M2, which is not a big surprise. The M3 is also almost identical in single-core performance to the M3 Max, which we tested on the new 16-inch MacBook Pro. Of course, that computer blows past the iMac in multi-core performance. But given the iMac’s intended purpose as a family computer, the M3 should be more than enough for most people. Apple Silicon is so performant that people who bought the M1 iMac two and a half years ago likely won’t have much reason to upgrade.

What hasn’t changed

As for literally everything else: if you’ve seen a 24-inch iMac before, you’ve seen this one. Mine came in a lovely shade of blue — dark and metallic on the back and a more pastel shade on the front. There are six other colors available, all the same as what Apple offered before, and they all make me wish Apple used these bold shades on more of its products. (Seriously, this year’s iPhone 15 colors are terrible.) The display has a 4.5k resolution, splitting the difference between the old Intel-based 21.5- and 27-inch models. I generally find that to be enough, though I do miss the expansive canvas you got on a 27-inch iMac. I’m not alone, but Apple has made it clear that that computer isn’t coming back. If you want a bigger screen, you’re better off checking out a Mac mini or Mac Studio and pairing it with the monitor of your choice.

Despite occasionally wishing it was larger, this panel remains great, with 500 nits of brightness, Apple’s TrueTone technology for adjusting color temperature to your environment and support for the Wide P3 color gamut. It’s not the most advanced display ever since it uses a time-tested LED panel but, once again, the people that Apple is targeting with this computer won’t mind.

The iMac is still extraordinarily thin at 11.5mm and weighs less than 10 pounds. I actually wouldn’t mind if it was just a little heavier. It’s easy to accidentally move the whole computer when I adjust the tilt of the display. And feline owners beware: my cats liked to jump on the desk and nuzzle the iMac, sliding it across my desk. But its minimal weight also makes it easy to move around the house. 

It mostly sat on my desk, but I also brought it down to the bedroom to watch a movie when I was feeling under the weather. My colleague Devindra Hardawar (who reviewed the M1 model in 2021) also sang the iMac’s praises as a computer you can drop in your kitchen, which is not something I could do with my relatively limited counter space. But the point is that this remains the most portable iMac ever, and that opens up some interesting uses.

Apple has done a good job of putting surprisingly solid speakers into its laptops, and it’s also worked out an impressive speaker system to go in the svelte iMac. It has six speakers total with two force-canceling woofers, and this results in clear and relatively loud audio. I prefer using dedicated speakers as I’m a bit of a music nerd, but for casual listening or watching YouTube, this system is far better than you’d expect from such a thin device. The speakers also support Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio for Apple Music, movies and shows via the Apple TV app. Those effects aren’t the most obvious on this system; songs sound different, though not necessarily better, but I’ve found that to be the case no matter what device you’re using to play Spatial Audio.

As before, the iMac comes with a color-matched keyboard and mouse (and/or trackpad, your choice), a subtle but really nice touch. Mechanical keyboard enthusiasts will scoff, but I continue to find the Magic Keyboard extremely comfortable to type on for extended periods of time, and I love that you can get Touch ID built in now. The Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad are the same ones Apple has been selling for years, and they’re very reliable (though plenty of people are not fans of the mouse’s shape). 

However, Apple really missed a good opportunity to redesign these accessories to use USB-C for charging. Instead, they use the same old Lightning connector that has been on iPhones and other devices for years now. With Lightning’s days clearly numbered, this would have been a perfect time to move to USB-C. At least the included Lightning cable is also color-matched.

Base specs are a big downside

Most of the things Apple didn’t change with the new iMac don’t bother me — the design and screen all make sense, even if some people wish things were a little different. What doesn’t make sense are the corners Apple is cutting to offer the iMac at a starting price of $1,299. That configuration comes with a paltry 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which was stingy two and a half years ago and now is completely unacceptable. I can’t in good conscience recommend anyone spend more than $1,000 on a computer with only 8GB of RAM in 2023.

There are other cuts to the entry model that aren’t quite as egregious but are still disappointing. Apple doesn’t include the power adaptor with a gigabit ethernet port, the Magic Keyboard doesn’t have Touch ID, the GPU has eight cores (compared to 10 in the $1,499 model), it only has two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports (the more expensive iMac also has two more USB-C ports) and it only comes in four colors rather than seven. The base iMac might exist mostly as a more affordable model for education, but there’s no reason to handicap yourself with only 8GB of RAM if you’re buying this computer for yourself or your family.

That means you’re spending at least $1,499 to get a computer with 16GB of RAM and all the aforementioned compromises. That’s the same price as the middle-tier iMac, which includes the gigabit ethernet adapter, Touch ID and so on — but it also only comes with 8GB of RAM. Stepping that computer up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, the minimum specs I’d consider for a desktop, comes to a whopping $1,899.

