Amazon Prime Day has been dropping hot deals all week and things don’t seem to be slowing down. One of today’s best deals is for a four-pack of Samsung Galaxy SmartTag2 trackers, which are down to $65. That’s a record-low price and a discount of $35. You get two black trackers and two white trackers, so they can sub in during a game of backgammon. We tested and reviewed this product so we know these tags are the real deal.
Samsung’s tracking tags are extremely reliable and easy to use, and both are reasons why they made our list of the best Bluetooth trackers. This is obviously the best choice for those already tied into the Galaxy ecosystem, but they only work with Samsung devices. This could be a dealbreaker for some.
We loved the large finding network and the attractive design. These things are downright cute. The design also features a large hole near the top which makes it easy to attach keys, cables, luggage or even bicycle components. The affiliated app features an intuitive interface that makes it easy to track down lost objects.
I already mentioned the biggest downside. This product only works with Samsung phones and tablets. This is in reference to the app and finder network. You can pop the tags on anything and let them do their thing. Each tag does include an NFC code that pulls up contact info and a custom message, if someone with an iPhone happens to find one laying about.
Your 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. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Amazon 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/this-amazon-prime-day-deal-on-a-four-pack-of-samsung-galaxy-smarttag2-trackers-has-the-best-price-weve-seen-142513645.html?src=rss
As far as the EU is concerned, TikTok requires strong, ongoing regulations. The EU’s General Court dismissed an action brought by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, which argued that the platform shouldn’t be considered a “gatekeeper” under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The designation came in September 2023, and ByteDance filed to undo it just two months later.
ByteDance had painted TikTok has an up and comer EU market, citing pushback through the development of Reels and Shorts — the General Court disagrees: “Although in 2018 TikTok was indeed a challenger seeking to contest the position of established operators such as Meta and Alphabet, it had rapidly consolidated its position, and even strengthened that position over the following years, despite the launch of competing services such as Reels and Shorts, to the point of reaching, in a short time, half the size, in terms of number of users within the European Union, of Facebook and of Instagram.”
ByteDance had argued that TikTok was not dominant in the EU market, citing Instagram’s Reels and YouTube’s Shorts as meaningful competition. The General Court disagreed, writing that “although in 2018 TikTok was indeed a challenger seeking to contest the position of established operators such as Meta and Alphabet, it had rapidly consolidated its position … to the point of reaching, in a short time, half the size … of Facebook and of Instagram.”
The General Court added that TikTok meets the qualifications set out to be a gatekeeper: a €75 million ($82 million) global market value, over 45 million monthly active end users and over 10,000 yearly active business users across the EU over the last three years.
The DMA went into effect in March and prohibits gatekeepers — including Alphabet, Meta, Amazon and more — from favoring their own platforms or forcing users to stay inside their company’s ecosystem. ByteDance has just over two months to launch an appeal with the Court of Justice, the EU’s highest court.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tiktok-will-still-be-a-gatekeeper-under-the-digital-markets-act-eu-rules-131534890.html?src=rss
It’s summer sale time for the PlayStation Network, and this year’s discounted offerings include some of the biggest games released these past few years. You can grab Elden Ring for the PS4 and the PS5 for 30 percent less than its usual price at $42. The critically acclaimed title, developed by FromSoftware with world building by George R.R. Martin, was one of Engadget’s favorite games for 2022. It’s also notoriously difficult and will definitely challenge you and test your patience. Armored Core VI, another FromSoftware creation, is listed for $42, down from $60. Its deluxe edition that comes with a digital artbook and a copy of its soundtrack only costs $7 more.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III Cross-Gen is also half-off right now at $35, though for around $4 more, you can get the bundle with some extra items. Hogwarts Legacy for the PS5 is down 60 percent, so you can get it for $28 instead of $70. Meanwhile, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the sequel to Fallen Order that was released last year, is only $31.49. That’s 55 percent lower than its retail price of $70. There’s a bunch of discounted Resident Evil titles included in the sale list, as well, including RE Village for the PS4 and PS5, which you can get for only $16 instead of $40.
And if you’re curious about the new versions of Final Fantasy VII and haven’t tried either of the games that are already out, you can get the FFVII Remake and Rebirth Twin Pack for $75 instead of $100. For $90, you can buy the digital deluxe version of the bundle that usually sells for $120 to get access to both games for the PS5, a digital artbook, a digital soundtrack and some special items. The PlayStation Summer Sale will run for almost a month, ending on August 14, though some games will be removed from the promotion earlier than that.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/playstation-summer-sale-slashes-prices-on-elden-ring-cod-modern-warfare-3-ffvii-remake-bundle-and-more-123035675.html?src=rss
Some of the world’s largest tech companies trained their AI models on datasets that included transcripts of more than 173,000 YouTube videos without permission. That’s according to an investigation from Proof News, which laid out how Apple, NVIDIA and Anthropic, among other companies, used transcripts of YouTube videos from more than 48,000 channels. This goes against YouTube’s own platform rules, which Google execs have repeatedly mentioned.
