Technology – Page 175 – Michmutters

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Qualcomm’s W5 chips could save Wear OS from its newfound Samsung dominance

razer fossil gen 6 4

If you’ve been following the discourse around Wear OS watches for the past year, there’s a good chance you’re sick of hearing about the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. While there have been other high-profile Wear OS releases since the Watch4 series’s debut, like the Fossil Gen 6 and Mobvoi’s TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS, none of them have been very good.

ANDROID POLICE VIDEO OF THE DAY

What’s the problem?

It’s not just that they’re running old software (though it doesn’t help that Samsung’s watches are still the only ones with Wear OS 3 that don’t cost four figures), but they also exhibit the same grating hardware flaws Wear OS has been known for years: mediocre performance and battery life.

Smartwatches are physically small devices; there’s just not a lot of room to put a battery. Unless you disable features like always-on displays and motion detection to wake their screens, even the largest smartwatches available today typically give up the ghost after about a day and a half away from a charger.

The Mobvoi watch mentioned above is a special case. It has a secondary, ultra-low-power display built under its primary screen to show the time when you’re not actively using the watch. With this specialized hardware, it can last up to three days.

For a phone, that kind of battery life is acceptable. But in a device you’re meant to keep strapped to your body at all times, including while you sleep, having to top up using a proprietary charger every day is a lot of friction. Fitness trackers can manage a much longer battery life of up to a week between charges. Still, compared to full-fledged smartwatches, their functionality is typically limited.

Does Qualcomm have a solution?

Qualcomm wants us to believe it’s cooked up the answer to wearable battery anxiety in its upcoming W5 Gen 1 and W5+ Gen 1 chipsets. Qualcomm’s been teasing new silicon for smartwatches and it looks seriously impressive. Compared to its formerly top-of-the-line Wear 4100+ CPU, the W5+ is about 30 percent smaller. This means greater efficiency and more room to stuff a smartwatch chassis with a battery.

Qualcomm also claims that the W5+ is both “50% better” at power management and twice as fast as the 4100+ was. These are claims we have to take with a grain of salt until we can test them ourselves. However, if they’re even remotely accurate, the high-end Wear OS watches of the near future should be in an entirely different league from the ones we’re seeing out of most major players today. And if these new chips are as good as the company says, we could be in for a very competitive smartwatch market in the near future, and that’s exciting.

As much as we love the Watch4 series, we’re always happy to see healthy competition. Our hopes for Google’s upcoming Pixel Watch have been tempered by all-too-believable reports that it’ll run on outdated hardware—Samsung’s Exynos 9110 chipset, which debuted more than four years ago. Samsung’s latest smartwatches run on the newer Exynos W920, and compared to most Wear OS watches from other manufacturers, they’re appreciably more snappy.


What does the future hold?

Despite Samsung’s initial claims of 40-hour battery life, the Galaxy Watch4 turned out to have pretty average longevity for a smartwatch. If Qualcomm’s new chips are as great as it claims, upcoming smartwatch releases from the likes of Fossil and Mobvoi should be competitive on performance and potentially beat Samsung on battery life (though a new leak claims the upcoming Galaxy Watch5 Pro will hit three days).

We could very well be looking at a future where Android users are spoiled for choice when it comes to good smartwatches—from multiple manufacturers. Compared to where we were just two years ago, that’s a hell of an improvement.

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Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless review

Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless review

(Pocket-lint) – It seems that Corsair is getting serious with the K70 Pro Mini – a hot-swappable keyboard packed with specs and features in a tiny form factor.

This is an intriguing offering for a number of reasons, and not just because this is the first time the company has offered this level of customization.

The market is now packed with tons of capable options for both gaming and productivity, however, so just how does Corsair’s latest effort match up?

We’ve been testing it over the last few weeks in order to find out.

Our quick take

The K70 Pro Mini Wireless is a fantastic keyboard if you enjoy the 60 percent form factor.

We love the addition of hot-swappable switches here, and it’s nice to see a big brand rolling out that feature on a gaming keyboard.

There’s a lot to like about this keyboard in terms of the specs under the hood, too, and the general typing and gaming experience is strong.

The price might put some off, and it’s not one for those who plan to swap in five-pin switches, but you can do worse than the K70 Pro Mini Wireless.

Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless review: Compact and customizable

Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless

For

  • Hot-swappable switch design
  • Interesting RGB lighting bar
  • Multiple onboard controls
  • Comfortable typing experience
  • Fast acting for gaming
Against

  • RGB isn’t bright as standard
  • Only accepts three-pin switches

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Serious specs

  • 8,000Hz hyper polling; 4,000Hz key scanning
  • 2.4GHz Slipstream wireless or Bluetooth 4.2 low latency
  • 8MB onboard memory for 50 profiles and 20 layered lighting effects

At a glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking the K70 Pro Mini was just a wireless version of the K65 RGB Mini. There are some similarities here – they both have Cherry MX Switches as standard, and they both pack specs that include an 8,000Hz polling rate and the promise of low latency data transmission.

Think of the K70 Pro Mini Wireless as the K65’s more expensive and fancier brother, though. It might look similar, but there’s actually a lot more on offer here.

Pocket-lintCorsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless review photo 13

Obviously, for a start, it’s wireless, so that means you can abandon the USB-C cable unless you need to charge it (which is around every 30 hours with RGB on or 200 with the lighting off). You also have a choice of low-latency Bluetooth or 2.4GHz wireless, and there’s even a special mode designed specifically for PlayStation 5 as well.

It also promises hyper-fast performance with an 8,000Hz polling rate, 4,000Hz key scanning and Intelligent Frequency Shift to scan and switch to the cleanest wireless channel on the fly. All this adds up to a fast (0.25ms) and accurate signal from the keyboard to your gaming PC. So, that means you won’t be able to blame your hardware for your in-game failings.

As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also an 8MB onboard memory that lets you save up to 50 different profiles to the keyboard (think different settings for different games) and stack as many as 20 different lighting effects on top of each other, as well.

Pocket-lintCorsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless review photo 7

The Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless might be small, but it has multiple extra functions packed into the secondary layer. This means you can do all sorts with a double button press, including checking battery life, recording macros, activating PlayStation mode, switching to Bluetooth and more.

This is great news, as 60 percent keyboards are a bit of a faff to negotiate some standard uses and button presses. Simple things like directional arrows can be buried in other buttons and need a press of FN first in order to access. The placement is good here and logical here, though.

This keyboard also includes some quirky controls, like mouse movements and clicks in the WASD area, which is unusual and intriguing.

So far, so good. The highlight for us, however, as you might have guessed, is the hot-swappable switches.

Pocket-lintCorsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless review photo 3

Hot-swappable to a point

  • Standard switches are Cherry MX RGB Red or Speed ​​Silver
  • Swappable three-pin Cherry MX switches
  • Standard bottom row layout
  • Include keycap and key switch puller

One of the most appealing features of the K70 Pro Mini Wireless is the ability to swap out the switches. As standard, it comes with a choice of two switches:

  • Cherry MX RGB Red – 45g actuation force, 2mm actuation, 4mm travel
  • Cherry MX Speed ​​Silver – 45g actuation force, 1.2mm actuation, 3.4mm travel

These are three-pin switches and you can remove them with the included switch puller and replace them with switches of your choice. This is great if you’re looking to upgrade or replace defective switches in the future, though it is worth noting that it will only accept three-pin switches – not five-pin – which may limit your options.

We were originally going to use lubed Novelkeys Creams to change the feel (and sound) of the keyboard, but couldn’t because they’re five-pin switches. So, that was a sad setback.

This might seem like a small complaint, but the more affordable NZXT Function MiniTKL accepts both three and five-pin switches. It’s still nice to see this option included on a mainstream keyboard, though, as most big gaming brands haven’t made that move yet.

The other benefit of the K70 Pro Mini Wireless design is that it has a standard bottom row layout, so you have the option to try various different custom keycaps to change the look and feel of the keyboard.

Pocket-lintCorsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless review photo 14

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As standard, it has either PBT double shot or Polycarbonate keycaps (depending on your region), and, in our experience, the lighting doesn’t shine through as well with the thick PBT setup. The K65 RGB Mini had a nice bit of RGB bleed thanks to the white backplate, but that’s not here with the K70 Pro Mini Wireless, and that’s a real shame.

