Venmo has added the ability to schedule both payments and requests, which has been a long-desired feature. People can use this toolset to send out one-time payments or requests, or schedule things to go out monthly, weekly or bi-weekly.
Users will receive a push notification reminder the day before a payment goes out, just in case the funds aren’t available. To that end, the platform will pull from the connected bank account if the Venmo account is dry. These tools are rolling out right now.
Venmo
This is an obvious boon to those with roommates, as that one roommate who somehow got roped into handling all of the utility bills can let Venmo do the heavy lifting of bothering everybody else. Venmo says that 84 percent of consumers use peer-to-peer payment services to handle stuff like rent, utilities and other living expenses.
It’s also good for those with poor life organization skills. I can’t tell you the number of times I forgot to pay a bill, even though I had the money. Setting everything up in advance could be pretty darn helpful.
ByteDance is pushing further into hardware with its first set of earbuds. The TikTok owner’s $170 Ola Friend buds will only be available in China for now. They link to the company’s generative AI assistant, Doubao, which can be activated with a voice command.
According to the South China Morning Post, wearers will be able to use the open-ear buds as a tour guide while traveling and to practice English (among other things) after they’re paired with the Doubao mobile app. The publication notes that Doubao is currently the most popular GAI app in China, with more than 47 million monthly active users in September.
The debut of Ola Friend follows ByteDance completing its purchase of Oladance, a maker of wearable audio devices, this year. ByteDance also owns VR headset maker Pico.
The earbuds are available in four colors, purple, silver, black and white. Pre-orders are open today and Ola Friend will ship on October 17.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/tiktok-owner-bytedance-unveils-its-first-earbuds-in-china-143507603.html?src=rss
Starting this fall, Uber will give its riders new self-identification options if they are deaf or hard-of-hearing and blind or have low vision. The company said that riders with hearing or vision issues often worry about potential misunderstandings that could cause them to miss their ride. If they choose to self-identify on the app, their driver will be notified beforehand and could work with them on their needs, such as making sure they’re picked up exactly where they’re located instead of having them look for their ride.
Uber is also moving the communication preferences settings to the Accessibility page so that passengers can easily change their preferred contact method. If they indicate that they only want to communicate via in-app chat, for instance, their driver wouldn’t be able to call them. The company will start pilot testing another self-identification option for riders with service animals in the US and Canada over the next few weeks, as well. Uber said it will send its drivers a new service animal education video, with tips on how to transport the service animals and a reminder that it’s against the company’s policy to deny someone a ride because they’re traveling with one.
Uber has added features to make its rides more accessible over the years, but it hasn’t been smooth sailing for the company. It previously faced lawsuits for not providing wheelchair-accessible service in every US market even after teaming up with an external company to improve its accessibility for wheelchair users. In 2021, the Department of Justice sued the ride-hailing platform for charging passengers “wait time” fees because they need more time to enter a car due to their disabilities. And even with its promise to foster inclusion and be more accessible, whether or not a passenger gets a ride may still depend on the driver.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/uber-will-let-riders-disclose-whether-theyre-hard-of-hearing-or-have-low-vision-130027692.html?src=rss
One of our favorite workout apps for yoga and pilates, Alo Moves, is coming to VR on the Meta Quest 3. Priced at $69 a year, Alo Moves XR is set to be the first wellness app on the platform to feature volumetric 3D-capture classes that allow for extra immersion.
The app uses a volumetric 3D technique to capture classes from all angles, so “users can interact with their 3D instructors, repositioning them and viewing every angle for a full 360-degree perspective, helping perfect form and movement techniques,” the company wrote. At the same time, you can choose from various picturesque locations including Spain, Norway and Thailand. On a more practical note, the app uses room mapping and object detection of your own physical space to make sure you don’t bump into anything.
Alo Moves
Alo Moves XR is launching with 32 classes across yoga, pilates and mindfulness with some of its popular instructors including yoga teacher Ashley Galvin and pilates specialist Bianca Wise. The app promises a structured release schedule with four to five new mixed-reality yoga and pilates classes added monthly, along with weekly meditation and sound bath sessions. It also offers things like class history tracking, post-class feedback and milestone badges.