Earlier this month, Apple was criticized for failing to reveal the source of training data for Apple Intelligence, the company’s own spin on generative AI.
Not only have these AI models been trained on some of your favorite YouTube stars, like Marques Brownlee and MrBeast, but also Engadget’s own Cherlynn Low. (I love you, Cher.)
Intrigued by what else may be part of that dataset? Head over to the Proof Newslookup tool.
To the surprise of many, Beats has re-entered the crowded market of Bluetooth speakers with a redesigned Pill ($150). Taking more aesthetic cues from its older models, it’s the Pill speaker you know and love(d), but upgraded for 2024. Better sound, lossless audio over USB-C and doubled battery life make this an impressive return.
Take a look at the unannounced Pixel 9 Pro Fold, from almost every conceivable angle. Android Authority spotted the photos at Taiwan’s National Communications Commission (NCC) archives and uploaded galleries of each of the four phones, including the Pixel 9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL and 9 Pro Fold. For the foldable, Google has moved the selfie camera to the inside screen for a wider field of view. The 9 Pro Fold also has slimmer bezels and a seemingly reduced fold crease.
This year’s Prime Day came with a surprising number of discounts for Apple products, the usual barrage of headphones, Amazon hardware and a 4K TV or two. While the official sale wraps up, there’s still time (and stock?) for some of these deals. The Engadget editorial team have teased out the best sale items worth your money.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-ai-models-from-apple-nvidia-and-more-were-reportedly-trained-on-youtube-videos-111542441.html?src=rss
Canon has unveiled its most important camera in years — the EOS R1 mirrorless. Launched alongside the 45-megapixel R5 II, it’s the company’s new flagship designed to replace the 1DX Mark III DSLR and help Canon maintain its leadership in the pro sports photography field.
The R1 is all about speed, with the stacked sensor allowing 40 fps RAW bursts with continuous autofocus. Other features are designed to help nail crucial shots, including pre-capture, eye-tracking AF and sports-specific settings. At the same time, it should be great for video, thanks to its support for 6K RAW capture.
One potential downside is the 24-megapixel resolution, which is lower than rivals like Sony’s A1 and the Nikon Z9. To see how that affected image quality and gather some impressions on performance and new features, I was able to get a short amount of hands-on time with the R1 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Though massive for a mirrorless camera, the R1 is lighter than it looks — it only weighs 2.12 pounds. The magnesium alloy body is dust- and water-resistant and the large, comfortable grip uses new rubber to reduce slippage. It’s a stable platform, even with telephoto lenses, and was clearly designed for working photographers.
Controls are laid out much like the EOS R3, with two control dials, a rear dial, joystick, mode switch and many customizable buttons. It has matching vertical controls, with the same layout in portrait and landscape modes.
Canon did add a touch-sensitive IR button called the smart controller, which offers three ways to adjust autofocus. Overall, the R1 handles like an F1 car — fast and reactive, but there’s a steep learning curve.
The viewfinder is Canon’s best yet with 9.44 million dots, 0.9 times magnification and 3x brightness, all tops in the EOS series. The rear display fully articulates for high- and low-angle shooting.
Canon decided to ditch SD cards in favor of two CFexpress type B slots. That allows for maximum RAW burst speeds, as well as fast and reliable backups, but you’ll end up throwing your SD card collection out the window. By contrast, Sony’s R1 has dual card slots for both SD UHS II and CFexpress type A.
The R1 uses a variant of the battery from the EOS R3 that supports up to 650 shots and 70 minutes of 6K video on a charge. Connectivity is the best I’ve seen on any Canon camera, with Wi-Fi 6E, ethernet, USB-C PD and more.
The R1 is built for action and suffice to say, it’s fast. In blackout free electronic shutter mode, you can shoot JPEG and RAW frames at up to 40 fps for a long while before the massive buffer fills — with Canon promising “1,000 or more” shots when shooting uncompressed RAW and JPEG files. It hits 12 fps with the mechanical shutter, a feature missing on Nikon’s rival Z9.
Steve Dent for Engadget
The latter isn’t usually necessary, though, as the stacked shutter largely eliminates rolling shutter distortion.
Canon is bringing numerous autofocus improvements as well. With regular single-point tracking, you can change the target with either the joystick or smart controller. In addition, the R1 has a new eye-tracking system called Eye AF II, a more sophisticated version of its Eye Control AF from the R3.
As with the R3, you must calibrate Eye AF II first. And it won’t necessarily function well for all eye types, but it worked great for me, as the tracking box followed my gaze with less drift than before. That didn’t always translate to sharp photos, but again, I was using a pre-production unit.
