Category: Technology

Twitter’s rash of impersonators is attracting scrutiny from politicians. Senator Ed Markey has sent a letter to company chief Elon Musk demanding answers regarding imposters on the platform. Markey wants to know how Twitter not only let a reporter for The Washington Postcreate a verified account impersonating the senator (now trivial with an $8 Blue subscription), but told users in a pop-up that the verification was due to a role in government. This was despite an existing checkmark for the real account, Markey said.

Markey also wants Twitter to detail its verification process, including a comparison with the previous method. He asked Musk if Twitter will reinstitute merit-based verifications and, if so, how it will prevent fake accounts from receiving blue ticks. The senator gave Musk until November 25th to respond. 

The political leader was direct in his criticism. He accused Musk of instituting a “haphazard” series of changes at Twitter that included dismantling protections against disinformation. The service is quickly becoming the “Wild West of social media” and has a duty to prevent deception and manipulation from taking root, Markey added.

Musk hasn’t commented on the letter, and Twitter has effectively shut down its communications team. The entrepreneur previously argued that paying for verification democratizes the feature, and in a recent tweet claimed Twitter was backing citizen journalism despite opposition from the “media elite.”

There’s no certainty the letter will translate to government action, particularly when the recent midterm elections could shift the congressional balance of power in January. Twitter’s decision to temporarily halt Blue subscriptions in response to impersonations, not to mention the company’s off-again-on-again “official” checkmarks, may also address some of Markey’s concerns. However, it’s safe to say the letter adds to the tumult surrounding the new pay-to-verify system.

 

Authorities in Canada have arrested an alleged member of the LockBit ransomware gang, according to the Department of Justice. Mikhail Vasiliev, a dual Russian-Canadian citizen, is awaiting extradition to the US, where he is charged with conspiracy to intentionally damage protected computers and to transmit ransom demands. Vasiliev faces a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to $250,000 if he is convicted.

According to the complaint, the LockBit ransomware first emerged around January 2020, and the FBI has been investigating those behind it since March of that year. The DOJ claims LockBit is “one of the most active and destructive ransomware variants in the world,” having claimed at least 1,000 victims, including a Holiday Inn hotel in Turkey. The agency added that members of the LockBit gang have demanded at least $100 million in total ransom payments. The gang has claimed tens of millions of dollars from victims, according to the DOJ.

“This arrest is the result of over two-and-a-half years of investigation into the LockBit ransomware group, which has harmed victims in the United States and around the world,” deputy attorney general Lisa O. Monaco said in a statement. “Let this be yet another warning to ransomware actors: working with partners around the world, the Department of Justice will continue to disrupt cyber threats and hold perpetrators to account. With our partners, we will use every available tool to disrupt, deter and punish cyber criminals.”

 

You might think retailers would be holding their collective breath before the sales frenzy of Black Friday kicks in, but we found some pretty impressive deals on late-model tech this week. Apple’s AirPods Pro dropped to a new low, while the Apple Watch SE with cellular cut $40 off the sticker price. Gamers looking for an entry point into the latest gear can get the base model Razer Blade 15 for a great discount, and there’s a Friday-only deal on an Xbox Series X. We also found discounts on fitness trackers from Fitbit and Garmin smartwatches. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd gen)

As Apple’s newest flagship buds, we were surprised to see a discount on the second-gen AirPod Pros this week. They’re down to $234, which is the lowest we’ve seen them to date. We gave them a score of 88 in our review back in September, impressed by the full, immersive sound and what our reviewer called the “best transparency mode you’ll find on earbuds.” Our tests gave a bit over six hours using a mix of active noise cancellation (ANC), transparency mode and calls. The AirPods Pro are among the best buds out there, and it’s great to see them finally offering a discount.  

Buy AirPods Pro (2nd gen) at Amazon – $234

Apple Watch SE (2022)

When we reviewed the latest release of the Apple Watch SE, we said Apple’s most affordable smartwatch was “the best smartwatch for the money.” Right now Amazon is offering $39 off the list price for the cellular-enabled model. That brings it down to $289 and matches the lowest price we’ve seen so far. 

We thought the newest Apple Watch SE deftly combined affordability with a comprehensive suite of features. We liked the easy-to-read screen, even in bright daylight and the comfortable, lightweight design. Since it uses the same S8 SiP advanced dual-core processor as the Apple Watch 8 and Ultra, its quick and snappy in its responsiveness. While it doesn’t have the new temperature sensor that was added to the Series 8, it still does a great job of tracking your hear rate and other activities. We were also impressed with the way it looks pretty indistinguishable from the Series 8.  

