The Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly looking into how Twitter (now X) handled a security issue in 2018 that led to users’ personal information being exposed. The bug allowed people to view email addresses when passwords were reset, potentially exposing user identities, according to Bloomberg. The report notes that the SEC has been investigating whether those in charge of the company at the time properly disclosed the flaws to shareholders and put proper controls in place.

Attention was drawn to the flaw last year while Elon Musk was trying to wriggle out of his commitment to buy Twitter. Musk asserted that Twitter had long been contending with operational issues (it has had to deal with multiple security incidents over the last five years) and that it hadn’t properly protected user data. 

Just as Musk was attempting to wash his hands of his takeover bid, Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, Twitter’s former head of security, flagged a number of concerns about the company to the SEC, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission last August in a whistleblower complaint. He claimed Twitter had “extreme, egregious deficiencies” when it came to protecting the platform against attacks. 

Zatko accused Twitter of violating the agreement it made with the FTC in 2011 to settle a previous privacy case. Of note, Twitter last year agreed to pay $150 million to settle FTC charges that it violated said consent decree by misusing user phone numbers and email addresses for ad targeting.

Jack Dorsey was CEO of Twitter at the time of the incident that the SEC is said to be looking into. His successor, Parag Agrawal, was then chief technology officer. None of Twitter’s executives at the time have been accused of wrongdoing, according to Bloomberg. The outlet notes that it’s not clear when the SEC will wrap up its probe or if any enforcement action is expected as a result.

Meanwhile, the SEC has sued Musk for refusing to testify in a separate case. That one concerns Musk’s delay in disclosing his purchase of over five percent of Twitter stock in early 2022.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-sec-is-said-to-be-investigating-a-twitter-security-flaw-from-the-pre-musk-era-205459647.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – The SEC is said to be investigating a Twitter security flaw from the pre-Musk era

Rocket League’s player-to-player trading is going away. Developer Psyonix announced Tuesday that peer transactions will be removed from the title on December 5 at 4PM PST. The beloved feature added a game-outside-the-game element as players sought trade partners, often using third-party websites to find suitable swaps. Psyonix says it will consider those sites “fraudulent” moving forward.

Psyonix wrote that the decision was based on parent company Epic Games’ cosmetics policies, which ban sales and only allow in-game trades. “We’re making this change to align with Epic’s overall approach to game cosmetics and item shop policies, where items aren’t tradable, transferrable, or sellable,” the announcement blog post reads. However, Psyonix hints at the game’s automobiles appearing in other titles. “This opens up future plans for some Rocket League vehicles to come to other Epic games over time, supporting cross-game ownership.”

The fan response on social media was swift and fierce. “They really want this game to die, huh,” wrote u/DshadoW10 on Reddit. “This is absolute bs,” added u/MuskratAtWork. “Still z e r o communication or care for the community at all. Just a cash grab at this point. All [they] care about is selling product and items and no care at all for the health of gameplay or the community.”

Users on X (formerly Twitter) weren’t exactly thrilled either:

Psyonix removed loot boxes from Rocket League in 2019 after many of gaming’s most prominent companies agreed to disclose the odds of receiving rare items. The (not quite) loot boxes returned later that year with a more transparent design. At the time, Psyonix and Epic said items from post-game drops were still tradable.

Epic Games, which bought Psyonix in 2019, recently laid off 16 percent of its workforce. “This was a survival move that was necessary,” CEO Tim Sweeney said of the company’s “financial problems,” which began over the summer. In response, the Fortnite creator tweaked pricing for Unreal Engine for non-gaming uses. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rocket-league-will-remove-player-to-player-item-trades-in-december-200951688.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Rocket League will remove player-to-player item trades in December

Amazon’s second Prime Day sale event for 2023 kicked off in the wee hours this morning, and it’s turning out to be a great opportunity to shop for your holiday gifts early — or get something for yourself. And if you missed out on any of the deals from Prime Day in July, this year’s “Prime Big Deal Days” will let you make up for that. The sale has brought back many of the same low prices we saw a few months ago in summer, but we’re also seeing new sales as well — including deals on brand new devices. We’ve also put together category roundups for deals on headphones, tablets, TVs, video games and other gadgets. If you’ve got your gift list handy, now’s a good time to start checking it off so you won’t be pressed for time or funds when Black Friday comes around next month. A few deals are just for Prime members, but many are open to anyone looking to save. If you want to take advantage of some great tech deals, here’s best of what we found for October Prime Day. 

Apple AirPods Pro

The second-generation AirPods Pro have dropped to $189 for Prime Day. Apple made a ton of small but noticeable improvements to these models, so now they have better sound quality, noise cancelation and Transparency Mode. There remains no competition if you have an iPhone and live within the Apple ecosystem — these are the best earbuds to get if you fall into that category.

Apple Watch SE

The Apple Watch SE is on sale for $199 right now. It’s the best smartwatch to get if you’re new to the wearable world, or you just want a basic, relatively affordable watch that has all of the basic features you’d need. On top of comprehensive health and fitness tracking, iPhone notifications and dozens of fun watch faces, you’ll get features like crash and fall detection, noise monitoring and Emergency SOS.

Apple 10.2-inch iPad

Apple’s most affordable tablet, the 10.2-inch iPad, is on sale for $249 right now. It may have an old-school design, but it’s certainly the best iPad for people on a budget and it has most crucial features you’d expect in an Apple tablet. It earned a score of 86 from us for its solid performance, sharp screen, TouchID-capable Home button and good battery life. The only major downside to this model right now is that it still sports Apple’s old Lightning port rather than USB-C.

Apple iPad Air

The iPad Air is on sale for $500, which is $99 off the MSRP. Apple may refresh the Air at some point soon, but for now, we think the existing iPad Air is the best blend of price and performance in Apple’s tablet lineup. This model only has 64GB of storage, however, and its display is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate. We gave the iPad Air a review score of 90 last year. And it’s our top overall iPad pick for most people 

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6

The new Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 is down to $270 for October Prime Day, which is the lowest price we’ve seen since it came out a few months ago. You can’t get a better smartwatch than this one if you have an Android phone (bonus points if you have a Samsung phone), and it’s smaller and lighter than previous versions. Samsung brought back the spinning bezel on the Classic version, which is which makes the software’s UI easier to navigate, plus it has improved performance and updated health and fitness tracking tools.

Apple iPad mini

The Apple iPad mini has dropped to $400 for October Prime Day. It’s the best small tablet on the market right now and really your only option if you want a true one-hand-friendly iPad. It’s powered by Apple’s A15 Bionic chip and sports a Touch ID-toting power button, solid cameras, a good battery life and a USB-C port for charging.

Sony WF-1000XM5

Sony’s WF-1000XM5 wireless earbuds are on sale for $278 for Prime Day, which is their best price yet. These are the best wireless earbuds on the market right now, and Sony improved upon it’s already remarkable buds with a more comfortable fit, better sound quality and features likes adaptive sound and Speak-to-Chat.

Anker Soundcore Space A40

The Anker Soundcore Space A40 is on sale for $54, which matches its all-time low and comes in $25 less than usual. The Space A40 is the top pick in our guide to the best budget wireless earbuds, as it includes a host of features that belie its price: adaptive ANC, multi-device pairing, wireless charging, a transparency mode and up to 10 hours of battery life. Its audio quality and ANC aren’t quite as powerful as more expensive pairs, but both are more than effective enough for the money. Unlike many budget wireless headphones, its default sound doesn’t completely blow out the bass. Just note that its call quality is mediocre, and it lacks wear detection, so it won’t auto-pause when you remove an earbud.

Bose QuietComfort 45

The Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones have dropped to $230 for October Prime Day, which is about $80 cheaper than their usual selling price. These cans earned a spot in our best wireless headphone guide thanks to their comfortable, if a little dated, design, excellent ANC and balanced audio.

Google Pixel Buds Pro

The Google Pixel Buds Pro have dropped to $120 for Prime Day. The company got a lot of things right after years of making pretty standard earbuds; the Pixel Buds Pro are Google’s best wireless earbuds yet. These will be great for Android users who want buds with punchy bass, good ANC, reliable touch controls and wireless charging.

Amazon Echo Dot

Amazon has knocked the price of the latest Echo Dot down to $23 right now. It’s one of the best smart speakers you can get thanks to its orb-like design, surprisingly good sound quality for its size and handy Alexa integration. The Dots can also act as Eero WiFi boosters, adding up to 1,000 square feet of coverage to your existing Eero system.

Amazon Echo Show 5

The latest Echo Show 5 is on sale for a record low of $40. The Show 5 has been one of the best smart displays available for quite some time, and it’ll be particularly good for anyone who wants an Alexa-capable smart display that won’t take up a lot of space. It also makes for a good alarm clock thanks to its sunrise alarm and tap-to-snooze features.

Amazon Kindle

The standard Kindle has dropped to $75 for October Prime Day. This model saw a lot of improvements when it was updated in 2022. Capacity was doubled to 16GB and the screen resolution jumped up to 300 ppi for much clearer text. We named it the best budget option in our ereader guide because its perfect entry point to reading and borrowing ebooks and audiobooks.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite

The Kindle Paperwhite, meanwhile, is down to $95 for an 8GB model. That’s $5 more than it went for during July’s Prime Day event but still $45 off its MSRP. The Paperwhite gets you a few extra perks over the standard Kindle, including a larger 6.8-inch screen, a more comprehensive front light and IPX8-rated waterproofing. This deal applies to the ad-supported version (which displays ads for Kindle books and services on your lock screen); it you want no ads on your device, you’ll need to pay $20 more.

