Update 7:59am ET: Amazon has raised the price of the Apple TV 4K back to $150.
If you’ve been holding out for a Prime Day deal on the Apple TV 4K, there’s no need to wait — the 32GB model has just dropped to $120 or 33 percent ($59) off the regular price. That’s the cheapest we’ve seen yet on Apple’s streaming device that offers features like 4K HDR, gaming, the Siri Remote and more.
The latest Apple TV 4K model garnered a 90 score in our Engadget review. It’s more refined that ever, thanks to the updated Siri Remote and a more powerful A12 Bionic chip that delivers HDR video at up to 60 fps, while also offering improved gaming performance.
Though it’s not the cheapest streaming box out there, it’s the best premium device and a top choice for Apple users. Siri handles voice commands with aplomb, and it’s equally easy to operate the remote manually. You can use AirPlay to share video, photos and more from your other Apple devices to your TV. There’s the option to see a live feed of HomeKit-enabled cameras and to control smart home devices through Apple TV 4K, and, if you have the relevant subscription, an ever-growing library of games available through Apple Arcade.
Naturally, it also supports all manner of streaming content including Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon prime Video, Disney+, Hulu and more. As mentioned, the biggest drawback is the price, but the $59 discount makes it a very competitive option.
Amazon Prime Day is tomorrow, but we’re already seeing outstanding deals on a couple of desirable smartphones. Google’s Pixel 6 Pro is on sale starting at $699 for the 128GB model and $799 for the 256GB version, or $200 off those models. On top of that, you can grab a Pixel 6 starting at $499 ($100) off, or just $50 more than the upcoming Pixel 6a.
The Pixel 7 is set to arrive in the fall, but the discounts make the Pixel 6 a great value if you need a smartphone right now. First off, the Pixel 6 Pro earned a 91 Engadget score, one of the highest for an Android phone of late. It comes with a unique two-toned design with a horizontal camera bar, along with a 6.7-inch 120Hz OLED display. It runs on Google’s Tensor Processing Unit that provides excellent performance, and at the same time, it delivers over 17 hours of battery use.
The Pixel lineup is best known for its strong cameras, though. The Pixel 6 Pro is the most advanced yet, with a 50-megapixel main sensor, a 12-megapixel (MP) wide-angle lens and a 48MP telephoto shooter with a 4X optical zoom, along with an 11MP, 4K front camera. Those offer excellent video and photo capabilities on part with the iPhone 13 Pro, while bringing handy computational photography features like Magic Eraser, Face Unblur, Long Exposure and more.
The Pixel 6 has a smaller 6.4-inch, 1080p 90Hz OLED screen that may suit you better if you don’t like big phones. Its camera array is similar to the Pixel 6 Pro, but it lacks the 48MP telephoto lens and has an 8-megapixel 1080p selfie camera. Otherwise, it offers similar performance and can go even longer (20 hours) on a charge.
A trove of leaked documents has shed an unfavorable light on the early days of Uber. Dubbed the Uber Files, the leak covers 2013 to 2017 and includes roughly 124,000 internal company documents and 83,000 emails.
In 2016, Kalanick reportedly ordered French employees to encourage local Uber drivers to counter-protest the taxi strikes in Paris at the time. When one executive warned Kalanick that “extreme right thugs” were part of the protest, the former CEO pushed back. He said: “Violence guarantee[s] success. And these guys must be resisted, no?”
In a statement published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Travis Kalanick’s spokesperson said any suggestion that the former executive “directed, engaged in, or was involved” in “illegal or improper conduct” is “completely false.”
There’s an awful lot more coming to the surface, expect even more bad headlines for Uber.
Twitter’s board said it was prepared to take Musk to court to keep the deal in place.
Elon Musk is officially trying to pull the plug on the $44 billion deal to buy Twitter. In an SEC filing, Musk’s lawyers said the Tesla CEO wishes to terminate the agreement because of “false and misleading representations” made by Twitter. It’s not clear what happens next, but it seems Musk and Twitter are likely heading toward a lengthy legal battle.
Bowers & Wilkins might be a name many associate with high-end home audio gear, but the company has been steadily chugging along with headphones, too. Its latest model, the Px7 S2 ($399), is a completely overhauled version of the PX that debuted in 2019. Bowers & Wilkins tweaked the design while enhancing the active noise cancellation (ANC). There are a few gripes, but on ANC performance and sound quality, the Px7 S2 rivals the best headphones you can buy right now.
Nearly two years ago, NASA made history when its OSIRIS-REx spacecraft briefly tagged the asteroid known as 101955 Bennu to collect a regolith sample. While the mission won’t return to Earth until late next year, NASA shared new information about the celestial body.
“It turns out that the particles making up Bennu’s exterior are so loosely packed and lightly bound to each other that if a person were to step on to Bennu they would feel very little resistance, as if stepping into a pit of plastic balls that are popular play areas for kids,” NASA said.
To show they have the ‘character and conduct’ to be trusted with a firearm.