The cellular model adds even more connectivity, adding the ability to take on calling and texting duties even when you leave your iPhone at home. 

Buy Apple Watch SE (cellular) at Amazon – $289

Razer Blade 15

Razer’s Blade 15 made the cut as our favorite premium option in our gaming laptop guide and right now the base model Blade 15 is $250 off the list price, bringing it down to $1,550. The premium configuration got a review score of 86 and while that model is geared towards the gaming elite (and hasn’t budged from it’s lofty $3,700 price), this base model offers the quality build Razer Blade laptops are known for. This one’s got plenty of features more casual gamers will appreciate, like dual graphics cards, a 15.6-inch full HD with a 144Hz refresh rate and 16GB of dual-channel RAM and 512GB of SSD storage.  

Buy Razer Blade 15 at Razer – $1,550

Apple iPad Pro (11-inch, 2022)

It’s been out less than a month and already the 11-inch iPad Pro has received its first discount. Both Amazon and B&H have knocked $50 off the list price of the 128GB model. That makes it $749, which still isn’t cheap, but if you want to see for yourself the responsiveness of the new M2 chip and the improved battery life, may as well do so while keeping $50 in your pocket. There’s also the addition of the app-organizing Stage Manager, which helps you take full advantage of what the iPad Pro can handle. This discount only applies to the Space Gray colorway, but if you’re planning on using a case, color’s not an issue. 

Buy iPad Pro (11-inch) at Amazon – $749Buy iPad Pro (11-inch) at B&H Photo – $749

GoPro Hero 11 Black

The GoPro Hero 11 is usually a steep $500, but this week, GoPro is offering their newest action camera for $350 when you sign up for a one-year GoPro subscription. The subscription gets you things like auto uploads and unlimited backups on the cloud, plus discounts on products at the GoPro website and camera replacement. We found a lot to love about the Hero11 in our review, including admiration for the new taller sensor. It not only allows for a better horizon lock, but lets you record in “full frame,” a mode that captures all possible action then allows you to crop it for different venues after the fact. For example, cropping to 16:9 for YouTube and 9:16 for TikTok. If you’re subscription-averse, Amazon has the camera for $50 off the list price. 

Buy GoPro Hero11 at GoPro – $349

Chromecast with Google TV

If you don’t already own a smart TV, the Chromecast 4K with Google TV is one of the most affordable ways to turn virtually anything with an HDMI port into a powerful streaming device. Right now, Amazon has the dongle-and-remote combo on sale for just $40, which matches its all-time low price. We gave it a score of 86 when it debuted, particularly impressed by the intuitive remote and the Google Assistant integration, meaning it basically turns your TV into a smart home hub, with control over Assistant-enabled smart home devices.  

We also liked the HD version of Chromecast with Google TV when we tried it out. If you’ve got an HD 1080p TV or monitor, the 4K version is probably overkill. You can pick up the HD version for $10 off list price, making it just $18 — possibly the lowest price you’ll find on anything “smart.”

Buy Chromecast with Google TV (4K) at Amazon – $40

Fitbit Charge 5

There’s a good chance “more exercise” is on your 2023 to-do list, which makes this deal on a Fitbit Charge 5 a right on time. The discount brings the price down to just $100 from its usual price of $150. That’s not the lowest we’ve ever seen, but its still a great price. The Charge 5 is our current favorite fitness tracker thanks to its reliable delivery of sleep and activity stats. It’s got GPS to record your runs and hikes, and Fitbit play for in-store payments so you can leave your wallet at home when you run. And since it’s not a smartwatch, the battery lasted over five full days in our review, in which we awarded the wearable a score of 82.  

Buy Fitbit Charge 5 at Amazon – $100

Garmin Fenix 7 

Garmin’s fenix 7 Series smartwatches have long battery lives, a slew of sensors and comprehensive GPS tracking capabilities — but they aren’t cheap. MSRPs range between $700 for the smaller fenix 7S and $900 for the largest and solar-powered fenix 7X Solar. The current sale at Wellbots takes $100 off every model. And if you enter the code ENGWATCH15 at checkout, you’ll get an additional $15 off. The battery on the fenix 7S can last up to 11 days in smartwatch mode, while the fenix 7X Solar can get a full month with regular exposure to the sun. 