Of course the R1 offers face- and eye-detection for both humans and animals. But what happens if you’re trying to single out someone in a crowd of players?
Steve Dent for Engadget
First off, there are now AI modes for three specific sports, volleyball, basketball and soccer. The idea is that the system will track action around the ball to help you nail key shots. It’s also supposed to stay locked on a player even in traffic. Finally, you can register up to 10 faces to keep track of a whole team of athletes.
How well does this work? It’s hard to say in the short time I had the camera, but I didn’t notice a dramatic improvement with chaotic action or specific sports. But these features require time to master, so a full review will tell me more.
Another new feature to help pros avoid missing shots is pre-continuous shooting, something that’s seen on many high-end cameras these days. The R1 starts taking photos when you half-press the shutter button, recording up to the last 20 frames once it’s fully pressed.
Canon has led the way in image stabilization since the R5, and the R1 offers a solid 8.5 stops of shake reduction with supported lenses. This isn’t necessarily a great benefit for action shooting, but it does help with landscapes or low-light shooting.
Canon likely anticipated complaints about the relatively low 24-megapixel resolution. In response, it unveiled a new feature called in-camera upscaling. It uses deep learning to quadruple image size to 96 megapixels in-camera after shooting, supposedly while maintaining apparent resolution.
This is different from Sony’s pixel-shift scheme that takes multiple separate photos and merges them into one. However, it was hard to get a straight answer from Canon as to how exactly the upscaling works. Obviously, it can’t be a true resolution increase without actually capturing extra pixels.
Image quality is difficult to judge in pre-production cameras, and Canon specifically said that in-camera RAW processing was a work in progress. Nonetheless, JPEGs looked sharp out of the camera and had the company’s typically excellent skin tones.
Low-light image quality is a selling point of this camera, and it did appear to perform well at high ISOs, with decent image quality at ISO 12,800 and beyond. However, it’s no Sony A7S III at very high ISOs, so the max of ISO 102,400 is for emergency use only.
Steve Dent for Engadget
Stacked sensor cameras tend to sacrifice some dynamic range in favor of speed, but there’s no sign of that with the R1. However, I’ll need more time to get a full idea of RAW image quality, particularly at high ISOs.
Though mainly aimed at photographers, the R1 is potentially a monster video camera on its own. It lacks the R5 II’s 8K feature, but does offer 6K Canon RAW video at up to 60 fps, using the full width of the sensor.
You also get fully oversampled full-sensor 4K at up to 60fps, or 4K pixel-binned or cropped at 120 fps. Full HD can be recorded at up to 240 fps, either cropped or with pixel-binning. On top of Log 3, Canon’s Log 2 is now supported with 10-bit capture.
Canon has significantly reduced its previous overheating issues, though they’re not completely eliminated. You can record more than 120 minutes of 6K 60p RAW with proxy recording, as well as 4K 60p, with no restriction for 4K 30p. The primary limitation is 15 minutes for 4K 120p, but that shouldn’t be an issue for most videographers or content creators.
As you’d expect, the oversampled 4K 60p and 6K 60p RAW video is sharp. Canon’s RAW video is very easy to work with in post and with the Log 2 setting delivers extra dynamic range and latitude in post.
Steve Dent for Engadget
It’ll be interesting to see how pro photographers react to Canon’s new flagship. They do gain an extra 10 fps in RAW shooting speeds over Sony’s A1 and the Nikon Z9, and the sensor is solid in low light. The downside, though, is the fact that it offers half the resolution of its rivals.
The Eye AF II is an interesting gimmick that may give Canon an edge. Other features like face-memorization, sports-specific AF and cross action seem good on paper, but I wasn’t able to get the most out of them in the short time I had the camera — so further testing is required. The EOS R1 is set to arrive in the fall of 2024 with an estimated price of $6,300.
Canon paid for this contributor’s travel and accommodation for the launch of its new cameras in Phoenix, Arizona. This article was produced independently for Engadget, with no oversight from Canon.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/canon-r1-hands-on-incredible-speed-but-24mp-resolution-may-disappoint-100044085.html?src=rss
Amazon’s Prime Day sale rolls out discounts in every category, including kitchenware and consumer electronics. At Engadget, we’re interested in the intersection of those two departments and have tested dozens of smart appliances like air fryers, ice cream makers and sous vide machines as well as lower tech stuff like pepper mills. We’re happy to report that many of the cooking gadgets we recommend are currently on sale for Prime Day, and we’ve gathered the best kitchen tech deals here.
As with all Engadget tech deals coverage, we almost exclusively highlight discounts on gear we’ve tested or have otherwise used and know to be worthy of your money. We cross-checked our guides and reviews with the Prime Day deals Amazon has put forth to come up with what you see here. And we’ll update these deals roundups throughout both days of Amazon’s Prime Day sale.