This isn’t a new problem. The company’s entry models often feel artificially limited to push you toward a more expensive option. Just look at the $1,099 MacBook Air, which is also hamstrung by 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, but it feels slightly more forgivable on a laptop. With the iMac, you don’t get improved portability in exchange for poorer specs. In fact, in many ways (except the screen), the iMac is a more limited and more expensive computer than the MacBook Air.

Fortunately, Apple also sells the Mac mini. You can pick up that tiny desktop with an M2 chip, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for $999, add a nice 4K monitor and you’re good to go for less than $1,500. Of course you lose the niceties of an all-in-one, which aren’t insignificant — I’ve really enjoyed the complete lack of cord clutter on my desk while using the iMac.

Wrap-up

Thanks to Apple Silicon, Apple’s desktop computer lineup is in stronger shape than it’s been in years. For a while, the iMac had to be both a simple all-in-one for those with basic needs as well as a more powerful, pro-focused machine (remember the iMac Pro?). But now, the Mac mini and Mac Studio are compelling options for people who want better performance, leaving the iMac to serve a smaller audience. And it does it well — the screen is great, the M3 is powerful, and the whole thing is shockingly compact. If you want the simplest and easiest Mac experience, the iMac is still the way to go. Just make sure you bump up the RAM.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-imac-review-2023-nothings-changed-except-the-m3-013032286.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Apple iMac review (2023): Nothing’s changed, except the M3

We finally got our hands on Apple’s new M3 MacBook Pros and iMac! In this episode, we dive into our full thoughts about all of Apple’s new hardware alongside Deputy Editor Nathan Ingraham. The big takeaway: Don’t buy the base model of either computer with just 8GB of RAM. Otherwise, the M3 chips are solid upgrades across the board.

Also, Senior Editor Jessica Conditt joins to tell us all about the new Steam Deck OLED. It has a slightly larger OLED screen than the original model, as well as some extra battery life. While the performance is the same as before, it’s certainly a tempting holiday treat for anyone who’s been eyeing a Steam Deck.

Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you’ve got suggestions or topics you’d like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcast, Engadget News!

Wearable startup Humane has officially unveiled its first device, the Ai Pin. For months, the company has drip fed information, only offering a glimpse of the device, wielded by Naomi Campbell, of all people, at Paris Fashion Week in October.

The Ai Pin is a pocket-worn wearable AI assistant that can reportedly perform the tasks our current phones and voice assistants do, but without a screen, instead operating primarily through voice commands and, occasionally, a virtual screen projected onto the user’s hand. It works independently of other devices, connected to its own phone network through T-Mobile, but on Humane’s own MVNO because that’s even more complicated.

The device will cost $700, and another $24 per month for unlimited talk, text and data, and will ship in early 2024.

We’re still waiting for deeper hands-on impressions and demonstrations of the technology. I’m skeptical, and not just because it’s been just over ten years since Google Glass tried to be a thing.

Have a great weekend, and make sure you check out our new TMA series on YouTube, where I try to make more work for our wonderful video team, every Saturday.

— Mat Smith

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The stories you might have missed

The best cooking gifts

Meta may return to China with the release of a new, budget VR headset

Amazon reportedly plans to dump Android for a homemade Fire OS replacement

Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Mini review: excellent and expensive

Steam Deck OLED review

It’s just better.

The $550 Steam Deck OLED is not the Steam Deck 2. This is a mid-cycle refresh from Valve, similar to the Switch OLED upgrade, but there’s a lot more going on internally here. Its screen is better, its battery life is better and its chip and thermals are better — but it’s still a big ole handheld. The updated display is the device’s highlight, while things like faster charging, improved antennas and smoother controls are welcome bonuses.

Continue reading.

Teenage Engineering’s Field series is complete (and expensive)

The TP-7 and CM15 balance out the company’s pocket-sized studio gear.

Making even the most specced-out Steam Deck OLED look reasonably priced, Teenage Engineering has completed its Field series of studio gear, and the whole kit will set you back $5,900. Now, for the TE faithful who are still reading, its more playful design and solid hardware can be creativity inducing, according to Engadget’s James Trew.

Continue reading.

Omegle shuts down after 14 years of random chats

Some people used it to ‘commit unspeakably heinous crimes,’ its founder admits.

Omegle, a chat service that pairs users with a random person so they can talk via text or video, is shutting down. Leif K-Brooks, who launched the service when he was 18 years old, announced its closure and talked about its humble beginnings. He admitted “some people misused [the service], including to commit unspeakably heinous crimes.” Critics have raised concerns about the website’s safety over the past years, with some even calling it a “magnet for pedophiles.” 

Continue reading.

You can now buy a PS5 Slim in the US and Canada, if you’re lucky

Bundles include Spider-Man 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III.

Following the news that Sony has now sold over 46.6 million PS5 consoles, its refreshed hardware is bubbling up in stores. A standard model with a copy of Marvel’s ‘Spider-Man 2 at no extra cost has hit Dell and Walmart, but the $500 bundle is going in and out of stock. The PS5 Slim (which isn’t the official name) will likely be available at other retailers soon.