Garmin also makes a slightly more affordable GPS smartwatch in the Instinct 2 and Instinct 2 Solar Edition. Those are currently $50 off as well, bringing the price down to $300 and $400, respectively. Use the same code and you’ll score $15 extra off of those models too. 

Buy Garmin fenix 7 at Wellbots – $100 off Buy Garmin Instinct 2 Solar at Wellbots – $50 off

Apple Studio Display  

If you have newer versions of a Mac Studio, Mac Pro, Mac Mini or even a MacBook, you might want to keep the display in the family and go with the Apple Studio Display. Only trouble is, Apple’s latest screen costs $2,000 for the model with height and tilt adjustments, and $1,600 for tilt adjustment only. To lessen the blow, B&H has the tilt-only model for $100 off and the height-and-tilt-adjustable model for $200 off, bringing them down to a . In our review of the Studio Display, we thought the speakers were impressive and the image quality of the 5K panel really popped.  

Buy Apple Studio Display at B&H Photo – $1,799

SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable SSD

We thought the deal on SanDisk’s 1TB Extreme Portable SSD was great when it was $109. Now that Amazon has it for $99, it’s the lowest we’ve ever seen and 66 percent off its $250 list price. This is a good opportunity to up the time to up your storage capacity with a solid state drive (SSD) you can take anywhere. The tough exterior can handle falls from over six feet and shrugs off a heavy rainfall (or splash from your spilled soda). Once you plug it into your computer or phone using the included USB-C cable, you’ll get data transfer speeds of 1GB per second. It comes with optional 256‐bit AES password protection and a built-in carabiner cut out to strap it to your pack. 

For those who need more storage, the 2TB size is on sale for $150 at Amazon and Walmart has the 4TB size for $380.  

Buy SanDisk 1TB SSD at Amazon – $99Buy SanDisk 2TB SSD at Amazon – $150Buy SanDisk 4TB SSD at Walmart – $380

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i

We named the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i the best overall pick in our guide to the best Chromebooks. Right now Amazon is taking 30 percent off the prices for both the 128GB model and the 256 model, bringing them down to $300 and $330, respectively. When we tested out he Flex 5i, our reviewer Nathan Ingraham said it was the best Chromebook option for most people thanks to its bright 1080p touchscreen, 11th generation Intel Core i3 processor and 8GB of RAM. It’s got an eight-hour battery life and the screen folds open to create either a tent or all the way back to create a tablet experience. 

Buy Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i at Amazon – $300

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3

Right now Amazon has the Wonderboom 3 portable speaker from Ultimate Ears for up to 20 percent off, depending on the colorway, with a light gray hue seeing the biggest deal. That’s the lowest this small-but-mighty speaker has gone yet and a great buy if you want something tough you can take outdoors. 

The speaker is compact, clocking in just shy of 15 ounces, but it delivers full, 360-degree sound. If you do take it outside, outdoor mode will boost the treble and bass so you can hear it farther afield. A strong IP67 rating means it can handle submersion in water for up to 30 minutes and shrugs off most of the dirt and dust you’ll find in the wild. It made our list of recommended audio gifts and is a good deal even at its usual $99 price tag. Keep in mind, the Amazon listing includes the Wonderboom 2 speaker on the same page and the discount only applies to the newer Wonderboom 3, with savings of up to $20. 

Buy Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 at Amazon – $81

Apple M2 MacBook Air 

We called Apple’s newest MacBook Air a “near-perfect Mac” when it came out in July, and right now it’s $150 off at both Amazon and B&H. That matches the lowest price we’ve seen so far. This is the base model of the ultraportable, with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD memory. And it only applies to the space gray and silver colorways at Amazon. If you want a little bit more storage, Amazon is also knocking $150 off of the 8GB RAM/512GB SSD configuration in all four colorways. 

We gave the M2 MacBook Air a score of 96 earlier this year, giving enthusiastic props for the gorgeous, razor-thin design, the bright, 13.6-inch Liquid Retina screen, and a battery that lasted 16 hours and 30 minutes in our tests. One of our few caveats, other than the lack of Pro Motion, was the price. Now that you can pocket $150, it’s a little easier to take. 

If you were thinking about going pro, Amazon is taking $150 off the base model 13-inch MacBook Pro and $300 off the 2021 16-inch M1 MacBook Pro. 