We tried a few different keycap sets and Corsair’s colored ones look a bit nicer, but, again, they don’t let through as much light. From the side, though, you can see that this keyboard has a 360-degree RGB LightEdge lighting bar with 28 LEDs to add some accent lighting to it.

Pocket-lintCorsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless review photo 17

We found this didn’t add much glow to our desk, but it’s still a nice bit of extra style to the keyboard.

With the possibility of stacking lighting effects, we’d like to have seen better visuals as standard, especially with the K65 RGB Mini looking nicer out of the box.

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You can, however, achieve some improvement by using something like SteelSeries PrismCaps. Pudding keycaps add a much nicer lighting over and a better aesthetic.

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to recap

This is possibly the most interesting keyboard that Corsair has released – and it packs in all sorts of specs and interesting features into a tiny form factor. Just don’t expect super bright RGB or five-pin switch support.

Writing by Adrian Willings. Editing by Conor Allison.

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Intel Arc desktop cards to gradually launch between August 5th and September 29th

Intel Arc desktop cards to gradually launch between August 5th and September 29th

Please note that this post is tagged as a rumor.

Intel Arc Desktop gets a new launch schedule

Igor Wallossek with new information on the Arc desktop launch timeline.

According to the report, Intel has now modified the launch schedule for Arc desktop cards to take place between August 5th to September 29th. It is said that Intel is no longer planning a large-scale launch, which has been teased by leaked roadmaps by Moore’s Law is Dead. On a contrary, Intel will be rolling out its Arc desktop models gradually in a more silent fashion.

[…] Intel is said to have now internally decided on a narrower time frame. If they’re going to stick to the current timeframe, the range that’s being colocated to me now is between Aug. 05, 2022 and Sept. 29, 2022. This means that there is enough time to launch the three announced larger models one slice at a time. It is interesting that the internal documents no longer report about a large-scale, joint launch event, but it could rather be a kind of “silent” launch, which could be carried out gradually in the retail sector and via only a few media.

—Igor Wallossek, Igor’sLAB

Intel is now expected to ship test samples to a few, select reviewers, possibly in an effort to avoid as much negative feedback as possible. Igor expects that objective reviews will only become available once these cards become available in stores.

In a Q&A session with PCGamer, Intel representatives claimed that Arc graphics cards will only be formally announced once they are ready to ship to customers. The company has no plans to announce availability weeks in advance. It is unclear if current launch timeline refers to global availability or rather select countires.

Just recently, Raja Koduri confirmed that the company is committed to their roadmap and ramping up of Alchemist series is one of the things that will improve this quarter. And indeed, by shipping all cards by September 29th, Intel will fulfill its promise to launch all desktop Arc GPUs in the third quarter.

RUMORED Desktop Intel ARC Alchemist Series Specifications
VideoCardz.com GPU Xe Cores MemorySize memory-bus Status
Arc A770 ACM-G10 Officially presented, Full specs unconfirmed
Arc A750 ACM-G10 Officially presented, Full specs unconfirmed
Arc A580 ACM-G10 Appeared in a driver
Arc A380 ACM-G11 released
Arc A350 ACM-G11 Never confirmed
Arc A310 ACM-G11 Design leaked, Appeared in a driver, OEM datasheet

Source: Igor’sLAB



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5 Great Features You Only Get in Samsung’s Version of Android

5 Great Features You Only Get in Samsung's Version of Android

While the device care utilities will always be running in the background to look out for problems, you can also tap the Optimize Now button to perform a manual optimization—very handy if you think there might be a few issues with your smartphone.

The optimization process includes looking for duplicate or large files on your device that might be taking up room unnecessarily, for example, or hunting down apps that are draining battery power, or closing down apps running in the background unnecessarily.

Customize the Always-On Display

Samsung phones give you more control than most over what’s shown on your lock screen, and how it’s shown, too. From Settings, head to lock screen and Always On Display to configure it—though note that some budget Samsung handsets don’t offer the feature.

You’ll see that you’ve got all sorts of settings to play around with. You can, for instance, choose how long the always-on display stays visible for and pick your preferred clock style from a variety of digital and analog options.

Other available settings let you switch between portrait and landscape orientation and choose how bright the text is on the lock screen. It’s also up to you whether or not the media playback controls are shown via the always-on display.

