Hasta La Gadget!

The long-anticipated iPhone iOS 18.1 officially launches next week, bringing with it Apple Intelligence, but we are already on to the next new thing. The company is busy preparing iOS 18.2, which has already entered its beta stage and should be widely released in December. This next operating system will include daily Sudoku puzzles for Apple News+ subscribers, as reported by MacRumors.

Users will be able to choose from three difficulty options each day, ranging from easy to challenging. There’s a scoreboard to track stats, which includes the total number of puzzles solved, speed metrics and more. This is the fourth puzzle game to be included with an Apple News+ subscription, joining Crossword, Crossword Mini, and Quartiles. The New York Times also offers a slew of games with a subscription, including Wordle, so this is becoming an actual trend.

Sudoku will also be available for Apple News+ subscribers with the forthcoming launch of iPadOS 18.2, and rumors indicate a similar release for macOS Sequoia 15.2. Apple News+ costs $13 per month on its own but is often available as a bundle, along with Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud storage.

Of course, number-based mobile games aren’t the only feature shipping with iOS 18.2. Apple Intelligence is getting an expansion, including the custom emoji maker Genmoji and ChatGPT/Siri integration. There’s also a child safety feature that can blur nude content and report it to Apple.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/ios-182-will-include-daily-sudoku-puzzles-for-apple-news-subscribers-165115557.html?src=rss

Black Friday/Cyber Monday is more than a month away (Thanksgiving falls on November 28 this year — I looked it up so you don’t have to). So while we wait for all of the best-of-the-year discounts the shopping event usually entails, there are still a few worthy sales out there on the tech we’ve reviewed and recommend. For example, the space gray M2 MacBook Air (our pick for the best budget Apple laptop) is down to $700 with an on-page coupon. For those ready to make (very tasty) ice cream at home, the Ninja Creami has a coupon code for $40 off. There are plenty of Anker batteries and accessories on sale too, plus we found discounts on a few choice video games to round out the savings. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today. 

Photo by Sam Rutherford / Engadget

• Ninja Creami ice cream maker for $160 at Ninja ($40 off): Use the code CREAMI40 to save $40 off the list price directly from Ninja. The 7-in-1 ice cream maker isn’t your average appliance, as we make clear in our Ninja Creami review. It’s based on machines found in restaurants, and creates uniquely high-end frozen treats.

• Anker Prime Power Bank 27,650mAh for $130 at Amazon ($50 off): This beefy battery earned a mention in our guide to laptop batteries. It carries a lot of extra charge for laptops, tablets and phones and can even be paired with an optional dock to conveniently recharge the unit itself. This sale price is about $5 more than the all-time low.

• Anker 633 Magnetic Battery, 10,000mAh for $40 at Amazon ($40 off): Other Anker batteries are also on sale at Amazon right now, including this MagSafe compatible option for half price. 

• Samsung Galaxy SmartTag2 trackers at Amazon (4-pack) for $64 ($36 off): While this isn’t a record low price — it dropped to $60 over Labor Day — it’s a solid discount on our pick for the best Bluetooth tracker for use with Samsung devices. We like the shape of the fob itself as well as the rather large finding network that calls on other Samsung devices out in the wild to locate your lost things. 

• Apple Watch Series 10 for $370 at Amazon ($30 off): Apple released its Series 10 Watch only a month ago and it’s down to its lowest price yet. The wearable earned a 90 in our review thanks to its thinner frame and bigger screens and it’s our favorite smartwatch overall. The 42mm model is down to $370 from $399 in Jet Black and the 46mm model is down to $399 from $429 in Jet Black and Silver Aluminum.

• Apple Watch Ultra 2 (small band) for $700 at Amazon ($99 off) : If you’ve got a smaller wrist (or plan to swap out the watch band anyway) you can snag the AW Ultra 2 with a titanium case for nearly $100 off. The sale only applies to the small size of the Alpine Loop in indigo or olive. This is still the current model of Apple’s largest smartwatch, as a new one didn’t materialize during Apple’s iPhone 16 event in September.  

• Anker Charging Station (100W) for $40 at Amazon ($20 off): On any given day, I’m testing (and thus needing to recharge) between one and four electronic devices — ereaders, smartwatches, portable batteries and more — plus I have my own phones and gadgets. This compact box is the only thing I’ve found with enough ports to handle everything at once. I just wish I’d bought mine on sale.  

