Posts Tagged: 2023
The top 7 bestselling phones of 2023 were all … you guessed it
One brand dominated the top 10 chart for bestselling smartphones in 2023, according to data released this week by research firm Counterpoint.
Digital Trends
The best books we read in 2023
With El Niño slated to drop a warm, wet winter on most of the US in the coming months, everybody’s going to need something good to read while the weather outside is frightful. Engadget’s well-read staff have some suggestions: our favorite books of 2023! We’ve got a phenomenal assortment of genres and titles for you this year, from horror and true crime to rom-coms and fantasy adventures, here to provide months of entertainment for even the most voracious reader.
Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix (Karissa Bell — Senior Reporter, Social Media)
I love horror movies but horror novels are kind of hit and miss for me. I was immediately pulled into Final Girl Support Group, though, which does a lot of winking and nodding at classic slasher flicks while creating a completely unique story.
If you’re a fan of horror, then you’re already familiar with the trope of the “final girl.” Grady Hendrix’s novel doesn’t satirize the final girl, but imagines what life might be like for them after the end of their movie. Each of the main characters is (loosely) based on the final girl of a classic slasher, though their storylines don’t feel contrived or predictable. It reads like a fast-paced thriller but, like so many of the best horror movies, it’s also a poignant reflection on trauma. It’s also the rare thriller where I found myself wanting more at the end of the story. Luckily, HBO has signed on to develop a series based on the book, so I may soon get my wish.
The Chromatic Fantasy by H. A. (Avery Ellis — Deputy Editor, Reports)
2023 was the year I undertook to read a lot more books written by or centering characters who were like me: which is to say, trans. I tore through Nevada and Dream of a Woman, recognizing bits of myself reflected back and seeing versions of me that could exist in the future; I just barely slogged through Testo Junkie, cringed with Tiny Pieces of Skull, gravely nodded along with Whipping Girl and sobbed as Stone Butch Blues kicked me in the heart over and over again. (There’s more. Ask me for recommendations!) The canon of trans literature is unfortunately not huge, and I speedran a good portion of it, always interleaving comics, zines or manga between novels.
Enter The Chromatic Fantasy.
It popped up in the new releases section of the newsletter from comics mainstay Silver Sprocket, which was all I knew going in. What I got, in what I assumed would be a break from often-heavy trans narratives, was… the most adorable T4T romance I’ve ever read?? Jules and Casper have some truly cute us-against-the-world chemistry, which is only further heightened by their status as literal outlaws — get in loser, we’re robbing rich jerks at swordpoint. The fantastical setting is best described as polychronistic: while mostly hewing to gorgeously rendered high fantasy aesthetics, there are, for example, landline telephones (such the better to flirtatiously twirl a finger through the wire of), and seemingly the corporation Starbucks, none of which is explained or needs to be.
The Chromatic Fantasy slips effortlessly between swashbuckling glibness (benefits of a protagonist who literally cannot die) and genuine emotion. And did I mention it’s gorgeous? No really, it’s jaw-droppingly pretty. Congratulations to H. A. on joining Leslie Feinberg in the hall of Authors Who Made Me Cry Ugly Tears This Year.
Nestlings by Nat Cassidy (Valentina Palladino — Senior Commerce Editor)
Nat Cassidy hooked me last year with his excellent novel Mary: An Awakening of Terror, and his sophomore release is certainly not a slump. Nestlings follows Ana and Reid, a couple with a new baby who move into the Deptford, an ancient, revered Manhattan apartment building overlooking Central Park. It seems almost magical that they even won the competitive lottery to move to this otherworldly place. Both Ana and Reid believe their new home could be the answer to their problems: Reid, a struggling musician with a lackluster day job trying to care for his new daughter and his wheelchair-bound wife; Ana, a voice actor with bubbling resentments toward her baby after a traumatic childbirth left her paralyzed from the waist down.
But there’s no peace for the little family once they move in. Disturbing events leave Ana paranoid and wanting to get out, while Reid dismisses her concerns as he dives deeper into learning about the gothic building’s history. Baby Charlie never sleeps and constantly fusses, and things go from bad to worse when the young parents discover needle-like bite marks on their daughter.
What follows is an absolute rollercoaster of terror, filled with gargoyles, vampiric creatures, sore–infested, suicidal neighbors, cockroach-chomping real estate agents and lots and lots of bugs. Cassidy does a great job of drawing readers in with questions about what the hell is going on in this apartment building that’s so hard to move into but also seems to have no one living in it aside from Ana and Reid. The plot is enough to keep readers guessing, but you really stay for the tension Cassidy builds between these complicated characters. Ana and Reid’s relationship is put through every test, and I found myself loving each of them and hating them both at various points of the novel. Cassidy thoughtfully explores a lot of topics in Nestlings through the struggles of his characters: marriage, parenthood, postpartum depression, ableism, antisemitism, grief and much more.
I particularly enjoyed the nuanced discussions around being a caretaker, being a mother and all of the other things that can suck the life out of a person. There are many complicated ideas surrounding motherhood in this book: What does motherhood give to you, and what does it take away? How much control does a mother have over their child? Where does a mother’s influence end? Even with all of those heavy themes running throughout this book, Nestlings, in my opinion, is even more fun than Mary thanks to its consistent pacing, complicated characters, creepy setting and downright disgusting imagery. – Valentina Palladino, Senior Commerce Editor
Alex Carter #3: A Ghost of Caribou by Alice Henderson (Valentina Palladino — Senior Commerce Editor)
I watched Animal Planet like it was my job when I was a kid. So my inner child was thrilled to discover Alice Henderson’s Alex Carter series last year. The books follow wildlife biologist Alex Carter as she monitors near-extinct animal species in the field, while also encountering a new unsolved murder in each sleepy town she resides.
The latest installment, A Ghost of Caribou, takes our hero to the mountains of northwestern Washington state to track a single mountain caribou believed to have wandered down from Canada into the contiguous United States. But she’s quickly met with hostility and violence: activists and loggers are duking it out over protected lands and the townspeople are on edge after the murdered body of a forest ranger is discovered in a local park. On top of that, Alex learns a hiker went missing a year prior in the same forest in which she’s conducting her research. Alex is soon forced to fight for her life, while also trying to solve at least two murders that may or may not be connected.
I love a good cozy mystery, and this series feels like one step up from those genre staples. It’s a little more serious with more threatening baddies, but you still get a hint of a cozy vibe thanks to the very careful choice of setting and the wildlife element. You actually end up learning quite a lot about the star animals in these books, thanks to the author’s experience as a wildlife researcher herself. Alex is a well-realized protagonist with a clear moral compass and a deep devotion to the protection of animals and the environment, but she’s also entertaining to follow. And while each book takes her to a different locale to study another species, there are throughlines in the series that make you want to pick up the next installment to see what’s going to happen. The side characters (recurring ones like Alex’s father and her best friend, along with single-book individuals) are also colorful and engaging. I can’t think of a better series to pick up if you love mysteries and suspense novels, and also have a fascination with the animal world.
Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler (Sarah Fielding — Contributing Reporter)
At the center of Genevieve Wheeler’s debut novel is the titular character Adelaide, a 26-year-old American living in London who believes she’s found her very own prince charming in Rory. She’s sure he’s the love of her life, regardless of his complete disregard for her feelings throughout their relationship. Wheeler remarkably brought me deep inside Adelaide’s consciousness while seamlessly adding depth and a fuller story by jumping into the perspectives of both Rory and his ex-girlfriend Nathalie.
On the surface, it’s easy to put Adelaide strictly into the romance box, another story of girl meets boy. But, to do so belittles the nuanced experience of what it’s like to live a life of incredible moments of joy and piercing episodes of despair — namely to be human.
Adelaide deals with themes of trauma, friendship, heartbreak, mental health and, critically, the desire we all have to not just be loved, but to be understood. As a mid-to-late 20-something American living in London, it would’ve been difficult not to relate to Adelaide. But, these aspects of Wheeler’s novel made me reckon with the way I move through life and drove home the fact that — cheesy or not — we’re each the greatest love of our life.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (Cherlynn Low — Deputy Editor, Reviews)
Project Hail Mary may not have been released this year, but I only came across it in one of my numerous attempts to read more books in 2023. Try as I might, I just had a hard time concentrating, and nothing managed to hold my attention. On Libby, I borrowed and skimmed titles by authors like Blake Crouch and Stephen King — people whose work I always liked. And nothing took. I’ll admit it took me more than 10 pages to really get hooked on PHM, too. But once I began to absorb the premise, I devoured the book in two days.
In PHM, Weir tells the tale of a man in space, off to investigate a mysterious substance that not only proves that life exists outside of Earth, but also might lead to the destruction of our planet. His is on a suicide mission, with not enough fuel for a return trip. Yeah, the stakes are high.
I’m not a scientist, so I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the book’s finer details, but Weir’s evocative descriptions helped paint a rich mental image of the spacecraft. And though one of the characters in the story remained an amorphous blob in my mind, I still formed an inexplicable emotional bond with them, the way you might grow to love a boisterous pet.
As with most space adventures, PHM’s characters encounter numerous challenges and setbacks, making for a gripping read. Throw in likable characters, an emotional turn of events and a somewhat satisfying end, and PHM easily nabbed the title of my favorite book all year (not to mention a spot in my heart).
The Future by Naomi Alderman (Lawrence Bonk – Contributing Reporter)
Naomi Alderman’s last book, The Power, was a very big deal. It made both Barack Obama’s and Bill Gates’ best-of lists for 2016, and it even spawned an Amazon Prime Video show. All of the accolades were well-deserved, as I had never read something quite like it. The book examined the corruptible nature of power and how it impacts gender, all while remaining a rip-roaring yarn about women who have the ability to control electricity.
Alderman’s latest and greatest, The Future, isn’t going to set the world ablaze quite like its predecessor, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an absolute page-turner. This is for one simple reason. There are already a ton of speculative fiction books that examine near-future technology and how it could impact humanity. It’s a whole genre unto itself. Still, The Future is a fantastic example of this type of book, and manages to fold in recent events, from COVID to Elon Musk and the rise of AI platforms.
To that end, the novel revolves around proxy versions of many of our big tech companies (Apple, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI etc.) and boasts a sprawling narrative with multiple protagonists, including a tech vlogger that hits a bit too close to home. There are doomsday cults, narcissistic billionaires, depression-inducing social media algorithms and, of course, plenty of technological advancements. The tech in this book isn’t pie in the sky. It’s stuff that’s five or 10 years out. Alderman is careful not to give a year for when the story takes place, but she does refer to actor Ryan Reynolds as a “silverfox” and, well, he’s 47 right now.
The story is fast-paced and involves, surprise, a potentially game-changing AI. There’s also more biblical allegory than you can shake a stick at. Alderman, after all, previously wrote a book that examined the life of Jesus Christ. The Future is tough to put down and well worth reading, even if Bill Gates didn’t put a review up on his blog. Yes, Bill Gates has a blog.
This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno (Cheyenne MacDonald — Weekend Editor)
Every time I recommend this book to someone, which is fairly often, I usually throw in a small apology for what it’s going to put them through. Here’s me doing that now: sorry, this one’s pretty heavy! But damn, is it a powerful read.
This Thing Between Us is often described as being about a haunted Alexa-style smart speaker called Itza, but that’s only partially true. Really, it’s about grief, cultural identity and inescapable cycles of hardship. It’s told from the perspective of Thiago, who seems to be recounting for his late wife, Vera, the increasingly bizarre and horrifying experiences he’s faced after her sudden death from a freak accident. The apparent supernatural possession of Itza is initially positioned as the catalyst for the horrors that play out across the novel.
Thiago’s unraveling mental state as he grapples with the loss of his wife and a haunting that starts to take on a more cosmic quality builds into a frantic sense of dread. It’ll break your heart over and over. There are some pretty solid scares, too, with more than a few deeply unsettling moments that have lingered in my memory, popping back up when I’m driving alone on a dark country road or taking my dog out at night. While This Thing Between Us didn’t come out in 2023 (it was published in 2021), I didn’t get around to reading it until this year, and it’s probably the book I’ve thought about most since.
Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones (Cheyenne MacDonald — Weekend Editor)
Stephen Graham Jones is one of those authors who is just so good, you end up wanting to inhale his entire body of work immediately after finishing whichever book first got you hooked. At least, that’s how it went for me. I read one, and I needed infinitely more. So, I was beyond excited to find out that 2021’s My Heart is a Chainsaw — a love letter to slasher films and social misfits — was not only getting a sequel, but would ultimately be spun into a trilogy. Don’t Fear the Reaper, which came out in February 2023, is the second book in that series and it’s got all the heart of the first one, if not more.
Don’t Fear the Reaper continues the story of slasher-obsessed Jennifer “Jade” Daniels and the residents of Proofrock, Idaho, who four years prior endured a town-wide tragedy that irrevocably changed their lives. This time, because they cannot catch a break, a convicted serial killer known as Dark Mill South is on the loose after he managed to escape from a prison convoy nearby during a blizzard. And bodies are starting to pile up. In the first book, Jennifer/Jade’s acute knowledge of final girl survival skills took center stage as she tried to make people see the signs of a slasher in their midst before it was too late. Now, she’s repressed that part of herself and her protégé, a survivor of the previous book’s climactic event, has taken the torch.
It has all the elements of a good slasher story and tons of movie references for genre fans to latch onto. There are twists that will put your brain to work, plus a few moments that are purely supernatural. Like Graham’s other works, it also contains a lot of important subtext about being an American Indian. Jade, the final girl to end all final girls, is Native. So is the killer, Dark Mill South. In the end, Don’t Fear the Reaper is a surprisingly beautiful narrative about trauma (personal and generational), perseverance and healing. The third and final book in The Indian Lake Trilogy comes out in March 2024 — so you have just enough time to catch up with the first two before then.
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton (Amy Skorheim — Commerce Reporter)
I didn’t know much about Birnam Wood before picking it up — just that it had a Booker Prize winner for an author and a Shakespearean title that made me feel smart for vaguely remembering Macbeth. Turns out, it’s about the clash between an anarchist New Zealand gardening collective and a doomsday-prepping American tech-bro billionaire, which, had you given me a million guesses…
The story has plenty of meat on its bones, grappling with the Big Issues of environmentalism, capitalism, class struggles and the absurd ineffectuality of grassroots action in the face of unfathomable wealth. The main players in the gardening collective are idealistic but erratic Mira, her dissatisfied second in command, Shelly, and Tony, a Bernie-bro trust-funder with a self-righteous inflexibility that butts up against his desire for glowing recognition.
When Mira scouts out a vast plot of land the collective could potentially “borrow” for some guerilla farming, she meets billionaire Robert Lemoine who has already earmarked the property for his luxury end-time bunker. When he impulsively (sociopathically) decides to bank roll the gardening collective, the group has to make a decision. And at least one of them has to figure out what Lemoine is really doing out in the pristine lands of New Zealand’s South Island.
To talk too much more about the machinations of the plot is to give away some of the joys. But I will say that I ripped through the book’s 400 pages. Birnam Wood manages to meld the breath-holding pace of a genre thriller with the psychological archaeology of the best literary reads. And no other novel in recent memory has presented a better thesis as to what it may take to derail the runaway train of resource exploitation.
Girlfriend on Mars by Deborah Willis (Nathan Ingraham — Deputy Editor, News)
Girlfriend on Mars tells the story of a train wreck that I just couldn’t look away from. Told in both the first-person view of complacent stoner Kevin and in third-person of his girlfriend of 14 years, Amber, the story bounces between their two perspectives as Amber tries to win a reality show that’ll send her and another contestant on a one-way trip to Mars. The whole time, I was fascinated by whether Amber would win the contest and really walk away from Earth forever and equally engaged in watching Kevin’s descent into full-on agoraphobia as the one person he cares about essentially tells him she’s willing to leave the planet and him forever.
The two main characters are massively flawed, something that’s obvious right from the start, but you care about them finding some measure of peace and happiness regardless. Amber’s side of the story is a scathing critique of multiple parts of American culture, with the Elon Musk-esque billionaire funding the trip to Mars cutting corners and disregarding safety at every turn just to make a profit. Takedowns of the influencer world and the reality show obsession with watching beautiful people duke it out are well-trodden territory, but there’s an extra bit of grotesqueness to these proceedings, since the people flying to Mars are assuredly going to die there, sooner or later, and probably on camera.
Kevin’s story is a lot smaller, but the effects of his proximity to Amber’s growing fame are tough to watch — everyone wants a piece of her, which means they want a piece of him, all the while knowing that her success in the contest makes it more and more likely she’ll never see him again. The book is extremely readable, almost fluffy with its reality show tropes, but the last third is quietly devastating in a way that stuck with me more than I expected when I started. At first, Girlfriend on Mars feels as light as the image on the cover, but there’s surprising depth and darkness in these pages.
Time’s Mouth by Edan Lepucki (Nathan Ingraham — Deputy Editor, News)
As the title suggests, Time’s Mouth has some elements of time travel to it, but it’s decidedly not science fiction — or at the very least, it’s not just science fiction. Edan Lepucki has some experience straddling genres, as her 2014 novel California deftly straddled a post-apocalyptic setting with literary fiction musings on family and environmental breakdown. In the same vein, Time’s Mouth focuses on a woman who can revisit any time in her past and the effects it has on both her and future generations of her family. Like any good time travel story, moving back and forth in time ends up having unexpected repercussions, and they come together in a very satisfying way as, years later, her son discovers his daughter can do the same thing.
It’s not an easy story to put into words, involving a sinister California commune of “mamas” who worship Ursa and her time-travel gift. Being brought up in such an environment makes her son Ray want a totally different life, but he’s drawn back to her world when his daughter Opal independently realizes she has the same skill as her unknown grandmother. At first, I thought the story would deal with Opal and Ray’s life without intersecting back with Ursa, who Ray has completely distanced himself from. But when the two worlds collide again after decades apart, it leads to a stunner of a reckoning for the family. Time’s Mouth made me both wish I could revisit my past and see it from a different light while also making me thankful that I’m stuck firmly in the present, aside from my memories.
Beware of Chicken by Casualfarmer (Andrew Tarantola — Senior Reporter, AI)
It’s the same reason I don’t watch prestige dramas: The world’s on fire and everything is already terrible, why would I watch rich and powerful people be horrible to one another as entertainment? I simply don’t have the emotional bandwidth these days to follow along the intricacies of courtly intrigue, betrayals and political maneuvering among competing noble houses, but I will spare an afternoon to read a wholesome isekai progression fantasy like Beware of Chicken.
Set in an alternate universe of Qi cultivation (wherein its practitioners meditate and partake in vigorous training to achieve superhuman powers and godlike immortality), the story follows Jin Rou, an initiate cultivator who is having a very bad day. First our protagonist finds themself isekai’d from a previous life in modern day Canada into the body of a Warring State period initiate cultivator — one who was just severely beaten by his fellow disciples. Not about to hang around the jerks who just bludgeoned the last version of him into putty, Jin Rou picks up, leaves his sect behind and hightails it to the most remote, least magical (and therefore least dangerous) region he can find in his new world, intent on living out the quiet life of a hermit farmer. Too bad for Jin, the universe has other plans.
