VCV Rack 2 has arrived, and it could help you figure out if modular synthesis is something you can get into before blowing a fortune on it. The original app dropped in 2017, giving you access to thousands of virtual modules that let you try Eurorack for free. This upgraded app comes with a completely redesigned user interface with a dark room mode and a much better module browser than its predecessor. VCV has a library of almost 2,700 modules, and the new browser will make them easier to sort with its category filters and the capability to highlight the modules you use the most.
While the app itself is still free to download and use, there's now a Pro version that includes a VST plugin for full integration into the digital audio workstation of your choice. That means you'll be able to use VCV Rack within Ableton, Logic or even GarageBand. The Pro tier also comes with professional support — and the promise of more plugin formats in the future. Rack 2's paid version will set you back $99 until 2022, though you can also get it bundled with VCV Drums and VCV Sound Stage for $209. You can get both paid and free VCV Rack 2 versions right now from its official page.
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Twitch is introducing a new machine learning feature to help streamers protect their channels from people attempting to avoid bans. Dubbed "Suspicious User Detection," the tool will automatically flag individuals it suspects may be "likely" or "possible" ban dodgers.
In cases involving the former, Twitch will prevent any messages they send from showing up in chat. It will also identify those individuals for streamers and any mods helping them with their channel. At that point, they can decide if they want to ban that person. By default, possible repeat trolls can send messages in chat, but they too will be flagged by the system. Additionally, Twitch says creators have the option to prevent them from sending any messages in the first place.
Twitch
"The tool is powered by a machine learning model that takes a number of signals into account — including, but not limited to, the user's behavior and account characteristics — and compares that data against accounts previously banned from a Creator's channel to assess the likelihood the account is evading a previous channel-level ban," a Twitch spokesperson told Engadget when we asked about the signals the system uses to detect potential offenders.
While Twitch plans to turn on Suspicious User Detection for everyone, the tool won't automatically ban users for streamers. That's by design because it's impossible to create a machine learning tool that is 100 percent accurate in every context. "You're the expert when it comes to your community, and you should make the final call on who can participate," the company said in a blog post. "The tool will learn from the actions you take and the accuracy of its predictions should improve over time as a result."
The introduction of the tool follows a summer in which Twitch struggled to contain a phenomenon called "hate raids." The attacks saw malicious individuals use thousands of bots to spam channels with hateful language. In many cases, they targeted creators from marginalized communities. Hate raids became such a frequent feature of the platform that some creators walked away from Twitch for a day in protest of the company's lack of action.
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Microsoft has launched a new Windows software-themed ugly sweater on its Xbox Gear Shop dedicated to the infamous Windows game Minesweeper.
It’s well done: not only is the whole Minesweeper level shaped like a Christmas tree, but it’s also got mines masquerading as snowflakes and “buttons” to minimize the window or exit the game if you so desire, plus the classic wavy Windows logo that hearkens back to Windows 3.1. (If you’re wondering why the sweater has “1990” remaining mines, that’s a reference to the year Minesweeper first came out.)
Microsoft is tacking on a “buy now, pay later” extension to Edge that prompts users to use short-term financing service Zip (formerly QuadPay) when making a purchase on the browser.
The company introduced the service earlier this month, and now some users are reportedly seeing it integrated into their browsers after updating to Edge version 96, as noted by Ars Technica. The option to sign up and use Zip will be displayed on checkout pages, appearing in the same area where you’d enter your credit card number on Edge (or access a previously used one), and will sometimes be ingrained in the checkout page itself. Zip will pop up when Edge detects that your purchase costs...
Amazon workers protested outside a warehouse last year | Spencer Platt / Getty Images
Amazon is facing new questions over failed COVID protections in its fulfillment centers, spurred on by New York Attorney General Letitia James. After more than a year of protests from workers and inquiries from legislators, James is now seeking a court order to require Amazon to appoint a monitor to oversee health and safety measures at its warehouse on Staten Island. As part of the same motion, James asked the company to reinstate fired worker Christian Smalls, who led public protests against Amazon last year, accusing the company of failing to keep employees from contracting the virus at work.
According to James, Amazon has rolled back many of its health and safety measures at the warehouse, known as JFK8. The Staten Island warehouse,...
Qualcomm has a new flagship smartphone processor: the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, announced at the company’s annual Snapdragon Tech Summit, giving an early preview at the brains behind the most powerful smartphones of 2022.