$100 PlayStation Store Gift Card + $10 Amazon credit

Here’s a simple one: If you buy a $100 PlayStation Store digital gift card and use the code PSN100 at checkout, you can get an extra $10 Amazon credit to use on future purchases. If you often use Amazon and plan on picking up new PS5 games, renewing a PlayStation Plus subscription or buying any other content through the PlayStation Store anyway, it’s effectively a bit of free money.

Blink Mini (2-pack)

A two-pack of Blink Mini security cameras has dropped to $40 for Prime Day. That’s about $10 more than they went for last Prime Day, but still a decent 38 percent discount. While these cameras are wired, they have most of the same features as the standard wireless Blink cameras including 1080p video recordings and support for two-way talk and motion alerts.

Google Indoor Nest Security Cam

A slew of Google Nest home security devices are on sale, including the battery-powered Nest Cam that can go inside or outside your home. Typically priced at $180, the security cam is down to $120 for Amazon’s October Prime Day event. The Nest Cam works with smart speakers and displays enabled with Alexa or the Google Assistant and can last up to seven months depending on how much activity it picks up. Its weather-resistant build and magnetic mount should make it easy to install on most surfaces. It sends live alerts to your phone and will even allow for on-demand check-ins without a subscription, though it only stores the last three hours for free. For six months of stored footage, you’ll need a Nest Aware membership.

Amazon Fire HD 8

Amazon’s Fire HD 8 is down to $60 for the Prime Big Deal Days event, which is $5 more than the tablet’s all-time low but still $40 off its list price. This discount applies to the model with 32GB of storage; if you need more space, the 64GB version is on sale for $75. Either way, the Fire HD 8 is likely the cheapest competent tablet for most people: It’s slower than the Fire HD 10 and its display is limited to a 1,280 x 800 resolution, but it’s lightweight, it can last more than 10 hours on a charge and it’s still quick enough for basic streaming and reading. It’s not the best value at its standard going rate, but for $60, it’s hard to do better.

Amazon Fire 11 Max

The Fire Max 11 is Amazon’s largest and most performant tablet, with an 11-inch 2,000 x 1,200 resolution display, an aluminum frame, a respectable octa-core processor and 4GB of RAM. It has the same software limitations and lock-screen ads as any other Fire slate, so it’s a tough sell at its usual $230, but now it’s on sale for $150, which matches its all-time low. If you already use a bunch of Amazon services and don’t want to shell out for an entry-level iPad, it’s a big upgrade over the Fire HD 8 — just don’t expect to get any real work done with it.

Google Pixel Tablet

The 128GB Google Pixel Tablet is down to $409, which is $90 off and a new low. The 256GB model is also on sale for $509. While we think Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S9 works better purely as a tablet, Google’s 11-inch slate still gets you a sharp LCD display, a speedy Tensor G2 chip and an easy-to-hold design that weighs just over a pound. Its big hook, however, is that it can attach to an included charging speaker dock and double as a Nest Hub Max-style smart display. Android still isn’t as optimized for large screens as iPadOS, but if that extra functionality sounds useful to you, the Pixel Tablet is worth a look. We gave it a score of 85 in June. (The Galaxy Tab S9, meanwhile, isn’t on sale as of this writing.)

Google Pixel 7a

The Google Pixel 7a is down to a new low of $399 for this sale event. It’s the best midrange phone you can get right now thanks to its speedy Tensor G2 chip, smooth 90Hz display and support for wireless charging. The 7a also has solid cameras and an IP67 water-resistant design.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

The entire Samsung Galaxy S23 series is on sale for Prime Day, including the S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra. These are some of the best Android phones you can buy right now, and we recommend springing for the S23 Ultra if you want all of the latest features from Samsung. The Ultra runs on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and has a big, bold 120Hz display, built-in S Pen and an excellent main camera.

Bose Quiet Comfort

The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II have dropped to $199 for October Prime Day, which is the best price we’ve ever seen, though you’ll need to be a Prime member to get the deal. They’re currently the best wireless earbuds you can get if you want as much noise cancelation as possible. On top of that, these buds have a smaller, more comfortable fit and good audio quality.

Sony SRS-XB13 Extra Bass

The four-inch tall SRS-XB13 is back to $35 for October Prime, which matches its sale price for July’s Prime sale. You’ll need a Prime membership to get the deal, however. This is an older model of the tiny portable. Sony replaced it with the SRS-XB100 earlier this year, which is currently seeing a 20 percent discount. They’re both rated for water and dust resistance and you can pair two for stereo sound.

Roku Streaming Stick 4K

Our favorite streaming stick, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K, has dropped to $38 for this sale. It packs a ton of features into an affordable package, including 4K HDR streaming capabilities, Dolby Vision, AirPlay 2 and private listening when you have a pair of headphones. And since it’s so small, it makes a great travel entertainment device, too.

LG B2

The LG B2 OLED TV is down to $847 for a 55-inch model. That’s a new low and roughly $150 off its average street price in recent months. The B2 is the step-down model from the C2 — which is also on sale at $1,097 for a 55-inch set — as it’s not as bright or color-rich with HDR content, it runs on a slower processor and it has two fewer HDMI 2.1 ports. That said, its contrast, colors and motion performance will still be a significant upgrade if you’re upgrading from a more basic LED TV. LG’s new B3 TV promises a cleaner webOS interface, but it’s priced a good way higher as of this writing. If you want an OLED TV for less than $1,000, the B2 should be a better value.

Hisense U6K

If you want a more affordable TV, the Hisense U6K is also on sale, with the 55- and 65-inch models down to $400 and $548, respectively. We’ve seen these deals before, but each matches an all-time low. The U6K is has received generally positive reviews around the web, as it’s one of the few budget-level sets with quantum dots, full-array local dimming and a mini-LED backlight. All of that should help it deliver better contrast and color volume than most TVs in its price range. It’s not ideal for gaming though, as it’s limited to a 60Hz refresh rate and lacks HDMI 2.1 ports. In general, it can’t match the brightness or viewing angles of a more expensive set, but it looks to be a good buy if you’re on a tighter budget.

For a well-reviewed mid-range model, the Hisense U8K provides much better contrast and peak brightness, and it comes with more gaming-friendly features like the ability to play 4K content at up to a 144Hz refresh rate. That one is down to $748 for a 55-inch model and $998 for a 65-inch set.

iRobot Roomba 694

iRobot’s Roomba 694 has dropped to $199 for Prime Day. It’s our favorite cheap robot vacuum thanks to its strong suction power, attractive design and easy to use app. It’ll be a good option for robo-vac novices, or anyone that doesn’t want to fuss too much with an automatic dirt sucker. It clears hard and carpeted floors well, and it automatically returns to its base once a cleaning job is finished so it can recharge.

Razer Basilisk V3

The Razer Basilisk V3 is down to $44, which is a few bucks more than its all-time low but still $6 less than its usual street price. This is the “best for most” pick in our guide to the best gaming mouse, as its sturdy shape should be comfortable for each grip type and all but the smallest hands. (Provided you’re a righty.) It has 11 customizable buttons, including a “sensitivity clutch” for more precise aiming, and its thumb wheel supports both left-right tilt and a faster free-spin mode. That wheel is somewhat noisy, and the whole thing is too heavy for competitive-minded players, but it still tracks accurately and glides smoothly.

Samsung Pro Plus microSD

The Samsung Pro Plus microSD card is on sale for $20 right now. It’s our top pick in our best microSD card guide because it was the most consistent of the ones we tested, with some of the best overall speeds and all of the important ratings that a good card should have: U3, V30 and A2. It’ll be a great pick for your tablet, smartphone or Nintendo Switch, and it comes with a full-sized adapter in case you need to use it with a camera or connect it to your computer.

Backbone One

The Backbone One is a well-built gamepad that snaps around the sides of your phone and works immediately with just about any game that supports controller input. It’s also convenient for cloud streaming games from a console or PC. Right now both its USB-C and Lightning models are down to $70, which is $30 off. That’s not an all-time low, but discounts on the device are relatively uncommon. We gave the One a positive review last year, and we currently highlight it in our guide to the best handheld gaming systems. Backbone says the USB-C models will work with Apple’s new iPhone 15 lineup as well.

Crucial MX500

The Crucial MX500 internal drive is on sale for $46 right now. It’s been an Engadget favorite for a while thanks to its sequential read speeds of 560MB/s and a standard 2.5-inch design that should make it easy to swap in for your desktop’s or laptop’s used-up drive.

Here are all the deals we’ve rounded up so far:

• The best lightning deals to shop right now

• The best Prime Day laptop deals

• The best Prime Day Apple Watch deals

• The best Amazon Prime Day Apple deals

• The best Prime Day deals for AirPods

• The best Prime Day deals under $50

• The best Prime Day TV deals

• The best Prime Day Kindle deals

• Best iPad and tablet deals from Prime Day

• The best Prime Day gaming deals

• The best camera deals from Prime Day

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

Amazon’s Prime Day sale for October 2023 is in full swing, but Walmart got the jump on its fellow retailer with a sale of its own that it launched yesterday. The Holiday Kickoff sale is like a Walmart Prime Day sale, which we’ve seen other storefronts host in the past. It’s a way for the company to take advantage of the shopping buzz generated by Amazon — and a way for you to save at more than one outlet. We combed through what Walmart had to offer and found the tech savings that are worth your time. One thing to note is that Walmart carries some devices that Amazon doesn’t, like the Google Nest Hub, which is down to $60. Other worthwhile deals include the 9th generation iPad for $1 less than it sold for during Amazon’s July Prime Day and an Xbox Elite Series 2 core controller for just $88. 