Later this year, Alo Moves will introduce new instructors and expand offerings with 20+ minute yoga sessions, quick toning/sculpting classes, yoga fundamentals, evening reset stretching, breathwork and more.
The company promises an experience “that feels as close to in-person as possible,” according to its press release. It looks like a smart way to use virtual reality (or extended reality as Meta would rather you call it), particularly as it lets you study an instructor’s technique from all angles. That would make it a cut above other Meta fitness apps like Oh Shape and Les Mills Bodycombat.
Alo Moves XR will cost $10 per month or $69 a year, but purchasers of the Alo Moves x Meta Quest bundle can grab it for $49 per year. If you already have an Alo Moves subscription, you’ll be able to add Alo Moves XR for $20 annually.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/workout-app-alo-moves-is-now-in-vr-on-meta-quest-3-130050184.html?src=rss
Sony’s line of LinkBuds products has served two key purposes. First, it gave the company a playground to introduce wildly different designs like the donut-shaped first-gen LinkBuds. It also allowed Sony to develop the LinkBuds S, a more traditional set that offered a taste of its flagship 1000X products for $100 less. That model was certainly more compelling than the company’s basic models that go for $120 and below.
Two years after the LinkBuds and LinkBuds S, Sony is back with an all-new model and a revamped version of the original. With the LinkBuds Fit ($200), the company has developed a full-featured, comfy set of earbuds with impressive sound. And on the LinkBuds Open ($200), Sony tweaked its unique open-wear formula by updating some tools. Then there’s the third member of the 2024 LinkBuds trio, the LinkBuds Speaker ($180), which is designed to integrate seamlessly with the two new pairs of earbuds when you return home or to the office. Since Sony introduced these all together, I’ve reviewed them that way, so buckle up because you’re about to get three reviews for the price of one.
LinkBuds Fit
Sony’s LinkBuds S were a low-key hit in 2022. They have some of the great features from the 1000X line, with a similar overall shape, too. Small and comfy, they offer significantly more in terms of sound and tools than most $200 earbuds. With this year’s LinkBuds Fit, Sony has debuted the next progression in its active noise canceling (ANC) LinkBuds.
This is the option for people who prefer a closed design and a secure fit. Sony completely redesigned the LinkBuds Fit, aiming for the optimum shape for most people. To get there, the company made the main housing a lot smaller, as the whole thing tucks almost entirely into your ear. There’s a so-called Air Cushion silicon support wing that’s hollow instead of solid. This allows more flexibility, and honestly it’s more comfortable since you can tuck it into the ridges of your ears however you need to. The combination of the smaller size and the Air Cushion make the LinkBuds Fit some of the most comfy in-ears I’ve tested. Even though they plug your ears closed, they never become a burden, even after hours of constant use.
One of the best things about the LinkBuds S was the impressive sound quality for the price. That continues on the LinkBuds Fit as Sony offers balanced tuning right out of the box. There’s crisp highs, ample mid range and snappy bass throughout most genres, even with more restrained, country-tinged rock like Jason Isbell’s Live from the Ryman, Vol. 2. Plus, the company’s DSEE Extreme upscaling can help restore some audio quality lost over compression for Bluetooth streaming. Audio presets and a 5-band EQ are here for adjustments, but I didn’t even think about using them.
The sonic abilities of the LinkBuds Fit are on full display with BONES UK’s Soft. The crunchy guitars, droning bass lines and punchy kick drum provide a full, deep soundstage for the textured vocals to float across. And for a bass-heavy experience, the synth-heavy tune “Generator” from Justice’s Hyperdrama is a loud, pulsing track with a big low-end thump while the keys still cut through on top. Interestingly, there’s nuance to the bassy beats on the LinkBuds Fit, rather than just a one-note rhythm. All of these sound improvements are due in part to the earbuds inheriting the Dynamic Driver X and Integrated Processor V2 audio chip from the 1000X. There’s more enveloping sound on the WF-1000XM5, but not by much, as Sony has closed the gap between its flagship model and the LinkBuds line – for now.