The successor to last year’s Snapdragon 888, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is the first chipset to bear Qualcomm’s new naming scheme (which the company had previously teased last week), ditching the triple-digit numbering system that Qualcomm has previously used for new, generation-based monikers.
As is the case every year, Qualcomm is promising some major improvements in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, with better performance, camera technology, AI capabilities, security, and 5G.
Every December for the last few years, Qualcomm has held an annual event in Hawaii to announce its latest flagship mobile chipset. This year was no different with the company taking the opportunity to unveil the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. That’s right, for the second year in a row, Qualcomm is moving away from the sequential numbering scheme that has defined its processors for years. Just as the Snapdragon 865 gave way to the 888, the company will now replace the 888 with the Gen 1.
The system-on-a-chip includes Qualcomm’s own X65 5G modem. The company says it’s capable of theoretical download speeds of 10Gbps. That’s one of those specs that’s impressive on paper, but won’t mean much out in the real world since some of the fastest 5G networks can’t deliver speeds greater than 4Gbps in ideal conditions. If you have access to a WiFi 6 or 6E router, the Gen 1 can sustain download speeds of 3.6 Gbps over WiFi.
As with its past flagship chipsets, Qualcomm has put significant effort into improving the camera experience. The Gen 1 features an 18-bit image signal processor. That’s a first for the company, and something it says allows the component to process 4,000 times more data than the 14-bit Spectra ISP found on the Snapdragon 888. Additionally, phones with the Gen 1 will have the ability to capture photos at 3.2 gigapixels per second. In practice, that means the Gen 1 can process data from three 36-megapixel cameras simultaneously without any shutter lag, according to Qualcomm.
In another first for a mobile device, the company says the chipset can record 8K HDR footage at 30 frames per second. Again, that’s not the most practical feature for a phone in 2021 since 4K is the top end for most content. On that note, the Gen 1 supports UHD capture at 120 frames per second and can record slow motion footage at 960 frames per second at 720p. Separate from its Spectra ISP, the Gen 1 includes a always-on image signal processor that can power a camera while consuming very little battery power. It’s a feature that will allow Gen 1-equipped devices to offer always-on face detection for biometric authentication.
The Gen 1 won’t offer greatly improved CPU performance over what was already possible with the Snapdragon 888 Plus. What it does promise is faster performance when it comes to AI-related tasks. That’s thanks to Qualcomm’s new seventh-generation AI engine, which the company says is up to four times faster than its predecessor thanks to more shared memory and a faster tensor accelerator. Gaming performance is another highlight of the Gen 1. According to Qualcomm, its latest Adreno GPU offers 30 percent faster rendering performance while consuming 25 percent less power. Over on the audio front, the Gen 1 includes support for Qualcomm’s recently announced aptX Lossless Bluetooth codec. It can deliver up to CD-quality 16-bit 44.1kHz audio streaming over a wireless connection.
Rounding out the Gen 1’s feature list is a dedicated Trust Management Engine. The Gen 1 is the first mobile chipset to support Google’s Android Ready SE standard out of the box, which means it has the capability to store things like digital car keys and IDs.
With its mix of performance improvements and new features, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 offers an intriguing look at the next generation of Android flagships. Now we have to wait to see what capabilities manufacturers decide to enable in their latest devices. The first Gen 1-equipped phones will arrive later this year, with more expected to come in the first half of 2022.
Separately, Qualcomm announced it’s partnering with Google to bring the company’s Neural Architecture Search platform to its product portfolio. The technology, which will be available first on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, allows companies to create and optimize AI models automatically instead of manually. According to Google, NAS optimize AI models in weeks rather than months.
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Amazon will have to redo the union election held at its Bessemer, Alabama fulfillment center back in April. According to Politico, Lisa Henderson, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 10 Director, has ordered the e-commerce giant to hold another vote mostly due to the fact that Amazon installed a US Postal Service mailbox in front of the warehouse to collect ballots.
The election results were 1,798 to 738, with workers voting against joining the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). After those results came out, the RWDSU filed 23 objections, accusing the company of interfering with the elections. One of those complaints pointed out that Amazon installed the ballot box without approval from the NLRB and in view of security cameras that made workers feel they were under surveillance. The labor relations board sided with the union and found that Amazon interfered with the election by installing the mailbox and offering employees anti-union badges and signs.
Henderson wrote in the documents ordering a new election:
"By causing the Postal Service to install a cluster mailbox unit, communicating and encouraging employees to cast their ballots using the mailbox, wrapping the mailbox with its slogan, and placing the mailbox at a location where employees could reasonably believe they were being surveilled, the Employer engaged in objectionable conduct that warrants setting aside the election.