Apple 10.2-inch iPad (Wi-Fi, 64GB, 9th gen)

Apple’s 9th-generation iPad dropped down to $250 in July for Amazon’s first Prime Day of 2023, and it was one of the top sellers. Now Walmart’s sale has dropped that price by a dollar, which makes it the new lowest prices o far. This is the budget pick in our guide to the best iPads and while it doesn’t have the thin bezels and as much accessory support as our favorite, the iPad Air, it’s excellent for light gaming, streaming and browsing the web — and it’s the most affordable way to snag an iPad. 

iRobot Roomba j7+ 

iRobot’s Roomba j7+ is down to $300, which is a huge, $400 discount over the regular price. We named this the runner up model in our robot vacuum tests, though the version we recommended didn’t have a clean base, this one does. It has strong suction power and utilizes advanced obstacle avoidance, which helps it steer clear of furniture and other objects while it’s cleaning. 

Google Nest Hub (2nd gen)

The second-generation Google Nest Hub is down to $60, which is about $5 more than Walmart sold it for last time it did a Prime-adjacent sale. This is the top pick for a Google smart display in Engadget’s Engadget’s guide The seven-inch screen lives in an unobtrusive exterior and through it you can watch YouTube, access the Google Assistant, control your smart home devices, and even check in on your cameras around the house. But it doesn’t have a built-in camera itself, so you won’t be able to make video calls from it. 

Microsoft Xbox Elite Series 2 Core

The Xbox Elite Series 2 Core wireless controller is down to $88. That beats the low price we saw a few months ago by a healthy $12 and is a $42 discount overall. The Core version of this gamepad is just like the regular Elite Series 2, except without the additional accessories (like extra joysticks and triggers). Both are designed for competitive gamers with a wrap-around grip, 40 hours of rechargeable battery life, adjustable tension sticks and hair-trigger locks. 

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

If you haven’t bought Nintendo’s acclaimed 2023 Zelda game, TOTK for your Switch yet, here’s a good opportunity. It’s a game we thought unlocked “a ton of creative potential” and is now 31 percent off, bringing it down to $48 which is just $2 more than the lowest price we’ve tracked. This is the standard, physical copy of the game. 

Apple iPad (Wi-Fi, 64GB, 10th gen)

The 10th generation standard iPad is down to $399. While that’s a $40 savings, it’s still about $20 more than the all time low price we’ve tracked for this model. This one didn’t make the cut in our list of the best iPads. Though it has a bigger screen and a newer chip than the 9th generation, it’s still not Apple’s own M-series silicon and it does away with the home button and headphone jack, which the earlier version retains. 

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

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/walmart-prime-day-holiday-kickoff-deals-185926040.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – The best Walmart Deals you can get right now on Prime Day

Major Amazon sale events like Prime Day aren’t typically a haven for laptop deals, but if you’re looking for a new notebook, you can still usually find a few worthwhile discounts. That’s the case again for Prime Big Deal Days, the company’s latest deal-a-thon aimed at Prime members, which kicked off today and runs through Wednesday. We’ve sorted out a handful of notable laptop deals from the October Prime Day sale below, including price drops on MacBooks and gaming laptops. For the former, just note that there’s a chance we see new models by the end of the year, though reports have conflicted on that. 

Apple MacBook Air M2 (15-inch)

The 15.3-inch version of Apple’s MacBook Air is down to $1,049 for an entry-level model with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. That matches the best price we’ve seen and takes $250 off Apple’s list price. The MacBook Air is the top pick in our guide to the best laptops, and we gave the 15-inch model a review score of 96 earlier this year, as it covers just about all of the things we look for in a quality mainstream notebook. Compared to the 13.6-inch version, it also includes a more powerful speaker system and a slightly upgraded GPU. The SSD in this base configuration is technically slower than the one in higher-capacity SKUs, but that shouldn’t be a major problem unless you’re looking to do more complex work. In general, you wouldn’t buy the Air for things like high-res media editing, though its M2 chip is still plenty powerful for everyday tasks.

If you do need more storage space, the 512GB model with 8GB of RAM is on sale for a low of $1,249. Variants with double the RAM are up to $250 off as well. Meanwhile, the 13.6-inch MacBook Air isn’t discounted on Amazon, but it’s down to $899 at Best Buy. That’s $200 off the notebook’s list price.

Apple MacBook Air M1

The previous-generation MacBook Air with Apple’s M1 chip is back down to $750, matching the lowest price we’ve seen. Apple sells this entry-level config with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD for $999, though we’ve often seen it go for $800 or less in recent months. This notebook arrived back in 2020, so it’s harder to recommend these days when the M2 models offer a faster chip, sharper webcam, slimmer bezels and improved speakers. If you only need a laptop for more basic tasks though, it’s not a bad value at this specific deal price. It’s still quieter and more solidly built than many mid-priced laptops, and its keyboard, trackpad and battery life remain excellent. We gave the M1 Air a review score of 94 at launch.

Dell G15 5530 Gaming Laptop

A configuration of Dell’s G15 5530 Gaming Laptop with an Intel Core i7-13650HX processor, 16GB of RAM, an upgradeable 1TB SSD and an 8GB GeForce RTX 4060 GPU is down to $1,222 for Prime Big Deal Days. That’s roughly $180 below its usual going rate. This is an updated version of the “best budget” pick in our guide to the best gaming laptops: It’s heavy, and it can run warm, but this configuration is more than capable of playing modern games at high-ish settings, and its 15.6-inch, 165Hz, 1080p display is sufficiently bright. It is stuck with a 720p webcam though. The slightly larger Dell G16 7630 is also on sale at $1,500 for a model with a Core i9-13900HX and RTX 4070.

Acer Nitro 5

The Acer Nitro 5 is the runner up to the Dell G15 in our guide to the best budget gaming laptops, and right now a model with a Core i5-12500H, 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD and GeForce RTX 3050 GPU is down to $700 for Prime members. That’s about $100 off its usual street price. These are not the latest specs, so you’ll need to crank down the settings in more demanding games to reach a respectable frame rate. The chassis itself is chunky and made of plastic too. But there’s enough power to at least keep up with recent titles, and getting a 144Hz display at this price is nice. For those on a super tight budget, it’s competent.

Razer Blade 14

A config of the Razer Blade 14 with an AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX CPU, 165Hz 1440p display, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU is on sale for $1,950. That’s certainly not cheap, but you’d buy the Blade 14 if you’re willing to pay extra for a gaming laptop with a more slender, portable and premium-feeling design. This is a 2022 model, but the newer editions cost several hundred dollars more, and the last-gen CPU and GPU here are still powerful enough to play most modern games at high settings. Its keyboard is also great, though the whole thing can run hot. We recommend the slightly larger Blade 15 in our guide to the best gaming laptops, but that one isn’t discounted. And if you’re not into the Blade aesthetic, consider our top overall pick, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14, instead.

Microsoft Surface Pro 9

The Microsoft Surface Pro 9 is down to $1,800 for a model with a Core i7-1265U chip, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. That’s about $100 off its usual going rate. Chances are you know where you stand on the Surface Pro at this point: It’s still not especially comfortable to use on your lap, but it remains the gold standard for 2-in-1s that behave and perform like a laptop more than a traditional tablet. While this version isn’t a huge shake-up, it’ll be a nice bump for those upgrading from a three- to five-year-old model. Just note that this deal doesn’t include a keyboard or stylus. We’re reaching the time of year where Microsoft would usually introduce a new model, but as of this writing it’s not clear when a potential Surface Pro 10 might arrive. For now, the Pro 9 is the top Windows pick in our guide to the best tablets.

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

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-october-prime-day-laptop-and-tablet-deals-183021626.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – The best Prime Day laptop deals we could find for October 2023

Editor’s note: This article contains mild spoilers for Assassin’s Creed Mirage.

The deeper I got into Assassin’s Creed Mirage, the more a sense of warm nostalgia washed over me. It felt like a cozy hug from an old friend. A comforting, bloody embrace.

The latest entry in Ubisoft’s long-running open-world adventure franchise takes the series back to its roots. Mirage mostly forgoes the RPG approach Ubisoft adopted in the last three main games: Assassin’s Creed Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla. I’d only played the latter of those and it didn’t click for me, largely because of Ubisoft’s propensity to ovestuff its games and partially because it strayed so far away from the earlier titles.

Some of Valhalla‘s DNA carries over to Mirage, which shouldn’t be surprising as the latest game was originally envisioned as an expansion to the last 100-plus-hour epic. There is some loot to hunt for in the form of swords, daggers and outfits that give protagonist Basim some small upgrades, such as reducing the level of notoriety he gains while carrying out illegal actions or passively regenerating some health. These items are upgradable, as are your tools. One neat, if unrealistic perk, makes an enemy disintegrate after Basim eliminates them with a throwing knife. So, you can tweak your build to fit your playstyle to a certain degree.

There are skill trees too, but rather than unlocking things like a slight increase to the damage Basim deals, the abilities here are genuinely impactful. Pinpointing opponents and important items from further away, reducing fall damage and a chain assassination ability are all super useful tools for Basim to have in his belt.

Ubisoft has pulled back quite a bit on the RPG elements of the previous few games. You won’t be using bows, shields or two-handed weapons as you might in Valhalla, for instance. Still, there’s just enough customization for folks who want to optimize (or min/max) Basim for the way they like to play.

“Just enough” is a thought I kept coming back to in the 17 hours it took me to beat the main story. Mirage is just the right length. There are just enough collectibles and side-quests to make the world feel rich but not overwhelming. There’s just enough to the story, which is fairly by-the-numbers though gets more intriguing in the last couple of hours. There’s just enough variety to the enemies.