Listings for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III bundles have appeared at Walmart too, but they cost $609 and come with your choice of accessory. Sony initially suggested the PS5 Slim would only be available in the US initially, but standard models have popped up in Canada.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-humanes-ai-pin-wearable-costs-699-and-ships-in-early-2024-121529700.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – The Morning After: Humane’s Ai Pin wearable costs 9 and ships in early 2024

Arcane finally has a streaming date for its second season, two years after Netflix renewed the League of Legends-based series. The bad news? It’ll arrive on the streaming platform in November… 2024. Fans will have to wait one more year before they can see the next installment of the story that centers around sisters and rivals, Vi and Jinx. Riot’s former CEO Nicolo Laurent did say in an interview earlier this year that season two won’t be ready until 2024. He explained that the company didn’t expect the show to be so successful, so the developer, along with French animation studio Fortiche, started on the second season later than they should have. 

Last year, the show became the first streaming series to win an animated Emmy award, beating out more established rivals, such as Rick and Morty and What If…? Arcane was universally praised by critics for its storyline and animation, and it was also well-received among viewers, even those who don’t play LoL. Arcane creators Christian Linke and Alex Yee said that the series was always going to be about Vi and Jinx even though the game has more than 150 champions. Their background as sisters who grew into bitter rivals with opposing stance, fighting for opposite sides, after all, make for an intriguing plot. “The fact that Jinx and Vi’s relationship is a bit of a mystery from the outset allows us to sort of satisfy both [fans of the game and new audiences],” Linke told Engadget. 

Netflix has released a very short teaser for the show’s second season, but it’ll likely publish longer trailers over the next few months as we get closer to its release date. Actors Hailee Steinfeld and Ella Purnell are expected to reprise their roles as Vi and Jinx, respectively, along with Katie Leung as Caitlyn Kiramman. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflix-confirms-arcane-season-two-wont-arrive-until-november-2024-115019817.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Netflix confirms Arcane season two won’t arrive until November 2024

Five years in the making, Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action remake is one step closer to gracing our screens. Netflix has released a new minute-and-a-half teaser that gives us a first look at the cast and key scenes. Plus, drum roll, please, we also finally have a release date: February 22, 2024.

Microsoft’s Xbox leadership is starting to take shape following the company’s blockbuster Activision Blizzard acquisition. The new head of Xbox Game Studios is Alan Hartman, former boss of Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10, according to a LinkedIn post seen by Game Developer. “Thrilled to be representing such an elite set of game creators in my new role leading Xbox Game Studios!” he wrote. 

Hartman has led Turn 10 since 2005, with recent stints as corporate VP of Forza and Fable. He oversaw the release of Forza series games and the ForzaTech engine, which is used in both Forza Horizon and the upcoming Fable reboot. 

Hartman succeeds Matt Booty, who was promoted to president of gaming content and studios. Other execs recently changing positions include Sarah Bond, who became Xbox’s first black president in its 22 year history. She reports directly to Microsoft Gaming president Phil Spencer. More shakeups could be coming with Microsoft’s $69 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition, as properties like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch and others now fall under the company’s purview. Bobby Kotick remains as CEO of Activision Blizzard, but will step down at the end of 2023. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/turn-10s-alan-hartman-is-the-new-head-of-xbox-game-studios-095546957.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Turn 10’s Alan Hartman is the new head of Xbox Game Studios

Meta hasn’t been in China since Facebook was blocked way back in 2009, but that may be about to change. The company is reportedly planning to release an all-new, lower-priced version of its virtual reality headset in the nation via an exclusive deal with video game giant Tencent, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Sales are tentatively set to begin in late 2024, but some details must still be finalized. 

The new headset would be more powerful than the Quest 2, but use lower-quality optics than the Quest 3, according to the report. The more budget-oriented headset may also be sold in other regions. Meta would reportedly take a larger share of headset sales, while Tencent pull in more of the content and service revenue, “like software subscriptions and game sales.”

The deal would open up a huge market for Meta’s VR division, which has been hemorrhaging money and could certainly use the boost. However, it’s not clear whether Tencent would require government approval to sell the devices. Gaming is a popular VR activity, but China’s strict rules have already had a significant impact on Tencent, the world’s largest video game company. 

China may not be a panacea for Meta’s weak VR division, either. TikTok owner ByteDance is China’s virtual reality leader with its Pico headset, but is struggling with sales in China just as Meta is elsewhere. And Tencent itself was reportedly on the brink of disbanding its own VR division, but supposedly built it back up once the Meta deal seemed inevitable. Headset sales across the globe fell nearly 45 percent this quarter compared to the same period last year. 