Buy MacBook Air (2022) at Amazon – $1049Buy MacBook Air (2022) at B&H Photo – $1049

Google Nest Learning Thermostat

Google’s Nest Learning Thermostat is one of the better smart thermostats you can buy, and right now Wellbots has a discount code that knocks $70 off the price. When you enter THERMOENG at checkout, it brings the price down to $179, which isn’t the lowest it’s ever been, but beats many of the discounts we’ve seen recently. As a smart device, the Nest Learning Thermostat links up to your phone via the app, allowing you to control the thermostat from anywhere. In time, the Nest gradually learns your temperature preferences, allowing it to then automate your home’s heading and cooling schedule with minimal input on your end. There are eco settings indicated by a green leaf, that let you know when you’re optimizing your energy usage. It can even detect when no one’s home and set the temps accordingly, so you’re not overly heating or cooling an empty house. 

If $179 still feels a bit steep, Google also makes a lower-end model called the Nest Thermostat. The lack of “learning” in the product name tells you the main difference between the two devices. The base model doesn’t learn your preferences, but it retails for just $130. 

Buy Nest Learning Thermostat at Wellbots – $179

Ring Video Doorbell (2020)

Keeping an eye on your package deliveries just got easier with 40 percent off the Ring Video Doorbell. The discount brings the Ring down to $60, which is lower than we saw on Prime Day in July when the price dropped by just 25 percent. This is the most recent model of the standard video doorbell from Ring, released in 2020. It sends 1080p video to your connected device, and offers the ability to both speak to and hear whoever’s at your door with its built in mic and speaker. You can set it up to send pings to you whenever motion is detected if you so desire and it runs on either a rechargeable battery or your existing doorbell wiring. 

Right now Amazon is also pairing up the Ring in a bundle with an Echo Show 5, so you can keep tabs on your front door with the smart display. Together they’re $70, which means you save $40 on the video doorbell and pay just $10 more for the display. 

Buy Ring Video Doorbell at Amazon – $60

Apple MagSafe battery pack

No one loves a dead phone, and Apple’s MagSafe battery makes sure that never happens. At less than a year old, the brand’s only battery pack is usually $100, and we don’t see it getting a ton of discounts. This is the best deal we’ve seen so far at just $71 or 28 percent off. Small enough to carry in a pack or purse, the diminutive block snaps onto the back of your iPhone for on-the-move refills, and you can use your phone as it charges. While your mileage may vary, published specs say you’ll get a 70 percent fill for smaller phones like the iPhone 12 or 13 mini, and 40 percent on bigger models like the iPhone 14 Pro Max. If you need to charge both the battery pack and your iPhone at the same time, you can, provided you use a 20W or higher power adapter. While we don’t know whether the price will drop further for Black Friday, this deal beats all of last year’s discounts.  

Buy Apple MagSafe Battery at Amazon – $71

Apple HomePod mini

Right now, and today only, Target is offering Apple’s HomePod mini for just $80. That’s a 20 percent discount and the lowest price we’ve tracked so far, which probably explains the limited-time, Friday-only deal. The smart speaker is geared towards a home that’s already steeped in the Apple ecosystem, and if you like the way Siri handles your commands, this is a good time to bring home Apple’s only home hub. It’ll take voice commands from up to six different people in your home, seamlessly works with other Apple devices and works as an intercom when there’s more than one. 

When we reviewed the tiny smart speaker upon its debut in 2020, we liked the dead-simple setup and the responsive way Siri controls the music. That said, we did note that the sound quality was much better when there were two speakers paired up. Now that you can score a 20 percent discount, getting two might just be an option.

Buy Apple HomePod mini at Target – $80

Xbox Series S Console

As a reward for those of you who read to the bottom of lists, here’s Adorama’s one-day-only sale on the Xbox Series S console. The $50 discount brings the $300 console down to just $250, which is at least $25 less than we’ve tracked so far. In our review, senior editor and video game expert Jessica Conditt called it a next-gen starter pack, praising the cute aesthetics and incredibly smooth gameplay. 

The big differences between the Series X and the Series S is storage capacity and 4K gameplay. The Series X offers a solid 1TB of SSD space and 4K gaming. The Series S tops out at 512GB of storage and has a native resolution of 1440p. Also note that the Series S is digital only, as in you can’t insert any physical game discs. That said, the Xbox Series X goes for over $500, granted you can find it. For those who want the smooth and fast play of a the latest generation Xbox, this might be the lowest price you see. 