In this three-book continuing series, Jin Rou’s efforts to remain anonymous prove comically ineffective — whether due to his steadily growing menagerie of human and spirit animal disciples or his inexplicably fertile farming efforts — especially after members of his former sect come sniffing around. If you’re a fan of massively OP protagonists like John Sutton from Battlemage Farmer and Saitama of One Punch Man, or are into LitRPGs like Path of Ascension, Mark of the Fool and Unbound you’re going to love Beware of Chicken.
Once Upon a Crime by Fergus Craig (Daniel Cooper — Senior Reporter, UK)
It’s always fun watching a professional pretend to be bad at their job, because it requires so much effort. There’s an art to doing something badly in an entertaining way that doesn’t just spill over into tragedy, or worse. Now imagine how hard it is to write a book that’s intentionally bad that never wears out its welcome, and you’ll see why I’m in awe of Once Upon a Crime.
Once Upon a Crime is written by Fergus Craig, but it’s really the debut novel from Craig’s comic character Martin Fishback. Fishback is a middle-aged, middle-of-the-road middle-Englander who, after his forced early retirement, aspires to becoming a crime writer. His lowbrow taste may far exceed his talent, but that’s not going to stop him writing his own crime novel, damnit.
Fishback’s main character, Detective Roger Le Carré, is the most obvious case of self-insert fic you’ll see all year. He’s a sprightly all-star police officer with an old school sensibility (read: He share’s Fishback’s provincial tastes and attitudes) and a knack for romance. Le Carré is also the only man who can tackle the grand criminal conspiracies on the mean streets of… rural Exeter.
As well as the general bathos of trying to pass off a sleepy cathedral city as a criminal hotbed, Fishback is prone to a tangent. Not to mention needing to pad some sections of his book where he’s gone to Wikipedia to help add ballast to the word count. All of this may sound bad, but in the hands of a master like Craig, it threads the needle to perfection.
I didn’t even know the book existed until I saw it on a table in a book store in London, clocked the name and reflexively started reading. In about three hours, I’d devoured it, hooting with glee to the great annoyance of my children and the other passengers on the train.
The Year of Less by Cait Flanders (Malak Saleh — Health & Fitness Reporter)
The Year of Less is a biography of a woman in her late twenties stuck in a cycle of accumulating debt. She decides to make a complete life change after racking up nearly $ 30,000 in credit card debt. Looking back, she can’t even recall most of the things she’s mindlessly purchased. Flanders decides to challenge herself and not shop for an entire year. For 12 consecutive months, she only purchases absolute necessities like groceries and gas for her car. Her endeavor starts small, with a ban on things like takeout coffee and new books. By the end she’s gotten rid of 70 percent of her belongings and saved more than half of her income. She keeps her readers looped in through her online blog the entire way. By the end of her project, she achieves her goal of only making purchases that are in alignment with her bigger life goals. Flanders’ story might make you want to create your own version of a personal shopping ban. Though you might not feel compelled to make such drastic cuts in every aspect of your life, The Year of Less could inspire you to spend more consciously.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-books-we-read-in-2023-163028702.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Why 2023 was such a special year for Android phones
Flagship Android phones have been good for many years, but in 2023, they did something truly special.
Digital Trends
Nothing Phone 2 review: the new phone to beat in 2023
Never heard of Nothing? That’s about to change, because the excellent Nothing Phone 2 deserves everyone’s attention. It really is that good.
Digital Trends
The Pixel Tablet is still Google’s biggest mistake of 2023
Earlier this year, I reviewed the Google Pixel Tablet and said it was the worst Pixel I’d ever used. Does that still hold true in December 2023?
Digital Trends
Snapchat Recap 2023: how to find your year in review
2023 is nearing an end, which means it’s time for Snapchat Recap! Here’s how to find your 2023 year in review for Snapchat right now.
Digital Trends
17 iPhone apps I couldn’t live without in 2023
As 2023 draws to a close, let’s look back and talk about the iPhone apps that I simply couldn’t do without this year.
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The most innovative tech products of 2023
They’re bold, unique, and sometimes wildly impractical. But the the most innovative tech products of 2023 all dared to be different.
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Duolingo Year in Review 2023: how to find yours right now
Duolingo’s 2023 Year in Review has landed! Want to find your very own Duolingo recap for 2023? Here’s everything you need to know.
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Apple Music Replay 2023: how to find your replay experience
Do you know what songs you listened to the most on Apple Music this year? How about your favorite artist? All will be revealed with Apple Music Replay 2023.
Digital Trends
[Promoted] BLUETTI Black Friday 2023: Exclusive Power Station Deals and Exciting Activities
The countdown to Black Friday has begun, and this year, BLUETTI is set to light up the holiday season with a dazzling array of discounts, gifts, exclusive offers, and more excitingly, a new BLUETTI AC200L power station. It’s time to mark your calendar because from November 9th to November 17th, BLUETTI’s Early Black Friday Access and […]
Come comment on this article: [Promoted] BLUETTI Black Friday 2023: Exclusive Power Station Deals and Exciting Activities
The best travel gifts for 2023
Be it for work or play, many people are taking trips again, which makes travel-related gifts an excellent idea. Whether your loved ones are adventure-seeking globetrotters or frequent business travelers, it’s time to look into upgrading their existing on-the-go kit. We’ve curated a list of various items that all travel lovers will appreciate. Things like sleep masks and packing cubes are essential, and tech gear like battery packs and noise-canceling headphones can make the hectic parts of traveling a bit less stressful. We’re sure at least one of these will help make your loved ones’ next adventure a lot more enjoyable.
Sony WH-1000XM5
Kobo Libra 2
Retroid Pocket 3+
Roku Streaming Stick 4K
Nestout Outdoor Battery
Newvanga travel power adapter
JBL Clip 4 Eco
Loop Quiet Earplugs
Bellroy Toiletry Kit Plus
NuPhy Air75 V2
Logitech MX Anywhere 3S
Peak Design Packable Tote
Huckberry x GoRuck GR2 Slick Backpack
Sunski Seacliff Polarized Recycled Sunglasses
ExpressVPN subscription
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-travel-gifts-for-travelers-140015772.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Black Friday 2023: The best early deals from Amazon, Target, Best Buy and more
With each passing year, the phrase “Black Friday” becomes more of a misnomer. What was once a day of post-Thanksgiving special offers has become a month of sales promotions from retailers across the web. It’s happening again in 2023: Target and Best Buy are already advertising their early Black Friday deals; Amazon is price matching many of those discounts and has its own “Holiday Deals” landing page; and Walmart says it’ll kick off its first wave of Black Friday deals on November 8. Many other shops and manufacturers have (or will soon have) early deals as well.
This barrage of sales promos can be aggravating, but it also presents a good opportunity to get your holiday shopping done at something closer to your own pace. To help, we’ve rounded up the best early Black Friday deals we can find below. There’s always a chance we get bigger discounts on November 24, but we’re already seeing all-time lows on Apple’s AirPods Pro, Google’s Pixel 7a, Amazon’s Echo Show 5, LG’s A2 OLED TV and other gadgets we like. We’ll be updating our list regularly in the lead-up to Black Friday, so check back if there’s anything else you’ve had your eye on.
Apple AirPods Pro (2nd gen)
The latest version of Apple’s AirPods Pro is back on sale for $ 190 at Amazon and Target. That’s only a dollar more than the lowest price we’ve tracked and $ 59 less than buying from Apple directly. The AirPods Pro are the “best for iOS” pick in our wireless earbuds buying guide thanks to their easy pairing and deep integration with Apple devices. Effective active noise cancellation (ANC), a superb transparency mode and a pleasingly warm sound profile help as well, as does a new “adaptive audio” mode that can adjust the earphones’ noise control settings based on your surroundings. That said, their battery life is just average at six-ish hours per charge, and you really have to use an iPhone to get anything out of them. We gave the Lightning-based version of the second-generation AirPods Pro a review score of 88 last year; this new iteration is almost identical, only it comes with a USB-C charging case and has a higher IP54 dust-resistance rating.
Beats headphone sale
A handful of wireless headphones from Apple subsidiary Beats are also discounted this week. The Beats Fit Pro, for one, is back down to $ 160. That’s $ 15 more than its all-time low but about $ 20 less than its average street price. The Fit Pro is the top pick for workouts in our wireless earbuds guide, as it offers a fun sound and many of the Apple-friendly perks of the AirPods Pro in a more stable and sporty design. Its ANC isn’t as strong, however, and it lacks support for wireless charging and multi-device pairing. We gave the Fit Pro a review score of 87 in 2021.
Elsewhere, the more basic Beats Studio Buds + are back at a low of $ 130, while the over-ear Beats Studio Pro is on sale for $ 200. Neither of those are top picks in our guides, but they may be worthwhile if you’re an Apple fan and dig the Beats aesthetic. We gave the Studio Buds + a review score of 84 in May and the Studio Pro a review score of 81 in July.
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K
Amazon’s latest Fire TV Stick 4K and Fire TV Stick 4K Max have received their first discounts since they arrived in September. The former is $ 20 off at $ 30, while the latter is $ 15 off at $ 45. Between the two, the Max has a slightly faster processor clocked at 2.0GHz (instead of 1.7GHz), 16GB of internal storage (instead of 8GB) and support for the Wi-Fi 6E (instead of just Wi-Fi 6). It also includes Amazon’s “Ambient Experience” mode, which displays artwork and widgets when the streamer is idle. That said, both dongles should be quick to load content. Both support the requisite streaming apps, Dolby Atmos and all the major HDR formats as well.
The downsides are the familiar ones with Fire TV devices: The UI is saddled with ads and not shy about nudging you toward Amazon services like Prime Video and Freevee. But if you often use those apps (or Alexa) and just want a competent 4K streamer for cheap, that may not be an issue.
On the higher end of the Fire TV lineup, the Fire TV Cube is also on sale for $ 110. That ties the all-time low for the streaming box/Alexa speaker hybrid. You can also pair the Fire TV Stick 4K Max with Blink’s 1080p Video Doorbell for $ 65 total, though that offer is only available for Prime members and is only scheduled to run through November 3.
Google Chromecast with Google TV
In other streaming deals, the Google Chromecast is on sale for $ 39 at Amazon. This is a deal we’ve seen several times before, and it’s about $ 10 higher than the 4K streamer’s all-time low, but it’s still $ 11 off Google’s list price. Walmart, Target and others have the device on sale for a dollar more. The Chromecast is the runner up in our guide to the best streaming devices: It was released way back in 2020 and doesn’t support Wi-Fi 6, but it streams fast enough and works with the major streaming apps. Its biggest selling point is its Google TV interface, which does well to proactively suggest shows you might like based on your viewing history and offers genuinely convenient voice search. If you’re shopping for an older TV, the 1080p version of the Chromecast is also on sale for $ 20.
The top pick in our media streamer guide is the Roku Streaming Stick 4K, which pairs solid performance and wide app support with a more straightforward interface centered on apps. That dongle isn’t discounted as of this writing, but we should see a sale at some point in the coming weeks.
Amazon Echo Show 5
Amazon’s Echo Show 5 is back down to $ 40, which ties the lowest price we’ve tracked. That’s $ 50 off the 5.5-inch smart display’s list price, though the device has been on sale for much of the past month. We highlight the Echo Show 5 in our smart display buying guide: The 8-inch Echo Show 8 has a better screen, richer speakers and a much sharper camera for video calls, but the Echo Show 5 offers much of the same functionality in a more compact design. If you prefer Alexa to the Google Assistant and want a smarter kind of alarm clock for your nightstand, it should work well. The Echo Show 8 isn’t discounted, though that may change by Black Friday.
Google Nest Hub
If you’re partial to the Google Assistant, Google’s Nest Hub is also on sale for $ 60 at Target, B&H, Best Buy, Google’s online store and others. That’s $ 20 higher than its all-time low but still $ 40 off Google’s list price. The Nest Hub is the top overall pick in our smart display buying guide, and we gave it a review score of 89 back in 2021. It has a 7-inch screen, so it’s a bit bigger than the Echo Show 5 but should still be compact enough to fit neatly in a bedroom or small office. While it lacks a built-in camera, that may be a selling point for those who especially sensitive to their privacy (though no smart display is truly privacy-conscious).
Ultimately, whether it’s worth getting a Nest Hub or Echo Show depends on what services you use: If you own a bunch of Nest devices and depend on apps like Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Photos, Google’s display will make sense. If you want a larger model with a webcam and stronger speakers, the 10-inch Nest Hub Max is also on sale for $ 129. That’s a $ 100 discount. Google says these offers will last through November 5.
Sony WH-1000XM5
The Sony WH-1000XM5 is down to $ 328 at Amazon and B&H. Though this isn’t an all-time low, it’s about $ 70 off Sony’s list price and $ 20 lower than the headphones’ usual recurring sale price. The XM5 is the top recommendation in our guide to the best wireless headphones, as it offers a comfortable design, powerful ANC, crisp call quality and 30 or so hours of battery life. It also comes with a number useful bonus features such as “Speak to Chat,” which automatically pauses your music when you start talking to somebody else. By default, its bass-heavy sound plays well with hip-hop and EDM, though you can easily customize the EQ curve through Sony’s app. We gave the XM5 a score of 95 in our review last year. B&H’s product listing says that this particular deal will end on November 5.
Sony WF-1000XM5
Sony’s WF-1000XM5, meanwhile, is the top overall pick in our guide to the best wireless earbuds, and it’s now down to a new low of $ 248 at Amazon and B&H. Several other retailers have it for $ 2 more. Normally, these noise-canceling earphones go for $ 300. Like the over-ear XM5, this in-ear model delivers excellent ANC (with strong passive isolation), loads of helpful features and a warm sound that’s fun out of the box but can be customized if needed. Battery life is decent at seven or eight hours per charge and, notably, the design is lighter, smaller and altogether more comfortable than past Sony earbuds. The WF-1000XM5 earned a score of 87 in our review this past July. This deal also runs through November 5.
iRobot Roomba 694
The Roomba 694 is down to $ 159 at Amazon, iRobot’s online store and other retailers, which is another all-time low and roughly $ 60 below the robot vacuum’s average street price. This is the top pick in our guide to the best budget robovacs. It’s a relatively basic model, so it navigates around rooms semi-randomly instead of intelligently mapping set paths. That means it’ll bonk into your furniture every now and then. But it’s sturdily put together and an effective cleaner across carpet and hard floors. iRobot’s companion app makes it easy to remotely turn the vacuum on and off, set cleaning schedules and check battery status as well. Battery life is rated at up to 90 minutes, though that’ll vary depending on what surfaces you need to clean. Other Roombas we like are also on sale, including the vac-and-mop Roomba Combo j7+ for a low of $ 699.
Google Pixel 7a
Google’s Pixel 7a is down to $ 374 at Amazon, Target, Best Buy and Google’s online store. That’s a new all-time low and $ 125 off Google’s list price. The Pixel 7a is the top midrange pick for Android fans in our smartphone buying guide, and we gave it a score of 90 in our review this past May. While it’s a clear step behind the best flagship phones, its steady performance, detailed photo quality, robust battery life and wireless charging support help it punch above its price range. A lovely 6.1-inch 1080p OLED display, IP67-rated water resistance and the promise of OS updates into 2026 (with security updates into 2028) only further the value. The design is mostly plastic, and the display maxes at a 90Hz refresh rate instead of 120Hz, but those are hardly complaints for less than $ 400. Again, Google says this deal will run through November 5.
Apple iPad (9th gen)
Apple’s 9th-gen iPad is down to $ 249 at Amazon, Walmart and Target, which is a deal we’ve seen for much of the past month but still matches the tablet’s lowest-ever price. This is the budget pick in our iPad buying guide, and it earned a review score of 86 in 2021. It’s the last iPad to use Apple’s old design language, so it has thick bezels, a Lightning port, a Home button and a non-laminated display. This variant also comes with a paltry 64GB of storage. At this price, though, it’s still hard to do better if all you want is a large screen for streaming video, playing games and browsing the web. Its 10.2-inch display remains a step up from cheaper slates, its A13 Bionic chip is plenty fast for casual media consumption and its battery still lasts around 10 hours per charge. Most importantly, it’s the cheapest route into Apple’s huge app library, customer support and years of software updates.
If you want a more modern design, the iPad Air is the top pick in our guide, and it’s now on sale for $ 500. Be warned, though: A recent Bloomberg report says that Apple plans to launch new tablets in the spring. If you don’t need an iPad right away, it’s probably worth waiting.
Google Pixel Tablet
The Google Pixel Tablet is on sale for all-time low of $ 399 at Amazon, Target, Best Buy and Google’s own online store. That’s $ 100 off the 11-inch slate’s list price and $ 10 less than the deal we saw during Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days sale last month. We gave the Pixel Tablet a review score of 85 earlier this year: Its crisp LCD display, clean software and solid Tensor G2 chip make it a solid Android tablet in its own right, but its biggest selling point is the charging speaker dock that comes with it. Plop the Pixel Tablet onto that and it becomes a Nest Hub Max-style smart display and smart home hub. This deal applies to the base model with 128GB of storage, but the 256GB version is also $ 100 off at $ 499. As with the other Google deals above, Google says this offer will run through November 5.
Amazon Fire Max 11
Amazon’s Fire Max 11 tablet is back down to $ 150, which matches the lowest price we’ve seen and comes in $ 80 below its typical going rate. This is the largest and fastest slate Amazon makes, and its aluminum frame gives it a more substantial feel than the cheaper plastic models in the Fire lineup. The 11-inch display has a relatively sharp 2,000 x 1,200 resolution as well. The usual limitations of all Fire tablets are still here — a weak app store with no Google apps and an ad-heavy interface that heavily pushes you toward Amazon services chief among them. But at this price, the Fire Max 11 could make sense if you regularly use apps like Prime Video or Kindle and don’t want to pay for an entry-level iPad.
LG A2 OLED TV
We expect to see many more TV deals as we get closer to Black Friday, but for now one standout is LG’s 48-inch A2 OLED TV on sale for a new low of $ 550 at Best Buy. This is an entry-level model from 2022, so it’s limited to a 60Hz refresh rate, lacks HDMI 2.1 ports and doesn’t support other gaming-friendly features like VRR. That said, it’s still an OLED TV, so it delivers deep contrast, bold colors, wide viewing angles and low input lag. At this price, it should be a nice step-up option for smaller or secondary rooms. Just note that it can’t get as bright as higher-end OLED sets, so it’s best situated away from direct sunlight.
Apple MacBook Air (15-inch)
A configuration of Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Air with an M2 chip, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage is down to $ 1,499 at Best Buy. That’s $ 200 less than Apple’s MSRP. If you can live with less memory, a version with 8GB of RAM is on sale for $ 1,250 at Amazon with an on-page coupon. Either way, the MacBook Air is the top pick in our laptop buying guide, as it has just about everything we want from a mainstream notebook: A premium design, a comfortable keyboard and trackpad, a lovely display, long battery life, great speakers and solid performance. Compared to the 13-inch Air, this model has more powerful speakers alongside its larger screen. We gave it a score of 96 in our review this past June.
The MacBook Air’s main downsides are that it only has two Thunderbolt ports and, as always, it’s virtually impossible to upgrade after the fact. Plus, with the recent introduction of the new M3 chip, the countdown is on for a refresh. A recent Bloomberg report says that Apple plans to launch an M3-powered MacBook Air at some point in 2024, though that shouldn’t make this current model obsolete if you need a new laptop right away.