There are only a few enemy types, and I love that Mirage doesn’t go down the well-worn and nonsensical path of arbitrarily making them stronger based on their geographical location — an aspect of Dead Island 2 I greatly disliked. Although Basim largely has to make do with his sword and dagger (and, of course, the Hidden Blade), enemies have a variety of weapons. A trio of goons will pose a different threat when they have spears instead of swords. You’ll have to navigate that melange of weaponry carefully, especially so when enemies surround you. Putting an onus on that and the level design for encounters helps make Mirage feel like more of a refreshing throwback.

In the main missions, I only encountered one traditional boss fight toward the end of the story. Practically every other enemy was susceptible to a single-button slaying. I absolutely made the most of that by sneaking up on assassination targets or distracting them with noise-making devices. The game actually discourages open combat, anyway. You won’t gain experience points by killing tons of enemies. Staying stealthy is usually the way to go — unless you’re a completionist, since there’s a trophy/achievement that requires you to stay in open combat for 10 minutes. Thankfully, the game makes it fairly easy for you to slink around.

Contrary to my first impressions, the guards of Baghdad aren’t all that smart. They’ll often be briefly puzzled when they encounter the dead body of a colleague they were chatting with seconds earlier before walking away. They’ll quickly give up on a hunt for Basim. They’ll see a cohort being yanked around a corner and think nothing of it. That breaks the immersion a bit, but it does make it easier to mess with these idiots.

I took some delight in tormenting my opponents, even if that may not match up to the code of conduct the assassins live by. One larger grunt was trapped in a room alone to guard a chest. I entered, used a smoke bomb to distract him, opened the chest and left, blocking the path behind me. I then made my way around to a gate that kept the guard locked in from the other side and spent a few minutes whistling at him, for no reason other than to annoy him and amuse myself.

The real star of the show is the version of ninth-century Baghdad Ubisoft has built. It feels rich and lived-in, with bystanders simply going about their day as a hooded figure darts by them to climb up the side of a building. Unfortunately, that level of detail wasn’t reflected in the character models. Main characters and NPCs alike looked far less refined than their surroundings.

Some Arab critics and reviewers appreciated how Ubisoft represented Baghdad and Muslim culture in the game, and that’s a positive sign. In that sense, Mirage seems like a prime candidate for the historical educational modes that Ubisoft has added to recent Assassin’s Creed games.

I can’t personally speak to the authenticity of the environment Ubisoft has created. The same goes for the Arabic used in the game, but the developers at least strove to avoid anachronisms. I spent an hour or so playing in Arabic with English subtitles and found it a compelling way to experience the game, though I missed hearing the velvet-voiced Shohreh Aghdashloo’s portrayal of Basim’s mentor Roshan too much.

Aghdashloo’s performance is one of several highlights of a solid game. Developer Ubisoft Bordeaux has achieved what it set out to do in bringing back the format of early Assassin’s Creed titles while adding some modern bells and whistles (such as a gameplay option to avoid the turgid pickpocketing minigame) and avoiding some of the old trappings.

No part of the game that I’ve encountered is set in the modern day. That’s a wise move, since those parts of previous games pulled me out of the main experience and into some tedious sections that sought to serve a larger story. I didn’t hear the word “animus” once this time around. Mirage does tie back into the broader Assassin’s Creed narrative — Basim makes an appearance in Valhalla, after all — but you won’t get sidetracked by Desmond Miles or Layla Hassan. That meant I could spend more of my time roaming the streets and rooftops of this well-crafted city, scouting enemy camps from above and figuring out the best way to approach an assassination mission.

Mirage probably won’t be for everyone, including those who appreciated the format of the last three big Assassin’s Creed games, but it struck a chord with me. Even though I’ve wrapped up the main story and have a bunch of other games to play (I’m looking at you, Cocoon and Spider-Man 2), I’ll probably spend a little while longer nuzzled up in the comfort of Mirage.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is out now on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. It’s coming to iPhone 15 Pro devices next year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/assassins-creed-mirage-review-a-warm-bloody-hug-from-an-old-friend-181918323.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Assassin’s Creed Mirage review: A warm, bloody hug from an old friend

1010music’s colorful and portable Nanobox line just gave birth to a brand-new sampler, the Tangerine. This may be an ultra-portable device, but it boasts powerful sampling features, alongside a pleasingly bright orange colorway. The Tangerine can trigger one shots, play time-synced loops and record live loops, among other tasks.

The maximum sample size is 4GB, so when we say “trigger one shots” we really mean you can trigger multi-sample pieces that act as a backbone to a beat or melodic composition, in addition to simple snare hits and the like. This being a modern device, you can also slice up clips and resample playback. There’s also “musically intelligent” looping that should keep everything in time without any obvious air-filled gaps.

As for the hardware itself, you get a touchscreen interface for making adjustments and a 32GB microSD card slot for storage, though there’s a small amount (64MB) of internal storage. The Tangerine connects to other instruments via MIDI for capturing additional samples, which is always nice.

As part of the October Prime Day sale, Amazon is selling the 2023 version of the Samsung Smart Monitor M8 for just $500. That’s $200 off the starting price and the lowest price it’s gone for so far. The 32-inch display has built-in apps and allows you to access streaming services, just like you would on a smart TV. This is the updated 2023 version of the model that launched at CES 2022 and not only combines a monitor with a smart TV, it can also act as a smart home hub, showing you your smart camera feeds and more.  

The 32-inch 4K monitor has a 3840 x 2160 resolution with HDR, a 60Hz refresh rate and a maximum 178-degree viewing angle. Like the original, this 2023 model comes with built-in apps and internet of things (IoT) control features. You can stream from services like Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+, but it also includes Microsoft Office 365 apps for when you want to get work done without connecting to a PC.

When it’s time to hook it up to your computer, it includes a USB-C cable, and it has built-in ports for USB-C, HDMI and USB-A. It even ships with software to access and control your PC remotely, making it much more versatile on its own than standard monitors. And if you own a Samsung mobile device, you can use the company’s DeX software to transform the phone or tablet into a faux desktop computer.

The Smart Monitor M8’s IoT hub lets you control smart home products through SmartThings, performing tasks like changing your home’s lighting or temperature straight from the display. It includes a detachable SlimFit Cam, which records in full HD and has face tracking for video calls. It also has Alexa for voice control, perhaps sparing you the cost of buying an Echo speaker for that room.

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

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsungs-updated-smart-monitor-m8-is-200-off-as-part-an-amazon-prime-day-deal-165722200.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Samsung’s updated Smart Monitor M8 is 0 off as part an Amazon Prime Day deal

Amazon’s Prime Day sale this past July brought many current-generation Apple devices down to all-time low prices. Now, the company’s October Prime Big Deal Days sale is matching many of those deals, with discounts on iPads, AirPods, MacBooks and Apple Watches. For instance, one of the better offers last Prime Day was the 9th-generation iPad for $250, and now it’s back down to $249. Beyond that, the new USB-C model of Apple’s ever-popular AirPods Pro is down to an all-time low price of $189. You won’t find new, unlocked iPhones during the sale as Amazon doesn’t sell those directly, but if you’re looking for a few Apple gadgets as gifts for the holidays — or just as a present to yourself — here are the best Amazon Prime Day deals on Apple products we could find. 

AirPods Pro (2nd gen, USB-C)

Last month, Apple followed the announcement of the new USB-C-capable iPhones with the introduction of AirPods Pro that recharge with the same cable. The USB-C AirPods Pro aren’t a total redesign, so they have the same design and much improved audio as the second-generation buds — though now they’re slightly more waterproof. Amazon’s sale brings them down to $189 instead of $249, which is $10 less than they went for in July. Of course for those who prefer the Lightning version, that one is also down to $189 from $249.

We called the AirPods Pro the best bet for iPhone users in our earbuds guide. They are a big improvement over the first generation and have an excellent transparency mode that keeps you aware of the sounds around you as you listen to music or podcasts. And of course they pair nicely with iPhones, iPads and Macs, making good use of Siri as they do so.

iPad Air

The iPad Air is now in its 5th generation and it’s currently down to $500 after a $99 discount off its $599 price tag, thanks to Amazon’s latest Prime sale. In our guide to iPads, we named the 2022 Air the best pick for most people as it gives you the speed and processing power of Apple’s own silicon, in this case the M1 chip, plus a top-notch build quality and design. The 10.9-inch display is sharp and the battery life is admirable, getting about 12 hours in our tests. It earned a review score of 90 from Engadget’s Nathan Ingraham.

The tablet is great for playing games and watching shows, but when you pair it with accessories like a keyboard and mouse, it’s powerful enough to handle basic productivity tasks. Emailing, using Slack, writing and even modest photo editing are all well within iPad Air’s capabilities. Plus it’s cheaper than the iPad Pro, which may be overkill for many users.

iPad (9th gen)

The 9th-generation iPad is still part of Apple’s official tablet lineup and is now down to $249, which is $80 of the $329 MSRP, though Amazon regularly sells it at a discount. This is a full $1 cheaper than it went for last Prime Day, so it can officially be said that this is the lowest price ever. We named it the best budget pick in our guide to the best iPads as it’s the most affordable way to snag one of Apple’s tablets. It might not make sense as a productivity machine, as the accessory support isn’t as vast as it is for newer iPads, but for couch browsing, playing games and watching shows, it’s a great pick.

The latest standard iPad is the tenth generation and it’s down to $399 for the 64GB size, which is a price it’s hit many times in the recent past. It has a bigger screen and a newer chip than the 9th generation, but not Apple’s own M-series silicon. It also doesn’t have a home button and no headphone jack either, so if you want to hardwire your headphones, you’ll need a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter.

iPad mini

The iPad mini gives you a bit more on-screen room than your phone does, but is easier to carry around than a full-sized tablet. For Amazon’s latest Prime sale, the diminutive slate is down to $400 instead of its usual $489. Engadget’s Valentina Palladino gave the mini an 89 in her review because of its new redesign and solid performance. It also pairs nicely with the second generation Apple Pencil, turning the mini into a portable digital notebook. We also named it the best iPad for one-handed use. 