Buy Xbox Series S Console at Adorama – $250

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.

 

Elon Musk’s plan to democratize Twitter verification lasted less than two days. Twitter has temporarily pulled new signups for Twitter Blue after the platform was overrun by verified trolls. The company told staffers subscriptions were on hold to “help address impersonation issues,” according to Platformer’s Zoe Schiffer. It turns out paid verification was as much of a mess as nearly everyone predicted.

At first, it seemed as if Twitter had a plan to address the impersonation issue. Just ahead of the rollout of the new Twitter Blue, It introduced a separate “official” badge that would be appended to “government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers and some public figures.” But Musk quickly changed his mind, and killed the idea just a few hours after it was announced. Paid verification launched Wednesday, without the label.

Unsurprisingly, it started to go wrong almost immediately. A fake Nintendo account posted an image of Mario flipping everyone off. A fake Tony Blair retweeted a fake George Bush. A verified Pope John Paul tweeted conspiracy theories at a verified Martin Luther account, which was replying to a verified Pope Francis impersonator. An account masquerading as Twitter’s official @verified tweeted crypto scams. An imposter LeBron said he was requesting a trade.

Twitter responded by halting Blue subscriptions for new accounts, but the move had little effect on the deluge of verified trolling. Fake accounts sprung up to interact with other impersonators.

One of the most viral examples was a verified Eli Lilly account that tweeted “insulin is free now,” which forced the real ELi Lilly to apologize for the “misleading” tweet because its insulin is, in fact, not free. Another fake Eli Lilly then apologized for the actual Eli Lilly’s apology. An account that appeared to belong to a Twitter ad sales rep desperately tweeted at Musk to remove the fake Eli Lilly accounts. Both of the fake Eli Lilly accounts were suspended, but the tweets still sent the pharma company’s stock into a nosedive.

Musk responded that parody accounts needed to be clearly labeled. “Tricking people is not okay,” he tweeted. Some made half-hearted attempts to comply. A fake Tesla account going by @Teslareal scrawled “parody” onto the header image in its profile, but continued to troll Musk (the account is now suspended).

Meanwhile, a number of extremists and conspiracy theorists also purchased verification, including — ironically — Jason Kessler, whose 2017 Twitter verification prompted a nearly four-year “pause” of verification. Media Matters reported that many of these newly verified right-wing accounts were already using them to amplify misinformation. A verified account impersonator Arizona candidate for governor Kari Lake tweeted that she had won her race even though it had not yet been called, according to The Washington Post.

By Friday morning Twitter Blue subscriptions were no longer available in Twitter’s app or website. And it’s unclear when it could re-launch. And, two days after Musk said the blue check would be “the great leveler,” Twitter confirmed it would bring back the gray “official” label after all in order to “combat impersonation.”

But despite the constant policy reversals and the flood of impersonators, Musk was still upbeat. “Some epically funny tweets,” he said. “Hit all-time high of active users today.” he added. 

 

When it comes to charging your EV in the US, Canada and Mexico, the only two connector types available aren’t cross-compatible. Tesla has its J1772 connector, which in the company’s defense was developed when Tesla was still the only EV game in town. Everybody else uses the current North American standard, the Combined Charging System (CCS). Tesla apparently hopes to upend that dynamic, announcing Friday that it is “opening our EV connector design to the world.”  

Tesla is releasing its specs and production designs for the J1772 connector, which it is rebranding as the North American Charging Standard (NACS), in hopes that charging networks like Electrify America and Chargepoint will incorporate the company’s hardware in their stations. The NACS contains “no moving parts, is half the size, and twice as powerful,” as the alternative, Tesla argues. 

The company presses that these networks should adopt its technology because, “NACS vehicles outnumber CCS two-to-one, and Tesla’s Supercharging network has 60 percent more NACS posts than all the CCS-equipped networks combined.” I mean, sure, but that’s kind of ignoring that those numbers are a direct result of the multi-year lead that Tesla held over its competition in coming to market, a capitalization lead that is rapidly shrinking as the industry’s marquee brands like GM, Honda and Audi pivot to electrification and Chinese makers like BYD dominate the EV space in Asia’s largest market.