Blink security camera sale
A range of Blink security cameras and video doorbells are on sale ahead of Black Friday. The notables include a two-pack of the latest Blink Outdoor cameras for half off at $ 100, a three-pack of Blink Mini indoor cameras for $ 60 off at $ 40 and a bundle that pairs the Blink Video Doorbell with an Outdoor 4 camera for $ 90. All of those match the lowest prices we’ve seen. Blink cameras generally sit on the budget end of the security camera market — each of the devices noted above max out at 1080p — but they’re relatively simple to set up, and the outdoor models here can last up to two years on a pair of AA batteries. The Outdoor 4 in particular is the top wireless security camera pick in our guide to the best smart home gadgets.
Be aware that Blink is an Amazon subsidiary, though, so these devices only work with Alexa. If you want a camera that works with the Google Assistant, a number of Google Nest devices are also on sale. Those include the wired Nest Cam for $ 70, the wired Nest Doorbell for $ 150, and the battery-powered versions of those devices for $ 120 apiece.
FAQs
When is Black Friday 2023?
Black Friday 2023 lands on November 24 this year, with Cyber Monday 2023 following up a few days later on November 27. However, the early deals have already begun. The entire month of November might as well be renamed Holiday Shopping Month as that’s when companies really start to get serious with their discounts.
What day is Black Friday 2023 at Walmart?
Walmart Black Friday deals will begin early this year on November 8. Walmart+ members will get a few hours of early access to Black Friday deals if they shop online on November 8, with access for everyone else starting later that day. Walmart will match its online Black Friday deals in stores starting November 10.
Will Amazon have a Black Friday sale in 2023?
Amazon will likely have a Black Friday sale in 2023. While the online retailer hasn’t made its deals known yet like Walmart has, Amazon will almost certainly have deals across all of the types of products it sells, including electronics. We anticipate seeing record-low prices on Amazon devices in particular, like Echo speakers, Fire TVs, Kindles and more. In years past, Amazon Black Friday deals have brought some of the best prices of the year on our favorite gadgets and gear, including headphones, tablets, smartwatches, robot vacuums and more.
What other retailers have Black Friday sales in 2023?
Most retailers have Black Friday sales, so you can expect to see Target, Best Buy, and others join Walmart and Amazon in discounting inventory to capitalize on holiday shopping interest. In the consumer electronics space, we expect most companies to have some sort of Black Friday promotion, so that means you will likely be able to get big-ticket items from brands like Apple, Samsung, Google, Sony, LG, Sonos and others for much cheaper prices.
Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/black-friday-2023-the-best-early-deals-from-amazon-target-best-buy-and-more-163054419.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
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The best wireless headphones for 2023
Over-ear, noise-canceling headphones typically offer the most comprehensive set of features we want for our listening pleasure. The best of these options combine stellar sound quality with powerful active noise cancellation (ANC) and other handy tools, like a reliable Bluetooth connection, to create as complete a package as possible. Of course, some companies do this better than others. At Engadget, we review a ton of Bluetooth headphones each year; for this guide, we tested out a number of different models with a variety of features, including noise cancellation, customization options and sound quality. Our favorites tick all of the most important boxes we’d expect quality wireless headphones to check, plus they span a range of prices so you can decide how much you’re comfortable spending.
Finding the best Bluetooth headphones: What to look for
When it comes to shopping for a good pair of wireless headphones, the first thing you’ll need to decide on is wear style. Do you prefer on-ear or over-ear headphones? For the purposes of our buyer’s guide, we focus on the over-ear style as that’s what most noise-canceling headphones are nowadays. Sure, you can find on-ear models with ANC, but over-ear designs are much more effective at blocking sound. Speaking of noise cancellation, you’ll want to determine early on if you even want that. If you frequently crank up the beats in noisy environments, you’ll want to not only make sure it’s there, but also make sure it’s good. If you plan to use your new headphones in quieter spaces, skipping ANC can save you some money.
The next area to consider is features. We recommend trying to get the most bang for your buck, but as you’re shopping around you should determine which items are must-haves and what you can live without. And don’t take basic things like automatic pausing and Bluetooth multipoint connectivity for granted, as not all companies include them. We also suggest reading reviews to see how well a company’s more advanced features work. This will help you decide if those are something you’re willing to (likely) pay extra for. Pay close attention to battery life estimates and don’t be easily swayed by lofty promises about call quality.
Sound can be subjective, so we recommend trying before you buy if at all possible. We understand this isn’t easy at a time when we’re doing most of our shopping online. But trying on a set of headphones and listening to them for a few minutes can save you from an expensive case of buyer’s remorse. We also recommend paying attention to things like Spatial Audio, Dolby Atmos, 360 Reality Audio and other immersive formats. Not all headphones support them, so you’ll want to make sure a perspective pair does if that sort of thing excites you.
How we test wireless headphones
The primary way we test headphones is to wear them as much as possible. We prefer to do this over a one- to two-week period, but sometimes embargoes don’t allow it. During this time, we listen to a mix of music and podcasts, while also using the earbuds to take both voice and video calls. Since battery life for headphones can be 30 hours or more, we drain the battery with looping music and the volume set at a comfortable level (usually around 75 percent). Due to the longer battery estimates, we’ll typically power the headphones off several times and leave them during a review. This simulates real-world use and keeps us from having to constantly monitor the process for over 24 straight hours.
To judge the best Bluetooth headphones, we consider audio quality by listening to a range of genres, noting any differences in the sound profile across the styles. We also test at both low and high volumes to check for consistency in the tuning. To assess the quality of phone calls, we’ll record audio samples with the headphones’ microphones as well as have third parties call us.
When it comes to features, we do a thorough review of companion apps, testing each feature as we work through the software. Any holdovers from previous models are double checked for improvements or regression. If the headphones we’re testing are an updated version of a previous model, we’ll spend time getting reacquainted with the older set. Ditto for the closest competition for each new set of headphones that we review.
Best headphones overall: Sony WH-1000XM5
Sony’s 1000X line has been our top pick for best wireless headphone for a long time now. Until another company can pack in as many high-quality features as Sony, and do so with a mix of excellent sound quality and effective ANC, the crown is safe. With the WH-1000XM5, Sony redesigned its flagship headphones, making them way more comfortable to wear for long periods of time. We also noticed in our tests that the company made noticeable improvements to the active noise cancellation, thanks to a separate V1 chip in addition to the QN1 that was inside the M4. There are now eight total ANC mics as well – the previous model only had four. This all combines to better block background noise and high frequencies, including human voices.
The 1000XM5 still has all of the features that typically make Sony’s top-of-the-line headphones showstoppers. That includes 30-hour battery life and crisp, clear sound with balanced tuning and punchy bass. A combo of touch controls and physical buttons give you on-board access to music, calls and noise modes without reaching for your phone. Speak-to-Chat automatically pauses audio when you begin talking, and like previous Sony headphones, the M5 can change noise modes based on your activity or location. Plus, this model offers better call quality than most of the competition. The only real downside is that they’re $ 50 more than the WH-1000XM4 at full price ($ 400).
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Noise cancellation: Yes
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Multipoint: Yes
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Battery life: 30 hours
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Weight: 0.55 pounds
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Water resistance: None
Read our full review of Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones
Runner up: Bowers and Wilkins Px7 S2
I’ll admit I didn’t expect Bowers & Wilkins to make the year’s best headphones list, or even be in contention for a spot. However, the company’s revised Px7 headphones impressed me during my review. The Px7 S2 are pricey at $ 399, but Bowers & Wilkins pair impressive sound quality with solid ANC performance. In fact, the Px7 S2 are my favorite headphones right now in terms of sound. There’s also a more refined design that doesn’t look overly plasticky and the ear cups fit comfortably even after hours of use. Call quality, ambient sound and automatic pausing aren’t the best here, but they get the job done. At the end of the day, the design, sound quality and excellent noise cancellation make the Px7 S2 a strong pick in the current true wireless headphone field.
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Noise cancellation: Yes
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Multipoint: Yes
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Battery life: 30 hours
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Weight: 0.67 pounds
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Water resistance: None
Read our Full Review of Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 Headphones
Best cheap headphones: Audio-Technica ATH-M20xBT
Audio-Technica has introduced affordable wireless headphones in the past, and while they didn’t offer active noise cancellation, they’re still worth considering. The company’s latest is the M20xBT, a Bluetooth version of the A-T’s popular M20x wired cans. For just $ 79, you can expect a comfy fit and up to 60 hours of battery life. Bluetooth multipoint connectivity allows you to connect to multiple devices at once and physical buttons provide reliable on-board control. The design isn’t as refined as the company’s pricer models like the M50xBT2, but you get the bulk of what makes Audio-Technica’s cheaper options so good.
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Noise cancellation: No
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Multipoint: Yes
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Battery life: 60 hours
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Weight: 1.42 pounds
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Water resistance: None
Another solid option: Bose QuietComfort 45
The Bose 700 was one of our top wireless Bluetooth headphones last time around, but the company recently revived a workhorse with the QuietComfort 45. The design is mostly unchanged from the previous QC models, which could be a deal breaker for some. Once you get past that though, the QC45 combines Bose’s excellent active noise cancellation with clear and balanced audio. You can expect up to 24 hours of battery life on a single charge and a comfortable fit that doesn’t get tiresome during long listening sessions. We’ve already seen them on sale for $ 50 less than full price, which makes the QuietComfort 45 even more compelling.
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Noise cancellation: Yes
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Multipoint: No
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Battery life: 24 hours
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Weight: 0.96 pounds
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Water resistance: None
Read our Full Review of Bose QuietComfort 45 Headphones
Another solid option: Technics EAH-A800
Back at CES 2022, Panasonic announced the EAH-A800: a new set of active noise canceling headphones under the iconic Technics brand. While most of the features are what you see on any number of wireless headphones, one figure stood out. The company says you can expect up to 50 hours of battery life on the A800, and that’s with active noise cancellation enabled. These are currently in my stable of review units for detailed analysis, but I have already tested them on a long flight. The ANC is impressive and they’re comfortable enough to avoid becoming a burden after several hours. Sound quality is also quite good (there’s LDAC support, too) and there are enough features here to justify the premium price tag.
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Noise cancellation: Yes
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Multipoint: Yes
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Battery life: 50 hours
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Weight: 0.65 pounds
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Water resistance: None
Another solid option: Master and Dynamic MW75
While Master & Dynamic is known for its design prowess, the company’s over-ear headphones were due for a refresh. With the MW75 that debuted in June, the company opted for a look that takes cues from its MG20 gaming headset and mixes them with a combo of aluminum, leather and tempered glass. The company’s trademark sound quality returns with multiple ANC modes and ambient sound options for a range of situations. At $ 599, the high-end looks don’t come cheap, but if you’re looking for something beyond the pure plastic fashion of most headphones, M&D has you covered.
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Noise cancellation: Yes
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Multipoint: Yes
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Battery life: 28 hours
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Weight: 0.75 pounds
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Water resistance: None
Another solid option: Sennheiser Momentum 4
I’ll be honest, I had a hard time choosing between the Px7 S2 and the Momentum 4 wireless headphones for the runner-up spot this time around. However, Bowers & Wilkins gets the edge in terms of design even though the Px7 S2 and the Momentum 4 are very evenly matched on great sound quality. They’re the two best-sounding sets of Bluetooth headphones I’ve tested this year – and it’s not even close. Sennheiser does have an impressive 60-hour battery life in its favor and improved ANC performance. Those two items alone might be enough for you to overlook the very generic design.
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Noise cancellation: Yes
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Multipoint: No
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Battery life: 60 hours
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Weight: 0.65 pounds
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Water resistance: None
Read our Full Review of Sennheiser Momentum 4 Headphones
Other headphones we tested that didn’t make the list
AirPods Max
Apple’s AirPods Max are premium, well-designed headphones that incorporate all of the best features you find on standard AirPods: solid noise cancelation, spatial audio and easy Siri access. However, their $ 550 starting price makes them almost prohibitively expensive, even for those with iOS devices. There are better options available at lower prices.
Sony WH-CH720N
The Sony WH-CH720N headphones are a decent option if you must have noise cancelation but can only spend so much. Even though the ANC struggles in certain environments, it’ll be good enough most of the time. Otherwise, these cans have decent sound quality and a comfortable design.
Beats Studio Pro
The Beats Studio Pro have a lot of noteworthy improvements like better ANC, sound quality and spatial audio. While they are better positioned to compete with the likes of Sony and Bose, they don’t quite knock any of our top picks off our list.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones are up there with some of the best wireless headphones we’ve reviewed this year. However, while the new Immersive Audio feature sounds great at times, it’s inconsistent and actually makes some songs and albums worse. Bose certainly made improvements on these cans, namely in default sound tuning, clarity and warmth, but they’re not enough to justify the QuietComfort Ultra’s $ 429 price tag.
FAQs
How can you tell the quality of headphones?
I typically look at three factors: design, sound quality and features. In terms of design, I’m usually looking to see if the build quality of the headphones feels cheap and plasticky. Plenty of companies use plastic, but they can do so in a way that doesn’t look or feel like budget models. For sound quality, I want to hear a nice, even tuning where highs, mids and lows are all well represented. No overly boomy bass or scooped out mids. I also want good clarity where you can pick up fine details and an open, immersive soundstage. Features is typically a distant third, but if a company doesn’t cover basic functionality (automatic pausing, transparency mode, multipoint Bluetooth, etc.) it can be an indication of overall quality.
How do I choose the best quality headphones?
“Best” can be pretty subjective, but I always recommend going to a place where you can listen to the headphones you’re thinking about buying before you commit. Sometimes this isn’t possible, so you’ll want to check return policies. I also recommend doing some research to determine what your priorities are in a new set. Are you an audiophile who wants the best sound quality? Is powerful active noise cancellation (ANC) the most important? Would you rather have conveniences like automatic pausing?
Which brand has the best headphones?
Sony consistently tops our list with its 1000X line. This is mostly due to the combination of sound quality, ANC performance and the truckload of features these headphones pack in. I’ll be the first to tell you that there are better sounding options and other companies, like Bose, offer more effective noise cancellation. But when you add everything up, no one comes close to the full slate of tools Sony puts in its premium headphone line.
Do expensive headphones sound better?
Exorbitant price tags don’t mean better audio quality. Bowers & Wilkins’ headphones are on the high end for wireless noise-canceling models and they sound amazing. However, Audio-Technica’s M50xBT2 is much more affordable and doesn’t have ANC, but these headphones have a warm, natural sound profile that I find very inviting. At the end of the day, it will come down to personal preference, but you don’t need to spend a lot to find great headphones.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-headphones-wireless-bluetooth-120543205.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
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Prime Day deals on Anker accessories with deep discounts this October 2023
Amazon’s October Prime Day is discounting many of Anker’s best accessories. So if you’re in the market for cables, portable chargers or power adapters, you can get a those devices for a lot less money right now. A few of the deals are just for Prime members but others are open to anyone.
The sale includes chargers for every need, such as the three-port Nano II 65W USB-C charger with space to juice up your phone, computer and headphones all at once. The small charger is available for 39 percent off, dropping from $ 56 to $ 34. Similarly, the slightly larger Prime 67W USB-C Charger with two USB-C ports and one USB-A is 37 percent off, bringing its price from $ 60 to $ 38.
The best deal comes courtesy of Anker’s fast charging 765 USB-C to USB-C cable, which is down from $ 35 to $ 15 — a 57 percent discount. It’s compatible with the new iPhone 15 models, along with the MacBook Pro 2021, iPad Pro, iPad Air 4th and Samsung’s Galaxy S23+ and Ultra. If you’re still loyal to a USB charger but your cords are breaking at the seams, pick up Anker’s lightning cable three-pack for 20 percent off, dropping from $ 25 to $ 20.
Then there’s Anker’s portable chargers currently on sale for every time you stay out later than expected or drain your battery playing games. The Prime 20K Power Bank is down to $ 22.40 from $ 28 and can juice up an iPhone 12 halfway in 30 minutes using USB and USB-C chargers. For $ 30 (down from $ 60), you can pick up Anker’s Magnetic Portable Charger 5K for wireless charging. Plus, the Prime Power Bank with 200W Output and a smart display has fallen from $ 130 to $ 90 for Prime Day — giving you high-speed charging with enough money left over to buy quality cables.
If you’re a Prime Member, you can also save on our pick for the best budget wireless charging stand, Anker’s 313 Wireless Charger. Don’t expect fast charging here — this tops out at 10W (and just 5W for iPhones). But you can position your phone in landscape orientation to take advantage of StandBy mode on iPhones.
Anker’s Nano Power Bank comes with either a built-in Lightning connector (for iPhone 14 and earlier) or a built-in USB-C connector, for iPhone 15 and Android phones. They’re both on sale for Prime Day, but only for Prime Members. You’ll save 38 percent on the Lightning version and 25 percent on the USB-C version. Both will give your phone a partial charge whenever you need it.
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/anker-chargers-and-accessories-get-deep-discounts-for-october-prime-day-110527447.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
[Prime Day] Save at least $200 off Motorola’s Razr+ 2023 and Think Phone 2023
Amazon’s Prime Day sale is upon us and Motorola is here with some tempting offers on its latest handsets ranging from the budget-conscious to the premium end of the scale. There are savings ranging of up to $ 250 to be had with the Razr+ 2023 reduced down to $ 799, the Think Phone 2023 to just […]
Come comment on this article: [Prime Day] Save at least $ 200 off Motorola’s Razr+ 2023 and Think Phone 2023
The best Google Pixel 8 cases in 2023: 10 best ones right now
The Google Pixel 8 has landed. Make sure yours is protected from day one with the best Google Pixel 8 cases available right now!
Digital Trends
October Prime Day 2023: The best early deals you can shop now
We’re getting close to the start of Prime Big Deal Days, Amazon’s second site-wide sale of 2023. While the October Prime sale doesn’t officially happen until October 10 and 11, there are already plenty of early deals to be found. You’ll need to have a Prime membership for some of them, but others are open to all. We’ll be rounding up the best of what’s out there starting on Tuesday, but in the meantime, you can get a jump on a few discounts that are already live. This week’s best tech deals include lots of Amazon devices like Echo speakers, Echo Show smart displays, Blink cameras, Ring doorbells and the Kindle Scribe. As for non-Amazon gadgets, we’re seeing strong prices on Tile trackers, Samsung microSD cards and an Anker 5-in-1 USB-C hub.
Apple AirPods Pro
The AirPods Pro with a Lightning charging case is on sale for $ 199, which is $ 50 off their usual price. We consider the AirPods Pros the best wireless earphones for those who use an iPhone or lots of Apple devices. They still deliver excellent noise cancellation, a pleasingly warm sound profile and a variety of Apple-specific features such as hands-free Siri access, Find My device tracking and quick pairing and switching between iPhones, iPads and MacBooks. With a recent update, they’ve also gained a useful “Adaptive Audio” mode that blends the pair’s ANC and transparency modes dynamically based on your surroundings. Note that Apple recently released a new model with a USB-C charging case, improved dust resistance and lossless audio support with the upcoming Vision Pro headset, though that one isn’t on sale at the moment, and the two pairs are otherwise identical.
Amazon Echo Dot + Kasa Smart Plug Mini
As part of a big Echo speaker sale, the latest Echo Dot is down to $ 23, and you can get a bundle with the small smart speaker and a Kasa Smart Plug Mini for just $ 1 more. Considering the Echo Dot is one of our favorite smart speakers and the Kasa smart plug earned a spot on our list of best smart plugs, this is a great bundle for anyone who wants to smarten up their home while sticking to their budget. Also included in this sale are the Echo Pop for $ 18 and the full-sized Echo for $ 55.