If the deal goes through, Meta would regain a foothold in China after 14 years with no direct presence there. The company has a 50 percent worldwide share of the VR market, with Sony’s PlayStation VR2 and Pico’s VR headset in second and third place. Apple is about to enter the market with its $3,500 Vision Pro headset, but isn’t likely to have a serious presence until it releases a cheaper version down the road. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-may-return-to-china-with-the-release-of-a-new-budget-vr-headset-090522700.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Meta may return to China with the release of a new, budget VR headset

Microsoft temporarily prohibited its employees from using ChatGPT “due to security and data concerns,” according to CNBC. The company announced the rule in an internal website and even blocked corporate devices from being able to access the AI chatbot. While several tech companies had prohibited — or had at least discouraged — the internal use of ChatGPT in the past, Microsoft doing the same thing was certainly curious, seeing as it’s OpenAI’s biggest and most prominent investor. 

In January, Microsoft pledged to invest $10 billion in ChatGPT’s developer over the next few years after pouring $3 billion into the company in the past. The AI-powered tools it rolled out for its products, such as Bing’s chatbot, also use OpenAI’s large language model. But Microsoft reportedly said in its note that “[w]hile it is true that [the company] has invested in OpenAI, and that ChatGPT has built-in safeguards to prevent improper use, the website is nevertheless a third-party external service.” It advised its employees to “exercise caution,” adding that it goes for other external services, including AI image generator Midjourney.

ChatGPT’s Microsoft ban was unexpected, but it was also swift. CNBC says that after it published its story, Microsoft quickly restored access to the chatbot. It also reportedly removed the language in its advisory, saying that it was blocking the chat app and and design software Canva. A company spokesperson told the news organization that the ban was a mistake despite the advisory explicitly mentioning ChatGPT and that Microsoft restored access to it as soon as it realized its error. “We were testing endpoint control systems for LLMs and inadvertently turned them on for all employees,” a spokesperson said. They added: “As we have said previously, we encourage employees and customers to use services like Bing Chat Enterprise and ChatGPT Enterprise that come with greater levels of privacy and security protections.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-briefly-blocked-employees-from-using-chatgpt-over-security-concerns-080403177.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Microsoft briefly blocked employees from using ChatGPT over security concerns

The state agencies of Maine had fallen victim to cybercriminals who exploited a vulnerability in the MOVEit file transfer tool, making them the latest addition to the growing list of entities affected by the massive hack involving the software. In a notice the government has published about the cybersecurity incident, it said the event impacted approximately 1.3 million individuals, which basically make up the state’s whole population. The state first caught wind of the software vulnerability in MOVEit on May 31 this year and found that cybercriminals were able to access and download files from its various agencies on May 28 and 29. 

While the nature of stolen data varies per person based on their interaction with a particular agency, the notice says that the bad actors had stolen names, Social Security numbers, birthdates, driver’s license and state identification numbers, as well as taxpayer identification numbers. In some cases, they were also able to get away with people’s medical and health insurance information. Over 50 percent of the stolen data came from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, followed by the Maine Department of Education.

The state government had blocked internet access to and from the MOVEit server as soon as it became aware of the incident. However, since the cybercriminals were already able to steal residents’ information, it’s also offering two years of complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services to people whose SSNs and taxpayer numbers were compromised. As TechCrunch notes, the Clop ransomware gang that’s believed to be behind previously reported incidents, has yet to release data stolen from Maine’s agencies.

Clop took credit for an earlier New York City Department of Education hack, wherein the information of approximately 45,000 students was stolen. Cybercriminals exploiting the vulnerability haven’t only been targeting the government, though, but also companies around the world. Sony is one of them. There’s also Maximus Health Services, Inc, a US government contractor, whose breach has been the biggest MOVEit-related incident, so far. 

The Securities and Exchange Commission is already investigating MOVEit creator Progress Software, though it only just sent the company a subpoena in October and is still in the “fact-finding inquiry” phase of its probe. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/basically-all-of-maine-had-data-stolen-by-a-ransomware-gang-061407794.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Basically all of Maine had data stolen by a ransomware gang

Apple will pay $25 million in backpay and civil penalties to settle allegations that it favored visa holders and discriminated against US citizens and permanent residents during its hiring process, the Department of Justice said in a statement on Thursday. This is the largest amount that the DOJ has collected under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

At the heart of the issue is a federal program administered by the Department of Labor and the Department of Homeland Security called the Permanent Labor Certification Program (PERM). PERM allows US employers to file for foreign workers on visas to become permanent US residents. As part of the PERM process, employers are required to prominently advertise open positions so that anyone can apply to them regardless of citizenship status.

The DOJ said that Apple violated these rules by not advertising PERM positions on their recruiting website, and also made it harder for people to apply by requiring mailed-in paper applications, something that it did not do for regular, non-PERM positions. As a result, a DOJ investigation found that Apple received few or no applications for these positions from US citizens or permanent residents who do not require work visas.

As part of the settlement, Apple will pay $6.75 million in civil penalties and set up a $18.25 million fund to pay back eligible discrimination victims, the DOJ’s statement said. 