Tesla claims that “network operators already have plans in motion to incorporate NACS at their chargers,” without specifying which networks are doing so and at what scale. The company “looks forward to future electric vehicles incorporating the NACS design and charging at Tesla’s North American Supercharging and Destination Charging networks.”

We can only speculate as to why Tesla has decided that right now — even as Elon Musk sinks faster than Artax into the quicksands of Twitter ownership — is the best tiime to open up their standard to the rest of the industry. Tesla, and now Twitter too, does not employ a public-facing PR team, so your guess is as good as any blue check’s.

 

Apple’s MagSafe Battery Pack is exactly what it says on the tin: a portable battery that snaps to the back of an iPhone through Apple’s MagSafe magnetic charging tech and charges the handset wirelessly. The battery is a tougher sell at full price, but today it’s available for $71, which marks the lowest price we’ve seen to date. For reference, Apple typically sells the device for $99, though its average price online has sat closer to $90 in recent months.

The MagSafe Battery Pack works with any iPhone 12, 13, or 14 model, and using it is as simple as slapping it on the back of one of those devices and letting it do its thing. You don’t have to press any additional buttons to start the charge, unlike many third-party competitors. Design wise, it’s a slim, matte plastic rectangle that’s designed to match the dimensions of an iPhone 12 or 13 mini, so it’ll fit entirely within the back of a larger device like the iPhone 14 Pro Max. 

Because this is an Apple-made product, it’s also able to integrate with an iPhone in ways competing MagSafe batteries can not. You can see the pack’s charge level through iOS’s Control Center and Batteries widget, for instance, and you can reverse-charge the battery itself from your iPhone when the latter is plugged in. By default, the pack will only charge your phone to around 90 percent to better preserve its efficiency, though you can turn that off if you wish.

If you have a 20W or higher charger and a USB-C to Lightning cable, you can also turn the MagSafe Battery Pack into a 15W wireless charging puck, which gives it a bit of utility when you aren’t out of the house. Unfortunately, and perhaps expectedly, Apple doesn’t include a cable or power brick in the box, but that’s less of a problem if you already own both of those for your iPhone. (If you don’t, our guide to the best fast chargers may be of interest.) 

When it comes to actually charging your iPhone, the MagSafe Battery Pack is a bit more compromised. Part of that is just due to the nature of wireless charging; the tech has improved over the years, but if you want the fastest charge possible, a cable with a traditional battery pack can still be much quicker to top things off. But the capacity of the MagSafe Battery Pack itself is fairly small at 1,460mAh (or 11.13Wh), so it can only charge a standard iPhone 14 to about 60-65 percent from zero. 

We’ve recommended Anker’s 622 Magnetic Battery as a good alternative to the MagSafe Battery Pack in the past; that one has a larger 5,000mAh (19.25Wh) capacity that can get closer to an 80-85 percent charge on the same phone. It also costs less than Apple’s pack even with the latter on sale, has a built-in kickstand, and comes in a wider variety of colors. (The MagSafe Battery Pack is only available in white.) It’s not designed as neatly for iPhones and lacks the extras noted above, but it’s a better value if you just want more juice from a compact MagSafe pack. Anker’s 633 Magnetic Battery, meanwhile, has an even greater capacity, albeit in a thicker frame.

Still, since their charging abilities are all somewhat limited, MagSafe packs like these are best thought of as battery extenders, things can use to keep your phone going in a pinch, more than full-on power banks. For that, the MagSafe Battery Pack is fine, particularly since Apple released a firmware update earlier this year that boosted the device’s charging rate from 5W to 7.5W, which is still slower than an optimal wired connection but matches the Anker models above. If you can live with the lesser capacity and know you’ll value some of its more iPhone-friendly features, it should be easier to justify at this deal price.

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.

 

My first “adult” TV was a 200-pound CRT monstrosity that lived inside an even more monstrous, 300-pound cabinet with doors. After that, I upgraded to a monitor-and-laptop setup that stowed in the hidey compartment of my coffee table. The thing is, I loathe black mirrors; the blank void that stares out when a TV is off creeps me out. (I blame The Ring.) I decided all screens had to stay hidden if I wasn’t actively watching them and just avoided a wall-mounted TV altogether – until the market came up with one that looks like art when it’s off.