Amazon Echo Show 5
A number of Amazon’s smart displays are on sale ahead of October Prime Day, and that includes the Echo Show 5 for $ 40. It’s the smallest smart display in the company’s lineup at 5.5 inches, which helps it work well as a sort of smart alarm clock. It has strong audio quality and a sunrise alarm feature, and this updated model included a faster processor and an additional mic for improved Alexa responsiveness. The Echo Show 8 (previous-gen) and the Echo Show 10 are also included in this sale, and there’s a bundle that pairs the Echo Show 5 with a Philips Hue Smart Color Bulb for $ 42.
Amazon Echo Show 15
The Echo Show 15 is 33 percent off right now and down to a near record-low of $ 185. It’s the biggest smart display in Amazon’s lineup, with a 15.6-inch touchscreen that you can sit on a countertop or mount on a wall, and it supports both portrait and landscape orientation. In addition to showing widgets like sticky notes, calendar views and more, the Show 15 has Fire TV technology built in, so you can treat it like a mini TV and stream your favorite shows and movies. And when you’re not actively using the display, you can use it to display pictures using the Photo Frame feature.
EarFun Air Pro 3
EarFun’s Air Pro 3 noise-canceling earphones are down to $ 60 with a $ 20 on-page coupon. That’s not an all-time low but still $ 20 off the device’s typical selling price. This is the runner-up pick in our guide to the best budget earbuds. The EarFun Free 2S, our “best under $ 50” pick in that guide, are also on sale for $ 36 with a 10 percent coupon.
Amazon Echo Buds (2023)
Prime members can get the latest Amazon Echo Buds for $ 35, which is $ 15 off and an all-time low. This is another pick in our guide to the best budget wireless earbuds. Specifically, the Echo Buds should appeal to those who prefer a more open design, one that lets in outside noise but doesn’t insert directly into your ear canal. They can sound solid for the price with a bit of EQ tweaking, and they support features we don’t often see for less than $ 50, such as wear detection and multipoint connectivity. They also have Alexa baked in, natch. Their IPX2 sweat-resistance rating isn’t enough for workouts, and their five-ish hours of battery life is just average, but they’re worth a look if you’re on a tight budget and hate the feel of traditional in-ear headphones. We gave them a score of 77 earlier this year.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic
Samsung unveiled the new Galaxy Watch 6 Classic alongside the standard Galaxy Watch 6 during its Unpacked event in July. We were particularly delighted by its rotating bezel mechanism, which makes navigating Samsung’s One UI a bit more convenient. We call the Watch 6 series the best Android options for most people in our smartwatch buying guide; compared to the standard model, the Classic is pricier and heavier, but it has a larger display and a more premium stainless steel frame along with that rotating bezel. Right now the watch is seeing a modest eight percent discount, bringing it down to $ 369 instead of its usual $ 400. It’s not a huge dip, but it’s still the biggest price drop we’ve seen for the wearable to date.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is $ 300 off ahead of Amazon’s October Prime Day sale at $ 1,500. This matches the price it hit a few weeks back for Labor Day. This deal applies to the base model with 256GB of storage; the 512GB model, meanwhile, is down to $ 1,620 from its usual $ 1,920. We gave the 7.6-inch Z Fold 5 a score of 86 in our review and named it the best foldable for multitasking in our smartphone buying guide. Overall we were impressed by its speedy performance, handy multitasking gestures and improved hinge, which helps eliminates any air gap when the phone is folded. Our biggest concern is its sky-high price, which this discount makes a little less of an issue.
The Galaxy Z Flip 5 is on sale as well, with the base 256GB model $ 100 off at $ 900. That phone got an Engadget review score of 88 and is currently the top flip-style foldable pick in our guide to the best smartphones.
Amazon Kindle Scribe
Amazon’s Kindle Scribe is 22 percent off right now and down to $ 265. Unlike the deal we saw last month, you don’t have to be a Prime member to get this sale price. The Scribe is one of the best e-ink tablets on the market right now, and it’ll be best for those that want an easy-to-use ereader that also lets you jot down notes as you read. Users can create notebooks on the Scribe to organize their handwritten musings, though only a handful of titles in the Kindle store are considered “write-on” books that allow you to take notes directly in the margins. We gave the Kindle Scribe a review score of 85 last year.
Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite
A handful of Fire TV devices have been discounted before Amazon’s upcoming sale, including the Fire TV Stick Lite down to $ 18. It may be the most limited streaming dongle in Amazon’s lineup, but for smaller or secondary TVs, it offers 1080p streaming and a useful voice remote. If you’re willing to spend more for a Fire TV streamer that doubles as an Alexa speaker, you can also snag the Fire TV Cube for a low of $ 110.
Anker 332 USB-C Hub
Anker’s 332 USB-C Hub is down to $ 16 with a $ 2 on-page coupon, which is roughly $ 9 off its typical street price. As laptops get sleeker, ports disappear, but this 5-in-1 hub can add a 4K HDMI port, two USB-A ports, and either one or two additional USB-C ports (depending on whether you need one for power delivery) back to your device. That means you’ll have more space to connect a mouse, keyboard, flash drive, webcam or what have you.
Amazon Smart Thermostat
Amazon’s Smart Thermostat has dropped to its best price of the year at $ 56. Note that this sale price is for the model without a C-wire adapter, so you’ll have to make sure your system has a C-wire in order for the thermostat to work. Smart thermostats like this can help you save on energy costs by giving you more granular control over your heating and cooling system. You can use Amazon’s companion app to control your home’s temperature from anywhere, or ask Alexa to turn the temperature up or down as you please.
Amazon Fire HD 8
Amazon’s Fire HD 8 tablet has dropped to $ 60 as part of a larger tablet sale ahead of Prime Big Deal Days. That’s only $ 5 more than it was during Prime Day in July. We recommend this slab for those who want a cheap tablet they can give to their kids or use for basic media consumption. This model comes with 32GB of storage, but you can expand that space up to 1TB using a microSD card. Performance isn’t especially fast, and Amazon’s Fire OS is relatively limited — it lacks Google apps, for one — but the whole thing is comfortable and can last more than 10 hours on a charge. If you want a higher-end Fire tablet, the Fire Max 11 is on sale for a low of $ 150, though that’s a good chunk of change to spend on a Fire OS device.
Blink security cameras
A range of Blink 3rd- and 4th-gen security cameras are also on sale. These deals are particularly noteworthy for including the 4th-gen Outdoor cameras, as those were just announced at the end of August. A three-pack of those new cameras is half off at $ 135, and there are a bunch of bundles available as well: a two-pack with a Blink Mini for $ 100, a three-pack with a Blink Video Doorbell for $ 165, a whole home bundle for $ 102 and many more. These wireless security cameras aren’t the most advanced things around, but they still offer two years of rated battery life, motion and audio alerts, two-way talk and night vision.
Ring Video Doorbells
There’s a massive Ring sale going on now, which includes the wired Ring Video Doorbell on sale for $ 35. As the name suggests, you’ll have to hardwire it to your home during installation. If you’d prefer a model that runs on a rechargeable battery, consider the standard Ring Video Doorbell, which is down to $ 55. The sale also includes Ring Stick Up cameras for inside the home, as well as various Ring Alarm bundles.
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Kids
A few Kindle Essentials Bundles have been discounted for Prime members ahead of the October Prime sale, including this Kids model on sale for $ 143. It contains a Kindle Paperwhite Kids ereader with a cover, screen protector, power adapter, two-year warranty and one-year subscription to Amazon’s Kids+ content service. The Kids+ subscription gives access to a selection of child-appropriate ebooks and audiobooks; just remember that the membership will automatically renew after the first year.
Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids Pro
Amazon’s Fire HD 10 Kids Pro is the top recommendation for kids in our tablet buying guide. It has a list price of $ 200 and often sells for $ 140, but this early Prime Big Deal Days offer drops it down to an all-time low of $ 120. The tablet comes with a protective case that also serves as a stand and handle, plus a two-year warranty and a year’s subscription to Amazon Kids+ service. It comes with a fairly robust selection of parental controls as well.
Tile Slim
One of our favorite Bluetooth trackers, the Tile Slim has dropped to $ 25 ahead of October Prime Day, which is close to a record-low price. As its name suggests, this tracker is flat and slim like a credit card, making it easy to slip into a wallet or another small pocket so you can keep track of your valuables. Tile’s companion app will show you the last known location of your stuff if you ever misplace it, and you can use your phone to force the tracker to chime so you can find it more quickly if you’re not too far from it.
Amazon Music Unlimited
If you’ve never subscribed to Amazon Music Unlimited, you can now get three months of the music streaming service for free. If you’re an Amazon Prime member who has never subscribed, that jumps to four months. Music Unlimited usually comes with a one-month free trial and goes for $ 11 a month — or $ 10 if you use Prime — so this deal saves you either $ 22 or $ 30. We highlight Music Unlimited in our guide to the best music streaming services: Its UI and music discovery features aren’t as robust as Apple Music or Spotify, but it offers a large library in CD streaming quality and a wide podcast selection. Naturally, it also works well with Echo speakers and other Amazon devices. Note that your subscription will be set to auto-renew by default, so you’ll have to manually cancel if you’re just looking to snag a few months of music streaming at no cost.
Eero Pro 6E mesh Wi-Fi system
Amazon has discounted most of its Eero 6 Wi-Fi systems as an early Prime Big Deal Days deal, including the most powerful of the bunch, the Eero Pro 6E. You can pick up one router for $ 180, or spring for a three-pack for $ 400, both of which are down to record-low prices. Devices with support for Wi-Fi 6E can connect directly to the Eero’s 6 GHz radio band, and if you get the three-pack, you’ll get up to 6,000 square feet of coverage — more than enough for most homes. These Eeros have a built-in smart home hub as well, so you don’t need to have an extra device if you want to build out an IoT ecosystem in your house.
Samsung Pro Plus
If you need more storage for your Nintendo Switch, GoPro or anything else that accepts microSD cards, the 256GB version of the Samsung Pro Plus with Samsung’s USB reader is on sale for $ 23. We’ve seen the card alone fall as low as $ 20, but this is just a dollar above the all-time low for the bundle with the reader, which helps the card get closer to its advertised read and write speeds — up to 180 MB/s and 130 MB/s for reading and writing, respectively — on devices that allow them. Normally, this SKU retails for $ 25. The Pro Plus is the top pick in our guide to the best microSD cards, as it delivered the fastest sequential write speeds and random performance of any card we tested and comes with a 10-year warranty.
Amazon Fire Omni QLED Series TVs
All sizes of Amazon’s Fire TV Omni QLED Series are on sale ahead of October’s sale. The 43-, 50-, 55- and 65-inch models are down to $ 380, $ 400, $ 440 and $ 590, respectively. Those match or beat the prices we saw for July’s Prime Day. The Fire TV Omni QLED sets are best for people who like Amazon’s Fire interface, which is easy enough to figure out, though the OS tends to push you towards Amazon’s own content. Beyond that, Fire TVs do well to integrate Alexa with a useful voice remote and hands-free smart home support. If you don’t feel like having Alexa listening in, you can turn off the mics with a built-in switch.
Your Fall 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 car experts on must-shop auto-related Prime Day deals and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/october-prime-day-2023-the-best-early-deals-you-can-shop-now-153924114.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
The best iPhone accessories in 2023: 12 great ones to buy
Have you bought a new iPhone? Then it’s time to get a few accessories. Here are the ones that will complement your purchase best.
Digital Trends
The best Windows apps for 2023
Choosing the right apps can be hard. Here are the best Windows apps, whether you need to stay productive at work or watch your shows.
Digital Trends
The best iPhone 15 Plus screen protectors in 2023: 10 best ones
The Apple iPhone 15 Plus may just be the large-screened iPhone to buy in 2023. Here are the best iPhone 15 Plus screen protectors to keep it safe.
Digital Trends
The best iPhone 15 Pro cases in 2023: 12 best ones so far
The Apple iPhone 15 Pro is now the iPhone to buy if you want the most powerful iPhone available in a smaller size. Here are the best cases to keep it safe.
Digital Trends
The best iPhone 15 Pro Max cases in 2023: our 9 favorites so far
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is the biggest and most expensive iPhone you can buy right now. Be sure to protect it with these excellent cases!
Digital Trends
TCL’s 2023 TVs come with Fire TV built-in and are available to buy today
Looking for a new smart TV and not a fan of Google TV? TCL is here with a bunch of new alternatives that feature Amazon’s Fire TV smarts baked-in and a range of screen sizes and resolutions. The trio of new models straddle the Q and S Class lines with pricing starting from $ 169 for […]
Come comment on this article: TCL’s 2023 TVs come with Fire TV built-in and are available to buy today
Honor grabs the headlines at IFA 2023 with its ridiculous Magic V Purse
IFA 2023 has been and gone but the lingering memory of the tradeshow belongs to Honor and its ridiculous Magic V Purse which, despite its external display begging to be damaged, demonstrated that the brand was willing to push the envelope of foldable design. Sure, it’s basically just a foldable with an external folding display […]
Come comment on this article: Honor grabs the headlines at IFA 2023 with its ridiculous Magic V Purse
IFA 2023: the coolest phones and smartwatches we’ve seen
Although IFA is not as significant for mobile devices nowadays, a few smartphones and wearables are receiving attention at this year’s event.
Digital Trends
The best gaming accessories on a budget for 2023
PC gaming can be a lot of fun, but it can also be pretty expensive. And we don’t mean the games themselves – any gamer worth their salt knows you can just wait for a Steam sale, or grab a slew of great titles on Humble Bundle. Building a dedicated desktop can be pricey, and gaming laptops can take a real bite out of your wallet. One aspect that doesn’t have to bankrupt you are gaming accessories. It’s possible to kit out your gaming setup with some of the best headsets, keyboards and mice on a budget, and we’ve got a few recommendations to get you started.
Gaming headsets
Turtle Beach Recon Spark
The Recon Spark has been one of my favorite headsets for years; in fact, it was my daily driver in the Engadget office. There are some good reasons for that: it offers solid audio both in its cups and mic, plus it’s comfortable, sturdy and cute. It might not be wireless, but you can just plug it into almost any desktop or laptop and not have to worry about driver compatibility or installing software or anything like that. It’s also a great option for kids.
Logitech G733
While the Recon Spark might be my preferred work headset, the one I use at home is the wireless Logitech G733. It sounds great, has a phenomenal battery life and just the right amount of bling, with bright colored LED strips in the front and a customizable fabric headband. I use it for playing Dungeons & Dragons with my friends on Discord, as well as recording the occasional podcast. It’s been around for a few years, but that just means that you can get this headset for under $ 100 at some retailers. If it’s still too rich for your blood, check out the similar G435.
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1
If you’re looking for crisp audio, SteelSeries has always offered excellent clarity and volume, and the Arctis line does so at a reasonable price point. The Nova 1 is a wired gaming headset where everything feels premium, thanks to its sturdy build (I’ve dropped it twice already), its smooth, matte finish and soft, comfortable ear cups. They can block out lower sounds, but not things like a TV or crying baby, making this headset ideal for new parents. The adjustable mic is built-in, so you don’t have to worry about losing it either.
Logitech Zone Vibe 100
Since video conferencing from home exploded during the pandemic, I’ve been extolling the virtues of using a headset for all of your business meetings. They block out unwanted noise, make your voice come through loud and clear, and they’re a good sign to others that you are on a call. The only problem is that gaming headsets don’t exactly look all that professional — but the Zone Vibe is a breath of fresh air. It offers all of Logitech’s expertise to deliver solid gaming audio in a stylish wireless package you won’t be embarrassed to wear in front of the boss.
Gaming keyboards
Corsair K60 RGB Pro Low Profile
When it comes to buying a keyboard, my first recommendation is always going to be “buy a Corsair.” Corsair keyboards offer an excellent typing experience and they’re super durable. Unfortunately, they’re not the best budget option because they are rather expensive, with the cheapest ones usually going for $ 120. Luckily Corsair introduced the K60 RGB Pro a few years back and I’d recommend the Low Profile version for those used to typing on laptop keyboards. No, it’s not the same as a membrane keyboard – it’s lightyears better, with mechanical keys and a durable build that will last you years (and hundreds, if not thousands, of game matches).
HyperX Alloy Origins 60
One of the new hot things in gaming seems to be 60 percent keyboards, which chop off the number pad to make more room on your desk for a mouse or other accessories. Being smaller also means they tend to be cheaper too, so budget-minded gamers should take a look at decks like the Alloy Origins 60. Besides being small and affordable, it’s also solid as a rock. The placement of the arrow keys in the lower right corner should be less confusing for those making the switch from a full-sized deck, too.
SteelSeries Apex TKL
Mechanical keyboards are great, but even the quietest among them might be too noisy for some environments. The Apex TKL is great at being unobtrusive: it’s a 60 percent deck so it’s compact, and its keys offer great typing response while being whisper quiet. The Apex TKL is a little bigger than many other keyboards that eschew the number pad, but that’s for a good reason – you’ll appreciate the dedicated arrow keys and volume scroller, the latter of which is a must-have for anyone who consumes a lot of media on their device.
Gaming mice
Logitech G305
Going budget doesn’t mean you have to skimp on quality or looks, and the G305 is both a high-performance and stylish mouse. What’s also nice is how it keeps things simple, with six programmable buttons and a sleek profile. The battery life is rated for 250 hours, though I swear based on my personal use it’s much longer, and it only needs a single AAA battery so you can swap it out in seconds and get back to gaming. If you have a headset like the G435 you can get the G305 in lilac to match, or just stick with a basic black model. If you want to save even more money and don’t mind having a wired mouse, also check out the G203 Lightspeed, which we recommended in our best gaming mice buying guide.
SteelSeries Aerox 3
Every gamer knows the pain of spilling something on their desk once or twice, whether it’s water, coffee or soda. The Aerox 3 might look like it’s headed for disaster thanks to all the holes in it. But it’s actually rated IP54, which means it can take a good splash and just keep on working (though maybe a bit sticky if you don’t wipe it down). The holes do more than just look cool, too – they make the mouse much lighter to handle (if that’s your thing), and they keep heat from building up in your palm.
SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless
If you’re looking for something a bit more traditional but still affordable and wireless, the Rival 3 might just be up your alley. It’s a basic black mouse with a sleek contour and five programmable buttons. It comes with a wireless receiver to ensure a strong connection, but also works over Bluetooth so you can easily switch it to a laptop or mobile device. This makes it great for the office as well as gaming, the ultimate money-saver.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-budget-gaming-accessories-130040522.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
The best webcams for 2023
That tiny webcam on your laptop has probably gotten more use in the last few years than it ever has before. Even if you’re going back into the office for meetings on occasion, chances are frequent video conference calls are a permanent part of your professional life. Once an afterthought, your computer’s webcam has become one of its most important components — and the fact remains that most built-in cameras are not able to provide consistent, high-quality video chat experiences.
This is where external webcams come in. They can do wonders for people who spend most of their working hours on video conferences via Zoom or Microsoft Teams, and those who picked up a new hobby of streaming on Twitch or YouTube over the past couple of years. But as with most PC accessories, it can be tough to sort through the sea of options out there and find the best webcams for your needs. We get it, so we tested out a bunch of the latest webcams to see which are worth your money and which you can safely skip.