Billy Steele for Engadget
Features like Adaptive Sound Control, multipoint Bluetooth and Speak to Chat make their return on the LinkBuds Fit from the LinksBuds S. But Sony has gone well beyond those with a host of new conveniences. The company took a page from Apple’s book and now allows you to answer or reject calls by nodding or shaking your head. There’s also a built-in voice control that doesn’t require your phone’s assistant, something akin to what Bose offers on the new QuietComfort Earbuds. And because the earbuds are so small, there aren’t onboard touch controls. Instead, Sony employs the Wide Area Tap gestures from the original open-design LinkBuds. They work really well, but I will never be comfortable tapping my upper cheek to make adjustments.
Perhaps the only area where the LinkBuds Fit fall well short of the WF-1000XM5 is ANC performance. I’d call this active noise reduction more than cancellation. You’ll get some relief from constant sources like white noise machines or a raucous fan, but these earbuds don’t silence them. They also struggle mightily with human voices, so if you sit near a chatty coworker, you’ll have to crank up the volume to compensate.
For calls, the LinkBuds Fit will give you better-than-average voice clarity, which means you’ll sound better than if you’re on speakerphone. The earbuds also do a decent job of blocking background noise, although I noticed a slight delay in them picking up sounds that began during calls. Sony also boasts that this model has its “best ambient sound,” and while I’m not ready to bestow that honor, the audio mode does have a natural quality that makes it pleasant to use. Plus, a new Auto Ambient Sound feature can automatically adjust the level of transparency when you encounter a noisy environment.
With the LinkBuds Fit, Sony says you can expect up to five and a half hours with ANC on and 21 hours total when you factor in the case. There are a lot of advanced features at work here, and those have an impact on power consumption. With the volume at a comfortable 75-80 percent, I only managed around four hours and 45 minutes. That’s with noise-canceling active as well as Voice Control, Speak to Chat and DSEE Extreme all enabled. The good news is that Sony offers a tool called Auto Battery Save that will disable the latter three tools, as well as any EQ tweaks, to conserve power. This will extend things beyond the 5.5-hour mark, but not by a ton.
The LinkBuds Fit are a massive advancement over the LinkBuds S. In fact, they’re some of the best earbuds Sony has ever made. But they aren’t without a few significant faults. My primary gripe is ANC performance, and though it’s the only one, it’s a biggie. Like it usually does on the 1000X line, Sony has packed in a ton of features here, and for the most part they work as advertised. It’s clear the company is taking notes from the competition with the Apple-esque head gestures and automatic sound adjustments, in addition to the Bose-like built-in assistant. But, somehow, Sony managed to innovate and keep the price tag exactly the same as the LinkBuds S.
LinkBuds Open
The original LinkBuds were wonderfully weird. After years of very normal-looking earbuds (besides the Xperia Ear Duo), Sony took a big swing in early 2022 with the donut-shaped, open design model that sought to provide all-day wear while keeping your earbuds unobstructed from your environment. They were different, but they were unique, with their own drizzle of Sony’s special sauce. However, overall comfort was a big issue, and one the company sought to remedy on the follow-up with the LinkBuds Open.
To start, Sony reduced the overall size of the IPX4-rated LinkBuds Open. Like the LinkBuds Fit, this model also has the Air Cushion silicon support that’s more flexible. That’s a big improvement from the small hump meant to stabilize the first version that didn’t offer much added support. Unfortunately though, the casing for the ring-shaped driver that sits in your ear is still hard plastic. After about 45 minutes, it became uncomfortable, and after several hours it was downright unbearable. On the bright side, the cheek-based Wide Area Tap controls are back and they’re reliable, if not slightly awkward.
Sony made two key adjustments to improve the sound quality on the LinkBuds Open. First, it built a revamped ring-shaped driver and paired it with the Integrated Processor V2 chip from the 1000X line. These two changes make for louder sound and richer bass, according to Sony. And the claim holds up. You’ll only need around 65-70 percent volume, unless you suffer from some degree of hearing loss. And there is more pronounced low-end tone, though you’ll have to coax it out with an EQ tweak.