Samsung’s The Frame came out in 2017. I bought a 43-inch model back in 2019 and have been a big fan ever since. On the inside, it’s a thoroughly serviceable smart TV with a QLED panel and Samsung’s Tizen OS (which the company just licensed for use with non-Samsung TVs). The picture is bright, the sound is clear, and Tizen is easy to figure out – but I forked over $800 for the namesake feature.

The Frame does a great job of looking like art hanging on my wall. The thin panel has picture-frame edges and mounts flat against the wall, like a giant photo. The panel connects via a thin wire to an external receiver/port hub/tuner box combo, which means you can actually drop the wire behind the drywall and have it pop out elsewhere, furthering the illusion that there’s nothing electronic going on here. The brick walls of my old house aren’t letting that happen, so I hide the wire behind a plant.

As for the effect, I’ve had people come over who asked me whether we had a TV at all, standing just a couple feet from The Frame. It’s fun to turn it on and witness their total surprise. I will say I’m jealous of the latest models, which have an anti-reflective matte finish that I wish my older model had. I think it enhances the effect.

The Frame’s elegant hardware is a perk, but the other important factor in the art-not-TV illusion comes from Samsung’s Art Store, an $8 monthly subscription that grants access to a ton of art to display. There are collections from the Louvre (though picking a Vermeer to hang on your wall might stretch credulity) as well as the Museum of Fine Arts Budapest, Etsy, Life Picture Collection, Saatchi Art, van Gogh Museum Amsterdam, BBC Earth, Magnum photos and lots more. I tend to go with abstracts and modern photography, and my kid likes the illustrations and wildlife photos.

But if you (understandably) have subscription fatigue from the 25 different services you pay for and don’t want to add another to the list, the included “Samsung collection” offers 10 artworks for free. You can also use your own images if you prefer (just make sure they’re large format or they’ll look pixelated). Personally, I’ve never tried using my own images; I leave art to the professionals.

I like to swap out the image a couple times a month, and can easily kill an hour picking the next piece of art to grace my walls. There’s an option that’ll rotate through all images in a collection, automatically switching at regular intervals, from every 10 minutes to once a week. I firmly believe adding a mat to the image makes it look more real. After you pick the image you want to display, you have the option of selecting no mat, a modern mat or a shadowbox mat. Both mats come in ten different colors, but I’ve never found anything that beats the antique white color in the modern mat option.

Considering the Frame is technically always-on, you may have reservations about the TV’s energy usage. In art mode, Samsung says a 65-inch Frame consumes about 50 watts of power. I’ve personally made a series of changes in life – downsizing square footage, trading a car for an e-bike, cutting out meat, etc. – to ease my carbon footprint, and I allow myself this minor indulgence. But if that aspect weighs on you, you could even consider the same carbon offsets people buy when they fly.

Plus, there are a couple of features that make sure the Frame isn’t always on. With Night Mode, the TV shuts itself off when the lights go out. Then in the morning, after sensing light again, it turns the art back on. You can also set it to detect when there’s motion in the room, turning off when no one’s around. When I tried this, my model kept turning off and never sensing motion again, despite me doing jumping jacks right in front of it, so I opted to disable that feature. The same sensors that detect darkness and (theoretically) movement also adjust the brightness of the image, so it never looks too intense, a trait that keeps things looking more like a framed oil painting and less like a TV. Which, for me, is the whole point.

 

Microsoft hasn’t been shy about wanting to improve the repairability of Surface devices, and that now includes the availability of spare parts. In a statement to iFixit, Microsoft says it plans “broad availability” of parts for individuals and independent repair shops in the first half of 2023. You can also expect complete repair manuals for the Surface Pro 9 by the end of this year. A wider repair network will be available in early 2023 with the help of a “major US retailer.”

That improved stance is reflected in the company’s latest designs. Microsoft says repairability was a “major focus” in the Surface Pro 9’s construction, and iFixit has confirmed as much in its independently run teardown of the Windows tablet. The user-accessible SSD is just the start. The battery is screwed in rather than glued, and the display is easier to remove when you’re digging into the internals. This is the “most repairable” Surface yet, according to iFixit, and a sharp contrast with the notoriously difficult-to-fix builds of the past.

This isn’t the first time Microsoft has made nods toward do-it-yourself repair. The Surface Laptop 3 was easier to open, and even the extra-slim Surface Pro X had a user-replaceable SSD. iFixit also warns that it can’t truly judge the Surface Pro 9’s repairability until the manuals and parts are available. The RAM is still soldered on, too, even if it might offer added performance and energy savings as a result. This is a large step in the right direction, but not the definitive solution.