The Employer’s flagrant disregard for the Board’s typical mail-ballot procedure compromised the authority of the Board and made a free and fair election impossible."
Amazon, of course, criticized the NLRB's decision. In a statement sent to The Washington Post, spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement:
"Our employees have always had the choice of whether or not to join a union, and they overwhelmingly chose not to join the RWDSU earlier this year. It's disappointing that the NLRB has now decided that those votes shouldn’t count."
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One day in 2011, Jack Dorsey called an all-hands meeting at Twitter. The company was in the middle of a push to redesign Twitter’s mobile apps, and the effort had led to anger and burnout. Dorsey, who had co-founded the company in 2006 with Ev Williams, Biz Stone, and Noah Glass, was then serving as its executive chairman.
The company prepared for what it assumed would be a pep talk from the most eccentric of Twitter’s co-founders. And they got one, of a sort. As the meeting began, the lights at Twitter headquarters dimmed. An acoustic guitar began playing over speakers. Dorsey encouraged everyone to listen to the lyrics.
Ludwig posted a video announcing the move Monday. | Image: Ludwig (via YouTube)
Ludwig Ahgren, a streamer perhaps best known for his month-long subathon that took place earlier this year, is moving from Twitch to stream exclusively on YouTube Gaming. Ahgren’s first stream on YouTube will take place tomorrow, November 30th.
eBay has bought out sneaker authentication service Sneaker Con, a company that gives sneaker-lovers the peace of mind that the kicks they’re purchasing are real. The acquisition builds upon eBay’s existing relationship with the service, which began back in October 2020 when eBay first launched its sneaker vetting process.
When select sneaker brands are purchased for over $100 on eBay, the shoes go through Sneaker Con before reaching the buyer. There, the sneakers are thoroughly vetted by experts who ensure that the sneakers are authentic and match the description of the original listing.
The sneakers are then sent to the buyers with tags showing that they’ve been verified. eBay notes...
T-Mobile customers have been reporting issues making and receiving calls all afternoon, with problems frequently linked to Verizon numbers. This all started around 2PM ET this afternoon, with hotspots showing in most major metro areas on Downdectector. Initial reports suggested Verizon might be having issues, but Verizon spokesperson Kevin King tells The Verge that its network is operating “business as usual.”
Microsoft’s new Clarity Boost feature for Xbox Cloud Gaming (aka xCloud) is intended to make your cloud gaming streams a little bit less fuzzy, but it will only be available on the company’s Edge browser.
Clarity Boost “uses a set of client-side scaling improvements to improve the visual quality of the video stream,” Microsoft’s Milena Gonzalez said in a blog post. I tried Clarity Boost in a few games, and I felt that it made a noticeable difference. Games were generally less blurry, and many smaller details like leaves and bricks looked much sharper than they do with Clarity Boost off. It doesn’t dramatically change the way games look, in my opinion, but if you want xCloud games to be a little more clear, I’d recommend flipping Clarity...
Twitter has a new CEO: Parag Agrawal, who’ll be taking over for Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, the longest-serving chief executive in the company’s 15-plus-year history.
Agrawal isn’t the most well-known of names either inside or outside of Twitter. He’s been with the company for over a decade, though, working his way up from an engineer to become its top executive (and a close friend of Dorsey’s). Agrawal first started at Twitter back in October 2011 with a focus on ad products, and he became the first recipient of the company’s “Distinguished Engineer” title. He was later appointed chief technology officer in October 2017, during which time he’s jumped in to address high-profile problems (like a large-scale password security issue)...
CD Projekt Red is "on track" to release the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of Cyberpunk 2077 in the first quarter of 2022, the studio's parent company announced on Monday. CDPR had initially planned to release the update in late 2021 until it announced a delay to early 2022 in October.
Next-gen update for Cyberpunk 2077 will be free for anyone who bought the game on the old-gen consoles.
CD Projekt also confirmed anyone who purchased the game on either PlayStation 4 or Xbox One will receive the next-gen update for free. Since the game is currently playable on the current generation systems through backward compatibility, everyone who owns the game on a console will get the upgrade for free. If you don't already have Cyberpunk 2077, you can buy it while it's currently 50 percent off on the PlayStation and Microsoft Stores and get the game at a discount before the updated version comes out next year.