By default, the stock tuning is heavily reliant on treble, which means vocals tend to overpower most of the mix. However, Sony’s EQ tools actually help balance things out, and adding more mids and bass makes the LinkBuds Open’s sound profile more well-rounded. After this adjustment, the kick drum thumps under vocals and guitars, an improvement over the default sound profile for Better Lovers’ thunderous, crunching single “A White Horse Covered In Blood.”
Billy Steele for Engadget
Like it did with the LinkBuds Fit, Sony brought over a lot of the handy tools from the 1000X earbuds to the Open. Those include multipoint Bluetooth and Speak to Chat, but Adaptive Sound Control automation isn’t here. Sony did add its voice assistant, Adaptive Volume Control and head-gesture recognition for answering calls. The company also offers a fit check via your phone’s camera, something it’s done for other products to check your positioning for 360 Reality Audio. Most of these work well, though in my experience Speak to Chat is still tripped up when I coughed or cleared my throat. And it seemed to be even more sensitive on the LinkBuds Open than other models I’ve tested.
Thanks to the design, the LinkBuds Open are nice to wear during calls since, well, you can hear yourself. However, the quality of your voice on the other end isn’t as clear as what I encountered on the LinkBuds Fit. It will get the job done, but I did sound slightly muffled. And background noise, while subdued, is noticeable at times when I’m talking.
Sony says you should be able to eke out eight hours of use on the LinkBuds Open, a significant improvement over the five and a half hours on the first LinkBuds. Indeed, I had no trouble hitting that number during my tests with DSEE Auto and other power-taxing tools enabled. If you find yourself in a pinch, Sony devised a faster quick charge solution that gives you an hour of use in three minutes. What’s more, Auto Battery Save from the LinkBuds Fit is in play here, automatically disabling advanced features when you hit 20 percent battery to extend listening time.
The LinkBuds Open offer some improvements over the first-gen model, but Sony hasn’t addressed an inherent issue with the design. Simply put, they aren’t comfortable to wear for longer than a few minutes and that will be a problem for a lot of people. I understand the outer shell around the ring driver has to be robust enough to protect it, but there needs to be even the slightest bit of cushioning to relieve the pressure. If Sony fixes that, it will have a more compelling product rather than a novelty.
LinkBuds Speaker
The LinkBuds Speaker is an unexpected part of the new LinkBuds lineup. It’s a small Bluetooth speaker that’s designed to be your go-to device when you’re stationary, and is equipped with several features that sync with the LinkBuds Fit and LinkBuds Open in a bid to make your life easier – at least in terms of listening to music or podcasts.
The LinkBuds Speaker won’t win any design awards, but that’s par for the course with small Bluetooth speakers. Up top are volume and playback controls which you can also use to start music from select streaming services with one tap (Amazon Music, Spotify and Endel). There’s also a microphone for calls, if you’re okay with a no-frills speakerphone option. Around back, the power button sits at the bottom just above a USB-C charging port. There’s also an attached loop here so you can hang the LinkBuds Speaker on a hook or carabiner. That USB-C port is technically the backup charging method though, since the IPX4-rated speaker comes with a charging cradle that connects via metal contacts on the bottom.
Inside, Sony paired one of its X-balanced woofers with a single tweeter and a passive radiator. The company says this combo provides “well-balanced” and “pleasant and clear sound” that’s tuned so it isn’t exhausting to listen to for long periods of time. In the end, the LinkBuds Speaker suffers a similar fate to comparable Bluetooth devices with a lack of overall fidelity. While it’s true the treble is bright, clean and punchy, the bass is restrained and the mid-range is lacking right out of the box. There are no audio presets to assist you there, but Sony does offer a full 5-band EQ for adjustments, along with a separate Clear Bass slider. You can save changes as custom settings for future use, if you hit on something you like.
After I made the necessary tweaks to address the sonic shortcomings, the speaker sounded slightly better, but there was still a lack of crisp detail some of the competition offers (like the Beats Pill). The only place you’ll notice decent clarity is in the vocals and top end of the EQ. And for outdoor use, you’ll be glad the high end is more pronounced so you can better understand the lyrics in the open air.