Magic Keyboard

One of our favorite iPad accessories is Apple’s own Magic Keyboard. The version that fits newer iPad Airs and the 11-inch iPad Pro is now just $269 which is $31 off its $300 list price. It acts as both a keyboard and cover, wrapping around the tablet and magnetically attaching to the back. In use, it “floats” the screen above the keyboard. As we noted in our iPad Pro review, we noted the Magic Keyboard “provides the best typing experience” for Apple’s tablets. 

Apple Watch Series 9

When the new Apple Watch 9 came out last month, it promptly replaced the Apple Watch Series 8 as our favorite overall smartwatch. Amazon’s sale drops the price on the new wearable from $399 to $390 for the 41mm case. That’s not a huge drop, but $9 cheaper than you’ll see it on Apple’s storefront, and likely the best you’ll do with an Apple product that’s this new. The new processor inside allows for on-board (read, faster) Siri responses and will support a new feature rolling out at the end of this month called Double Tap. We awarded the Series 9 a solid review score of 92, praising the comprehensive health and fitness tracking and carbon-neutral manufacturing.

If you’d rather go for the previous generation, you can grab the Apple Watch Series 8 for $300 instead of $399 for the 41mm GPS model. That’s not an all-time low price and we thing the step up to the Apple Watch 9 is worthwhile, but if you’d like to save on a smartwatch that works well with an iPhone. We called it “superb watch that makes a great multipurpose wearable with excellent health and fitness tools.” 

Apple Watch Ultra 2

Apple released the Apple Watch Ultra 2 alongside the Apple Watch 9 last month. The $799 list price is the same as for the original Apple watch, but Amazon’s sale brings it down to $749, which is a new low. The new S9 SiP (system-in-package) is the same as the Series 9, so you get that on-board processing of Siri requests and support for the Double Tap once that launches. GPS and cellular connectivity come standard with the Ultra 2 (though you’ll need to pay for a separate cell plan) and the large 49mm case accommodates lots of information. The Modular Ultra watch face was a particular favorite in our hands-on.

Apple Watch SE

Apple’s budget smartwatch didn’t get a refresh like its other watches this year, so the second-generation Apple Watch SE is still the most recent. It starts at $250 but October’s Prime day knocks $50 off that price. Engadget’s Cherlynn Low called it “the best smartwatch $250 can buy” in her review and awarded it a respectable score of 89. It doesn’t have an always-on display, nor can it track your blood oxygen levels, temperature or give EKG readings. But it still extends the utility of your iPhone while gathering useful health and fitness data.

MacBook Air (15-inch)

The 15-inch MacBook Air came out in June and is Apple’s latest laptop to date. It’s on sale for $1,049 for the 256GB model, instead of the usual $1,299. Engadget’s Nathan Ingraham gave it a high score of 96 in his review noting that the larger screen really makes a difference and lets you get the most out of the M2 processor. He calls it a great choice for getting work done and casual entertainment. Though we should note that the M3 chip, along with a few refreshed MacBooks, may arrive later this year or early 2024.

MacBook Air (M1)

Students and anyone on a budget might be more interested in the MacBook Air with the M1 chip. The 256GB base model is just $750 for the October Prime sale. It’s the budget pick in our buyer’s guide to Macbooks and earned a high score of 94 in our review. 

AirPods Max

Apple’s AirPods Max headphones didn’t make the cut in our best headphones guide, but these premium headphones combine the best features of AirPods — like excellent noise cancelation and transparent audio — with over-ear comfort and reliable controls. They’re just too expensive to recommend. But now that Amazon has cut the price down to $480 instead of $549 for October’s Prime Day, they make a little more sense.

Apple Studio Display

Apple’s Studio Display is pretty pricey at $1,600, but for October’s Prime Day sale, Apple’s only monitor is down to $1,399 with help from a $100 voucher. We think the display is ideal only for the Apple faithful, everyone else would be better served by another monitor. That said, the A13 Bionic chip inside lends some smarts to drive its webcam and mics and the build is solid, the speakers are good, and the screen is bright and accurate.

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

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-apple-prime-day-deals-112058603.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – The best Prime Day deals on Apple products — AirPods, iPads and more for October 2023

Sony announced new PlayStation 5 models that will likely be unofficially called the “PS5 Slim.” The new model has the same horsepower on the inside, but it has a smaller form factor with an attachable disc drive and a 1TB SSD. The new model’s detachable drive means you can buy the Digital Edition and change your mind later, essentially adding the drive as an $80 modular accessory.

“To address the evolving needs of players, our engineering and design teams collaborated on a new form factor that provides greater choice and flexibility,” Sony wrote in its announcement blog post. “The same technology features that make PS5 the best to play are packed into a smaller form factor, along with an attachable Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive and a 1TB SSD for more internal storage.”

Sony says the new PS5 has 30 percent lower volume, and its weight is 18 percent and 24 percent lighter than the original. The new design uses four cover panels (the top is glossy while the sides are matte). Both models include a horizontal stand, while a vertical stand “compatible with all PS5 models” will be sold separately for $30.

In exchange for the flexibility of “buy now, add a drive later,” the new PS5 model has a higher entry point with the Digital Edition costing $450. Meanwhile, you’ll pay $500 for the model with the Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc drive. The new PS5s start shipping in November in the US at select retailers, and Sony says it will roll out globally in the following months. The company also mentions that once the current PS5 model has sold out, it will be discontinued.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sony-is-releasing-a-smaller-ps5-with-a-detachable-disc-drive-in-november-162625078.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Sony’s smaller PS5 with a detachable disc drive lands in November

TikTok announced a new API today that will let you post (and do other things) directly to the platform from approved third-party apps. An extension of Share to TikTok, the company says the new feature “increases the resources and tools our community can choose from to easily navigate every stage of the creation process both on and off the platform.” Early partners for the Direct Post API include Adobe, Twitch, Blackmagic Design (makers of Davinci Resolve) and others.

TikTok Direct Post integrations will let creators make drafts, set captions or audience settings, and schedule or post content directly from supported third-party apps. Only videos are supported at launch, but photo content is “coming soon.”

Third-party software supporting the feature at launch include Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Express, CapCut (owned by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance), DaVinci Resolve, SocialPilot and Twitch. TikTok says developer partners will be “vetted through an audit process” before they can use the API.

“Now more than ever, publishing content in real-time has become a necessity, and creators of all skill levels need tools that can empower them with greater efficiency and without constraints,” said Deepa Subramaniam, Adobe’s Creative Cloud marketing VP. “With the new Direct Post feature for TikTok available in Adobe Express and Premiere Pro, creators can continue to create standout content, but with increased speed and without adding more interruption to their creative workflows.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tiktok-now-lets-you-post-directly-from-third-party-apps-160514639.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – TikTok now lets you post directly from third-party apps

Just seven months after its beta debut, Adobe’s Firefly generative AI is set to receive a trio of new models as well as more than 100 new features and capabilities, company executives announced at the Adobe Max 2023 event on Tuesday. The Firefly Image 2 model promises higher fidelity generated images and more granular controls for users and the Vector model will allow graphic designers to rapidly generate vector images, a first for the industry. The Design model for generating print and online advertising layouts offers another first: text-to-template generation.

Adobe is no stranger to using machine learning in its products. The company released its earliest commercial AI, Sensei, in 2016. Firefly is built atop the Sensei system and offers image and video editors a whole slew of AI tools and features, from “text to color enhancement” saturation and hue adjustments to font and design element generation and even creating and incorporating background music into video scenes on the fly. The generative AI suite is available across Adobe’s product ecosystem including Premiere Pro, After Effects, Illustrator, Photoshop and Express, as well as on all subscription levels the Creative Cloud platform (yes, even the free one).

Firefly Image 2 is the updated version of the existing text-to-image system. Like its predecessor, this one is trained exclusively on licensed and public domain content to ensure that its output images are safe for commercial use. It also accommodates text prompts in any of 100 languages. 

Adobe’s AI already works across modalities, from still images, video and audio to design elements and font effects. As of Tuesday, it also generates vector art thanks to the new Firefly Vector model. Currently available in beta, this new model will also offer Generative Match, which will recreate a given artistic style in its output images. This will enable users to stay within bounds of the brand’s guidelines, quickly spin up new designs using existing images and their aesthetics, as well as seamless, tileable fill patterns and vector gradients.

The final, Design model, is geared heavily towards advertising and marketing professionals for use in generating print and online copy templates using Adobe Express. Users will be able to generate images in Firefly then port them to express for use in a layout generated from the user’s natural language prompt. Those templates can be generated in any of the popular aspect ratios and are fully editable through conventional digital methods. 

The Firefly web application will also receive three new features: Generative Match, as above, for maintaining consistent design aesthetics across images and assets. Photo Settings will generate more photorealistic images (think: visible, defined pores) as well as enable users to tweak images using photography metrics like depth of field, blur and field of view. The system’s depictions of plant foliage will reportedly also improve under this setting. Prompt Guidance will even rewrite whatever hackneyed prose you came up with into something it can actually work from, reducing the need for the wholesale re-generation of prompted images.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/adobes-next-gen-firefly-2-offers-vector-graphics-more-control-and-photorealistic-renders-160030349.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Adobe’s next-gen Firefly 2 offers vector graphics, more control and photorealistic renders

Few tech companies have embraced generative AI as wholeheartedly as Adobe. At Adobe Max, its annual creativity conference, it unveiled a new version of the Firefly GAI model. Not only that, the company announced more GAI features for Adobe Express, just weeks after making Firefly more broadly available in the app.