What to look for in a webcam
Resolution and field of view
While some newer computers have 1080p webcams, most built-in cameras have a resolution of 720p, so you’ll want to look for an external webcam that’s better than that. FHD webcams will give you better video quality; ideally, you’re looking for something that can handle 1080p at 60fps or 30fps. If you’re considering a cheap 720p webcam, make sure to get one that supports at least 30fps (most will) or, even better, 60fps. However, if your primary concern is better picture quality during video calls, 1080p is the way to go.
Some webcams can shoot in 4K, but that’s overkill for most people. Not to mention most video conferencing services like Zoom, Google Meet and Skype don’t even support 4K video. When it comes to streaming, Twitch maxes out at 1080p video, but YouTube added 4K live streaming back in 2016. Ultimately, with 4K webcam shots having such limited use, most people can get by with a solid 1080p camera.
Field of view (FOV) controls how much can fit in the frame when you’re recording. Most webcams I tested had a default field of view of around 78 degrees, which captured me and enough of my background to prove that I really need to organize my home office. On cheaper webcams you’ll usually see narrower fields of view (around 60 degrees), and those aren’t necessarily bad. They won’t show as much of your background, but that also means you won’t be able to squeeze as many friends or family members into frame when you’re having Zoom birthday parties. On the flip side, more expensive webcams may let you adjust the field of view to be even wider than average.
Autofocus and other “auto” features
Webcams with autofocus will keep the image quality sharp without much work on your part. You should be able to move around, step back and forth, and remain in focus the whole time. Some standalone webcam models let you manually adjust focus, too, if you have specific needs. Devices with fixed focus are less convenient, but they tend to be more affordable.
In the same vein is auto framing, a feature that some high-end webcams now offer. Similarly to Apple’s Center Stage feature, the camera automatically adjusts to keep you in the center of the frame even as you move around. This used to be a feature only available on the most premium webcams, but now you can find it on sub-$ 200 devices.
You’ll also see other “auto” features listed in webcam specs, most notably auto light correction. This will adjust the camera’s settings to make up for a dimly lit room. If you don’t have bright lights, or often take calls in places where you can’t control the lighting, this feature will be valuable.
Microphones
Most webcams have built-in microphones that, depending on your setup, might end up being closer to you than your computer’s own mics. Check to see if the model you’re considering has mono or stereo mics, as the latter is better. Some even use noise-reduction technology to keep your voice loud and clear. While audiophiles and streamers will want to invest in a standalone microphone, most others can get by using a webcam’s built-in mic.
Design
There aren’t a ton of fascinating breakthroughs when it comes to external webcam design. Most are round or rectangular devices that clip onto a monitor or your laptop screen. Some have the ability to swivel or screw onto a tripod stand and others can simply sit on your desk beside your computer. But unless you really like having people stare up your nose, the latter isn’t ideal. We recommend clipping your webcam to your monitor and ensuring that it’s at or slightly above eye level.
A few webcams go above and beyond by adding hardware extras like built-in lights and lens covers, too. The former can help you stand out in a dark room, while the latter makes it so hackers can’t view you through your webcam without your knowledge.
Price
Most external webcams that are just good enough to be a step up from your computer’s built-in camera cost between $ 60 and $ 150. If the webcam has the same resolution as the internal one on your laptop, you should look out for other specs like auto light correction, a wider field of view or an extra-long connecting cable that can provide a step-up in quality or ease of use.
Spending $ 150 or more means you might get advanced features like 4K resolution, vertical and horizontal recording options, stereo mics, customizable video settings and more. But unless you’re spending hours on video calls each day or streaming multiple times each week, you can settle on a budget webcam and safely skip most of those high-end options.
Best overall: Logitech Brio 500
The Logitech Brio 500 is essentially an upgraded version of the beloved C920s HD Pro. It shoots the same quality of video — up to 1080p 30fps — but it has a wider field of view, an upgraded zoom, improved auto-light correction, a better mic array and a USB-C connecting cable. The biggest difference I noticed in testing the Brio 500 was the improved light correction. My home office can feel very cave-like when the blinds are shut or when it’s raining, but you wouldn’t know it when on a video call with me. Logitech’s RightLight 4 technology does a great job of brightening the whole shot when you’re in a dim or dark environment.
This Logitech webcam works with the LogiTune software, which lets you customize camera settings like field of view, autofocus, contrast, brightness and more, plus lets you enable Show Mode and RightSight features. The former lets you present things on your desk just by tilting the camera down while the latter will automatically keep you in frame during calls even if you move around. RightSight works much like Apple’s Center Stage feature does on iOS devices, and most people will likely get more use out of this feature than Show Mode. If you prefer to keep things more consistent (or control how much of your background is visible), you can choose from 90-, 78- or 65-degree field of views instead of enabling RightSight.
Logitech also updated the design of the Brio 500. It’s made of recycled plastic and it comes in three different colors that you can match to other Logitech peripherals. The camera attaches magnetically to its base and it easily swivels from side to side when you need to adjust its position, plus it has a built-in lens cover for extra privacy when you’re not using it. Overall, it has the best mix of essential features and handy extras of any webcam we tested.
But $ 130 might be a lot for some people to spend on a webcam. We think it’s worth it if you’re primarily a hybrid or remote worker, but there is a cheaper option for those with tight budgets. The Logitech Brio 300 has many of the same core features as the Brio 500: 1080p resolution, auto light correction, a built-in privacy shutter and USB-C connectivity. However, you won’t get HDR support, an adjustable field of view, Show Mode or omnidirectional mics (although it does have a noise-reducing microphone of its own). It’s a pared-down version of the Brio 500 and it’ll only cost you $ 70.
Runner Up: Anker PowerConf C200
Anker’s cube-like PowerConf C200 webcam has has a lot of the same perks as our top pick, along with a few extras. Setup is equally as easy – just plug it into your computer or docking station and start using it. You can download the AnkerWork software to edit things like brightness, sharpness and contrast ratio, but I just kept all the defaults.
You’re also able to control the camera’s resolution and field of view with this software, too. The C200 webcam defaults to a 2K resolution, but you can bring it down to 1080p, 720p or even 360p if you wish. Same goes for field of view: The default is 95 degrees, but I bumped mine down to 78 degrees to spare my colleagues a wider view of my messy home office.
I was immediately impressed with the C200’s video quality: 2K is likely more than most people need (1080p should do just fine), but the extra sharpness and clarity is a nice touch. The webcam’s autofocus is quite fast, and its larger f/2.0 aperture captures more light so you stay illuminated even in darker settings.
In addition to a built-in lens cover that you can slide closed for privacy, the C200 has dual stereo mics that actually do a good job of capturing your voice loud and clear. You can also choose directional or omnidirectional vocal pickup in the AnkerWork settings, with the latter being better if you have multiple people speaking on your end.
My biggest complaints about the C200 webcam are that it’s a bit cumbersome to adjust its angle when it’s perched on your screen. Unlike most webcams, Anker’s doesn’t have a short neck of sorts that connects the camera to its adjustable base – it’s just one, chunky piece of plastic that I had to use both hands to adjust. Also, the C200 comes with a USB cable that’s much shorter than others. This won’t be a problem if you’re connecting the webcam directly to your laptop, but it’s not as flexible if you have a standing desk converter or a more complicated setup that requires long cables.
Best webcam for streaming: Razer Kiyo Pro Ultra
Razer built the Kiyo Pro Ultra for streaming and that’s immediately apparent as soon as you take the webcam out of the box. It’s huge. Its circular frame measures three inches in diameter and about two inches thick. It follows the design language of other Kiyo webcams, but it’s definitely the biggest of the bunch and that’s probably because Razer stuffed a lot into this peripheral. It has the biggest sensor of any Kiyo webcam (1/1.2 inches to be exact), and the company claims it’s the largest in any webcam, period. The Pro Ultra has a F/1.7 aperture lens as well, which lets in a ton of light and results in a super crisp image. It certainly delivered the best quality image of all the webcams I tested, which isn’t a surprise since it can capture raw 4k/30fps (or 1080p/60fps) footage.
Streamers will not only appreciate the high quality image coming from this cam, but also its HDR support, tasteful background blurring and face-tracking autofocus that swiftly transitions from zeroing-in on their face to whatever object they may be showing off to their viewers. It works with Razer’s Synapse software, too, so you can customize your image to your liking, tweaking things like zoom, pan, tilt, ISO and shutter speed. Just know that Synapse only works on Windows devices, so you’ll be stuck with default settings if you’re on macOS or Linux.
The Kiyo Pro Ultra is compatible with Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) and XSplit, so most streamers will be able to unbox it and get right to producing content. We also appreciate that you can twist the camera’s frame to physically shutter the lens, giving you more privacy when you need it. Undoubtedly, the Kiyo Pro Ultra is one of the most powerful webcams we tried out and it may even be overkill for streamers just starting out (our final pick might be better for those folks), but serious and professional content creators will love the quality video and customization options they get. If you want a similar level of quality and the ability to tweak settings on a Mac, Elgato’s Facecam Pro is a good alternative webcam. It costs the same as the Razer Kiyo Pro Ultra, can record video at 4K/60fps and its Camera Hub software works on macOS and Windows.
Runner up: Logitech Streamcam
Of all the webcams I tested, I had the most fun using Logitech’s Streamcam. While it’s a bit weird to say I “had fun” with such an innocuous piece of tech, I found the Streamcam to be remarkable in many ways. First and foremost, the video quality is excellent, coming in at a sharp 1080p/60fps. Details in my clothing came through much better and, whether I liked it or not, so did some of the texture on my skin. The Streamcam was also one of the best webcams I tested when it came to color reproduction.
All of those perks remain the same even when you’re shooting in low-light conditions. The Streamcam’s auto-exposure feature made up for the darkness in my office on gloomy days with excellent low-light performance. And it has the best kind of autofocus — the kind that you never notice in action.
The dual omnidirectional mics inside the Logitech Streamcam delivered my voice loud and clear during video calls. If you stream often and find yourself without an external mic, it’s nice to know that you could get by with the Streamcam’s built-in ones in a pinch. The microphones also have noise reduction to keep your voice font and center.
As far as design goes, the Streamcam is a bit larger than your standard cam. It’s a chunky almost-square that can easily be positioned on a monitor or mounted on a tripod, and a unique feature of its design is its ability to shoot either vertically or horizontally. I kept mine in the standard 16:9 format, but some content creators and streamers who post to social media often will like the 9:16 format that’s best for Instagram and TikTok. Logitech also made sure the Streamcam was optimized for OBS, XSplit and Streamlabs, so you can use it directly out of the box for your next live session.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-webcams-123047068.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 review: the best folding phone of 2023?
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a large cover screen, a new hinge, and finally folds flat when you close it. But is it worth $ 1,000? We found out in our review.
Digital Trends
The best multi-device wireless chargers for 2023
There’s a good chance you have enough devices with wireless charging support that a single-device pad or stand just won’t cut it. However, buying a multiple-item wireless charger can be a headache. You not only have to contend with varying levels of support, but different designs as well — the last thing you want is something that won’t fit on your nightstand. While this space can be confusing, there are plenty of options out there that are worth your money. We’ll walk you through what you need to know while shopping for a multi-device wireless charging station, and recommend a few models that belong on your short list.
Future-proofing
It won’t be shocking to hear that your smartphone choice influences your choice in a wireless charger. Only iPhone owners will need to consider Apple Watch compatibility. Likewise, you’ll need an Android phone if you expect to power a Galaxy Watch. Buy an iPhone 12 or newer and you can attach your phone magnetically using MagSafe, while the latest Android phones often have some form of fast wireless charging.
However, it’s not simply a question of getting the fastest charger. You should consider what you might buy in the future. Don’t buy a two-device charger if you have an iPhone and AirPods, but have been eyeing an Apple Watch. And if you think you might switch to an Android cell phone (or vice versa), you’ll want to get something more generic that doesn’t lock you into any one ecosystem.
Some chargers include cradles, trays and other features that are heavily optimized for particular products, and might not even account for year-to-year changes. Some vertical stands are too tall for small phones like the iPhone 13 mini, for instance. While you can never completely guarantee that next year’s phone or watch will work, it’s worth buying something more likely to last.
Having said all this, don’t be afraid to get a charger with vendor-specific features if you’re fiercely loyal to one brand. Apple isn’t expected to ditch MagSafe any time soon, and Samsung will likely keep making Galaxy Watches for a while to come.
Where and how will you use it?
You’re probably buying a multi-device wireless charger with one location in mind. It might sit on your nightstand or on your desk. Not everyone buys a charger just for themselves, though; you might want to use one as a shared station for you and a partner.
If the charger will sit on your nightstand, you’ll likely want a compact, stable unit that won’t swallow all your free space or tumble to the floor. You may also prefer a lay-flat phone pad so your screen is less likely to keep you awake. The Apple Watch and some other smartwatches can double as tiny alarm clocks, so you might want a vertical charging option for any wristwear.
At a desk, however, you may want a vertical phone stand so you can check notifications. Will the charger sit on a low table? Horizontal charger pads may make it easier to grab your devices in a hurry. Travel chargers should fold up or otherwise protect the pads while they’re in your bag. And, yes, aesthetics count. You may want something pretty if it’s likely to sit in a posh room where guests will see it.
If it’s a shared charging station, you’ll want something with multiple generic surfaces, and you’ll probably have to forgo charging more than one watch at a time. In those cases, consider the handful of 4-in-1 wireless chargers on the market, or models with USB ports.
Performance
It’s no secret that wireless charging is typically slower than wired, and powering multiple devices adds a new wrinkle. As these chargers often have to support a wide range of hardware, you’ll have to forget about the fastest, device-specific options from brands like Google, OnePlus and Samsung.
That’s not to say these will be slow, but there just isn’t much separating them on the charging speed front. As a general rule, the quickest multi-device chargers tend to top out at 15W for phones. And you’ll need an Apple MagSafe charger if you want to get that full 15W on an iPhone.
It’s rare that you’ll find a truly slow example, mind you. Even some of the most affordable options we’ve seen will recharge your phone at a reasonable 7.5W or 10W, and the 5W for other devices is more than enough. If you’re only docking overnight or while you work, speed won’t make a huge difference. Just be sure that whatever you buy is powerful enough for a phone in a case. It’s also worth noting that fast charging for other devices is rare, although you’ll occasionally find speedier options for the Apple Watch Series 7.
Quality, box contents and small details
The difference between a good charger and a great one often boils down to little details. You won’t always need to pay extra to get those, but a larger outlay may be worthwhile to avoid frustrations for years to come.
A textured surface like rubberized plastic or fabric will reduce the chances your expensive gadgets will slide off their charging points. The base should have enough grip and weight that the charger won’t easily shift out of place. Any floating or vertical stands should be sturdy — steer clear if there’s any wobble.
You’ll also want to make a note of what’s included in the box. Some chargers don’t ship with power adapters, and we’ve seen numerous models whose Apple Watch “stands” are merely holders for your existing charging puck.
Then there’s helpful touches like status lights for confirming correct placement, although you’ll want to make sure they dim or shut off after a certain amount of time. And while it’s still true that cradles and trays can limit compatibility, you do want your devices to stay where you put them. Shelves and lips can prevent your phone or watch from sliding. Oh, and be wary of floating smartwatch mounts, as heavier timepieces might sag.
Best premium 3-in-1 charger: Belkin BoostCharge Pro 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Pad with MagSafe
It doesn’t get much better than Belkin’s most advanced model of wireless charger if you’re an Apple devotee. The high-quality BoostCharge Pro 3-in-1 pad offers 15W MagSafe charging for your iPhone, fast charging for the Apple Watch and a space for AirPods Pro or other earbuds with Qi-compatible cases. The base is weighty, covered in rubberized plastic and includes a discreet status light for your earbuds. More importantly, it supports more devices than you might think. Although the Pro pad uses MagSafe, the horizontal layout lets you charge virtually any phone at reduced speeds. We also have to give Belkin kudos for one of the most convenient Apple Watch chargers we’ve seen. It not only works horizontally and vertically, but includes a knob to adjust for different sizes and third-party cases.
This is quite large compared to some 3-in-1 chargers, so it’s not the greatest choice for a nightstand. Consider the smaller footprint of its counterpart, the BoostCharge Pro 3-in-1 Wireless Charger with MagSafe 15W, if you have an iPhone 12 or newer. You also won’t find USB ports, and the indented earbud pad rules out a second phone. Still, it’s easily worth the $ 150 asking price.
Runner-up 3-in-1: Logitech Powered 3-in-1 Dock
There are many quality high-end chargers to choose from, but Logitech’s Powered 3-in-1 Dock offers a few features that help it rise above. It consumes relatively little space, and the rubberized horizontal and vertical chargers deliver up to 10W while gripping your devices tightly, so both you and your partner can top off.
It has a few limitations, though. The vertical stand isn’t well-suited to the iPhone 13 mini and other small phones. And while the floating stand works with most Apple Watches, heavier ones tend to sag (such as this author’s steel Series 5 with a Leather Link strap) and might not charge properly. If those aren’t issues, though, your $ 130 will be well-spent.
Best budget 3-in-1 charger: Anker 533 Wireless Charger
You can find plenty of more affordable 3-in-1 chargers. Few, however, offer quite as much for the money as the Anker 533 Wireless Charger 3-in-1 Stand. It offers an adjustable-angle 10W vertical stand and lets you charge an Apple Watch either horizontally or vertically. There’s also a 20W USB-C power adapter in the box, so you won’t have to buy an aftermarket brick (or rely on proprietary cabling) to get started.
The limitations mostly stem from the cost-cutting measures. You probably won’t have room for a second phone. And like some chargers we’ve seen, the Apple Watch mount is a bring-your-own-cable affair that only supports older USB-A connections. The included cable with your Series 8 or SE won’t work here. At $ 58, though, this 3-in-1 wireless charging stand is a good bargain.
Another good option: Otterbox 3-in-1 Charging Station for MagSafe
If you’re willing to spend a bit more and live in Apple’s universe, the Otterbox 3-in-1 Charging Station for MagSafe is worth your attention. The extremely small footprint of this wireless charger is ideal for nightstands. You can tuck a trio of your phone, earbuds and Apple Watch into an area normally reserved for a single device. The company supplies a surprisingly powerful 36W USB-C power adapter in the box that serves as a fast wired option in a pinch.
The caveats are clear. The floating MagSafe stand rules out Android phones and older iPhones. You’ll need to bring your own Apple Watch cable, and the USB-A port won’t work with the USB-C cables bundled with newer watches. The horizontal-only watch mount also rules out clock functionality. The overall balance of space and utility is still difficult to top for $ 80.
Best 2-in-1 charger: Mophie Dual Wireless Charging Pad
The 2-in-1 field is highly competitive and makes it difficult to choose an absolute winner. However, Mophie’s Dual Wireless Charging Pad hits many of the right marks. It can charge two devices at up to 10W each, making it a great pick for a two-phone household. The fabric surface with rubberized trim should keep your gadgets steady, and the status lights will confirm accurate placement. There’s even a USB-A port to plug in your watch charger or any other wired hardware.
The complaints are few. You won’t charge at 15W, and we’d rather have USB-C than USB-A. It’s nonetheless a safe choice at $ 80, and worth buying over less expensive options.