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

• Apple MacBook Air (2022, M2) for $700 at Amazon ($299 off): The M2 MacBook Air is currently $700, which is close to the the lowest price yet. The space gray model requires applying a $149 coupon to the $849 discounted price for the full deal and other colors have been periodically dropping to that low without the coupon over the past couple days. This is the 2022 model which earned high praise from us in our review. It’s also Engadget’s pick for the best budget MacBook.

• Samsung S90C OLED TV (65″) for $1,300 at Best Buy ($300 off MSRP): This 2023 model received high marks across the web, and the differences between it and the newer S90D aren’t massive and the newer one is $300 more. This deal is about $20 more than the lowest price we’ve tracked for the 65-inch model. 

• Roborock Q5 DuoRoller+ for $300 at Amazon ($150 off): This model made our list of the best budget robot vacuums thanks to its strong suction power, the precision LiDAR mapping and the robust app and voice controls. The 33 percent discount is a record low.

• Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro 13-inch (M4) for $300 at Amazon ($49 off): If you sprang for the 13-inch iPad Pro and want the matching keyboard, to make a true computer replacer (in terms of both utility and cost), you can at least take advantage of this sale. The keyboard is well-made, pairs nicely like Apple accessories do. This deal is another new low. 

• Anker Prime 67W USB C Charger for $40 at Amazon ($60 off): This is about $2 more than the all-time low from last Black Friday. Anker products often find themselves at the top our lists for chargers, batteries and more. So if you need quick charges for a few of your smaller devices, this should serve you well.  

• JLab Go Air Sport for $14 at Amazon ($16 off): The Go Air Sport is the budget pick in our guide to the best running headphones. The hook design stays in place and the water-resistance holds up to sweat and light rain. This is close to the lowest price. Just be sure to click the $6 on-page coupon, and note that it only applies to the teal colorway. 

• Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max + Xbox Core Wireless Controller (Sky Cipher) + 1-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $80 at Amazon ($67 off): This bundle is likely here to promote the fact that you can play Xbox games over the cloud using the Fire TV Stick 4K Max. This comes with the streaming stick, the “Sky Cipher” version of the Series X/S pad, which usually costs between $60 and $70, and a month of Game Pass Ultimate. The 4K Max also happens to be a surprisingly decent retro gaming machine.

Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for $45 at Woot ($25 off): This discount for one of our favorite Switch games matches the the lowest price we’ve seen yet for Nintendo’s fresh open-world adventure and sequel to Breath of the Wild, which many feel is one of the best games of the decade. This next installment gives you more of Hyrule to explore, and many new challenges. 

• Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Switch) for $40 at Woot ($10 off): Woot has a few other Nintendo Switch games on sale, including the lowest price yet on the remake of the popular Game Boy Advance puzzle-platformer. We called it a “solid mix of challenge and depth” in our review. You can also grab Kirby and the Forgotten Land for $40 (33 percent off) and Princess Peach: Showtime! for $45 (25 percent off). 

• Resident Evil 4 (PS5) for $20 at Amazon ($10 off): In other video game deals, this is an all-time low for the physical PS5 copy of last year’s Resident Evil 4 remake. That’s the same price as it’s selling for through PSN for the digital copy.The Xbox version is available for $22 at Amazon. 

• Razer Basilisk V3 gaming mouse for $40 at Amazon ($30 off): We recommend the Basilisk V3 in our gaming mouse buying guide for those who don’t mind using a cable and prefer a more ergonomic, right-handed shape. This deal has been live for a couple of weeks but still matches the device’s all-time low. Note that Razer released an updated version with an improved sensor earlier this month — we’ll test that one soon.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-m2-macbook-air-is-cheaper-than-ever-at-700-plus-the-rest-of-this-weeks-best-tech-deals-171031718.html?src=rss

NASA spent the last two weeks hoisting a 103-ton component onto a simulator and installing it to help prepare for the next Moon missions. Crews fitted the interstage simulator component onto the Thad Cochran Test Stand at Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The connecting section mimics the same SLS (Space Launch System) part that will help protect the rocket’s upper stage, which will propel the Orion spacecraft on its planned Artemis launches.

The Thad Cochran Test Stand is where NASA sets up the SLS components and conducts thorough testing to ensure they’ll be safe and operating as intended on the versions that fly into space. The new section was installed onto the B-2 position of the testing center and is now fitted with all the necessary piping, tubing and electrical systems for future test runs.

NASA

The interstage section will protect electrical and propulsion systems and support the SLS’s EUS (Exploration Upper Stage) in the rocket’s latest design iteration, Block 1B. It will replace the current Block 1 version and offer a 40 percent bigger payload. The EUS will support 38 tons of cargo with a crew or 42 tons without a crew, compared to 27 tons of crew and cargo in the Block 1 iteration. (Progress!) Four RL10 engines, made by contractor L3Harris, will power the new EUS.