Adobe Express now includes features such as Generative Fill. This enables users to add, remove or replace items, people and other aspects of images using text prompts. On a similar note, the Text to Template function can help users generate editable templates for things like graphics and social media posts based on text descriptions. Text to Template is powered by the new Firefly Design Model, which Adobe says will generate content that’s safe for commercial use.

On top of that, Express now offers a GAI-powered translation tool. Translate can localize content between 45 languages, Adobe says. Meanwhile, new Drawing and Painting functions enable more than 50 multicolor paint and decorative brushes. These can mimic things like charcoal, pencil and watercolor textures. The company also noted student-friendly drawing templates that are available in Express for Education can make it easy to create effects like flowers and hearts.

A handy resize tool will make it a cinch for folks to automatically get multiple versions of a design to fit all social channels, Adobe said. Meanwhile, you’ll be able to use the app to directly schedule and share videos to the likes of TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and X.

Adobe isn’t exactly stopping with Express. At Max, it announced more than 100 new features across its main Adobe Creative Cloud applications. These include additional Firefly-powered tools for Illustrator and Photoshop, as well as new editing capabilities in Lightroom.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/adobe-brings-more-generative-ai-features-to-express-160018288.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Adobe brings more generative AI features to Express

Last year, Sony released its first line of dedicated gaming peripherals with its Inzone brand, which consisted of a couple of monitors and a range of over-the-ear headphones. Now Sony has returned with a new pair of earbuds and an update to its mid-range cans that are worth considering for gamers thinking about upgrading their audio.

Sony’s more portable offerings are simply called the Inzone Buds and they use the same drivers that you get in the highly-regarded WF-1000XM5, so it probably won’t be a surprise when I say they sound great. You also get support for Sony’s excellent active noise cancellation tech and a handy ambient sound mode, but from there the buds’ features were tweaked to better optimize sound quality while gaming.

Aside from an updated design that has clear ties to the PS5, the Inzone Buds’ biggest departure from the WF-1000XM5 is its case. It’s a relatively large trapezoid that opens to reveal the buds themselves and a wireless audio dongle. The inclusion of an adapter is sort of unusual on everyday earbuds, but it’s more common on gaming peripherals as it provides a dedicated low-latency 2.4GHz wireless connection (with a sub-30 millisecond delay) to ensure sounds like footsteps and other audio cues hit your ears in a timely matter. The dongle even includes a switch for PCs or the PS5 / mobile devices to streamline things even further, though you can also rely on a standard Bluetooth connection.

In addition to delivering higher-quality sound when gaming, I found the adapter was just really convenient. When listening to music on my phone where latency isn’t a big concern, I was happy to use Bluetooth. But when I was sitting in front of my PC or PS5, switching audio sources was as simple as plugging the dongle into a free USB-C port. As another bonus for PS5 owners, the buds allow you to see things like battery level or volume directly in the console’s UI, which is typically reserved for PlayStation-branded peripherals. Remember, these buds are made by Sony Electronics (the people who make TVs, speakers and other gadgets), not Sony Interactive Entertainment (the PlayStation folk).

You can use Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Personalizer app to customize audio based on your ear canals. That said, in my experience the effect was much less pronounced than on Sony’s over-the-ear headphones, which account for the shape of your entire ear. Though you can further adjust the buds’ sound tone personalization in the Inzone Hub app. What I do like is the addition of a new AI-based noise reduction feature that filters out distracting sounds during calls, which is pretty useful especially when you’re gaming on PC while using a loud mechanical keyboard. And thanks to support for spatial audio, you get a 3D soundstage that can help you figure out when enemies might be sneaking up on you in a shooter.

With battery life of up to 24 hours on a charge when connected via Bluetooth (or around 12 hours when using 2.4GHz), Sony claims the Inzone buds have the best longevity of any true-wireless gaming earbuds. And after using them for a weekend, that figure seems about right. When you eventually run low, the charging case can add an hour of juice in just five minutes while holding enough power for a second full recharge.

That said, while I generally like the Inzone buds, I have a few gripes. The first is that the case doesn’t support wireless charging, which seems like a weird omission on $200 headphones. Also, the case is rather bulky when compared to more typical earbuds, and when you factor in its trapezoidal shape, some people may wonder if you’re hiding a rabbit in your pocket. The other small frustration is that, while you can use the Inzone Hub software on your PC to adjust all sorts of settings, there isn’t an equivalent mobile app. That means if you’re walking around town and you want to adjust the Inzone Buds’ touch controls, you’ll have to wait until you get home.

What’s interesting is that if you’re someone like me, who generally prefers earbuds over larger cans due to their portability, it’s nice to have small headphones that are equally adept at gaming and general audio. And with the Inzone buds priced at $200, or $100 less than the WF-1000XM5s, these are an interesting option for people who care about both.

Aside from its new earbuds, the other update to the Inzone line are the new $150 H5 headphones, which are a new mid-range replacement for the older and more expensive $229 H7 cans. Despite costing $80 less, the H5s have a better mic thanks to the same AI-based noise reduction tech you get on the buds, along with support for both wired and wireless audio (the H7s were wireless-only) and a slightly lighter design. The one trade-off is that overall battery life has declined a touch from 40 to 28 hours.

The Inzone Buds and the Inzone H5 headphones are available today for $200 and $150, respectively.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sony-inzone-buds-hands-on-a-slick-gamer-focused-twist-on-the-wf-1000xm5-specs-price-160014839.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Sony Inzone Buds hands-on: A slick, gamer-focused twist on the WF-1000XM5

When Gmail launched for Wear OS last week, folks wondered how long it would be before the companion Google Calendar app would arrive. Well, it’s here. Google Calendar has officially shipped for Wear OS, giving smartwatch-wearers all kinds of access to their day-to-day schedules, as originally spotted by 9to5Google.

You’ll see it on the launcher as Calendar once installed. It’s basically a beefed-up version of the Schedule view found on phones. When you open up the app, you’ll find a daily calendar complete with precise location details for events, notes, notifications and more. You can adjust whether or not you’ll be attending any saved event, in addition to deleting the event entirely.

If you’re tired of staring at a teensy smartwatch screen, you can also use the Calendar app to open up any date or event on your smartphone. Certain events, like holidays and birthdays, can appear as background images in the main feed of the app. There’s even some Google Tasks integration here, so you can mark events as complete.

Like many smartwatch apps, Google Calendar is for consumption and not creation. You cannot use the app to make new events or tasks. There are, however, two new Wear OS tiles that let you quickly glance at upcoming events and tasks without opening up the full app.

Google Calendar for Wear OS is now available to download on the Play Store. Just search for Calendar in the wearable version of the Play Store or remotely install it via the app listing.

As Wear OS 3 and Wear OS 4 continue to gain new features, the company’s older smartwatch operating systems are losing tools. Google recently announced that its proprietary voice assistant would no longer work on watches running anything before Wear OS 3.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-calendar-finally-lands-on-wearos-154535767.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Google Calendar finally lands on WearOS

Big ticket items may get more attention, but Amazon’s October Prime Day sale is a good time to stock up on the smaller accessories and items you may also need. Plenty of less-expensive gadgets are on sale right now, including smart speakers, iPhone accessories, chargers, smart home devices and battery packs — many of which make great stocking stuffers and nice gifts for the hard-to-shop-for. We’ve rounded up the tech items we’ve tested, tried and know to be a good deal. Here are the best Amazon Big Deal Days items under $50.

Amazon Echo Dot

Amazon’s Echo Dot combines the typical utility of Alexa with surprisingly decent sound. It usually retails for $50, but for Big Deal Days, it’s down to $23, which is 54 percent off and matches the all-time low price we saw last Prime Day. We named this one the best sub-$50 smart speakers you can buy — and if you get two, you can make them a stereo pair. The version with a built-in clock is also discounted at $45.

Amazon Echo Dot Kids

The Kids edition of the Echo Dot is usually $60 but is down to $28 for October’s sale. That’s the same price it went for during Amazon’s July sale. It’s basically the Echo Dot, but with a kid-friendly owl or dragon-themed exterior. It also comes with a parental dashboard and a year’s subscription to Amazon Kids+, which includes a selection of kid-appropriate audiobooks, stories and songs.

Amazon Echo Show 5

Amazon updated the Echo Show 5 back in May. It went for half off last Prime Day, but October’s sale is bringing the price down further, to $40 after a 56 percent discount. This is a smaller display that works best as a bedside alarm clock, complete with a snooze button. It’ll also work in smaller spaces as a display-enabled controller for all your connected smart home devices.

Amazon Echo Show 5 Kids

The revamped Echo Show 5 for Kids didn’t make the cut for this list last Prime Day, as it only dropped to $60, but now a steeper discount has brought it down to $45. It’s similar to the regular Echo Show 5, but comes with a cosmic-themed fabric covering and includes a year of Amazon Kids+ with shows, music and audiobooks that are all child-appropriate.

Amazon Echo Pop

Amazon’s smallest Echo smart speaker came out last May and went down to $18 for July’s Prime Day sale. The half-sphere Echo Pop is back down to that all-time low for this October sale, which is a 55 percent discount. A Kids version of the Pop will be released soon, though not until after this Prime sale is over.

Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite

Amazon’s Fire TV Stick Lite usually goes for $30, but a 40 percent Prime Big Deal Days discount has dropped it to just $18. This is the budget pick in Engadget’s streaming device guide and is one of the cheapest ways to make a smaller or secondary TV smart. It supports 1080p streaming with HDR and comes with an Alexa voice remote, though it can’t control the volume or power on your TV.