Runner-up 2-in-1: Samsung Super Fast Wireless Charger Duo
Multi-device chargers from phone manufacturers tend to be either compromised or highly proprietary, but Samsung’s Super Fast Wireless Charger Duo (sometimes known as the 15W Duo Fast Wireless Charger) bucks that trend. It’s compact and delivers high-speed charging for one phone and an accessory, whether it’s a Samsung Galaxy Watch or another manufacturer’s earbuds. The status lights will even dim at night, and change color to indicate when your batteries are full.
This won’t help for two-phone households, and Samsung only guarantees 15W charging for some of its own phones (the Galaxy Note 10, Galaxy S20 and later). You’ll also want to be mindful of which version you buy, as there are variants with and without a power adapter in the box. Neither is cheap at respective prices of $ 90 and $ 70. This remains an elegant charger for nightstands and travel, though, and the pads are sufficiently device-agnostic.
Best charger for two people: Mophie 4-in-1 Wireless Charging Mat
There are few wireless chargers built with more than one person in mind, but Mophie’s 4-in-1 Wireless Charging Mat is the most well-rounded of the bunch. The pad can handle up to four devices wirelessly at 10W, including two phones and two accessories. There’s also a spare USB-A port for charging earlier Apple Watch models (using the included mount and your own cable) or wired items. A fabric surface, subtle device trays and indicator lights will also take the mysteries out of charging.
This is a giant charger compared to most, and you might find it limiting if your home has more than one Apple Watch or accessories that won’t fit the smaller charging pads. Even so, Mophie is offering considerable value for $ 150. The 4-in-1 does more than some 3-in-1 chargers at that price, and it doesn’t suffer the compatibility issues of rivals like Nomad’s Base Station Pro.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-multi-device-wireless-chargers-130020900.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
The best Amazon Prime Day monitor deals for 2023
You can typically find a bunch of monitors on sale on Amazon Prime Day for all-time-low prices — or close to them — making it one of the best times to grab a display for your desk setup. This year is no different, with monitors from Samsung, LG, Dell and others discounted for Amazon’s two-day shopping event. First, you should consider the size you need — you may want a big, ultra-wide monitor, but there might not be enough space for it on your desk. Then, you should consider if you need a display with specific features like high color accuracy, fast frame rates and the like. You’ll also want to be realistic about your budget; while you can pick up an external monitor for quite cheap on Prime Day, there are tempting options at higher price ranges. Here are the best monitor deals we could find for Amazon Prime Day 2023.
Samsung monitor deals
A huge selection of Samsung monitors are on sale for Prime Day, including the Smart Monitor M80B for $ 380. That isn’t a record-low price, but it’s pretty close to it. This 32-inch display pulls triple duty as a monitor, smart TV and smart home hub. You can connect it to your computer just like any other external display, but it comes with Samsung’s smart TV interface and a remote. It also has a built-in SmartThings hub so you can build out your IoT network from there with smart light bulbs and other compatible devices. You’ll find Samsung monitors of all sizes (and at all price points) on sale for Prime Day, including some higher-end Odyssey gaming monitors — including the massive 49-inch Odyssey G9 curved gaming monitor for $ 400 off.
LG monitor deals
LG has discounted a number of its UltraFine and UltraGear monitors for Prime Day. Included among the sales is this 34-inch curved UltraWide monitor for $ 330, or 30 percent off its usual price. It supports 99 percent coverage of the sRGB spectrum and it has a Reader Mode that provides blue light reduction and helps eliminate on-screen flickers. You can easily find a budget-friendly monitor among LG’s discounts, but there are more premium models on sale, too, like this 27-inch OLED monitor that’s 15 percent off and down to $ 850.
Acer monitor deals
Prime Day has brought steep discounts to Acer, ASUS, MSI, Sceptre and other gaming monitors. A standout is this Acer Nitro FHD gaming monitor that for $ 160 that supports a 240Hz refresh rate, Adaptive Sync technology and a zero-frame design. These are the monitor discounts to check out on Prime Day if you’re in the market for a gaming monitor in particular and also have a tight budget to stick to; most of the displays on sale here come in at $ 300 or less.
Dell monitor deals
If you’re just looking for an external display to use in your home office, there are a bunch of good sales on monitors from Dell, Acer, BenQ and others that fit the bill. A budget-friendly option is this 24-inch Dell FHD monitor that comes in at only $ 100. In addition to a 75Hz refresh rate, this display has an anti-glare coating and a relatively small footprint, so it will fit into most desk setups easily. If you’re a creative professional, consider ASUS’s 31.5-inch ProArt Display, which is $ 100 off for Prime Day and down to only $ 299.
LePow C2S portable monitor
LePow’s C2S portable 15-inch screen is on sale for $ 152 for Prime Day, or 20 percent off its usual rate. It earned a spot on our list of best monitors thanks to its decent brightness, solid contrast and its 96.1-percent sRGB gamut coverage. This monitor even has built-in speakers and it doesn’t skimp on the ports: you get one mini-DisplayPort, one mini-HDMI connector, two USB-C ports and a headphone jack.
Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for the best Amazon Prime Day tech deals. Learn about Prime Day trends on In the Know. Hear from Autoblog’s car experts on must-shop auto-related Prime Day deals 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-monitor-deals-164410754.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
The best Amazon Prime Day deals for 2023
Amazon Prime Day is back this year with a bunch of new deals to consider. There are thousands of deals to sift through during Amazon’s two-day shopping event, and in the tech space in particular, it can be difficult to know what’s actually a good value and which devices are worth spending your hard earned cash on. Engadget is here to help — we’ve culled Amazon’s site to pick out the best Prime Day deals on gadgets we could find, and many of our favorites are on sale this year. Here are the best Amazon Prime Day deals for 2023.
Apple AirPods Pro
Apple’s second-generation AirPods Pro are on sale for $ 199 for Prime Day. These buds are a huge improvement over their predecessors, offering improved sound quality, ANC and transparency mode. We still consider these to be the best earbuds for iPhone users thanks to their Apple-specific features like quick pairing and switching and hands-free Siri.
Apple AirPods (3rd Generation)
Apple’s third-generation AirPods are back down to the lowest price we’ve seen them for Prime Day — going to $ 140 from $ 169. The 17 percent discount is just another reason to buy these AirPods, with a slew of features updating them from their predecessor. The third-gen AirPods come with personalized spatial audio, up to six hours of continuous listening time, and 30 hours of use with the charging case. Plus, they’re great for working out — or a nice frolic in the rain — with the AirPods and the charging case being sweat and water-resistant.
Apple AirPods (2nd Generation)
The latest AirPods might have a few extra bells and whistles, but the second-generation Apple AirPods are a great choice for $ 90. They’re currently $ 39 off their sticker price of $ 129 for Prime Day, the lowest we’ve seen them in a while. This model mirrors its successor in having an H1 chip, Siri, automatic switching between devices and a lightning charging case. The biggest consideration is battery life, with these AirPods offering five hours of uninterrupted use and over 24 hours with the charging case. If you’re looking for AirPods for your commute or walks, the $ 50 price difference makes the second-gen AirPods a solid option.
Apple Watch Series 8
The Apple Watch Series 8 is the brand’s latest flagship wearable and usually sells for $ 399 for the 41mm GPS model. Prime Day brings it down to $ 280, which is $ 120 off its regular price. The Series 8 is our top pick in our guide to smartwatches because it combines detailed health and fitness tracking with seamless iPhone integration. New features include temperature sensors, ECG and blood oxygen readings, crash detection, and improved sleep metrics. The upcoming WatchOS 10 will bump the utility even more with widgets plus expanded health, fitness and mindfulness features.
Apple Watch SE
The Apple Watch SE is a great option for anyone who wants to try out the brand’s wearables without spending too much. Plus, with a 20 percent discount for Prime Day, it’s down from $ 250 to $ 200 — enough to buy a great Apple watch accessory to go with it. The second-generation Apple Watch SE has many of the same beloved features of the Series 8, including crash detection, water resistance, heart-rate monitoring and notifications. The 40mm watch face is available in Midnight, Silver and Starlight.
Apple 10.2-inch iPad
Apple’s 9th-generation iPad is down to $ 249, which a record low. It’s the budget pick in our guide to the best iPads. Though it doesn’t have the thin bezels and as much accessory support as our favorite, the iPad Air, it’s the most affordable way to snag an iPad. It’s a great couch companion that performs well for casual browsing, binge streaming and light gaming. The latest (10th) generation of Apple’s standard iPad in the 64GB size is down to $ 379 after a $ 70 discount, which is another record low. It’s got a slightly larger screen and a newer chip (though not Apple’s own M-series silicon). The latest gen also ditches the home button, which is nice, but does away with the headphone jack, which isn’t as great.
Apple MacBook Air M1
The M1 MacBook Air released back in 2020, but it remains a worthy option if you want a Mac for light work and web browsing for as little cash as possible. The entry-level configuration is now on sale for $ 750, which is a new low. This model’s keyboard, trackpad, display and battery life continue to impress, and the quiet M1 chip is still fast enough for the essentials. This configuration is strictly for casual use, though, as it only has 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. You’ll have to live with a more basic 720p webcam, too, and you’ll miss out on the improved speakers and slimmer bezels of the M2 model. We gave the M1 Air a review score of 94 at launch.
Apple MacBook Air (15.3-inch)
The 15.3-inch version of Apple’s MacBook Air M2 is down to $ 1,399 for a configuration with 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. That’s a modest $ 50 drop from its usual price on Amazon, but the notebook only just arrived last month, and it’s $ 100 less than buying from Apple directly. The M2 Air is the top pick in our guide to the best laptops, and we gave it a review score of 96 in June. It checks just about all the requisite boxes for a mainstream notebook, with a thin and light design, bright and accurate display, comfortable keyboard, long-lasting battery, and more than enough performance for everyday use. This 15-inch model has all the same benefits of the prior 13-inch model, but adds a more powerful speaker system and slightly upgraded GPU alongside the bigger screen.
Sony WH-1000XM5
Our current favorite pair of wireless headphones, Sony’s WH-1000XM5 are down to $ 328 for Prime Day. It’s the total package that combines great audio quality with excellent ANC and a comfy fit to make a pair of headphones you’ll be able to wear all day long if you wish. It also supports multipoint connectivity and a 30-hour battery life.
Bose QuietComfort 45
The Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones have dropped to a new low of $ 199 for Prime Day, which is a whopping $ 130 off their usual 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
Google’s flagship wireless earbuds, the Pixel Buds Pro, are down to $ 133 for Prime Day, a new all-time low. Google took all of the lessons it learned when making previous earbuds and got a lot of things right with the Pixel Buds Pro. These will be great for Android users who want buds with punchy bass, good ANC, reliable touch controls and wireless charging.
Anker Soundcore Space A40
The Soundcore Space A40 was already our favorite pair of wireless earbuds for those on a budget, and now it’s even more affordable at $ 55. The Space A40 provides the kind of performance and features you’d expect from true wireless earbuds that cost twice as much: strong ANC, a small and light design, a warm sound that’s enjoyable out of the box but customizable through a companion app, a transparency mode, wireless charging, solid battery life around eight hours per charge and the ability to connect to two devices at once. It can’t auto-pause music when you remove an earbud, nor can it fully match the best premium pairs when it comes to ANC strength, sound quality or mic clarity. But it’s not far off, and it’s way easier on the wallet.
Amazon Kindle
The standard Kindle is already Amazon’s most affordable ereader and Prime Day drops it down to $ 65 from its usual $ 100 price tag, which is a new all-time low. This latest 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.
Kindle Paperwhite
The Kindle Paperwhite has a bigger screen and a few extra features over the standard Kindle and is now $ 90, which is $ 50 off its $ 140 MSRP. An adjustable warm front light makes it easier on your eyes at night and the waterproof feature means you can read by the pool or in the bath. The price applies to the 8GB version. If you want more storage, you can grab the 16GB-capacity model for $ 95.
Kobo Clara 2E
The Kobo Clara 2E is now $ 120 instead of $ 140. It’s our top pick in our ereader guide and doesn’t often go on sale. We like the textured back, crisp text and responsive touch controls. It’s also waterproof, ad-free and has a comfortable warm light for night reading. The Kobo store has millions of books and is easy to navigate and the Clara 2E makes it easy to borrow ebooks from your local library.
Samsung Pro Plus microSD
The top pick in our best microSD cards guide, Samsung’s Pro Plus in 256GB is on sale for $ 20 right now. It had some of the best overall speeds of any of the microSD cards we tested, and it has 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.
Samsung Evo Select microSD
Samsung’s Evo Select microSD card has dropped to $ 10 for Prime Day. It’s a step behind the top pick in our microSD card guide, mostly due to its slower sequential write speeds, but it’s argubly the best value microSD card you can get right now.
Samsung T7 Shield
The Samsung T7 Shield SSD has been discounted to $ 75 for Prime Day. The T7 series as a whole includes some of our favorite SSDs, and the Shield is the most durable of the bunch. The portable drive has an IP65 rating for water and dust resistance, and it can withstand drops from up to 10 feet high. On top of that, its 1,050/1,000 MB/s read/write speeds should be enough for most people’s needs.
Samsung 980 Pro
Samsung’s 980 Pro SSD has dropped to $ 50 for Prime Day. It’s another good option for the PS5, especially since you can spring for a model with an included heatsink if you want. The 980 Pro has read speeds up to 7,000 MB/s and reliable thermal controls.
Crucial MX500
Crucial’s MX500 internal drive has been discounted to $ 48 for Prime Day. It has 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.
Amazon Echo Dot
Amazon has knocked the price of the latest Echo Dot down to $ 23, which is more than half off its normal price. It’s one of the best smart speakers you can get right now thanks to its orb-like design, surprisingly good sound quality for its size and handy Alexa integration. The newest Echo Dots can also act as Eero WiFi boosters, adding up to 1,000 square feet of coverage to your existing Eero system. If you’re looking for something even more affordable, the new Echo Pop is down to $ 18 right now as well.
Amazon Echo Show 5
The latest Echo Show 5 is half off and down to a record low of $ 45. 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. The newest model has a faster processor, improved sound quality and an additional microphone for better Alexa performance.
Amazon Fire Max 11
Amazon’s recently released Fire Max 11 tablet is on sale for $ 150 for Prime Day. It’s the best discount we’ve seen since the Amazon’s most powerful tablet launched in May. The slab has an 11-inch 2000 x 1200 touchscreen, an octa-core processor, 4GB of RAM, up to 128GB of built-in storage and up to 14 hours of battery life. It can also work with a detachable keyboard and stylus, so you could use it like a 2-in-1 laptop.
Samsung S95B
The 65-inch Samsung S95B is on sale for $ 1,598, matching its all-time low. Typically, this highly-rated set has cost an extra $ 100 to $ 200 in recent months.
The S95B’s QD-OLED panel combines OLED tech with a quantum dot layer, allowing it to deliver high contrast and wide viewing angles without sacrificing as much as typical OLED TVs in terms of brightness and color saturation. This means it should provide a rich image even in brighter rooms. It can also play up to 4K 120Hz, which is handy for the PS5 or Xbox Series X, but like all Samsung TVs, it doesn’t support Dolby Vision HDR.
The S95B is a 2022 model, so it’s on the way out in favor of the new S95C. The latter supports a faster 144Hz refresh rate and runs its ports through an external box, which makes the design thinner. Other reviewerssay it can get a bit brighter, too. But the S95 currently costs $ 2,298 and $ 2,298 for a 55- and 65-inch model, respectively, and its upgrades don’t appear to be massive enough to justify that extra cost for most. If you’re in the market for a premium TV, the S95B should remain the better value while it’s still available.
Samsung The Frame smart TV
Samsung’s 55-inch The Frame TV is down to $ 988, which is a new low and about $ 450 off its typical street price. The Frame is a TV for those willing to trade some picture quality for classy aesthetics, as it’s designed to look like a piece of art you can mount against a wall. When you aren’t watching something, you can use it to display artwork and photos. A few pieces come included, while others are sold with a subscription. The Frame’s QLED panel lacks local dimming, so its contrast and HDR performance can’t really compete with the best options in its price range. It only has one HDMI 2.1 port, too. But the image is still far from poor, and its design does well to blend into a wall, as we’ve professed before.
Roku Streaming Stick 4K
Roku’s Streaming Stick 4K is down to $ 35 for Prime Day, or $ 15 off its usual price. It’s our favorite streaming device at the moment because it packs a ton of features into an affordable package. It streams 4K, HDR content with Dolby Vision, and it supports AirPlay 2 and private listening with headphones.
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max
The Fire TV Stick 4K Max is on sale for $ 25, which is $ 30 below its list price and $ 10 lower than the usual sale price we’ve seen over the course of the year. This is Amazon’s fastest streaming stick, and its remote comes with Alexa baked in. It supports the major HDR standards in Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HDR10+, and like the rest of the Fire TV lineup, it works with just about all of the necessary streaming apps. Unlike the standard Fire TV Stick 4K, it also has a WiFi 6 radio, though you’ll need a compatible router and an unusually fast internet connection to ever see any advantage from that.
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Lite
We call the Fire TV Stick Lite the best budget pick in our guide to the best streaming devices. It’s essentially the same as the standard Fire TV Stick, only its remote lacks built-in volume and TV controls. It can’t output Dolby Atmos audio to a compatible sound system, either. It makes up for all of this by being extremely affordable, and Prime Day has only furthered that: you can pick it up for $ 15, which is a 50 percent discount.
Meta Quest 2 + $ 50 gift card
Amazon includes a free $ 50 gift card when you buy the Meta Quest 2 VR headset for Prime Day, so your total for the bundle will be $ 299. This is the best VR headset for most people right now thanks to its relatively affordable price, cordless and comfortable design, fast-switching LCD screens, 90Hz refresh rate and solid motion controllers.
$ 100 Xbox gift card
You can pick up a $ 100 Xbox digital gift card for only $ 90 right now at Amazon. This is a solid deal since you’re getting $ 10 for free, and you can use this gift card towards digital game downloads, game add-ons and even memberships. It’s also worth noting that deals on this gift card are hard to come by — this is the best price we’ve seen since the holiday shopping season last year.
Google Pixel 7a
The Google Pixel 7a is on sale for $ 449 right now, or $ 50 off its usual rate and an all-time low. This is 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
Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra has dropped to a record-low price of $ 950 for Prime Day, and the rest of the lineup is on sale, too. The Ultra in particular is the best Android smartphone you can get right now thanks to its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, big, bold 120Hz display, built-in S Pen and excellent main camera.
Nest WiFi Pro – 3 Pack
The Google Nest WiFi Pro three-pack gives you all the same technology as the pair but with a wider range. With three routers, you can access WiFi across 6,600 square feet. At 25 percent off, the trio is $ 300, making each Nest WiFi Pro only $ 100 — it’s a steal considering they typically retail for $ 200 each. As for color, get them all in Snow or get a mix of Snow, Fog and Linen.
TP-Link Deco XE75 mesh WiFi system
The best mesh WiFi system out right now, TP Link’s Deco XE75, is down to a record low of $ 320 for Prime Day. While this set doesn’t have one stand-out feature that puts it above the competition, it does a great job balancing power and usability. It has an easy setup process, an equally easy-to-use mobile app and it provides a stable and fast WiFi network that will cover most homes well. This is the best price we’ve seen on the three-pack that usually costs $ 450.
