Amazon might face some political opposition in its bid to acquire iRobot. Democrats including Senator Elizabeth Warren and House Representatives Jesus Garcia, Pramila Jayapal, Mondaire Jones, Katie Porter and Mark Pocan have asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to oppose the purchase of the Roomba creator. iRobot is a “powerful” incumbent in robot vacuums, according to the politicians’ letter, and Amazon would allegedly reduce competition with the resources it could pour into the market.
The members of Congress pointed to Amazon’s history of technology buyouts to support their case, arguing that the company snaps up competitors to eliminate them. Amazon killed sales of Kiva Systems’ robots after the 2012 acquisition and used them exclusively in its warehouses, for instance. The 2017 and 2018 acquisitions of Blink and Ring reportedly helped Amazon dominate US video doorbell sales, while the internet retailer has also faced multiple accusations of abusing third-party seller data to launch rival products and promote them above others.
We’ve asked Amazon for comment. The online shopping giant frequently denies anti-competitive practices, and has even called for the recusal of FTC chair Lina Khan in Amazon-related cases over claims she’s biased against the company.
The Commission hasn’t said if it will take action against the iRobot deal. Reports circulated that the FTC reviewed Amazon’s purchase of MGM, but didn’t challenge it. Khan didn’t have a party majority at the time, however, and movie studios aren’t the same as robot vacuum makers. iRobot is estimated to have 75 percent of the American robovac market by revenue, according to Statista. It’s already difficult for challenges like Shark and Eufy to thrive, and it wouldn’t get easier with Amazon involved.
The week may be almost over, but there are still plenty of offers to be found. Apple’s 512GB MacBook Air M2 has hit a new low price, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 is down to just $250, you can pick up an Xbox controller from $45 and Lenovo’s Smart Clock Essential with Alexa is at an all-time low of just $35. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
MacBook Air M2
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
The MacBook Air M2 with 512GB of storage is $150 off and down to $1,150 right now, a new low. We gave the updated laptop a score of 96 for its excellent performance, gorgeous display and ultra-thin design. If you don’t need all that storage, the 256GB model is also on sale at $1,050.
If you have your eye on Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch 5 but were waiting for a deal, one has already arrived. Amazon’s Woot portal is selling the 40mm model in several colors (Grey, Pink Gold and Silver) for $250, a savings of $30 or 11 percent off the regular price. We gave the Galaxy Watch 5 a score of 85 in our review, praising its design, build and comprehensive tracking features, with the biggest downside being battery life.
Amazon is selling the Xbox Core Wireless Controller for up to 26 percent off. The white model is the most affordable of the bunch at $45 (normally $60), but you’ll also find significant savings for the blue, red and Electric Volt (read: neon green) variants. If you own an Xbox Series X or Series S, you know what to expect. The Core Wireless Controller largely offers Microsoft’s years-old layout, just with an Elite-style circular directional pad, a share button and better grip.
If you’re looking to add some digital smarts to your bedroom without buying a device that features a camera, smart clocks are the way to go. One of the better options out there is the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa, and it’s currently on sale. Amazon has discounted the device by 50 percent, making it $35 at the moment. We’ve seen the Smart Clock Essential go on sale frequently in the past. However, $35 matches an all-time low for the device.
The 1TB model of the Samsung T7 Shield SSD is still on sale for $100, which is just about the best we’ve ever seen. This rugged drive has a tough exterior that can withstand drops from nearly 10 feet, plus an IP65 rating for dust- and water-resistance. It also has the same read/write speeds of the other T7 models and works with a bunch of devices including PC, Mac, Android and even some game consoles.
Another holdover from last week, Samsung’s Z Flip 4 has a discount of $100, so you can pick it up for as low as $900. This foldable came out just a few weeks ago and we gave it a score of 86 in our review, mostly for its still-innovative formfactor, improved battery life and useful hands-free functionality.
HBO Max has discounted its annual plan, so you can save 30 percent if you sign up and pay for one year upfront. If you can deal with ads, the service will cost $70 for 12 months, down from the usual $100. To get an ad-free experience, you’ll pay $105, which is $45 off the usual rate.
It’s always nice when delivery food stays hot all the way to your door, but one drone in Australia may have taken it too far. An unmanned delivery vehicle, operated by Wing—a subsidiary of Alphabet (parent of Google), landed on power lines in Brisbane and fried itself with 11,000 volts of electricity. As a result more…
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Given the company’s heavy-focus on its devices being used as health-tracking tools, it was strongly rumored that Apple’s recently announced AirPods Pro 2 would include in-ear heart rate monitoring. They don’t, but if that’s a feature you had your heart set on, Anker just announced an alternative that do, and for $100…
Security researchers from Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto said on Thursday they found fatal flaws in a massive network of 885 fake websites that they have “high confidence” were previously used by the Central Intelligence Agency for covert communications.
The group that oversees USB wants to make it easier for you to understand what various cables and ports can actually do. It’s trying to ditch branding like SuperSpeed and USB4 in an attempt to simplify matters, but manufacturers may not necessarily adopt the changes.
The steps are part of a broader drive by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) to rebrand USB standards. The group brought in new logos for cables, ports and packaging last year. The updated branding is about helping people understand what the standards are capable of in terms of data transfer speeds and performance, as well as charging speeds, USB-IF president and chief operating officer Jeff Ravencraft told The Verge.
SuperSpeed (also known as USB 3) has been around over a decade. You may have seen it on USB cable boxes. Going forward, USB-IF wants cable makers to use “USB 10Gbps” instead of “SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps” and “USB 20Gbps” instead of “USB4 20Gbps.” Meanwhile, USB-C cables certified by the USB-IF will need to list both data transfer speeds and charging wattage.
The changes recently came into effect, and the updated branding could start appearing on labels and packaging by the end of the year. The branding guidelines apply to products with any type of USB port except for USB 1.0, which you won’t see much these days anyway, and USB 2.0 (aka USB Hi-Speed). The USB-IF reckons that, in the latter case, using “USB 480Mbps” may create confusion for those who might see that on packaging and believe it to be faster than USB 5Gbps, simply because of the larger number.
The rebranding requirements only apply to devices and cables certified by the USB-IF. But, because USB is an open standard (unlike, say, Thunderbolt 4), there’s nothing really to stop manufacturers from using SuperSpeed and USB4 branding if they really want to, as The Verge notes. As such, it remains to be seen how much these measures will actually clear things up for people who just need a cable for their device.
Knowing which cable you need is already complicated enough. Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 connectors and ports look exactly the same as USB-C ones, for instance. The updated guidelines won’t do much to help you understand if a cable supports DisplayPort or a certain fast-charging standard either.
On the surface, at least, these seem like positive moves to reduce confusion and get rid of unnecessary verbiage. Still, it’s unclear whether abandoning the SuperSpeed moniker, which was arguably less commonly used than USB 3 in any case, will actually help clarify things for most users. It may not matter much anyway given the increasingly widespread adoption of USB-C as a more universal standard — which is the whole point of USB in the first place.
We’ve got some Thunderbolts casting gossip, a Black Adam poster, and a clip from one of my most-anticipated new spooky season films, My Best Friend’s Exorcism, based on the book by Grady Hendrix. Also! Don’t miss the newest images from Werewolf by Night, the MCU creature feature we’ve been waiting for. Spoilers, sound…
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