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K

Amazon just updated the Fire TV Stick 4K, adding more processing power and support for Wi-Fi 6. Unfortunately that model isn’t on sale and sticking to its $50 price point. The previous Fire TV Stick 4K, however, is more than half off and down to $23, the same as it went for during the last Prime Day sale. If you don’t have Wi-Fi 6 anyway, you may be happy with this dongle as it still handles 4K video, HDR including Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.

Roku Streaming Stick 4K

We like the straightforward interface of Roku’s Streaming Stick 4K and named it the top recommendation in our guide to the best streaming devices. Normally priced at $50, it’s $12 off for the October Prime Day sale — though it went lower last Black Friday (and may do so again). Still, for the price this streaming dongle provides a lot of features, including the vast Roku channel, a helpful universal search function and a private-listening feature via the Roku app. If you only need the budget 1080p version, you can get the Roku Express dongle for $22, which is about $4 more than it went for last November.

TP-Link Kasa Outdoor Smart Plug

Outdoor smart plugs will make turning your holiday lights on and off far easier. In our smart plug guide we found the Kasa Outdoor Smart Plug to be the best pick for Apple HomeKit users. It actually worked great with all smart home assistants, but it was pricier than the Wyze plug that only works with Alexa and Google Home. Now that the Kasa plug is down to $20 — its lowest price ever — that price discrepancy isn’t as large.

Nestout Portable Charger

We tested the Nestout Portable Charger in ways we wouldn’t typically test a battery pack. But since it claims to be waterproof and drop-resistant, we dunked it in water and smacked it down on several hard surfaces. It held up — and it’s currently our pick for the best outdoor-worthy portable battery pack. It’s usually $80, but this sale drops it by 37 percent to just sneak under the $50 mark.

Anker Nano Power Bank 10K

We’re in the process of testing Anker’s new Nano Power Bank 10K for our battery pack buying guide and are so far impressed with its clever design, which includes a built-in USB-C cable plus two additional ports for USB-C and USB-A. It’s usually $50, but Amazon’s October sale knocks it down to $35.

Anker PowerConf C200 2K Webcam

The runner up in our guide to the best webcams is Anker’s PowerConf C200 2K. The list price is $60, but is discounted to $48 as part of a Prime Big Deal Days Lightning deal. It’s easy to set up, has a built-in lens cover for privacy and captures sharp and clear 2K resolution video with a 95-degree field of view. Since this is a Lightning deal, though, be warned that stock is likely to run dry sooner rather than later.

TP-Link Kasa Smart WiFi Light Bulb

Our favorite budget smart light bulbs are TP-Link’s Kasa Smart WiFi Bulbs, which are 35 percent off right now for a four-pack. Installation is easy, and the lights stayed reliably connected during our tests. TP-Link’s companion app is simple to navigate as well.

Amazon Echo Buds (2023)

Prime members can get the latest Echo Buds for $35 instead of $50 right now. In Engadget’s review, we were surprised how much these semi-open earbuds can get you for the price. We also named them the best open-design pick in our guide to the best budget earbuds. Note, though, that our top pick in that guide, Anker Soundcore Space A40 earbuds are also on sale for $54 instead of their usual $80. Though that’s technically more than our price threshold here, it’s still a great deal on buds that belie that low price.

Moft Sit-Stand Desk

The Sit-Stand Desk from Moft has a clever folding design that lays flat when not in use but unfurls to lift even heavy laptops to a standing height off your desk. It folds into three other laptop-supporting positions as well, and we named it one of the best MacBook accessories you can buy. Usually $60, it’s down to $48 for the sale.

Samsung Pro Plus microSD card

Our favorite microSD card for most people is the Samsung Pro Plus. It had the fastest sequential write speeds and random performance of any card we tested, and the USB reader that comes with included with this listing helps it reach higher speeds on compatible devices. It’s listed at $38 for the set (though it often goes for $25), and now Prime Day in October brings it to $23.

Samsung Evo Select microSD card

We named the Samsung Evo Select, meanwhile, the best value model in our microSD card guide. Right now its 128GB version is down to $10, which matches its lowest price ever. It may not have the fastest write speeds, but it’s good for giving you extra room for your files on the cheap.

SanDisk 128GB microSDXC Card for Nintendo Switch

If stock runs dry on the cards above and you need more room on your Switch, SanDisk’s officially licensed microSDXC card is a good pick, particularly when it’s on sale. Right now a 128GB model is within a dollar of its all-time low at just $18.

Blink Video Doorbell

October Prime Day has chopped the price of the Blink Video Doorbell in half, making it just $30. You can install this using your existing doorbell wires or use it battery-powered. It sends 1080p video to your phone or smart display, triggered by motion. To peek at your front door on-demand, you’ll either need to hardwire the device or get a Sync Module 2. To save clips, you can use the Module or a Blink subscription plan.

Ring Video Doorbell Wired

As the name suggests, you’ll have to hook the Ring Video Doorbell Wired up to your existing doorbell wires. Once you do, you’ll get 1080p video sent to your phone or smart display when motion is triggered, or you can check the feed on-demand whenever you’d like. But again, to save and share clips, you’ll need a Ring subscription. The device is on sale for $35, which is $30 off the list price. 

Blink Mini smart security camera (2-pack)

The Blink mini security cameras are wired, indoor cams that will let you check in on your living spaces whenever the mood strikes. A two-pack goes for $65 most days, but for October Prime, the set is down to $40. These motion-activated smart cameras can send live 1080p video to your smartphone or smart display and allow for two-way audio so you can tell the dog to get off the couch.

Amazon Smart Plug

As noted in our smart plug buying guide, we think Amazon’s Smart Plug is your best bet if you use Alexa as your smart home helper. At a deal price of just $13, it’s currently 48 percent off and $2 cheaper than the lowest price we’ve tracked. This plug’s setup is so simple as to be almost automatic, and its control of lamps, fans and other smart home devices is reliable. Programming schedules in the Alexa app is super simple and may get even easier with future updates.

OtterBox Fast Charge Power Bank

The OtterBox Fast Charge Power Bank is currently just $36 for the 15,000mAh capacity model, which is the version we tested and recommend in our portable battery guide. This pack looks sharp and delivers a fast and reliable charge via USB-C or USB-A.

Jabra Elite 3

Jabra’s Elite 3 earbuds are a few years old at this point, but they earned an Engadget review score of 88 for their impressive sound quality, good battery life, reliable touch controls and comfortable fit. They’ve dropped to $50, or $30 off their list price.

Anker 511 Charger

New Apple Watches don’t come with power adapters, so if you’re looking for one that can deliver a quick charge, we recommend Anker’s 511 (Nano 3) charging brick. It’s down to $20 which is a mild, $4 discount, but still a welcome price for a worthwhile smartwatch accessory.

Kasa Smart Plug EP25 (4-pack)

The best smart plug you can buy according to our testing is Kasa’s Smart Plug EP25. It went down to $35 last Prime Day but is down to $33 for October’s sale. We found this plug to be reliable and relatively easy to set up. It works not just with Alexa and the Google Assistant, but also Samsung SmartThings and Apple HomeKit.

HyperX Cloud Stinger 2

The best budget gaming headset you can buy, according to our testing, is the HyperX Cloud Stinger 2. Listed at $50, and often selling for $40, the Prime Day sale drops it down to $35, which matches its all-time low. The sound quality isn’t what you’d get with premium headphones, but the fit is comfortable and the mic is decent.

JBL Go 3

We didn’t test the JBL Go 3 for our Bluetooth speaker guide, but JBL is a brand we recommend often. This diminutive speaker is 40 percent off for the October Prime Day sale, bringing it to $30. The Go 3 is waterproof, includes a hook for hanging and is rated for five hours on a charge. Elsewhere, the Clip 4 portable speaker is down to $45 instead of $80 for the sale.

JOBY Gorillapod 3K Stand

In our tech gift guide, we called the Joby Gorillapod 3K stand “a bargain for such a versatile tool” when it was $45. Now it’s down to just $35. It grips on to poles or stands on its own making it a great vlogging or photography companion.

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

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-amazon-prime-day-october-deals-under-50-152431292.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – The best Prime Day deals you can get for under right now

Today the BBC announced it will finally add every available classic episode of Doctor Who, and all of its spin-offs, to iPlayer. It’s the culmination of work which began when Russell T. Davies returned as the show’s major creative force, and a significant change for the BBC. In a statement, it said every episode of the classic series, plus spin-offs like The Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood and Class, as well as making-of series Doctor Who Confidential, would all be added on November 1st.

All of Doctor Who’s post-2005 revival series are widely-available on streaming services both in the UK and abroad. But the original run has rarely, if ever, been on-demand without an extra charge, as it’s still one of the BBC’s most reliable cash-cows. The series has been released on VHS, DVD and now Blu-ray, with several of its most recent releases requiring multiple printings. The only place to stream Doctor Who on-demand, at least with a clean conscience, is by paying for BritBox’s premium streaming service.

As part of the release, the BBC is making a point of the new accessibility features — including every episode featuring sign language translation — and that a new archive of material will also be put online on the official Doctor Who website. It’s not clear, at this point, if this will include the hours upon hours of special documentaries and behind-the-scenes material that comes with the show’s numerous DVD and Blu-ray releases. 