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Black Friday is technically over, but many of the same deals have carried over into Cyber Monday — plus a few new ones, of course. We’ve adapted our coverage to make sure that you’re only seeing the latest and best deals on tech that you want, and that we recommend, on wireless earbuds, TVs, games, phones, and more. The occasional Nerf blaster might find its way in here, too.
If you’re hoping to get the majority of your holiday shopping done ahead of mid-December, now is a good time to do that. Though, don’t despair if something you’re looking for either isn’t available, or isn’t as cheap as you were hoping. December always brings more deals, and we’ll do our best to give you every opportunity to score on tech deals before the holidays.
The British Fashion Council (BFC) has handed out an award in a brand new category called Metaverse Design created in collaboration with Roblox. Five Roblox creators were nominated, with the in-app clothing store cSapphire coming out the winner.
The presentation of the award will play out inside a Roblox experience (from November 29th until December 7th 2021), with a virtual representation of Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele (above) doing the honors. If you're interested in watching, you'll be able to do so inside a virtual Roblox recreation of Albert Hall — and even roleplay as a high-profile red carpet guest.
Companies like Roblox have been doing a metaverse long before Facebook decided to jump in. With the award, the BFC has acknowledged that virtual spaces can be a fun way for both consumers and designers to explore fashion ideas. Roblox previously worked with Gucci on a collection, and we've seen labels like Moncler Louis Vuitton inside Fortnite and other games.
It's a fun addition to the show, but the BFC is taking it fairly seriously. The Metaverse judging panel includes some high-profile folks, including fashion model Karlie Kloss along with editors from fashion sites and magazines like W and Highsnobiety.
"By awarding the platform’s creators, we are recognizing the powerful global impact of digital fashion on communities around the world, its ability to create new trends in fashion, as well as the incredible opportunities it provides for talented young creators," said BFC chief executive Caroline Rush in a statement.
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Sony's excellent WF-1000XM4 wireless ANC earphones came out just this summer, so we've only seen mild discounts so far — even during Black Friday. For Cyber Monday, however, Amazon has reduced them to just $218, for a savings of $62 or 22 percent — a great price for some of the highest-rated wireless earbuds available.
The WF-1000XM4s are a sequel to the much-lauded WF-1000XM3 model, and improve on them in nearly every way, as we detailed in our Engadget review. They deliver balanced sound quality across lows, mids and highs, with no heavy-handed bass or overly shrill treble. Active noise cancellation (ANC) is also improved, blocking more noise across all frequencies while using less power, to boot.
As a result, battery life is up to eight hours with the ANC turned on, or 12 hours with it disabled — up about 25 percent over the previous model. Other nice features include Qi-certified wireless charging (with a quick-charge feature that gives you an hour of use in five minutes), customizable sound controls, Sony's "precise voice pickup" tech to improve call quality, and 360 and high-res audio support.
The biggest downside is the comfort and fit, as Sony's foam (rather than silicone) tips might not work for all ears. That's a small complaint considering that the WF-1000XM4s top a lot of lists for the best wireless ANC earphones, including our own. You're not likely to find them at a better price anytime soon, so if you've been eyeing a pair, now's the time to act.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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As part of its annual fashion awards, the British Fashion Council is adding a new category for 2021: an award for “metaverse design.” As broad as that might sound, the award was actually created in partnership with Roblox, and as such, the shortlist is limited to five Roblox creators. The winner, cSapphire, operates an in-app clothing boutique.
In keeping with the virtual nature of 2021, the award will be presented by an avatar of Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michele (pictured above) inside a Roblox experience. Players will also be able to explore a virtual recreation of Royal Albert Hall to watch the awards. “This unique metaverse space BFC has created in collaboration with Roblox represents the future of fashion, and it’s been...
As you might have suspected this Cyber Monday morning, the big stories on Engadget involve good deals or even an all-time low price on gadgets, accessories for said gadgets or services to run on them. (We’ve linked to the best deals we’ve found down below, but stock and prices may have changed since the time of writing.)
That said, according to early figures, it might have been a more muted Black Friday online than in previous years. Adobe estimates its combined Black Friday and Thanksgiving Day internet sales were less than last year, for the first time ever — even if it was only a mere dip from $9 billion in 2020 to $8.9 billion last week.
Adobe thinks the dip reflected the multitude of internet deals out there that began ahead of Black Friday — some as early as October.
A team of scientists have created the first detailed image of what lies right underneath the planet's surface, showing three billion years of its history, by listening to Martian winds.