Billy Steele for Engadget
The LinkBuds Speaker works with Sony’s new Sound Connect app for access to various settings. There’s one key feature I’ll discuss since it’s unique to this device. First, the app allows you to set up routines so that your music starts at specific times during the day. There’s also an automatic switching element to this that works with the LinkBuds Fit and LinkBuds Open, along with additional support for the LinkBuds S, WF-1000XM5 and WH-1000XM5. All of this is managed in the Auto Play section of the app.
Once you sync a set of earbuds or headphones with the LinkBuds Speaker, Sony’s app walks you through the process of setting up morning and bedtime routines. Right now though, those are the only two options, which is frustrating since I need to adjust things throughout the day too. You can set them to any time you want, but they’ll still be labeled “Get Ready” and “Bedtime.” Oddly enough, Apple Music is listed on Auto Play, but Amazon Music isn’t – which is different from the one-tap play setup. Here, you can have the speaker pick up where you left off from your chosen music service or you can have a specific playlist or album set for those two times.
After a routine is set, any music will automatically swap from the speaker to earbuds or headphones when you put them on, and vice versa when you take them off. It works really well, quickly making the change and gradually increasing the volume on the speaker so you’re not blasted from the start. In the mornings, the speaker will even announce the date, time and weather if you want it to (and grant it exact location access). You can also have the device tell you the time on the hour. Lastly, the speaker stays in low-power mode when it’s not in use, which is what allows you to swap the audio when you’re in range.
Sony promises up to 25 hours of battery life on the LinkBuds Speaker, if you have the volume set to “level 23.” Since that’s 23 out of 100, that’s not really a viable scenario. For comfortable, casual listening, you’ll want something around 60 percent – or level 60 in Sony-speak, I guess. At maximum volume, which is deafening, the speaker supposed to last up to six hours. I wouldn’t recommend anything above about 80 percent though, because the pronounced treble starts to cancel out everything else in the mix from that point upwards.
I can see avid users of Sony’s earbuds and headphones enjoying the LinkBuds Speaker’s routines and automatic switching. However, there’s much better audio quality from the competition, and in a few cases it’s available for less than the $180 Sony is asking for. I’d like to see Sony incorporate this type of hand-off feature in a speaker designed for your living room or office. With something that’s bigger and offers better sound performance, the company would have a more compelling package for a LinkBuds sidekick.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/sony-linkbuds-fit-and-linkbuds-open-review-two-designs-one-clear-champ-134529932.html?src=rss
Nintendo has posted a call for 10,000 testers who’ll get first access to an unnamed, mysterious Switch Online feature. The whole posting is rather vague and offers no solid clues on what feature it’s testing exactly, but only people who have an active Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership can participate in the “Playtest Program.” Nintendo’s $50-a-year Switch Online Expansion Pack adds Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis and Game Boy Advance games to the subscription service’s games library. It also gives users free access to downloadable content for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Splatoon 2.
Testers must also be at at least 18 years old and must have an account registered in Japan, the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy or Spain. Switch Online subscribers who want to participate can send in an application by scrolling to the bottom of Nintendo’s announcement and clicking the “To Application Page” link.
The company will start accepting entries today, October 10, at 8AM PT/11AM ET, until November 5 at 4:59PM PT/7:59PM ET. Nintendo will choose participants in Japan through a raffle if it receives a lot of applications. Everyone else may want to hurry if they want to participate, because it’ll be first come first serve for them. The company will also stop taking applications early if it quickly reaches the maximum number of participants.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-is-looking-for-10000-testers-for-a-new-switch-online-feature-123032431.html?src=rss
We’ve been waiting and waiting, and Nintendo finally did the right thing and announced an entirely new piece of hardware. Alas, it’s not a new console but a very Nintendo-looking smart alarm clock. The Alarmo has motion sensors that let you snooze it based on your movement. (There is a physical snooze button too.)
You’ll also be able to check how much you move around while you sleep, and the clock has sleeping sounds and music to drift off to.