The change comes as the show builds up to its 60th anniversary later that same month, as the show stops being a purely BBC production. Instead, it’s being made by Bad Wolf productions with cash backing from Disney, which will stream the show on Disney+ outside the UK. It’s pure speculation on my part, but if the BBC has cleared any issues that prevented it from streaming all of Doctor Who in the UK, then the whole series may also be available on Disney+ at the same time.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/all-of-doctor-who-is-finally-coming-to-bbc-iplayer-152006413.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – All of Doctor Who is finally coming to BBC iPlayer

X (formerly Twitter) has made changes to its policy on newsworthy posts to allow more content that would ordinarily violate its rules to remain on the platform. The company made the modifications amid the conflict in and around the West Bank.

Until now, the company would only grant a newsworthiness exception to accounts that had at least 100,000 followers. X has removed that threshold, as TechCrunch reports. The latest version of the policy stipulates that “high profile” accounts are eligible for a newsworthiness exception. The account in question also needs to represent “a current or potential member of a local, state, national or supra-national governmental or legislative body.” Only elected officials and government figures have historically been eligible for the exemption.

X’s Safety account noted there’s been an upswing in daily active users in the region in recent days and that users have posted more than 50 million times about the conflict. The platform said that it was focused on “protecting the conversation on X” as the situation unfolds.

“Over the weekend, we updated our Public Interest Policy,” the company said. “We know that it’s sometimes incredibly difficult to see certain content, especially in moments like the one unfolding. In these situations, X believes that, while difficult, it’s in the public’s interest to understand what’s happening in real time.”

X also said it had removed “newly created Hamas-affiliated accounts” and is working with partners to reduce the spread of “terrorist content.” However, the change to the newsworthiness policy could enable more misinformation about the Israel-Hamas conflict (and other issues) to remain on X when it previously would have been yanked.

The company appears to be taking a more hands-off approach to misinformation in general under owner Elon Musk. It’s relying more on Community Notes to crowdsource contextual information about posts that may be false or misleading.

According to The Information, X killed off a tool in recent months that helped to tackle coordinated misinformation campaigns by detecting when multiple accounts shared the same piece of potentially doctored or mislabelled media. The company is said to have made that move to cut costs.

X flagged several false and misleading posts regarding the conflict, including ones with a video that claimed to show Israeli airstrikes against Hamas. However, a review by CNBC found that the platform’s systems did not detect many other posts with the same video and caption. The tool X recently shut down may have helped in that regard.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/x-changes-its-policy-around-newsworthy-posts-that-would-otherwise-break-rules-150842429.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – X changes its policy around ‘newsworthy’ posts that would otherwise break rules

Amazon’s October Prime Day sale (aka Prime Big Deal Days) is here, and it features several good discounts on cameras, photo gear, drones and more — including sales on recent and popular models. For example, you can grab GoPro’s Hero10 Black Action camera, which is still among the best action cameras on the market, for just $250, saving $200. 

On the mirrorless camera side, Sony has some great deals across its lineup, marking the popular A6600 down to just $998, for a savings of $402 or 29 percent off. The A6100 with an 18-50mm kit lens is now just $698 ($152 off), while the newish A7 IV is back down to its July Prime Day price of $2,398, saving you $100. Not to be left out of the fun, Panasonic is selling its full-frame Lumix S5 camera for $1,298 (28 percent off) and the recent GH6 for $1,698 instead of $2,200, a $502 savings. We’re also seeing deals on Panasonic camera and lens bundles.

Nikon’s DX-format Z30 is available for $697 with a wide-angle zoom lens, while the full-frame Z5 is just $1,097, which is $303 (22 percent) off. Canon also has a stellar deal on its relatively recent R3 powerhouse camera, marking it down by a full $1,000 to $5,000, while its EOS R10 vlogging kit is $1,200 ($100 off). And it’s not just cameras — you’ll also find sales on memory cards, bags, and other accessories. 

GoPro Hero 10 action camera

Though it’s been displaced by the Hero 11, GoPro’s Hero 10 is still the second-best action camera available. The GP2 processor enables features like HyperSmooth 4.0 (which stabilizes footage), tone mapping, noise reduction and a 5.3K maximum resolution at up to 60fps. It can also shoot in 4K at 120fps and 2.7K at 240fps. Like the previous model, the Hero 10 Black has a front screen to make it easier for you to shoot video of yourself, and it supports new horizon leveling options and faster navigation.

Nikon Z 30 with 16-50mm zoom lens

Nikon’s Z30 is a DX (APS-C) camera designed for vloggers and creators. It offers 4K using the full width of the sensor, 120fps slow-mo at 1080p, a flip-out display and AI powered hybrid phase-detect AF. It also offers outstanding image and video quality, with dynamic range on par with more expensive cameras. The drawbacks are the lack of an EVF and autofocus performance that’s not on par with Sony’s devices.

Sony A6600

As Sony’s former flagship APS-C camera (until the A6700 came along), the 24.2-megapixel A6600 still has a lot to offer. It comes with features like real-time AF tracking, a pop-up screen, in-body stabilization, solid battery life and generally excellent photo quality. It’s also a great travel camera thanks to its compact size. It is a bit old now, having come out in 2019, but it’s an attractive option at this relatively low price.

Canon EOS R3

Canon’s EOS R3 can shoot bursts at up to 30 fps with autofocus enabled, so it’s ideal for sports and action. It’s a very solid option for video, offering 6K at up to 60 fps in Canon’s RAW LTE mode, or 4K at 120 fps. Canon’s Dual Pixel autofocus is excellent, and it offers eight stops of shake reduction, a flip-out display and even eye detection autofocus. However, the resolution is limited to 24 megapixels, so it’s not as great for wildlife or landscapes as Sony’s A1 or the R5. The other drawback is the $6,000 price, but Amazon’s sale makes it more palatable.

Panasonic Lumix S5

With the arrival of the Lumix S5 II, Panasonic is offering some stellar deals on its predecessor, the S5. It’s smaller and costs less than the Lumix S1, but it actually delivers better video features. That includes a flip-out display, five-axis in-body stabilization and 10-bit 4K recording at up to 60 fps. The autofocus is faster and more accurate than the S1, but not as good as Sony and Canon’s systems for video. Still, at this price, it’s one of the best cameras currently available for content creators.

Nikon Z5

The 24-megapixel full-frame Nikon Z5 is a stellar deal right now. It’s mostly aimed at photographers, with features like hybrid phase-detect autofocus and Nikon’s excellent color science. And for such a budget option, it has desirable features like five-axis in-body stabilization, dual fast UHS-II card slots, a 3.69-million dot OLED electronic viewfinder and a tilting touch display. Video isn’t a strong point, but it can handle 4K 30p with a crop and 1080p at 60fps.

Sony A6100

The A6100 is a few years old now, but its autofocus system is still among the best thanks to its intelligent face- and eye-tracking, along with 4K 30 fps video. The color science and low-light capabilities are excellent, so photos are sharp and color accurate, even in dimly-lit environments. The drawbacks are bad rolling shutter and a low-resolution EVF. Still, the A6100 is the best camera in its price range.

Canon EOS R10

Canon’s 24-megapixel EOS R10 is the company’s second APS-C camera to launch in the EOS R mount ecosystem. It offers some nice features for its price range, like 4K 60p, 1080p 120p, a flip-out display, a built-in flash and very fast shooting speeds. The main drawback is excessive rolling shutter that can warp the image, but it’s ideal for casual users who are likely to buy it for vacations, kids sporting events and more thanks to the reliable AF. With features aimed at creators, you can grab it in a kit with a stereo microphone, tripod grip, wireless remote and an S18-45mm lens — saving you $100 in total. 

Panasonic Lumix GH6

The Panasonic GH6 is aimed at content creators and largely does a good job of replacing the ultra-popular GH5. It has no-compromise video specs including ProRes support for 5.7K 30p video, 4K at up to 120 fps and full V-log support. With a new 25-megapixel sensor, the highest resolution yet on a Micro Four Thirds camera, it’s a better camera for photography. The GH6 still uses contrast detect only autofocus, though, and while improved, it lags behind rival Sony and Canon cameras. 

Those products are just a smattering of what’s available, but there are others as well. Sony also has its ZV-1 vlogger camera on sale for $648 ($102 off), while the A7 III is marked down to $1,698 ($302 off). It’s also got deals on a large number of lenses — to see more, check out its Amazon camera store. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for the latest Panasonic cameras in a bundle, the company has a few solid deals, and Nikon has multiple bundles as well. 

There are some notable deals on accessories, too. Lexar’s V60 II memory cards (250MB/s read and 120MB/s write) are up to 35 percent off, with a pair of the the 128GB models priced at just $57 and the 256GB model in a two-pack at $105. If you need faster V90 cards, PNY’s 128GB EliteX-Pro90 Class is marked down $20 to $75, while the 64GB cards are just $48 (20 percent off). MicroSD cards for drones or action cameras are also on sale, including SanDisk’s Extreme 512GB model for $32 (or 71 percent off). More camera deals could arrive later, so stay tuned. 

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

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-amazon-october-prime-day-camera-deals-for-2023-131031963.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – The best Amazon October Prime Day camera deals for 2023

After Disney releases a new film in English, the company will go back and localize it in as many as 46 global languages to make the movie accesible to as wide an audience as possible. This is a massive undertaking, one for which Disney has an entire division — Disney Character Voices International Inc — to handle the task. And it’s not like you’re getting Chris Pratt back in the recording booth to dub his GotG III lines in Icelandic and Swahili — each version sounds a little different given the local voice actors. But with a new “AI dubbing” system from ElevenLabs, we could soon get a close recreation of Pratt’s voice, regardless of the language spoken on-screen.   

ElevenLabs is an AI startup that offers a voice cloning service, allowing subscribers to generate nearly identical vocalizations with AI based on a few minutes worth of audio sample uploads. Not wholly unsurprising, as soon as the feature was released in beta, it was immediately exploited to impersonate celebrities, sometimes even without their prior knowledge and consent.