Best Amazon Prime Day kitchen deals
Your 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. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-17-best-amazon-prime-day-kitchen-deals-on-gadgets-weve-tested-in-2024-123010902.html?src=rss
Amazon’s Prime Day sale rolls out discounts in every category, including kitchenware and consumer electronics. At Engadget, we’re interested in the intersection of those two departments and have tested dozens of smart appliances like air fryers, ice cream makers and sous vide machines as well as lower tech stuff like pepper mills. We’re happy to report that many of the cooking gadgets we recommend are currently on sale for Prime Day, and we’ve gathered the best kitchen tech deals here.
As with all Engadget tech deals coverage, we almost exclusively highlight discounts on gear we’ve tested or have otherwise used and know to be worthy of your money. We cross-checked our guides and reviews with the Prime Day deals Amazon has put forth to come up with what you see here. And we’ll update these deals roundups throughout both days of Amazon’s Prime Day sale.
Best Amazon Prime Day kitchen deals
Your 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. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-17-best-amazon-prime-day-kitchen-deals-on-gadgets-weve-tested-in-2024-123010902.html?src=rss
Amazon’s Prime Day sale rolls out discounts in every category, including kitchenware and consumer electronics. At Engadget, we’re interested in the intersection of those two departments and have tested dozens of smart appliances like air fryers, ice cream makers and sous vide machines as well as lower tech stuff like pepper mills. We’re happy to report that many of the cooking gadgets we recommend are currently on sale for Prime Day, and we’ve gathered the best kitchen tech deals here.
As with all Engadget tech deals coverage, we almost exclusively highlight discounts on gear we’ve tested or have otherwise used and know to be worthy of your money. We cross-checked our guides and reviews with the Prime Day deals Amazon has put forth to come up with what you see here. And we’ll update these deals roundups throughout both days of Amazon’s Prime Day sale.
Best Amazon Prime Day kitchen deals
Your 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. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-17-best-amazon-prime-day-kitchen-deals-on-gadgets-weve-tested-in-2024-123010902.html?src=rss
Most of the Amazon Prime Day deals we cover here at Engadget are in the realm of tech, but there are some others that we just can’t resist telling you about. Lego deals fall into that category, and there are a handful noteworthy deals on Lego sets for Prime Day this year, with discounts up to 30 percent. We’re partial to this Star Wars Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing Fighter, which is down to $35 from its list price of $50. But that’s not all: there are many other Lego Prime Day deals to consider before the shopping event is over.
This Lego kit, which is recommended for builders aged nine and above, has 474 pieces so it should keep you and/or (pun not intended) your kids busy for a while. The X-Wing has a retractable landing gear and a pair of spring-loaded shooters. You can convert the wings to attack position with the press of a button. The kit comes with Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and General Dodonna minifigures that you can place in the cockpit, while R2-D2 has his very own spot on board.
Marvel fans may be interested in picking up an Iron Man Nano Gauntlet that’s kitted out with the Infinity Stones. This set usually costs $69, but it’s on sale for $49. This 765-piece kit is geared toward adult builders. It comes with a stand and descriptive tablet, so the idea is to keep this on display, perhaps in your office, living room or den. The gauntlet also has jointed fingers, so you can position them as you like (perhaps with the middle one raised in the direction of a completed Thanos build).
Lego’s relatively new botanical sets are super popular as of late, and we’re seeing some discounts on a few of those sets. The Icons Wildflower Bouquet set is 20 percent off for Prime Day and down to a record low of $48, while the adorable Icons Tiny Plants Building set is 21 percent off and down to $40.
Your 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. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-prime-day-lego-deals-cut-up-to-30-percent-off-our-favorite-sets-111510582.html?src=rss
Anthropic announced that its Claude chatbot is now available as an Android app. After introducing the platform’s free iOS app in May, Android owners can now also play with the company’s AI on their mobile devices. The Android app is free and works with both the Pro and Team plans for paid users. Conversations with Claude can happen across hardware, with both of the mobile apps and the web version connected to each other.
This platform is one of several large-language model AI chatbots currently available to the public. OpenAI and its ChatGPT tool have attracted the lion’s share of attention. ChatGPT is already available in both Android and iOS app form, and it underlies many features of the new Apple Intelligence. However, it’s possible that Claude may have more powerful skills. According to Anthropic, the Claude 3 version of the platform performed better than both ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini on some important benchmarks. The Claude 3 Opus version scored top marks in March and the Sonnet 3.5 version did the same in June. We always need to take that kind of comparison from one of the companies in question with many grains of salt. But even the leaps between the Sonnet and Opus over the course of a few months do appear to be impressive.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/anthropics-claude-chatbot-is-now-an-android-app-220046355.html?src=rss
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