Apple disagreed with the DOJ’s characterization. “Apple proudly employs more than 90,000 people in the United States and continues to invest nationwide, creating millions of jobs,” a company spokesperson told CNBC. “When we realized we had unintentionally not been following the DOJ standard, we agreed to a settlement addressing their concerns. We have implemented a robust remediation plan to comply with the requirements of various government agencies as we continue to hire American workers and grow in the US”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-reaches-25m-settlement-with-the-doj-for-discriminating-against-us-residents-during-hiring-225857162.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Apple reaches M settlement with the DOJ for discriminating against US residents during hiring

Tumblr, a flailing social media site from a bygone era, may be run by a skeleton crew from now on. An alleged internal memo from parent company Automattic has made the rounds on social platforms (including Threads), stating it has “not gotten the expected results from our effort.” The decision appears to mark a sharp U-turn from a separate leak this summer, claiming Automattic was building a TikTok-like algorithmic feed into the aging site.

Although this doesn’t quite appear to be the end of the road for Tumblr, the note doesn’t sound promising for the platform’s future. It says “the majority of the 139 people” will switch to other Automattic projects, leaving a barebones gang of Trust & Safety and support workers to oversee Tumblr’s smoldering embers. Given how many brutal layoffs we’ve seen this year, handling the transition in a way that avoids job losses could be a silver lining.

Automattic, the company behind the blogging tool WordPress, acquired Tumblr in 2019 from Verizon, which landed the platform through its purchase of Yahoo! (Engadget’s parent company) in 2017. It likely didn’t help that its ownership turned into a game of musical chairs, and none of them seemed to find the right formula to get the microblogging network back on its feet. (Its controversial ban on adult content likely had something to do with that.)

“We are at the point where after 600+ person-years of effort put into Tumblr since the acquisition in 2019, we have not gotten the expected results from our effort, which was to have its revenue and usage above its previous peaks,” the alleged memo reads. After throwing in cliches about climbing mountains and being better to try and fail than not to try at all, the note claims the team’s next step is to “reflect and decide where else we should concentrate our energy together.”

Engadget reached out to Automattic for comment and confirmation but didn’t immediately receive a response. We’ll update this article if we hear back.

In addition to WordPress, Automattic’s other brands include the journaling app Day One, the e-commerce plugin WooCommerce, Gravatar and the note-taking app SimpleNote.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tumblrs-staff-is-reportedly-reduced-to-a-skeleton-crew-215853169.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Tumblr’s staff is reportedly reduced to a skeleton crew

OpenAI is rolling out a new partnership program to collect datasets from third parties that it intends to use to train its AI models. The initiative, OpenAI Data Partnerships, will seek large-scale private and public information that it says is “not already easily accessible online to the public.” The company says the data it will collect doesn’t necessarily have to be quantitative or in text formats — the program will also accept images, audio or video.

Notably, the company says it’s on the lookout for data on “any topic” and in “any language” so long as it “expresses human intention,” which it likens to long-form essays or transcribed conversations. Human-centric data collected by OpenAI is expected to help the company improve tools like its automatic speech recognition technology which is used to transcribe spoken words. This initiative also lines up with ChatGPT’s recent expansion to support voice queries to engage with users in a conversational manner. Exposing its AI models to more information that teaches it how to hold up human-like conversations will only further improve this feature and other tools that will follow in function.

The model testing conducted throughout the data partnership program will also naturally expand the capabilities of OpenAI’s consumer-facing GPT-4 Turbo, which has been updated to provide users with more complex and meaningful responses. OpenAI says it has already started working with interested organizations, including authoritative bodies like the Icelandic government. Through curated datasets, OpenAI says its working to improve GPT-4’s ability to comprehend queries made in the Icelandic language.

If a private or public organization wants to participate in the program, a representative can submit a form on the company’s website and share information on the data type and size that they intend to share. There are two pathways for datasets. The first is the Open-Source archive, which is ideal for datasets relevant to training language models. However, submissions made to it will be public for anyone to use. Alternatively, OpenAI says a company can submit information through its private dataset pathway which will be funneled to train proprietary AI models, which the company says includes their “foundation models” and “fine-tuned and custom models.” This is recommended for companies or institutions that want to keep their data confidential. But in that same regard, OpenAI says it is not looking for datasets that contain sensitive or personal information.

ChatGPT has already set records for its soaring user base. It has about 100 million weekly active users around the world, meaning privacy will only continue to be a focal point for the tool. Previously, Samsung employees were put in the hot seat for leaking sensitive data to the AI model. While OpenAI claims it does not use data generated by its API to train its models unless a user explicitly submits information through an opt-in form, all eyes will be on how the company handles the data collected through this initiative, especially the private datasets.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/openai-wants-to-work-with-organizations-to-build-new-ai-training-datasets-214548902.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – OpenAI wants to work with organizations to build new AI training datasets

One of the major benefits of certain artificial intelligence models is that they can speed up menial or time-consuming tasks —- and not just to whip up terrible “art” based on a brief text input. University of Leeds researchers have unveiled a neural network that they claim can map an outline of a large iceberg in just 0.01 seconds.