Nintendo
You can set the clock’s background with scenes inspired by the likes of Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 3, Pikmin 4 and, er, Ring Fit Adventure. The company says it plans to add more games as updates in the future. And when it’s time to wake you up, Alarmo will use music and sounds from those games.
For now, the curio is only available if you’re a Nintendo Switch Online member in the US and Canada. Other regions will have to wait, although as I finished writing today’s TMA, Nintendo’s UK site had the clock available to buy. You can order the $100 Alarmo online now, and Nintendo says it will be available at retail early next year.
While other classic albums often get remasters for big anniversaries, Green Day (with the help of an art studio called Brain) went in a lo-fi direction. It’s re-releasing the music on defunct and/or (very) inconvenient formats in very limited editions. As a result, you can hear what “Basket Case” sounds like through a Big Mouth “Billie” Bass, listen to “Welcome to Paradise” on a Game Boy cartridge. Other formats include an answering machine, toothbrush, animatronic stuffed animal, floppy disc, doorbell, Fisher Price record, HitClip and — this is crazy — MiniDisc.
If you’re intrigued by what Tesla has planned for its robotaxis, you’ll probably have to pull a late one. At the company’s long-delayed robotaxi event, we’re not expecting to see a fully finished vehicle, but investors and Tesla fans are hoping for a working prototype. The manic-jumping Tesla boss, Elon Musk, began talking about the robotaxi plan years ago. However, it took on greater importance earlier this year when Tesla reportedly shelved its plans for an entry-level EV in favor of the autonomous ridesharing project.
The Internet Archive has been hit this week with a series of DDoS attacks, which have taken the service offline. The Verge noticed a popup on the site when the online database went down. The popup has since disappeared. This attack apparently came just as the Internet Archive was going to disclose a previous breach of its site that resulted in the theft of more than 31 million records. A DDoS organization known as Blackmeta claimed responsibility for the attacks with a confusing message that the platform “belongs to the USA.” The Internet Archive is headquartered in San Francisco.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-nintendos-latest-hardware-is-not-the-switch-2-alarmo-111617400.html?src=rss
Amazon just announced a coming expansion of its same-day prescription delivery service, with 20 more cities and affiliated metro areas entering the program next year. This expansion will open up the feature to nearly half of US residents.
The company said it’s currently embedding pharmacies in many of its same-day delivery facilities to allow for the advanced rollout. The service already exists in cities like Miami, Phoenix and Seattle, but next year it’ll be coming to Boston, Dallas, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and around a dozen more national hotspots.
Amazon says that in most cases “a customer can order medication by 4PM and receive it at home by 10PM.” This is achieved via traditional delivery methods, though the company has been testing prescription delivery drones in Texas.
The delivery service is available via Amazon Pharmacy, which offers free shipments of prescriptions to Prime members. The service first launched in 2020 and has allowed the company to enter the healthcare space in a major way. Amazon also operates a virtual healthcare service, which is available in all 50 states.
The company recently boasted that it has doubled the number of customers it delivers prescriptions to. This number will likely shoot up even higher once the service becomes available in more cities next year.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazon-to-bring-same-day-prescription-deliveries-to-nearly-half-of-the-us-next-year-185708164.html?src=rss
It’s the last day of Amazon’s October Prime Day event, and the good news is, there’s still plenty of deals on camera and drone equipment. Now is a great time to shop for holiday gifts for that photographer on your gift list, or pull the trigger on a camera or accessory you’ve been lusting after.
There are some particularly good offers this year from many of the major brands including Sony, Canon, DJI, GoPro and Fujifilm. And many are pulled from our guide to the best cameras for 2024. You may want to peruse that post for more info as you add items to your cart. Here are the best Prime Day camera deals we could find.
GoPro Hero 12 Black for $299 ($50 off): GoPro’s Hero 12 isn’t the company’s latest action camera, but it offers a big improvement over the previous model and offers features like 5.3K 10-bit video at 60fps, industry-leading stability and native vertical video.