As of September 1st, New York residents who want to carry concealed handguns will need to submit their social media accounts as part of their permit application. They’ll need to provide details of active and inactive accounts from the previous three years, along with at least four references. Critics have taken issue with the social media provision of the legislation. It’s unclear how the state will address concerns over privacy and free speech.
The EU regulation (part of the broader General Vehicle Safety Regulation) goes into effect today and states that all new models and types of cars introduced to the European market must include an ISA (intelligent speed assistance) system.
The European Commission said in a press release: “The roll out of ISA is a huge step forward for road safety and has the potential to dramatically reduce road traffic injuries and fatalities.” According to a projection by the EU-funded PROSPER, if ISA became mandated, it could reduce fatalities by between 26 and 50 percent.
Uber spent at least half a decade breaking laws and engaging in a coordinated influence campaign to force itself into countries with tight transportation regulations, according to explosive new report by the Guardian based on tens of thousands of Uber’s internal documents that were leaked to the news outlet.
Hours after Tesla CEO Elon Musk informed Twitter that he wanted to terminate their $44 billion acquisition deal, prompting the social media network to sue, a rumor started spreading on Twitter. It goes like this: Twitter felt so betrayed that Musk was backing out of the deal that it had suspended his account. While…
NASA has decided to reveal the first James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) image today rather than waiting until tomorrow as planned, it announced in a tweet. President Joe Biden will do the honor at 5PM ET, with a live stream of the event available on NASA TV and images available simultaneously on NASA’s website.
We can’t contain the excitement for @NASAWebb‘s first full-color images!
On Monday, July 11 at 5pm ET (21:00 UTC), President Biden will unveil one of the space telescope’s first images of deep space as a preview of what’s ahead: https://t.co/kP5JdQEpVzpic.twitter.com/1wFZGkqrx8
Anticipation has been building for the first images, to say the least. NASA stoked that on Friday by announcing the targets to be shown, including the Carina and Southern Ring Nebulae, the gas exoplanet WASP-96b and a deep field view of the SMACS 0723 galaxy clusters. Only a select group of scientists and administrators have viewed the images so far. “What I have seen moved me, as a scientist, as an engineer, and as a human being,” said NASA deputy administrator Pam Melroy.
It appears that just a single image will be revealed today, but NASA didn’t say which one. The rest are still slated to arrive tomorrow, starting at 9:45 with remarks by NASA and Webb leadership. That’ll be followed by live coverage of the image release slated for 10:30 AM ET on NASA TV, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch and Daily Motion.
Aside from Black Friday, Amazon Prime Day is the best time of year to pick up an Echo device since most of them are deeply discounted. Amazon didn’t disappoint this year — all of its Echo Show smart displays are on sale for Prime Day, key among them being the Echo Show 8 for $75. That’s $55 off its usual price and a new record low, and we’re calling it out at the top because it’s one of the better choices for most people. Also on sale are the Echo Show 5 for only $35, the swiveling Echo Show 10 for $180 and the Echo Show 15 for $180 as well.
It’s the second-generation Show 8 that you can get for $75, and we gave it a score of 87 when it came out last year. We like its 8-inch, 1,280 x 800-resolution touchscreen, minimalist design and solid sound quality. Since it’s larger than the Echo Show 5, you’ll get strong sound overall with surprisingly powerful bass and volume. This version of the Echo Show 8 only differs from the first-generation device in a couple of ways, with the most important being its updated video camera. The 13-megapixel camera digitally pans and zooms to keep you in frame when you’re video chatting with apps like Zoom. It’s a relatively small feature (which is why you could safely go for the first-gen Echo Show 8 to save some money), but it’ll be useful for those who constantly use their smart display as a stationary video-chatting device.
While the Show 8 could make a good kitchen or office device, the Echo Show 5 is one of the best “smart alarm clocks” you can get right now. We like its compact size, tap-to-snooze feature and its decent sound quality. Despite being the latest generation Show 5, this one doesn’t have the advanced video chatting features that the Echo Show 8 has, but you’ll still be able to use it for basic video calls.
If you prefer big screens, the Echo Show 10 or the Show 15 will be good options. The former automatically swivels to follow you when you’re on video calls, so you’re always in frame and you can also always see the screen. It also has the auto-framing features that the Echo Show 8 has, making it one of the best options for those who video chat often. We also like that the Show 10 has a built-in Zigbee smart home hub, letting you connect things like smart lights, locks and more directly to the display without needing an extra hub to make everything work.
The Echo Show 15 is the most niche of the bunch, by far. It’s a wall-mountable, Alexa-enabled touchscreen, allowing you to use it almost like a digital cork board of sorts. You can customize it to have notes, to-do lists and more on widgets on the display, or use it to watch recipe videos or even shows and movies on Netflix, Prime Video and more. It also uses a “visual and voice ID” feature to recognize who’s looking at the screen or who’s giving an Alexa command, so it can then display the most relevant information to that person on the screen.
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