Scientists are able to track the locations of large icebergs manually. After all, one that was included in this study was the size of Singapore when it broke off from Antarctica a decade ago. But it’s not feasible to manually track changes in icebergs’ area and thickness — or how much water and nutrients they’re releasing into seas.

“Giant icebergs are important components of the Antarctic environment,” Anne Braakmann-Folgmann, lead author of a paper on the neural network, told the European Space Agency. “They impact ocean physics, chemistry, biology and, of course, maritime operations. Therefore, it is crucial to locate icebergs and monitor their extent, to quantify how much meltwater they release into the ocean.”

Until now, manual mapping has proven to be more accurate than automated approaches, but it can take a human analyst several minutes to outline a single iceberg. That can rapidly become a time- and labor-intensive process when multiple icebergs are concerned.

The researchers trained an algorithm called U-net using imagery captured by the ESA’s Copernicus Sentinel-1 Earth-monitoring satellites. The algorithm was tested on seven icebergs. The smallest had an area roughly the same as Bern, Switzerland and the largest had approximately the same area as Hong Kong.

With 99 percent accuracy, the new model is said to surpass previous attempts at automation, which often struggled to tell the difference between icebergs and sea ice and other features. It’s also 10,000 times faster than humans at mapping icebergs.

“Being able to map iceberg extent automatically with enhanced speed and accuracy will enable us to observe changes in iceberg area for several giant icebergs more easily and paves the way for an operational application,” Dr. Braakmann-Folgmann said.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-neural-network-can-map-large-icebergs-10000-times-faster-than-humans-212855550.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – A neural network can map large icebergs 10,000 times faster than humans

Researchers at Cornell University have developed a wearable with batlike sonar that could improve upper-body tracking in virtual reality and other applications. The Cornell team fitted a generic pair of eyeglasses with a tiny sonar system, demonstrating how acoustic signals can be used instead of cameras to capture the body’s movement. 

Not only would sonar be more efficient in terms of battery consumption, the team told the Cornell Chronicle, but it would also do away with the privacy risks that come with headsets’ externally facing cameras. The system, dubbed PoseSonic, uses two pairs of microphones and speakers to send and receive acoustic signals, according to a recently published paper. With help from their deep learning model, it can then estimate 3D poses at nine different points — the shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips and nose — as these signals bounce off the upper body.

The team tested it both in the lab and “semi-in-the-wild,” and found it wasn’t negatively affected by environmental noise in any significant way. With this technique, “we use less instrumentation on the body, which is more practical, and battery performance is significantly better for everyday use,” senior author Cheng Zhang told the Cornell Chronicle.

In addition to its potential use in augmented and virtual reality, the researchers say sonar could make for better health tracking by capturing more detailed information on the body’s movements. They’ve only got the upper-body covered at the moment, though — VR legs continue to elude us.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/these-sonar-equipped-glasses-could-pave-the-way-for-better-vr-body-tracking-201958516.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – These sonar-equipped glasses could pave the way for better VR body tracking

Amazon reportedly plans to remove the Android core from future Fire TVs, smart displays and other devices. Writing for Lowpass, veteran journalist Janko Roettgers cites “multiple sources with knowledge of these plans” along with job listings and other materials supporting Amazon’s alleged move to a new Linux-based operating system. The OS supposedly uses the internal codename “Vega” and runs on devices like Fire TV Sticks, TVs, and other connected devices.

Roettgers says Amazon has been working on the idea for years, with the company supposedly floating the idea to chipmakers as far back as 2017. “Hundreds of people” in Amazon’s Device OS group have reportedly worked on the software, including Zibi Braniecki, a former Mozilla engineer who joined Amazon in 2022. Earlier this year, he allegedly posted on LinkedIn (a comment that appears to have since been deleted) that he was “working on a next generation Operating System for Smart Home, Automotive, and other Amazon Devices product lines.”

The report doesn’t list a release timeline but mentions that “most of the OS development is already done.” Amazon is now apparently focusing on readying an SDK and planning perks to convince developers to invest their time and money.

The alleged move would allow Amazon to cut ties with Google’s Android Open Source Project, which lies at the heart of the current Fire OS. That dependence has led to Amazon’s software falling several generations behind the most recent Android versions. For example, the current-gen Fire TV software is based on Android 9, Google’s big software update from five years ago. Switching to Vega could also let Amazon cut underlying bloat from its OS; Android contains code enabling it to work on many different devices stretching far beyond the relatively minimal needs of Amazon’s smart-home gear.

Lowpass claims the Linux-based Vega would use React Native for app development. The Meta-created framework uses a single codebase for iOS and Android, and Amazon likely hopes that will help with cross-platform development. The report doesn’t specifically address whether the OS will eventually run on Fire tablets, which become much more versatile when users sideload the Google Play Store to run a wider variety of Android apps.