You can even download entire themes for the always-on display: Tap Themes from Settings, then pick ODA to see what’s on offer. The quality can vary, but you should find at least a few options that suit your tastes.

Put Items in a Secure Folder

If you own a mid-range or flagship Samsung smartphone then you have access to a Secure Folder: a specially protected area of ​​your device where you can store any kind of file you want that no one else has access to.

Accessing the Secure Folder on your Samsung phone requires extra authentication—a fingerprint, a PIN code, or a pattern—and all the data inside it is fully encrypted, which means it’s almost impossible for it to be hacked.

From Settings, choose Biometrics and security and then Secure Folder. Once you’ve set your authentication method and brought up the Secure Folder, you can add new files and apps to it by tapping on the + (plus) button.

You can also add files to the Secure Folder from several other apps on your handset. In the Gallery app, for example, you can select photos and videos and then tap More and Move to Secure Folder.

Samsung DeX lets you use your phone like a desktop PC.

Courtesy of Samsung

Run Samsung DeX

Samsung DeX is a way of operating your smartphone with a keyboard, mouse, and computer monitor. If you’ve got a lot of image editing or word processing to do on your phone, for example, then it can be useful.

What you’re essentially doing is turning Android and OneUI into a desktop operating system, with all the benefits that brings—floating windows, more intuitive control of your apps, keyboard shortcuts, and so on.

You need some specific hardware: This only works with a Galaxy S series phone, and you need a specific DeX cable from Samsung to connect it to your monitor and your peripherals. You can also plug it into a laptop or desktop computer and use the peripherals attached to that instead.

Samsung has a full guide to DeX that you can consult, but it’s not difficult to get up and running and should seriously increase your mobile productivity—both in what you can do on your phone and how quickly you can get it done.

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Hell Let Loose Review – Capsule Computers

Hell Let Loose Review – Capsule Computers

developer: Black Matter
publisher:Team17
platforms: Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, PC (Reviewed)
release date: 27 July 2021
Price: $39.99 USD – Available Here

Overview

What is one thing that draws you to multiplayer games? Graphics, attention to detail, gore, atmosphere? I suppose if either of those listed is done well, that’s enough to pull you in on your own. But for me, the feeling of greatness is another selling point. Knowing that you’re a nobody, one of the hundreds or thousands in a large-scale multiplayer skirmish. Knowing that your life might end instantly with one well-placed sniper bullet shot from miles away. Or one well-aimed mortar shell could take you and 5-6 people around you. The stakes are so but so is the reward. If anything I wrote so far resonates with you, then you might also see why Hell Let Loose might be your cup of tea.

Story

Story? Whatstory? This is a multiplayer-driven game after all so any kind of story depends on your imagination and level of immersion. You can pretend to be one of those unfortunate soldiers in the opening minutes of Saving Private Ryan or as a sniper from Behind Enemy Lines. There is a significant selection of roles that you can take including an officer, medic, machinegunner, commander, crewman, and sniper. In the end, your level of immersion and self-made storytelling is only limited by your imagination. In other words, a perfect game for Second World War LARPing.

gameplay

What separates Hell Let Loose from the rest? Complete mayhem, large-scale battles, and a complete lack of visual gimmick that you see in every shooter nowadays. As of right now, the game offers two modes: offensive and warfare. Nine maps in epic 50 vs 50 multiplayer battles and a decent selection of vehicles as a bonus. This is a barebone shooting sim in the best way imaginable. No hit markers or any sort of visual help telling you that you hit your target but there is far more focus on recoil and different weaponry. Every weapon and playing class is a story for itself. Now……why this game might not be everyone’s cup of tea?

Insanely high learning curve. In the first few battles, you’ll have no idea where you are, or where you should even go. There’s very little handholding in terms of objectives and map guidance. The best strategy in the first few hours is just to stick to someone more experienced, follow them, and try to stay alive as long as possible. With all that said, this is a game that really benefits from voice communication. Every single server I joined had a couple of people on my team coordinating attacks and planning defenses through voice chat. The battles are somewhat long, from 45 minutes to an hour on average, so this isn’t a game where you can just rush in, stack up a few killstreaks and watch that level-up bar greatly fills up after every match. This is a game that rewards communication, coordination, and patience.

visuals

This is a tricky bit. The visuals in Hell Let Loose isn’t something that I could broadly define since, strangely enough, they depend on whatever map I’m currently in. It’s interesting, really. Feels like every map was done by a different dev team. Some have a crazy attention to detail and intricate level designs while in others I managed to stumble upon some rather grainy textures and copy-paste structures. I would like to single out the Omaha Beach map as one of my favorites. Everything from level design to atmosphere is top-notch, especially if you manage to get into a 100 players server. The feeling of being an expendable nobody while mortar shells are falling all around you and with plans flying over is something that you have to experience for yourself.