The interstage simulator section NASA spent mid-October installing weighs 103 tons and measures 31 feet in diameter and 33 feet tall. The section’s top portion will absorb the EUS hot fire thrust, transferring it back to the test stand so the test stand doesn’t collapse under the four engines’ more than 97,000 pounds of thrust.

NASA’s testing at Stennis Space Center will prepare the SLS for the Artemis IV mission, which will send four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft to the Lunar Gateway space station to install a new module. After that, they’ll descend to the Moon’s surface in the Starship HLS (Human Landing System) lunar lander.

You can catch some glimpses into NASA’s heavy lifting in the video below:

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasa-spent-october-hoisting-a-103-ton-simulator-section-onto-a-test-stand-to-prep-for-the-next-moon-mission-173008826.html?src=rss

There are days where it feels like nothing will ever change and the best thing you can do is just learn to tolerate mediocrity. Today is not one of those days. Public Knowledge announced that the US Copyright Office granted an exemption request from the non-profit public interest group and the DIY repair site iFixit to allow McDonald’s franchise owners to hire a third-party to repair their McFlurry and soft service ice cream machines.

Franchise owners legally couldn’t hire any outside business to work on the machine because of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). McDonald’s soft serve ice cream machines have a digital lock and Section 1201 of the DMCA makes it illegal for anyone to bypass the lock on a copyrighted work even if no copyright infringement occurs. Only the original manufacturer of the machine can repair a copyrighted device with a digital lock. The recent exemption overrules the digital lock law.

If you’ve ever pulled up to a McDonald’s drive-thru window and couldn’t get an ice cream treat like a McFlurry, it probably wasn’t an anomaly. Franchises had to wait on the McDonald’s corporation to send an approved repair person to fix the machines. The problem caught the attention of the Federal Trade Commission in 2021 under a directive by President Joe Biden to draft new regulations to allow consumers to legally repair their own devices and hire third-parties to fix them. The FTC contacted McDonald’s franchise owners to learn more about the ice cream machines and the difficulties in repairing them.

iFixit did a teardown of a McDonald’s ice cream dispenser last year and found it had “lots of easily replaceable parts” but they couldn’t be fixed without earning the wrath of federal copyright laws. The teardown prompted the companyto work with Public Knowledge to obtain a copyright exemption to repair them. The repair website also compiled a video explaining the machine’s innerworkings in more detail.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/mcdonalds-restaurants-can-finally-repair-their-own-mcflurry-machines-183006996.html?src=rss

8BitDo, once known exclusively as a purveyor of Nintendo-infused nostalgia, has expanded in recent years into all sorts of gaming controllers and accessories. The company’s latest foray is into mobile gaming controllers. The 8Bitdo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller takes the highlights of its well-received Ultimate series — Hall effect included! — and brings them to an extendable accessory that latches onto your smartphone, a la Backbone and Razer Kishi.

First, the bad news (for some). The 8Bitdo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller is Android only, so no love here for iPhone owners. It’s also a Bluetooth accessory, rather than a plug-in one like Backbone’s, which means it has a 350mAh battery and weighs more than some rivals. (As The Verge notes, it tips the scales at 236g, making it 71 percent heavier than the BackBone One.) 8Bitdo says its battery lasts up to 15 hours from 1.5 hours of charging time.

But for Android device owners, it’s a versatile controller. 8Bitdo says it’s compatible with mobile devices that are 100mm to 170mm in length. That can even include some small tablets, although not many these days are that small. (Even Amazon’s relatively small Fire HD 8 is about 32mm too wide.) However, it should fit just about any Android phone.

8Bitdo

The controller has Hall effect triggers and joysticks, so you shouldn’t have any drifting worries. It includes a standard four action buttons, a “clicky,” “smooth” and “tactile” D-Pad, a profile button and two paddle buttons on its back. The sticks have “wear-resistant metal joystick rings.”

It works with 8BitDo’s Ultimate Software, letting you remap buttons, adjust stick and trigger sensitivity and create or edit profiles. The software is available on Windows and Android. The iOS version is installable on Macs from the App Store.

You can’t get the 8Bitdo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller quite yet, but you can pre-order it now from Amazon. It costs $50 (half the price of Backbone One!), comes in black and white options and will arrive on November 29, Black Friday.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/8bitdo-has-a-new-50-android-gaming-controller-with-hall-effect-sticks-and-triggers-192521405.html?src=rss