As with similar efforts by Apple, Google, Samsung and others, Microsoft isn’t acting strictly out of kindness. The tech industry is facing pressure from federal and state governments to improve repairability, including through “Right to Repair” legislation that requires access to components, documents and diagnostics. If Microsoft didn’t make the Surface lineup easier to fix on its own, governments might have stepped in.

 

Twitter isn’t the only notable tech company to bandy around the word “bankruptcy” this week. After a stunningly rapid collapse, crypto exchange FTX has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, while founder Sam Bankman-Fried has resigned as CEO.

The bankruptcy filing covers FTX Trading, FTX US, Alameda Research and around 130 other companies under the umbrella of the FTX Group, according to a press release. Some others, such as FTX Australia and FTX Express Pay, are not involved in the bankruptcy proceedings. Filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy doesn’t necessarily mean that a company is dead in the water — it allows a business to keep trading while it figures out a plan to pay back creditors. However, it’s a tough position to come back from.

“The immediate relief of Chapter 11 is to provide the FTX Group the opportunity to assess its situation and develop a process to maximize recoveries for stakeholders,” new CEO John J. Ray III (a former Enron chairman who came in to oversee that company’s liquidation) said in a statement. “The FTX Group has valuable assets that can only be administered in an organized, joint process. I want to [assure] every employee, customer, creditor, contract party, stockholder, investor, governmental authority and other stakeholder that we are going to conduct this effort with diligence, thoroughness and transparency.” Ray suggested that stakeholders should remain patient, noting that “events have been fast-moving and the new team is engaged only recently.”

The company swiftly found itself in dire straits after the price of its native FTT token nosedived and many users withdrew their cryptocurrency. Following reports that FTX was facing a liquidity crisis, Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of rival crypto giant Binance, said his company would sell off around $529 million worth of FTT. That all but wiped out the token’s value.

Binance then agreed to bail out FTX by taking over the company. However, it backed out of the deal a day later, citing concerns that emerged while conducting due diligence. Bankman-Fried went on to apologize for the mess and said on Thursday he was doing everything he could to raise funds and do “right by users.” He stepped down just a day later. 

“This doesn’t necessarily have to mean the end for the companies or their ability to provide value and funds to their customers chiefly, and can be consistent with other routes,” Bankman-Fried wrote on Twitter after the bankruptcy filing. “I’m going to work on giving clarity on where things are in terms of user recovery ASAP.” Bankman-Fried added that he will soon publish a more complete, play-by-play account of what happened to FTX.

Meanwhile, reports have suggested that the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating FTX. It’s not clear when the DOJ started looking into the company’s dealings, but the SEC’s investigation has reportedly been ongoing for several months.

 

If you’ve been waiting for the holiday shopping season to grow your smart home ecosystem without dropping unnecessary amounts of money, you’re in luck. Ahead of Black Friday, Amazon has already knocked down the price of the standard Ring Video Doorbell to $60. That’s $15 cheaper than it was during Prime Day in July earlier this year and the best price we’ve seen it. There are a couple of compelling bundles you could get, too: pair the Video Doorbell with an Echo Show 5 for only $10 more, or get it with a battery-operated Ring Stick Up Camera for a total of $160.

While Ring has come out with multiple new versions of its signature doorbell, the standard model likely has everything most people would need from such a smart home device. It records 1080p video and will send alerts to your smartphone when it detects motion outside your door. It also supports two-way audio, so you can talk to visitors, delivery drivers and others when they ring the bell. This updated version of the original video doorbell has crisper night vision, along with support for privacy zones.

Installing the video doorbell is pretty easy, and you have two power options: hardwire the device to your home for constant power, or keep it running using the built-in rechargeable battery. Just keep in mind that the battery in this model isn’t removeable, so you’ll need to take the whole device off its perch to power it up every once in a while. If that seems like a hassle to you, you’ll have to spring for either the Video Doorbell 3 or Video Doorbell 4 to get a detachable battery. You’ll also get advanced features like 5GHz WiFi and an included corner kit with both of those, too.

Both another thing all Ring Video Doorbells have in common is the ability to sync with Alexa devices. If you have an Echo Show device in your home, or even a more advanced Fire TV streamer, you can use those displays or your TV to check your doorbell’s camera feed.

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