Audio

There is good attention to detail when it comes to weapons, level atmosphere, and vehicle sounds. Strangely, this is one of the few games where I’m perfectly fine with the absence of climactic music (and music in general) since it only adds to the realism. Every weapon is a story for itself not only when it comes to handling but also regarding sound design. After a while, you’ll get so familiar with some that you’ll eventually be able to recognize MG42 from afar.

Overall

There is only one thing you should know before starting Hell Let Loose. Know what you’re getting into. This isn’t a game for instant gratification or one that rewards going full Rambo. Another one would be – unity in numbers. You won’t get far alone. You’re a nobody just like everyone else and not some future hero. This is a game that requires a great deal of patience from you and knowing how to take a loss. In Hell Let Loose you play to learn and only later you get to play to win.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

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How Do You Feel About Wave 2 Of The Mario Kart 8 Booster Course Pack?

How Do You Feel About Wave 2 Of The Mario Kart 8 Booster Course Pack?

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The second wave of the new Booster Course tracks for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will be here next week, and we’re feeling hyped to try out some new races (and a little disappointed that some of them look more like Mario Kart Tour tracks than Mario Kart 8 tracks).

In the spirit of hype, we’re trying to gauge how people are feeling about this new wave, and the DLC in general. Is it everything you’d hoped for? A cool bonus to the Nintendo Switch Online subscription? A bit disappointing? Or are you just totally bummed that Nintendo is pumping time and money into an old Mario Kart game instead of something else — like a new Mario Kart game?

Use these polls to tell us how you really feel!

That’s all the questions we could think of… but tell us your overall thoughts on this latest wave of new tracks in the comments below!

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My Nintendo North America Adds Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Wallpapers & Printable Box Art Cover Rewards

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My Nintendo North America has added new Xenoblade Chronicles 3-themed rewards, comprising three new wallpapers costing 50 Platinum Points each and a set of three printable box art covers for 30 Platinum Points. However, the redeemability period for these items concludes on February 1, 2023.

It is also worth noting that the wallpapers arrive in desktop and mobile formats, with the five available resolutions:

Scenery:

Portrait:

  • 1080×1920
  • 1200×1920
  • 1242×2688
  • 1536×2048

Each product’s store page is listed below.

Preview images of these rewards are viewable via our gallery below:

We’ll keep updating you all on any vital Xenoblade Chronicles 3 news.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 tells the story of protagonists Noah and Mio contending with a conflict between the nations of Keves and Agnus. 6 characters will be the crux of the experience, and the broad concept of “life” will be the title’s central theme.

The narrative for the game will tie in elements and plotlines from the future of the prior two mainline games, Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Flutes seem to play an integral role in this title’s premise.

The summoning of this powerful new form depends on a new Interlink system. If specific conditions are met, characters can combine into this mech, and choosing well when to transform should be key to the more difficult battles. Another system revealed is a class change option, allowing players to customize their parties’ builds further than in previous games.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is now available for Nintendo Switch.

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Prime Gaming August offerings include StarCraft: Remastered, Recompile, ScourgeBringer, more

Prime Gaming August offerings include StarCraft: Remastered, Recompile, ScourgeBringer, more

Amazon is handing out six free tites this month through Prime Gaming.

You can claim all six titles starting August 1.


The free games for August are StarCraft: Remastered, Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders, Beasts of Maravilla Island, Recompile, ScourgeBringer, and Family Mysteries: Poisonous Promises.

This month, Prime members can also claim new in-game content for Pokemon Go, Fall Guys, Roblox, League of Legends, Two Point Hospital, and more.