More precisely, they analyzed the ambient noise (in the absence of marsquakes) collected by the seismometer that was installed by the InSight lander. On Earth, that kind of ambient seismic noise is generated by the ocean, human activity and winds, but only the last one is present on Mars.
AMC is extending its fondness for the blockchain to the freebies you get with ticket pre-orders. The theater chain and Sony Pictures are giving away 86,000 NFTs to Stubs Premiere, A-List and Investor Connect members who buy or reserve tickets for Spider-Man: No Way Home showings on December 16th. Redeem a code through a special website and you'll get one of 100 designs. Will it be worth millions? My limited-edition Jurassic Park cup I got from a movie theater in the ‘90s suggests not.
The Financial Times reports the country's electrical grid operator KEGOC said it would start rationing electricity for 50 registered miners after their demand reportedly invoked an emergency shutdown mode at three power plants in October. They'll also be the first users disconnected if there are grid failures. The energy ministry estimated electricity demand has jumped by eight percent so far in 2021 versus the more typical one or two percent. There have been blackouts in six regions since October.
There's no word on a corresponding upgrade elsewhere.
Electrek has learned Tesla is shipping the electric crossover in China with an AMD Ryzen processor running the infotainment system instead of the usual Intel CPU. Performance variant owners have noticed the swap so far, but Tesla has historically used the same computing platform for all trim levels of a given model.
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Just in time for Cyber Monday, you can pick up Williams Sonoma's Star Wars-branded Instant Pots at some of the steepest discounts we've seen. The 3-quart BB-8 themed version is matching its all-time low price of $60, a 25 percent discount off the regular $80 price. Other Star Wars-branded models are also on sale alongside regular Instant Pots, still discounted from Black Friday.
Instant Pots are some of the most popular cooking gadgets out there, as they can replace a rice cooker, yogurt maker, slow-cooker and pressure cooker. The latter function lets you cook at an accelerated rate for foods like pulled pork and chicken curry. At the same time, it's fully automated so you just need to add the ingredients, push a few buttons and walk away.
The Star Wars themed models are identical to the classic Instant Pot models, but add fun branding across Star Wars franchises. Suffice to say, they could make great gifts (including for yourself), but it's best to act quick, as Cyber Monday sales expire today.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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If you didn't cross off everything on your gift list on Black Friday, you're still in luck. Cyber Monday has brought a host of tech deals this year, and some of the best deals from a few days ago are still available. You can still find some of the best headphones, streaming devices, SD cards and other gadgets for less today, but we recommend buying what you need fairly quickly to avoid items selling out as well as excessively delayed shipping times. To make things easier, we gathered the best Cyber Monday tech deals here so you don't have to go searching for them.
Sony WH-1000XM4
Our favorite pair of Sony headphones, the WH-1000XM4, are down to $248 right now, which is just about $100 off their regular price. We gave these cans a score of 94 for their powerful ANC, immersive sound quality and multi-device connectivity.
The updated AirPods Pro with the MagSafe case are on sale for $179 at Amazon. These offer the best sound quality and fit of any of Apple's earbuds, and now they have a magnetic wireless charging case that's compatible with MagSafe accessories.
Apple's latest AirPods are down to $150, or $30 off their normal price, thanks to a voucher applied at checkout. We gave them a score of 88 for their more comfortable design, much improved audio quality and longer battery life.
The Apple Watch SE has been knocked down to $220, or about $60 off its normal price. This is the best Watch for wearable newbies as well as those with tight budgets. We gave it a score of 88 for its responsive performance, comfortable design and solid feature set for the price.
The Roomba 694 is $95 off, bringing it down to $179. This model came out earlier this year and works well on both hard and carpeted floors, supports WiFi connectivity for Alexa and Google Assistant commands and can be controlled via the iRobot mobile app.
The Beats Studio Buds have been discounted to $100, but also come with $10 if you use the code BYZPPJADUODB at checkout. These are some of the best Beats buds for most people and we gave them a score of 84 for their balanced sound, hands-free Siri controls and quick pairing with both iOS and Android.
Bose's new QuietComfort 45 headphones remain on sale for $279 right now, or $50 off their normal price. We gave them a score of 86 for their clear, balanced audio, improved ANC and long battery life.
Sony's excellent WF-1000XM4 earbuds are down to $218. We gave them a score of 86 for their great sound quality, powerful ANC and improved battery life.