Sony ZV-1F compact vlogging camera for $398 ($102 off): Sony’s famous creator compact camera is a big step-up over a smartphone thanks to the 1-inch sensor and high-quality optics. It also offers vlogging features like a flip-out screen, one-touch bokeh and background defocus.
Canon EOS R7 mirrorless camera body for $1,274 ($225 off): The R7 offers very fast shooting speeds up to 30 fps using the electronic shutter, high-resolution images that complement skin tones, excellent autofocus and sharp 4K video.
Panasonic S5 II mirrorless camera body for $1,800 ($200 off): The S5 II was Panasonic’s first full-frame mirrorless camera with phase-detect autofocus. It also offers solid vlogging features like 5-axis stabilization, 10-bit log capture up to 6K and more.
Sony A7 IV body for $2,298 ($102 off): Though it was released over two years ago, the 33-megapixel Sony A7 IV still has one of the best combinations of image quality, performance and video powers.
Canon EOS R5 body for $2,999 ($900 off): Canon’s R5 is near an all-time low price, giving you 8K video and 20fps shooting speeds at a substantial savings over the original.
Nikon Z8 full-frame mirrorless camera body for $3,497 ($503 off): I said that the Nikon Z8 was a phenomenal camera for the price at $4,000 so at this price it’s nearly a no-brainer. With a stacked 45-megapixel sensor it can shoot RAW photos at 20fps and capture 8K RAW video.
DJI Osmo Mobile SE gimbal for $69 ($20 off): This gimbal keeps your smartphone video as smooth as can be with DJI’s ActiveTrack 6.0, and includes a magnetic snapping mechanism so you can install your mobile device in seconds.
DJI Avata for $499 ($130 off): DJI’s original first-person cinewhoop-style drone offers 4K 60p stabilized video and a built-in propeller guard so it’s safe around people.
DJI Air 3 Combo (RC 2) for $1,239 ($310 off): While its cameras aren’t pro level, the DJI Air 3 offers the Mavic 3 Pro’s bells and whistles for half the price. Top features include obstacle detection all around, focus tracking, 4K 120p video and more.
Camera accessories
K&F Concept camera sling bag for $32 ($6 off): If you need to travel light this bag can carry a surprising amount of gear while offering excellent protection and features like a side safety buckle.
Fujifilm GFX50S body for $2,999 ($1,000 off): Though over seven years old, Fujifilm’s GFX50S is the cheapest way to get a medium-format camera, especially with this sale. For less than half the original price, you get a lightweight large sensor camera with 50.1-megapixels of resolution.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-prime-day-camera-deals-on-sony-canon-dji-and-more-091728508.html?src=rss
GM is charting a course away from its Ultium battery system. The company is dropping that standardized approach in favor of a wider range of battery cell chemistries and physical formats.
The automaker had hoped that, by adopting a unified system across all of its EVs as well as other products, it would be able to reduce costs and ship them faster. The plan was to pack the flat pouch-style Ultium cells into a variety of modules depending on what was needed for each EV.
Things haven’t gone smoothly, as Ars Technica notes. Among other things, COVID-19 slowed down the company’s EV roadmap and there were problems with the robots that assembled the modules.
“It now makes business sense to transition from one-size-fits-all to new program-specific batteries,” Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice president of batteries, said at an investor event. The automaker hopes that switching from Ultium’s nickel cobalt manganese chemistry to lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery tech will lower the cost of its EVs by as much as $6,000. As The Verge notes, Tesla and Ford are among those that use LFP cells, which are said to be cheaper and less complicated to manufacture. The second-gen Chevy Bolt, which is slated to arrive in late 2025, will use such batteries.
GM plans to build a new battery research facility at the Warren Tech Center in Michigan. The team there will explore cylindrical and prismatic cells in addition to the pouch format. Researchers will also look into alternative battery chemistries.
The shift in battery strategy comes as GM chases profitability in its EV division. The company said it’s getting close to that point. It’s on track to build and sell around 200,000 EVs this year. GM now claims to be the number two EV seller in North America behind Tesla.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/gm-is-ditching-its-one-size-fits-all-ultium-battery-system-and-adopting-other-cell-formats-193041348.html?src=rss
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