Shark AI Ultra 2-in-1 robot vacuum
Shark’s vacuum-and-mop machine has dropped to $ 380 for Prime Day. It’s one of the best robot vacuums you can get right now because of its versatility and decent starting price, so if you can pick it up while it’s on sale, that’s even better. It comes with a water reservoir with a cloth attached to it that lets you mop hard floors when you need to. The standard dustbin will hold all debris during vacuuming, and the machine is smart enough to empty its clean base automatically after every vacuuming job (you’ll have to empty the water reservoir on your own).
Blink Mini 2-pack
A two-pack of Blink Mini security cameras is on sale for $ 34 for Prime Day. That’s only $ 4 more than we saw it during the holiday shopping season last year. 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.
Fitbit Charge 5
The Fitbit Charge 5 is our favorite overall tracker, and is currently $ 100 or $ 50 off its usual price. Fitness trackers aren’t as fully featured as smartwatches, but that typically means they have a longer battery life and cost a little less. We like the Charge 5 for its comprehensive activity tracking and health monitoring that comes in a thin profile with a multi-day battery life. It also pairs with both Apple and Android phones.
Razer Huntsman Mini
The compact Razer Huntsman Mini is down to $ 70 for a model with either Clicky Purple or Linear Red opto-mechanical switches. Neither deal is quite an all-time low, but the two models have usually retailed in the $ 80 to $ 100 range over the last few months. The Huntsman Mini is the top pick in our guide to the best 60 percent keyboards, as its keys are pleasant and consistently responsive for gaming. The whole thing feels well-built, with quality PBT keycaps and RGB lighting on a per-key basis. Each key can be programmed through macros as well. The switches here aren’t ideal for those who like a springy and more tactile, though, and the ultracompact design won’t be for everyone.
Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for the best Amazon Prime Day tech deals. Learn about Prime Day trends on In the Know. Hear from Autoblog’s car experts on must-shop auto-related Prime Day deals 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-deals-2023-203017990.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
The best Amazon Prime Day Apple deals on AirPods, MacBooks and more for 2023
Lots of Apple products are discounted for Amazon Prime Day, including the latest generation iPads, AirPods, MacBooks and Apple Watches. If you’ve had your eye on a brand new MacBook Air or want to get Apple’s budget SE smartwatch for even less, the sale is a good time to act. You won’t find new, unlocked iPhones or Apple’s HomePod speakers as Amazon doesn’t tend to carry those, but most of Apple’s current-model tech is seeing some of the best discounts so far this year. Here are the best Prime Day deals on Apple products we could find.
AirPods Pro (2nd gen)
Apple’s second generation AirPods Pro are on sale for $ 199 during Prime Day. That’s a $ 50 and the best price we’ve seen. They are our top pick for iPhone users in our earbuds guide and represent a big improvement over the first iteration, with better noise canceling and overall improved sound. They have an excellent transparency mode that lets you listen to music while still keeping aware of the sounds around you and they pair nicely with iPhones, iPads and Macs and make good use of Siri’s assistance.
AirPods (3rd gen)
Apple’s updated AirPods have been discounted to $ 140 for Prime Day. Released in 2021, these wireless earbuds improve upon their predecessors in nearly every way. They have better sound quality, a more comfortable design and a longer battery life. They don’t have ANC like the AirPods Pro do, but it’s hard to beat the third-gen AirPods at this price for iPhone users.
AirPods (2nd gen)
The second-generation AirPods are down to $ 89 for Prime Day. These wireless earbuds are a bit old at this point, but if you have less than $ 100 to send and want a pair that work seamlessly with iPhones and other Apple devices, these are a good option. They fit similarly to Apple’s EarPods and they have improved wireless range.
iPad Air
The latest iteration of Apple’s iPad Air is $ 500 after a $ 100 discount. We think it’s the best iPad for most people. It came out in 2022 and features Apple’s own M1 system-on-a-chip processor and a bright and sharp 10.9-inch display. We gave it a review score of 90, noting that the updated chip and 5G capabilities (on the cellular model) make it “almost future-proof.”
iPad (9th gen)
Apple’s 9th-generation iPad is down to $ 250, which it’s best price yet as it normally sells for $ 329. It’s the budget pick in our guide to the best iPads. Though it doesn’t have the thin bezels and as much accessory support as our favorite, the iPad Air, it’s the most affordable way to snag an iPad. It’s a great couch companion that performs well for casual browsing, binge streaming and light gaming.
The latest (10th) generation of Apple’s standard iPad in the 64GB size is down to $ 380 after a $ 70 discount. It’s got a slightly larger screen and a newer chip (though not Apple’s own M-series silicon). The latest gen also ditches the home button, which is nice, but does away with the headphone jack, which isn’t as great.
iPad mini
A smaller tablet like the iPad mini can do a lot of what your phone can while giving you more screen real estate. For Prime Day, Apple’s diminutive slate is $ 380 instead of its usual $ 499. We gave the mini an 89 in our review because of its fresh design and solid performance. It also pairs nicely with the second generation Apple Pencil, turning the mini into a portable digital notebook.
Apple Pencil (2nd gen)
The latest Apple Pencil is usually $ 129 but Prime Day is making it just $ 89. The second generation of the stylus works with the most recent models of the iPad mini, the iPad Air and both sizes of the iPad Pro. The standard iPad, even the latest iteration, still works with the first generation Apple Pencil, which is $ 79 right now. The Apple pencil lets you draw, sketch, take handwritten notes and even write in search boxes. The second gen pencil magnetically attaches to and charges from all compatible iPads.
Magic Keyboard
The Magic Keyboard for the iPad Air or the 11-inch iPad Pro is now just $ 250 as opposed to the $ 300 list price. The keyboard wraps around and magnetically attaches to your iPad, acting as a case when closed, then when it’s time to type, your tablet “floats”above the keyboard. It’s one of our favorite iPad accessories and in our review of the iPad Pro, we noted the Magic Keyboard “provides the best typing experience” for Apple’s tablets. The keyboard for the 12.9 inch iPad Pro is also on sale and going for $ 299 for Prime Day.
AirTags
Apple’s AirTags are discounted $ 90 for the four-pack. Compared to the usual $ 28.50 per-tag price, that’s a decent savings. We named the AirTags the best bet for iPhone users because they tap into Apple’s vast Find My network, pinging off nearby Apple phones to anonymously locate the tracker if it’s ever lost out in the city.
Apple Watch Series 8
Apple’s flagship smartwatch is the Apple Watch Series 8 and Prime Day is giving it a $ 120 discount. Usually $ 399, the 41mm GPS model is now $ 280. The Series 8 is our favorite smartwatch thanks to its detailed health and fitness tracking along with a seamless integration with your iPhone’s apps and notifications. New features like temperature sensors, ECG and blood oxygen readings and improved sleep metrics give you more data than ever, while the crash detection can call for help if you’re ever in an accident. The upcoming WatchOS 10 will add widgets and expanded features including ways to track your mood in the Mindfulness app.
Apple Watch SE
The Apple Watch SE is Apple’s budget smart watch that’s usually listed at $ 250. Prime Day discounts are making it just $ 200 for the 40 mm size. The 44mm version is usually $ 270 but down to $ 230 for the sale. We called the SE “the best smartwatch $ 250 can buy” in our Engadget review. It makes surprisingly few sacrifices over the Series 8 and shares the same looks, processor and 50-meter water resistance. It doesn’t have an always-on display and lacks the sensors for blood oxygen, temperature and EKG readings. If you don’t need all that, you can still get scads of fitness and health data plus seamless integration with your iPhone.
MacBook Pro (M2, 14-inch)
The MacBook Pro offers music makers, video producers and other heavy users a lot of processing power with the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips. Amazon is selling the base model 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M2 Pro chip, 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage for $ 1,799, which is $ 200 off the usual $ 1,999. The base model 16-inch MacBook Pro with the same specs is down to $ 2,299 instead of $ 2,499. When the new MacBook Pros came out in January of this year, we gave the 14-inch model a 92 review score, praising the Liquid Retina XDR display, sturdy design and plethora of ports including three Thunderbolt 4 USB-C, HDMI, a headphone jack and a full-sized SD card slot.
The 2022 13-inch MacBook Pro is also on sale for $ 1,099 after a $ 200 discount, but we’re not as impressed with this machine. If you’re happy with a 13-inch screen, you’re probably better off going with the 13-inch MacBook Air.
AirPods Max
Apple’s over-ear headphones, the AirPods Max are on sale for $ 450, which is $ 100 off the usual $ 549. They earned an 84 in our review when they came out at the end of 2020. We liked the balanced sound, solid active noise cancellation and long 20-hour battery life with a unique low-power mode that leaves the headphones in standby so they’re ready to play as soon as you put them on.
Apple Studio Display
The usual $ 1,599 for the Apple Studio Display is pretty steep. Prime Day has brought the price down to $ 1,499, which makes it a little more palatable, but we still think the display is ideal only for true Apple devotees. The A13 Bionic chip inside makes it a little smarter than most displays, but the 60Hz refresh rate is disappointing. Still, it’s got a nice build with good speakers and a bright and accurate screen.
Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for the best Amazon Prime Day tech deals. Learn about Prime Day trends on In the Know. Hear from Autoblog’s car experts on must-shop auto-related Prime Day deals 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-prime-day-apple-deals-on-airpods-macbooks-and-more-110302021.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
The best gaming laptops for 2023
For a few years now, gaming laptops have been some of the most intriguing PCs around. They’ve gotten thinner and lighter, naturally — but they’ve also become vastly more powerful and efficient, making them suitable for both work and play. They’ve adopted some bold innovations, like rotating hinges and near desktop-like customizability. Gaming laptops are where PC makers can get adventurous.
If you’re a professional in the market for a beefy new computer, and you like to play a few rounds of Apex Legends on occasion, it may make more sense to go for a gaming notebook instead of a MacBook Pro-like workstation. You’ll still get plenty of power for video encoding and 3D rendering, plus you may end up paying less. We'll help you figure out which is the best gaming laptop for you, from budget options like the Dell G15 to premium notebooks like the Razer Blade 15 and everything in between.
What's your budget?
Your laptop buying journey starts and ends with the amount of money you're willing to spend. No surprise there. The good news: There are plenty of options for gamers of every budget. In particular, we're seeing some great entry-level PC gaming choices under $ 1,000, like Dell's G15 lineup. A cheap gaming laptop in this price range will definitely feel a bit flimsier than pricier models, and they'll likely skimp on RAM, storage and overall power. But most budget gaming laptops should be able to handle the majority of video games running at 1080p at 60 frames per second, which is the bare minimum you'd want from any system.
Things get interesting when you start looking at the best gaming laptops in the mid-range space, with prices at $ 1,000 and higher. At that point, you'll start finding PCs like the ASUS Zephyrus ROG G14, one of our favorite gaming notebooks. In general, you can look forward to far better build quality than budget laptops (metal cases!), improved graphics power and enough RAM and storage space to handle the most demanding games. These are the gaming machines we'd recommend for most people, as they'll keep you gaming and working for years before you need to worry about an upgrade.
If you're willing to spend around $ 1,800 or more, you can start considering more premium options like Razer's Blade. Expect impeccably polished cases, the fastest hardware on the market, and ridiculously thin designs. The sky's the limit here: Alienware's uber customizable Area 51m is an enormous beast that can cost up to $ 4,700. Few people need a machine that high-end, but if you're a gamer with extra cash to burn, it may be worth taking a close look at some of these pricier systems.
What kind of CPU and GPU do you want?
The answer to this question used to be relatively simple: Just get an Intel chip with an NVIDIA GPU. But over the last few years AMD has stepped up its game with its Ryzen notebook processors, which are better suited for juggling multiple tasks at once (like streaming to Twitch while blasting fools in Fortnite). Intel responded with its impressive 12th and 13th-gen chips, but it’s nice to have decent Ryzen AMD alternatives available, especially since they’re often cheaper than comparable Intel models.
When it comes to video cards, though, AMD is still catching up. Its Radeon RX 6000M GPU has been a fantastic performer in notebooks like ASUS’s ROG Strix G15, but it lags behind NVIDIA when it comes to newer features like ray tracing. (We’re still waiting to test AMD’s new Radeon 7000 series mobile graphics.) At the very least, a Radeon-powered notebook can approach the general gaming performance of the NVIDIA RTX 3070 and 3080 GPUs.
If you want to future-proof your purchase, or you’re just eager to see how much better ray tracing can make your games look, you’re probably better off with an NVIDIA video card. They’re in far more systems, and it’s clear that they have better optimized ray tracing technology. NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs also feature the company’s DLSS technology, which uses AI to upscale games to higher resolutions. That’ll let you play a game like Destiny 2 in 4K with faster frame rates. That’s useful if you’re trying to take advantage of a high refresh rate monitor.
You’ll still find plenty of laptops with NVIDIA’s older RTX 30-series GPUs these days, and they’ll still give you tremendous performance. But to be safe, it’s probably worth opting for the newer RTX 40-series systems, since they support the newer DLSS 3 technology and offer a wealth of performance upgrades. (If you’re looking out for the best deals, you can probably find some killer RTX 3070 laptops out there.) The entry-level RTX 4050 is a solid start, but we’d suggest going for a 4060 or 4070 if you’re aiming to maximize your framerates on faster screens. The RTX 4080 and 4090 are both incredibly powerful, but they typically make systems far too expensive for most users.
It’s worth noting that NVIDIA’s mobile GPUs aren’t directly comparable to its more powerful desktop hardware. PC makers can also tweak voltages to make gaming performance better in a thinner case. Basically, don’t be surprised if you see notebooks that perform very differently, even if they’re all equipped with the same GPU.
What kind of screen do you want?
Screen size is a good place to start when judging gaming notebooks. In general, 15-inch laptops will be the best balance of immersion and portability, while larger 17-inch models are heftier, but naturally give you more screen real estate. There are some 13-inch gaming notebooks, like the Razer Blade Stealth, but paradoxically you'll often end up paying more for those than slightly larger 15-inch options. We’re also seeing plenty of 14-inch options, like the Zephyrus G14 and Blade 14, which are generally beefier than 13-inch laptops while still being relatively portable.
But these days, there is plenty to consider beyond screen size. For one: refresh rates. Most monitors refresh their screens vertically 60 times per second, or at 60Hz. That's a standard in use since black and white NTSC TVs. But over the past few years, displays have evolved considerably. Now, 120Hz 1080p screens are the bare minimum you'd want in any gaming notebook — and there are faster 144Hz, 240Hz and even 360Hz panels. All of this is in the service of one thing: making everything on your display look as smooth as possible.
For games, higher refresh rates also help eliminate screen tearing and other artifacts that could get in the way of your frag fest. And for everything else, it just leads to a better viewing experience. Even scrolling a web page on a 120Hz or faster monitor is starkly different from a 60Hz screen. Instead of seeing a jittery wall of text and pictures, everything moves seamlessly, as if you're unwinding a glossy paper magazine. Going beyond 120Hz makes gameplay look even more responsive, which to some players gives them a slight advantage.
Not to make things more complicated, but you should also keep an eye out for NVIDIA's G-SYNC and AMD's FreeSync. They're both adaptive sync technologies that can match your screen's refresh rate with the framerate of your game. That also helps to reduce screen tearing and make gameplay smoother. Consider them nice bonuses on top of a high refresh rate monitor; they're not necessary, but they can still offer a slight visual improvement.
See Also:
One more thing: Most of these suggestions are related to LCD screens, not OLEDs. While OLED makes a phenomenal choice for TVs, it's a bit more complicated when it comes to gaming laptops. They're mostly limited to 60Hz, though some models offer 90Hz. Still, you won’t see the smoothness of a 120Hz or 144Hz screen. OLEDs also typically come as 4K or 3.5K panels – you'll need a ton of GPU power to run games natively at that resolution. They look incredible, with the best black levels and contrast on the market, but we think most gamers would be better off with an LCD.
A few other takeaways:
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Get at least 16GB of RAM. And if you're planning to do a ton of multitasking while streaming, 32GB is worth considering.
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Storage is still a huge concern. These days, I'd recommend aiming for a 1TB M.2 SSD, which should be enough space to juggle a few large titles like Destiny 2. (If you can afford the jump to a 2TB SSD though, just do it.) Some laptops also have room for standard SATA drives, which are far cheaper than M.2's and can hold more data.
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Get your hands on a system before you buy it. I'd recommend snagging the best gaming laptop for you from a retailer with a simple return policy, like Amazon or Best Buy. If you don't like it, you can always ship it back easily.
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Don't forget about accessories! For the best performance, you'll need a good mouse, keyboard and headphones.
Best overall: ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14
If you can't tell by now, we really like the Zephyrus G14. It's shockingly compact, at just 3.5 pounds, and features AMD's new Ryzen chips paired together with its Radeon 6000M graphics (we’d recommend the Ryzen 9 model with an RX 6700M for $ 1,400). While its 14-inch screen is a bit smaller than our other recommendations, it looks great and features a fast 144Hz refresh rate. We also like its retro-future design (some configurations have tiny LEDs on its rear panel for extra flair). While the G14 has jumped in price since it debuted, it’s still one of the best gaming notebooks around, especially since ASUS has finally added a built-in webcam.
Read our Full Review of ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14
Best budget: Dell G15
We've been fans of Dell's G5 line ever since it first appeared a few years ago. Now dubbed the G15, it starts at under $ 1,000 and, while not the most powerful gaming laptop, it features all of the latest hardware, like Intel's 13th-generation CPUs and NVIDIA's RTX 40-series cards. (You can also find AMD Ryzen chips in some models.) This budget-friendly gaming laptop is a bit heavy, weighing over five pounds, but it's a solid notebook otherwise. And you can even bring it into mid-range gaming territory if you spec up to the RTX 4060.
Best premium gaming laptop: Razer Blade 15
Razer continues to do a stellar job of delivering bleeding-edge hardware in a sleek package that would make Mac users jealous. The Blade 15 has just about everything you'd want for great gaming, including NVIDIA's RTX 4080, Intel's 13th-gen CPUs and speedy quad-HD screens. Our recommendation? Consider the model with a Quad HD 165Hz screen and an RTX 4060 GPU for $ 2,500. You can easily save some cash by going for a cheaper notebook, but they won't feel nearly as polished as the Blade.
Read our Full Review of Razer Blade 15
Another good option: Acer Predator Triton 500 SE
While we've seen some wilder concepts from Acer, like its 360-degree hinge-equipped Triton 900, the Triton 500 is a more affordable bread and butter option. This year, it’s bumped up to a 16-inch display, giving you more of an immersive gaming experience. It’s relatively thin, weighs just over five pounds, and it can be equipped with Intel's 11th-gen CPUs and NVIDIA's RTX 30-series GPUs. Acer's build quality is as sturdy as ever, and it has most of the standard features you’d need in a gaming notebook.
Read our Full Review of Acer Predator Triton 500 SE Gaming Laptop
Best large gaming laptop: Alienware m18
Alienware’s m18 is its biggest gaming laptop ever, and it packs in just about everything we’d want. It can be equipped with Intel and AMD’s fastest CPUs, as well as NVIDIA’s fastest GPUs (including the 4090). Its base configuration with an RTX 4060 is also surprisingly affordable for an 18-inch laptop, starting at $ 2,100. We’ve always liked Alienware’s m-series gaming laptops, but this year they’re more refined, with better cooling and a slightly sleeker design. You can also opt for CherryMX mechanical keys, which deliver a desktop-like gaming and typing experience.