Over the past two years, the number of Amazon Prime members using Prime Gaming worldwide has grown by more than 120%, and last year more than 80 million free games were claimed. Free games and in-game content offers claimed worldwide by members increased by more than 330% over the past three years.

Last year, Prime Gaming had more than 420 million offers claimed by Prime members, which consisted of over 100 free games and over 675 in-game content offers worth thousands of dollars in MSRP value.

In 2022, Amazon has already offered more than 75 games including Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Need for Speed ​​Heat, Dead Space 2, Madden 22, Stellaris, Total War: Warhammer, World War Z: Aftermath and others .

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The Samsung QN90B Is the Best TV for Bright Rooms

Samsung QN90B Review: The Best TV for Bright Rooms

In TV land, excellent black levels have been the name of the game for nearly a decade. By providing better contrast via new backlighting technologies like organic LEDs (OLEDs) or mini LEDs, companies have slowly given us a more realistic (and less gray) view of our favorite images.

For years now, high-end TVs like the new Samsung QN90B have had nearly perfect delineation between light and dark. However, many models lacked the powerful brightness you might need to overcome a sunny California afternoon in a modern glass living room.

That’s why if I were shopping for a new high-end screen, I’d be sure to consider this model specifically. The thin, pedestal-mounted TV has excellent, mini LED–driven contrast, but at brightness levels that might downright hurt your eyes in a dark room. For watching inside during summer, there is probably no better viewing experience.

All Class

Photography: Samsung

The QN90B is thin but not too thin to easily grip by two people when assembling and mounting it. That’s why I’m ashamed to admit that I bonked the corner of my first review unit on my coffee table when mounting it to the included pedestal, thus ruining it. (Ed. note: It had to happen sometime, Parker!) A few weeks, a new unit, and a slightly bruised ego later, and I repeated the process without incident.

Get it set up, and you’ll be impressed by the QN90B’s looks. The pedestal mount really makes it look like the TV is floating behind my soundbar, with the screen just high enough to peek over the top. It’s a design that’s surprisingly rare in modern screens, many of which end up getting slightly blocked at the bottom.

Because I use a Samsung phone, setup was nearly instantaneous. I just signed in to my Samsung account on my phone, told the TV what apps I wanted to download, and was off to the races. You still have to sign in to individual apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and more, but all the apps you’ll need are likely to be here. It even has Paramount+ and Plex apps.

One criticism of Samsung’s Tizen smart TV interface is that it can be a bit difficult to navigate for newbies. You get used to the weird assortment of menus below the single app bar that you’ll actually want to use, but it’s easy to get lost among Samsung’s free content. Heck, to this day I can’t figure out how to add the aforementioned Paramount+ and Plex apps to the home screen. I’m sure there’s a way, but I’ve yet to be motivated enough to find it.

I’d encourage Samsung UI designers to take a deeper look at what people actually use these interfaces to do. I don’t really need endless lists of suggested items to watch below the actual apps. One thing I absolutely won’t complain about? The remote, which is rechargeable via a solar cell on the back. I never have to hunt for pesky AAA batteries again. Eureka!

looking good

Photography: Samsung

Once you’ve found something to watch, you’re sure to be impressed with how it looks on the QN90B. The TV features quantum dot technology for bright colors in high dynamic range. The matrix of mini LEDs behind the screen keeps even fast-moving objects like soccer balls from having weird shading.

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Amazon’s stunner of a smart thermostat is on sale for its best price to date

Amazon's stunner of a smart thermostat is on sale for its best price to date

Amazon Prime Day is back, baby! OK, maybe not technically speaking, but so many Amazon devices are currently discounted at Best Buy and other retailers that it’s giving us a better sense of deja vu. Right now, for example, you can buy Amazon’s excellent Smart Thermostat at Best Buy and Target for just $41.99 ($18 off) — a record low set during Prime Day.

The budget-friendly thermostat will mesh with most decor, and can even learn and adapt to your habits like more expensive options. Be aware, however, that you can’t integrate the device with voice assistants beyond Alexa, and there are no native temperature sensors. Still, if those caveats don’t bother you, Amazon’s Smart Thermostat is a great option to consider, one that could potentially help you save money on energy bills. Read our review.

Amazon Smart Thermostat

Developed in partnership with Resideo, the Amazon Smart Thermostat allows you to control the temperature of your home through Alexa voice controls and remotely via an app.