Elgato's Streamdeck is on sale right now for $100, or $50 off its normal price. If you or someone who know wants to break into the game-streaming world, the Streamdeck is one of those gadgets that can make it much easier to do so. It's a small desktop controller with 15 LCD keys that you can customize to manage programs like OBS, Twitch and others. It makes multitasking while on stream much easier and it'll make your entire setup feel more professional, too.
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 smartphone is on sale for $850 right now, and you can get a free pair of Galaxy Buds 2 when you buy. This was the most impressive Samsung foldable to come out this year and we gave it a score of 82 for its striking, flexible screen, attractive build and water-resistant design.
The new Kindle Paperwhite is still on sale for $105, or $35 off its normal price. The updated model has 17 front lights, a sleeker design, an adjustable warm light, weeks of battery life and Audible support. You can also still get Amazon's standard Kindle for $50, or for $40 when you buy two of them.
The six-quart Instant Pot Duo Plus remains on sale for $60, which is half off its normal price. This model supports pressure cook, warm, sauté, rice cook, sous vide and more modes, and its mid-size capacity makes it good for preparing food for many people.
The Echo Show 8 smart display is on sale for $90. It earned a score of 87 from us for its attractive design, stellar audio quality and improved camera for video calls. Both the first- and second-gen Show 8s have discounted bundles that include a Blink Mini camera for only $5 extra, too.
Both the Galaxy S7 and S7+ tablets have been discounted, down to $499 and $699, respectively. Either would be good options for Android lovers looking for a new tablet — we were impressed by their beautiful build, vibrant 120Hz displays, long battery lives and S Pen support.
Jabra's Elite 85t earbuds are on sale for $150, which is $80 off its normal price. These earbuds impressed us with their strong ANC, comfortable size and wireless charging case.
You can pick up the Fitbit Charge 5 for $130, or $50 less than usual. This is Fitbit's most comprehensive fitness band and it earned a score of 82 from us for its full-color touchscreen, built-in GPS, onboard EDA sensors for stress tracking and multi-day battery life.
The Chromecast with Google TV has dropped to $40, which is $10 cheaper than usual. We gave the device a score of 86 for its 4K HDR streaming capabilities, Dolby Vision and Atmos support plus its much needed and very handy new remote.
The Roku Streambar is down to $80 right now, or $50 off its normal price. It's a compact soundbar that will upgrade any living room relying on an old TV with weak audio. We gave it a score of 86 for its solid audio quality, Dolby Audio support and built-in 4K streaming technology.
NVIDIA's Shield TV has dropped to $129, or $20 cheaper than usual. This is one of the more powerful streaming devices available today thanks to its Tegra X1+ processor, support for Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos, Chromecast 4K and AI-powered 4K upscaling.
The Samsung T7 SSD in 1TB is down to a record low of $110, which is 35 percent off and the best price we've seen. You can also get the 1TB T7 Touch with a built-in fingerprint reader for 21 percent off, or $150. It has reads speeds up to 1,050 MB/s and write speeds up to 1,000 MB/s, plus it has a shock-resistant unibody and support for Dynamic Thermal Guard to control heat levels.
The compact Crucial MX500 internal drive in 1TB is down to $85, which is just a couple of dollars shy of its all-time-low price. We like its sequential read speeds of up to 560 MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 510 MB/s, along with its standard 2.5-inch design and integrated power loss immunity feature.
Vizio's 55-inch H1 OLED TV is $300 off right now, bringing it down to $1,000. This is a solid price for a mid-sized OLED set that supports Dolby Vision HDR, Vizio's IQ Ultra processor, 120Hz gaming with VRR and built-in AirPlay and Chromecast technology.
A three-pack of Philips Hue White and Color smart lights is on sale for $100, or about $30 off its normal price. While not a record low, it's a good sale price on smart bulbs that rarely see deep discounts. These can be controlled via the Philips Hue app and almost any voice assistant including Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri, and they support thousands of colors as well as 50,000 shares of warm and cool white light.
First-time subscribers to Adobe CC can get the All Apps plan for 40 percent off right now, bringing the monthly charge down to $30. If you're a student, it's even cheaper — just $16 per month for first-time customers. These programs are considered standard in most creative fields, so it's worth grabbing this deal if you know you'll be using things like Photoshop or Illustrator in the future.
The meditation app Headspace is down to $5 per month for new and returning customers. That's 60 percent off the normal price, and those who want to pay for a year upfront will get 50 percent off and pay only $35 for the year. Headspace has a bunch of guided meditation sessions along with sleep stories, calming ambient music, guided yoga sessions for stress management and more.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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