Best with a dual screen: ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16
You know if you actually need a dual-screen laptop: Maybe a single 17-inch screen isn’t enough, or you want a mobile setup that’s closer to a multi-monitor desktop. If that’s the case, the Zephyrus Duo 16 is the best laptop for you. It’s powerful, and its extra 14-inch screen can easily let you multitask while gaming dutifully working. It also has all of the latest hardware you’d want, like AMD’s new Ryzen chips and NVIDIA’s RTX 4000 GPUs. Sure, it’s nowhere near portable, but a true multitasker won’t mind.
Read our Full Review of ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 Gaming Laptop
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-gaming-laptops-172033838.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
The best piano apps in 2023: top apps for learning how to play
Learning how to play the piano? Take a look at our list of the best piano-learning apps, from those for absolute beginners to those for intermediate players.
Digital Trends
All the big tech layoffs of 2023
The tech industry is reeling from the combination of a rough economy, the COVID-19 pandemic and some obvious business missteps. And while that led to job cuts in 2022, the headcount reductions have unfortunately ramped up in 2023. It can be tough to keep track of these moves, so we’ve compiled all the major layoffs in one place and will continue to update this story as the situation evolves.
June
Spotify layoffs
Spotify followed up its January layoff plans with word in June that it would cut 200 jobs in its podcast unit. The move is part of a more targeted approach to fostering podcasts with optimized resources for creators and shows. The company is also combining its Gimlet and Parcast production teams into a renewed Spotify Studios division.
GrubHub layoffs
GrubHub has faced intense pressure from both the economy and competitors like Uber, and that led it to lay off 15 percent of its workforce in June, or roughly 400 staff. This came just weeks after outgoing CEO Adam DeWitt officially left the food delivery service. New chief executive Howard Migdal claims the job cuts will help the company remain "competitive."
Embracer Group layoffs
Game publishing giant Embracer Group announced plans for layoffs in June as part of a major restructuring effort meant to cut costs. The company didn't say how many of its 17,000 employees would be effected, but expected the overhaul to continue through March. The news came soon after Embracer revealed that it lost a $ 2 billion deal with an unnamed partner despite a verbal agreement.
Sonos layoffs
Sonos has struggled to turn a profit as of late, and it's cutting costs to get back on track. The company said in June that it would lay off 7 percent of staff, or roughly 130 jobs. It also planned to offload real estate and rethink program spending. CEO Patrick Spence said there were "continued headwinds" that included shrinking sales.
Plex layoffs
Plex may be many users' go-to app for streaming both local and online media, but that hasn't helped its fortunes. The company laid off roughly 20 percent of employees in June, or 37 people. Most of the affected people are in its Personal Media unit. Plex is reportedly feeling the blow from an ad market slowdown, and is eager to cut costs and turn a profit.
May
Shopify layoffs
Shopify's e-commerce platform played an important role at the height of the pandemic, but the Canadian company is scaling back now that the rush is over. In May, the company laid off 20 percent of its workforce and sold its logistics business to Flexport. Founder Tobi Lütke characterized the job cuts as necessary to "pay unshared attention" to Shopify's core mission, and an acknowledgment that the firm needed to be more efficient now that the "stable economic boom times" were over.
Polestar layoffs
Polestar delayed production of its first electric SUV (the Polestar 3) in May, and that had repercussions for its workforce. The Volvo spinoff brand said in May that it would cut 10 percent of its workforce to lower costs as it faced reduced manufacturing expectations and a rough economy. Volvo needed more time for software development and testing that also pushed back the EX90, Polestar said.
SoundCloud layoffs
SoundCloud followed up last year's extensive layoffs with more this May. The streaming audio service said it would shed 8 percent of its staff in a bid to become profitable in 2023. Billboard sources claim the company hopes to be profitable by the fourth quarter of the year.
April
Lyft layoffs
Lyft laid off 13 percent of staff in November 2022, but took further steps in April. The ridesharing company said it was laying off 1,072 workers, or about 26 percent of its headcount. It comes just weeks after an executive shuffle that replaced CEO Logan Green with former Amazon exec David Risher, who said the company needed to streamline its business and refocus on drivers and passengers. Green previously said Lyft needed to boost its spending to compete with Uber.
Dropbox layoffs
Cloud storage companies aren't immune to the current financial climate. In April, Dropbox said it would lay off 500 employees, or roughly 16 percent of its team. Co-founder Drew Houston pinned the cuts on the combination of a rough economy, a maturing business and the "urgency" to hop on the growing interest in AI. While the company is profitable, its growth is slowing and some investments are "no longer sustainable," Houston said.
March
Roku layoffs
Roku shed 200 jobs at the end of 2022, but it wasn't done. The streaming platform creator laid off another 200 employees in March 2023. As before, the company argued that it needed to curb growing expenses and concentrate on those projects that would have the most impact. Roku has been struggling with the one-two combination of a rough economy and the end of a pandemic-fueled boom in streaming video.
Lucid Motors layoffs
If you thought luxury EV makers would be particularly susceptible to economic turmoil, you guessed correctly. Lucid Motors said in March that it would lay off 18 percent of its workforce, or about 1,300 people. The marque is still falling short of production targets, and these cuts reportedly help deal with "evolving business needs and productivity improvements." The cuts are across the board, too, and include both executives as well as contractors.
Meta (Facebook) layoffs
Meta slashed 11,000 jobs in fall 2022, but it wasn't finished. In March 2023, the company unveiled plans to lay off another 10,000 workers in a further bid to cut costs. The first layoffs affected its recruiting team, but it shrank its technology teams in late April and its business groups in late May. The Facebook owner is hoping to streamline its operations by reducing management layers and asking some leaders to take on work previously reserved for the rank and file. It may take a while before Meta's staff count grows again — it doesn't expect to lift a hiring freeze until sometime after it completes its restructuring effort in late 2023.
February
Rivian layoffs
Rivian conducted layoffs in 2022, but that wasn't enough to help the fledgling EV brand's bottom line. The company laid off another six percent of its employees in February, or about 840 workers. It's still fighting to achieve profitability, and the production shortfall from supply chain issues hasn't helped matters. CEO RJ Scaringe says the job cuts will help Rivian focus on the "highest impact" aspects of its business.
Zoom layoffs
Zoom was a staple of remote work culture at the pandemic's peak, so it's no surprise that the company is cutting back now that people are returning to offices. The video calling firm said in February it was laying off roughly 1,300 employees, or 15 percent of its personnel. As CEO Eric Yuan put it, the company didn't hire "sustainably" as it dealt with its sudden success. The layoffs are reportedly necessary to help survive a difficult economy. The management team is offering more than just apologies, too. Yuan is cutting his salary by 98 percent for the next fiscal year, while all other executives are losing 20 percent of their base salaries as well as their fiscal 2023 bonuses.
Yahoo layoffs
Engadget's parent company Yahoo isn't immune to layoffs. The internet brand said in February that it would lay off over 20 percent of its workforce throughout 2023, or more than 1,600 people. Most of those cuts, or about 1,000 positions, took place immediately. CEO Jim Lanzone didn't blame the layoffs on economic conditions, however. He instead pitched it as a restructuring of the advertising technology unit as it shed an unprofitable business in favor of a successful one. Effectively, Yahoo is bowing out of direct competition in with Google and Meta in the ad market.
Dell layoffs
The pandemic recovery and a grim economy have hit PC makers particularly hard, and Dell is feeling the pain more than most. It laid off five percent of its workforce in early February, or about 6,650 employees, after a brutal fourth quarter where computer shipments plunged an estimated 37 percent. Past cost-cutting efforts weren't enough, Dell said — the layoffs and a streamlined organization were reportedly needed to get back on track.
Deliveroo layoffs
Food delivery services flourished while COVID-19 kept people away from restaurants, and at least some are feeling the sting now that people are willing to dine out again. Deliveroo is laying off about 350 workers, or nine percent of its workforce. "Redeployments" will bring this closer to 300, according to founder Will Shu. The justification is familiar: Deliveroo hired rapidly to handle "unprecedented" pandemic-related growth, according to Shu, but reportedly has to cut costs as it deals with a troublesome economy.
DocuSign layoffs
DocuSign may be familiar to many people who've signed documents online, but that hasn't spared it from the impact of a harsh economic climate. The company said in mid-February that it was laying off 10 percent of its workforce. While it didn't disclose how many people that represented, the company had 7,461 employees at the start of 2022. Most of those losing their jobs work in DocuSign's worldwide field organization.
GitLab layoffs
You may not know GitLab, but its DevOps (development and operations) platform underpins work at tech brands like NVIDIA and T-Mobile — and shrinking business at its clients is affecting its bottom line. GitLab is laying off seven percent of employees, or roughly 114 people. Company chief Sid Sijbrandij said the problematic economy meant customers were taking a "more conservative approach" to software investment, and that his company's previous attempts to refocus spending weren't enough to counter these challenges.
GoDaddy layoffs
GoDaddy conducted layoffs early in the pandemic, when it cut over 800 workers for its retail-oriented Social platform. In February this year, however, it took broader action. The web service provider laid off eight percent of its workforce, or more than 500 people, across all divisions. Chief Aman Bhutani claimed other forms of cost-cutting hadn't been enough to help the company navigate an "uncertain" economy, and that this reflected efforts to further integrate acquisitions like Main Street Hub.
Twilio layoffs
Twilio eliminated over 800 jobs in September 2022, but it made deeper cuts as 2023 got started. The cloud communications brand laid off 17 percent of staff, or roughly 1,500 people, in mid-February. Like so many other tech firms, Twillio said that past cost reduction efforts weren't enough to endure an unforgiving environment. It also rationalized the layoffs as necessary for a streamlined organization.
January
Google (Alphabet) layoffs
Google's parent company Alphabet has been cutting costs for a while, including shutting down Stadia, but it took those efforts one step further in late January when it said it would lay off 12,000 employees. CEO Sundar Pichai wasn't shy about the reasoning: Alphabet had been hiring for a "different economic reality," and was restructuring to focus on the internet giant's most important businesses. The decision hit the company's Area 120 incubator particularly hard, with the majority of the unit's workers losing their jobs. Sub-brands like Intrinsic (robotics) and Verily (health) also shed significant portions of their workforce in the days before the mass layoffs. Waymo has conducted two rounds of layoffs that shed 209 people, or eight percent of its force.
Amazon layoffs
Amazon had already outlined layoff plans last fall, but expanded those cuts in early January when it said it would eliminate 18,000 jobs, most of them coming from retail and recruiting teams. It added another 9,000 people to the layoffs in March, and in April said over 100 gaming employees were leaving. To no one's surprise, CEO Andy Jassy blamed both an "uncertain economy" and rapid hiring in recent years. Amazon benefited tremendously from the pandemic as people shifted to online shopping, but its growth is slowing as people return to in-person stores.
Coinbase layoffs
Coinbase was one of the larger companies impacted by the crypto market's 2022 downturn, and that carried over into the new year. The cryptocurrency exchange laid off 950 people in mid-January, just months after it slashed 1,100 roles. This is one of the steepest proportionate cuts among larger tech brands — Coinbase offloaded about a fifth of its staff. Chief Brian Armstrong said his outfit needed the layoffs to shrink operating expenses and survive what he previously described as a "crypto winter," but that also meant canceling some projects that were less likely to succeed.
IBM layoffs
Layoffs sometimes stem more from corporate strategy shifts than financial hardship, and IBM provided a classic example of this in 2023. The computing pioneer axed 3,900 jobs in late January after offloading both its AI-driven Watson Health business and its infrastructure management division (now Kyndryl) in the fall. Simply put, those employees had nothing to work on as IBM pivoted toward cloud computing.
Microsoft layoffs
Microsoft started its second-largest wave of layoffs in company history when it signaled it would cut 10,000 jobs between mid-January and the end of March. Like many other tech heavyweights, it was trimming costs as customers scaled back their spending (particularly on Windows and devices) during the pandemic recovery. The reductions were especially painful for some divisions — they reportedly gutted the HoloLens and mixed reality teams, while 343 Industries is believed to be rebooting Halo development after losing dozens of workers. GitHub is cutting 10 percent of its team, or roughly 300 people.
PayPal layoffs
PayPal has been one of the healthier large tech companies, having beaten expectations in its third quarter last year. Still, it hasn't been immune to a tough economy. The online payment firm unveiled plans at the end of January to lay off 2,000 employees, or seven percent of its total worker base. CEO Dan Schulman claimed the downsizing would keep costs in check and help PayPal focus on "core strategic priorities."
Salesforce layoffs
Salesforce set the tone for 2023 when it warned it would lay off 8,000 employees, or about 10 percent of its workforce, just four days into the new year. While the cloud software brand thrived during the pandemic with rapidly growing revenue, it admitted that it hired too aggressively during the boom and couldn't maintain that staffing level while the economy was in decline.
SAP layoffs
Business software powerhouse SAP saw a steep 68 percent drop in profit at the end of 2022, and it started 2023 by laying off 2,800 staff to keep its business healthy. Unlike some big names in tech, though, SAP didn't blame excessive pandemic-era hiring for the cutback. Instead, it characterized the initiative as a "targeted restructuring" for a company that still expected accelerating growth in 2023.
Spotify layoffs
Spotify spent aggressively in recent years as it expanded its podcast empire, but it quickly put a stop to that practice as 2023 began. The streaming music service said in late January that it would lay off 6 percent of its workforce (9,800 people worked at Spotify as of the third quarter) alongside a restructuring effort that included the departure of content chief Dawn Ostroff. While there were more Premium subscribers than ever in 2022, the company also suffered steep losses — CEO Daniel Ek said he was "too ambitious" investing before the revenue existed to support it.
Wayfair layoffs
Amazon isn't the only major online retailer scaling back in 2023. Wayfair said in late January that it would lay off 1,750 team members, or 10 percent of its global headcount. About 1,200 of those were corporate staff cut in a bid to "eliminate management layers" and otherwise help the company become leaner and nimbler. Wayfair had been cutting costs since August 2022 (including 870 positions), but saw the layoffs as helping it reach break-even earnings sooner than expected.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech-layoffs-2023-152856197.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Moto G 5G (2023) review: far too little for far too much
The Moto G 5G (2023) looks like it could be a decent $ 250 smartphone. But that’s not the case when you use it.
Digital Trends
Best cheap phones in 2023: our 7 favorite ones for tight budgets
Here are the best cheap phones for those on a tight budget. Find out what you can get for around $ 500 or less as we highlight the best budget smartphones.
Digital Trends
Amazon Prime Day 2023 returns July 11 – 12
You knew it was around the corner and now it’s official – Amazon Prime Day will be held on July 11 and 12th. The sale kicks off at 3 AM EDT on July 11th and will run simulaneously in the US, UK, Europe, Australia, and other regions with a separate Prime Day event being held […]
Come comment on this article: Amazon Prime Day 2023 returns July 11 – 12
Watch Apple’s WWDC 2023 keynote in 23 minutes
Apple’s WWDC 2023 keynote was today, and with it came the company’s long-awaited mixed reality headset. Apple Vision Pro is the company's name for its much-hyped entrance into spatial computing. The headset runs a new operating system called visionOS and starts at $ 3,499 when it launches next year.
Vision Pro wasn’t Apple’s only new hardware for the day; it also launched several new Macs. The 15-inch MacBook Air is the biggest-ever version of that model, running the M2 chip and starting at $ 1,299. The company also launched a second-gen Mac Studio and the first-ever Mac Pro with Apple silicon. Of course, it also upgraded its software ecosystem, announcing iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10 and macOS Sonoma.
That’s a lot to catch up on, but we’ve made it easier by trimming the company’s announcements down to this 23 minute edit that focuses on the highlights while leaving out the filler and extra details.
Follow all of the news from Apple's WWDC 2023 right here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/watch-apples-wwdc-2023-keynote-in-23-minutes-233038310.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
This Pixel Watch 2 leak just made it the 2023 smartwatch I can’t wait for
One of the first big Pixel Watch 2 leaks just dropped. And if this one is true, I already can’t wait to get my hands on Google’s next smartwatch.
Digital Trends
Motorola Edge Plus (2023) review: a Pixel 7 Pro and Galaxy S23 killer
The Motorola Edge Plus (2023) is Motorola’s answer to the Galaxy S23 and Pixel 7 Pro. But is it any good?
Digital Trends
Watch the Microsoft Build 2023 keynote in under 10 minutes
Microsoft Build 2023 kicked off with an opening keynote from CEO Satya Nadella, followed by two other keynote sessions. Surprising absolutely no one, there was a big focus on AI. While we have coverage of all the big news, if you want to hear the updates straight from the source without watching the entire thing, you can check out our supercut below.
Perhaps the biggest announcement is that Microsoft will soon embed AI deeply into Windows 11. Windows Copilot, which you'll be able to try a preview of next month, can be used in a similar way to Bing AI. So, you can ask it general questions like you would of the search engine chatbot. However, you can also use text prompts to change Windows settings, summarize documents and carry out a host of other tasks on your desktop.
Also on the Windows 11 front, AI will power live captions for more languages and Microsoft will roll out Bluetooth Low Energy Audio support for compatible devices. Elsewhere, the company will infuse AI into the Microsoft Store and Edge. On top of that, Bing Search will soon be integrated into ChatGPT, while Microsoft plans to help third-party developers build their own AI apps and copilots that are compatible with ChatGPT.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/watch-the-microsoft-build-2023-keynote-in-under-10-minutes-202055599.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
BMW reveals three new EVs for its summer 2023 lineup
BMW announced new EVs today as part of its summer 2023 lineup. The new models include the i4 xDrive 40 (an all-wheel-drive variant of the i4), the single-motor i7 eDrive50 and the hybrid 750e xDrive. In addition, the automaker revealed an updated infotainment operating system for some models.
The 2024 i4 xDrive40 is an all-wheel-drive, 396-horsepower variant of the popular Gran Coupe. The all-electric vehicle has dual motors that provide an estimated 307-mile range using the standard 18-inch tires (it drops to about 282 miles with optional 19-inch wheels.) In addition, the EV can accelerate from zero to 60 in 4.9 seconds. The i4 xDrive40 will start at $ 61,600 with an added $ 995 destination fee. BMW expects US-based deliveries to begin in the third quarter of 2023.
Meanwhile, the rear-wheel-drive i7 eDrive50 is powered by a single GEN5 motor, supplying 449 horsepower. BMW will announce range and performance details “closer to market launch” this fall, but we know the model will start at $ 105,700 (plus destination fee). Finally, the 750e xDrive combines a 308-horsepower six-cylinder internal combustion engine with a 194-horsepower electric motor. It also offers 483 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque. In addition, the plug-in hybrid’s purely electric range is rated at 35 miles. The 750e xDrive will start at $ 107,000 and the same $ 995 destination fee. It also launches in the US this fall.
The automaker is updating its infotainment operating system “in certain models.” BMW Operating System 8.5 gives the home screen “clearly arranged functions” designed to work better on the company’s curved display. Ridding itself of sub-menus, it uses a “zero-layer principle” that keeps all relevant controls and information on a single level, using widgets arranged vertically on the driver’s side. In addition, it includes symbols to quick-access the climate control menu, app library, navigation and Apple CarPlay / Android Auto.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/bmw-reveals-three-new-evs-for-its-summer-2023-lineup-210725344.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
The best iPhone 14 cases: 20 best ones you can buy in 2023
Heart set on a new Apple iPhone 14? Protect your investment with our picks of the best iPhone 14 cases around, from clear cases to leather wallets and more.
Digital Trends