Some of Amazon’s smart displays and speakers are also back on sale today, despite the recency of Prime Day. If you’re looking for a smaller smart speaker, you can currently buy the spherical, fourth-gen Echo Dot for $19.99 instead of $49.99 at Best Buy and Target. The latest model may have launched in 2020, but it still sounds great for its size and allows you to set alarms, control various smart home devices, and carry out a host of tasks with just your voice. Read our fourth-gen Echo Dot review.

Amazon Echo Dot (fourth-gen)

The 2020 Echo Dot features a more spherical design than an actual dot but can still do all the things Alexa does with other Echo models.

If you prefer a smart display you can watch movies on and use to look up recipes, Best Buy is also selling the second-gen Echo Show 5 for $34.99 instead of $84.99, as is Target. The small, 5.5-inch display makes for a great bedside alarm clock, namely because you can use it to quickly check the weather and snooze it with just a tap.

If you prefer something larger, however, you can also buy the 8-inch Echo Show 8 from 2019 at Best Buy for $54.99 ($55 off). The older display still sounds better than the second-gen Echo Show 5, and comes with a built-in shutter to block the camera. Sure, the 2019 model still comes outfitted with a measly 1MP camera and a slower processor than the latest Echo Show 8, but it’s still a capable Alexa-powered smart display that’s well-suited for the kitchen or living room. Read our second-gen Echo Show 5 and first-gen Echo Show 8 reviews.

Amazon Echo Show 5 (second-gen)

Amazon’s Echo Show 5 is an ideal smart display for a nightstand. You can set alarms with Alexa using your voice, play music, control smart displays, get a weather report, and more. When the alarm goes off, you merely need to tap the top of the Echo Show 5 to snooze it.

Amazon Echo Show 8 (first-gen)

The last-gen Echo Show 8 is Amazon’s mid-size smart display. It features a sharp, 8-inch screen and most of the features found on the second-gen model, though, it lacks the latter’s 13MP camera and speedy performance.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro features a beautiful Mini LED display and an excellent port selection.
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Somehow, we’re already approaching the start of a new school year. And if you’re a college-bound student in need of a powerful Apple laptop that’s ideal for content creation, the 14-inch MacBook Pro is available to My Best Buy members today for its lowest price to date.

Regularly $1,999, you can buy the MacBook Pro in space gray with 16GB of RAM, an eight-core M1 Pro processor, and 512GB of storage for $1,699. The 14-inch machine offers an impressive selection of ports and grade-A performance, battery life that outperforms most other laptops we’ve seen, and a beautiful Mini LED display — something even the new M2 MacBook Air doesn’t have. Just keep in mind that My Best Buy is the retailer’s free rewards program, one that is distinct from Best Buy’s premium TotalTech service. Read our review.

A few more deals to kickstart your weekend

  • If you’re on the market for a portable speaker with great sound, you can currently buy the Sonos Roam in refurbished condition from Sonos for $139 instead of $179, the price the speaker typically sells for new. The rugged Bluetooth speaker offers a number of great features, including an IP67 dust and water resistance rating, support for both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and compatibility with Apple’s AirPlay 2. Read our review.
  • As a part of its new outlet sale, Nomad is taking up to 85 percent off a number of wearable and Apple-centric accessories. The ongoing promotion includes discounts on leather Apple Watch straps, iPhone and AirPods cases, and much more.
  • If you’re someone who’s prone to seasonal allergies or wildfire smoke, Coway’s Airmega 200M is on sale at Walmart right now for $129.99 ($100 off), which is easily the best price we’ve seen on the handy, HEPA air purifier.
  • The latest Apple TV 4K is once again discounted in the 32GB configuration to $129.99 at Best Buy and Amazon (with delayed shipping). The future-proof streaming box supports 4K HDR content, along with more modern specs, like HDMI 2.1 and Wi-Fi 6. Read our review.
  • Want to get out of the house this weekend but remain hesitant given how expensive it is these days to buy gas? Segway’s Ninebot Max G30LP electric scooter is on sale at Best Buy right now for $749.99, down from its usual price of $899.99. This is a great commuter scooter with a removable seat, good range, and a top speed of 18.6 miles per hour.