Roettgers’s report says Amazon plans to eventually make a clean break with Android on all new devices. The company allegedly designed Vega to run on systems as diverse as car infotainment systems and “other future hardware products.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-reportedly-plans-to-dump-android-for-a-homemade-fire-os-replacement-200144781.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Amazon reportedly plans to dump Android for a homemade Fire OS replacement

The Spotify TV app has been revamped to make the big-screen app experience resemble the popular mobile version of the digital music and podcast streaming service. The home page will have a “Now Playing View” and feature shortcuts to recently played content. The TV app will also recommend new songs and podcasts based on your listening history on the main screen, similar to what you might get on the mobile app.

The TV app home page doesn’t just look different. You can now more easily switch between different Spotify accounts. The most recently active profile will always appear in the top right corner of a screen. Say you share a TV in the living room and you want to stop listening to your mom’s playlist – now you can select the profile image of a paired account when you want to switch.

In the past, if you listened to music on your TV through the app, you could only see the next song that was lined up. But now you can use the “Playback Queue” tool to select what you want to play next. Also, you can now turn on dark mode on your TV, meaning you can stream a curated playlist during your next house party and minimize the visuals and screen brightness.

The new Spotify TV app updates are available to free and premium subscribers using the app on supported Smart TVs, gaming consoles and media streaming devices. The effort to revitalize the user experience on the big screen isn’t a huge shocker. Spotify rolled out similar updates for its Desktop app earlier this year in an effort to make streaming more enjoyable when you’re not using your phone.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/spotify-for-tvs-gets-a-new-look-and-features-to-match-the-mobile-app-195050535.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Spotify for TVs gets a new look and features to match the mobile app

The Sonos Beam has been our top pick for compact soundbars for a while now. It offers a lot in a small package and the second-gen version also supports more immersive Dolby Atmos audio. The Beam doesn’t have any upfiring drivers though, so the impact of that spatial sound is limited. That’s not an issue with the Ambeo Soundbar Mini ($799.95), Sennheiser’s smallest soundbar yet to feature its impressive Ambeo 3D audio technology. It cranks out more sonic oomph with dual upfiring woofers on top of all of its virtualization tricks, in a unit roughly the same size as the Beam. The bigger sound comes at a significantly higher price, though.

The design

While the overall shape of the Ambeo Soundbar Mini is similar to the Sonos Beam, there are differences in the details. Most notably, Sennheiser has opted for illuminated (dimmable) Ambeo branding on the front right corner. The top panel of the mini also slopes back to front and the sides are wrapped in a fabric all the way around. Up top, there are controls for volume, playback, Bluetooth, input selection and muting the microphone. There’s also a white light that gets longer from left to right as you increase the volume.

The Ambeo Mini is about an inch and a half wider than the Beam at around 27.25 inches, but the height and depth are nearly identical. Not that you’ll be moving the speaker around much, but the Mini is also almost a pound heavier than its primary competition. Still, this is a compact unit that’s perfectly sized for smaller living rooms and spaces where you don’t have the real estate for a bigger soundbar.

Inside, there are four 1.6-inch full-range drivers. Two of them are front facing while two more are at the ends, angled slightly outward. A pair of four-inch woofers are positioned near the middle of the soundbar, but they face upward. Sennheiser has also included six class D amplifiers capable of 250 watts of power. Four far-field microphones handle the room calibration and you’ll need to make sure they’re unmuted before that process can be completed.

Sound quality

It’s impressive what Sennheiser has managed to get out of a small speaker. When listening to music, there’s great bass that provides plenty of low-end thump to the driving drum beats of TesseracT’s prog metal and the hip-hop musings of Kaytraminé. Even if a soundbar has woofers, most of the living room speakers can’t muster enough bass for them to be useful as a music setup without an additional sub. That’s not the case here. Still, you’ll want to consider an Ambeo Sub if you’re planning to use it in a medium-to-large room as the bass tends to get lost in bigger spaces. The Mini also supports Sony’s 360 Reality Audio and MPEG-H if you’re into them, but the Ambeo does a great job upscaling stereo content.

The Ambeo Soundbar Mini’s key feature is Sennheiser’s 3D audio tech. It has been a staple of the company’s soundbars since the first Ambeo model in 2019. Both of the larger, pricier Sennheiser soundbars have more drivers, including two upfiring units in addition to the two upwards facing woofers inside the Ambeo Soundbar Plus. The Mini does a solid job with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X content, but the effect isn’t as enveloping since it’s more reliant on virtualization. I particularly enjoyed the immersive, directional audio in quidditch matches during my annual fall viewing of the Harry Potter series.This soundbar still gives you a 7.1.4 setup after the room calibration places virtual speakers around. That’s the same channel layout as the Plus, though that bigger unit has seven total drivers and two woofers for a fuller sound and more immersive experience.

Software and features

Like a lot of smaller soundbars these days, the Ambeo Mini connects to your TV via HDMI eARC. It supports HDMI 2.1, which is the latest spec that allows higher resolution (up to 10K) and higher frame rates (up to 120fps) thanks to increased bandwidth. Most new TVs have at least one HDMI 2.1 port and both PS5 and Xbox Series X support it.

All of the settings for the Ambeo Soundbar Mini are accessible in Sennheiser’s Smart Control app. This includes the initial setup and room calibration, the latter of which takes about three minutes to complete. First, you have the ability to change the sources between HDMI, Bluetooth or Spotify Connect. There’s a volume slider here too and just below reside the Ambeo 3D audio on/off buttons. The company offers a few sound presets next, with Adaptive, Music, Movie, News, Neutral and Sports as the choices. During my tests, I found Adaptive best suited for most viewing and listening, so I kept it locked there. Lastly, the app’s main interface provides access to Night Mode and Voice Enhancement features should you need those.

There’s a more detailed settings menu, but I’ll only point out one item. Under both Audio and System is where you’ll need to go to add an Ambeo Subwoofer to the Mini (the same stuff is available from both places). Once you do, you’ll have the ability to adjust the additional speaker’s volume and enable a tool called Phase 180. This balances out the low-end from the sub when it’s positioned close to the soundbar. Sennheiser says otherwise the bass can have a hollow character and this helps correct that. You’ll also need to recalibrate the system once you add a sub, which you can do from this menu.

The Mini runs Sennheiser’s Ambeo OS, which allows a whole host of connectivity options. You’ll primarily connect via Wi-Fi, but as I’ve already mentioned Bluetooth is here as well. Wi-Fi gives you the choice of Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect, in addition to Alexa built-in and Google Chromecast. The wireless connectivity allows you to easily use the Mini as part of a multiroom setup too. I was able to select it and a HomePod from the connections menu in Apple Music with no additional setup required. The company promises “a future-proof experience” thanks to “regular” Ambeo OS updates as well.

The competition

As you’ve probably guessed, the Ambeo Mini’s primary competition is the Sonos Beam. The second-generation version of which debuted in 2021, most notably delivering Dolby Atmos and a new cover. While the speaker sounds great and does an admirable job with Atmos, it doesn’t have any upfiring drivers, so the effect of the immersive audio is limited. However, Sonos still achieves a level of immersiveness through some virtualization tricks with extra height and surround channels. Plus, it’s $300 cheaper than the Mini, even after Sonos raised the price to $499. You’ll probably want a sub for the Beam too, which is another $429 or $799 depending on which model you choose (there is a Beam and Sub Mini bundle that saves you $45).

If you’re sold on the Ambeo tech no matter the cost, the Plus and Max soundbars are worth a look. Sennheiser has dropped the prices since their debuts as the Plus is now $1,119.95 and the Max is $1,999.95. Like the Mini, neither of those come with an Ambeo Sub which is an additional $599.95 and the only one these soundbars are compatible with. There’s no denying these Ambeo models can muster some amazing audio, but you’ll pay a premium for the tech.

Wrap-up

With its smallest soundbar yet, Sennheiser continues to show how good its 3D audio tech is. The Ambeo Soundbar Mini offers impressive sound in a small package, including great low-end thump without a dedicated wireless sub. It does an admirable job with Dolby Atmos content, though the Mini does its best work in smaller rooms. There’s no denying this is a very good home entertainment speaker for the size, but the company makes you pay dearly for its fancy technology.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sennheiser-ambeo-soundbar-mini-review-excellent-and-expensive-183045244.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Mini review: Excellent and expensive

Reverb has refurbished Native Instruments Maschine MK3 units on sale now for half off the sticker price in an early Black Friday sale. The device’s interface is friendly to beginner and advanced beatmakers, providing music-making software and hardware in one package. Typically costing $599 new, Reverb’s “great quality” refurbs of the standalone groovebox cost $299 and come with a 90-day warranty.

NI describes the Maschine line as “whatever you want it to be — a standalone groovebox, a compact drum machine, a versatile synthesiser, or a fully fledged production system.” It can create entire songs on the device or pair it with a desktop DAW like Logic Pro or Ableton for finer tuning after laying down a foundation on the all-in-one controller.

The standalone system includes a sampler, arranger, mixer and “pro-quality” FX like a filter, EQ, delay, reverb and compressor. Its built-in sounds include thousands of drum kits, synth presets and loops, and it supports up to 12 expansions. On the device’s face are 16 “ultra-sensitive” drum pads, two color displays, touch-sensitive knobs, a smart strip, and more.

The Maschine MK3 is compatible with Mac (10.13 or higher) and Windows (7 and up) using a bundled USB 2.0 cable.

Reverb says its refurbished models are cleaned and tested as fully operational, and they include a 90-day warranty in case you run into any problems. The online retailer also accepts returns within seven days of delivery — but only if it’s “lost, damaged, or doesn’t match its description.” (So don’t expect Reverb to accept a buyer’s remorse return if the Maschine MK3 works as advertised but doesn’t quite do it for you.)

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/take-half-off-a-refurbished-native-instruments-maschine-mk3-for-black-friday-182541536.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Take half off a refurbished Native Instruments Maschine MK3 for Black Friday