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Amazon Cyber Monday deals drop the price of the 2nd-gen Apple Pencil to an all-time low of $80

Whether you’re an artist or an avid notetaker, an Apple Pencil can transform the way you work on your iPad. Normally, they don’t come cheap — but in a Cyber Monday deal on Amazon, Apple’s second-generation Apple Pencil is down to its lowest price yet at $80. You’ll be saving nearly $50 on the stylus that’s made just for the iPad. Without a discount, it costs around $130. The second-generation Apple Pencil brought a number of improvements over the previous version, including double-tap controls and magnetic attachment to the iPad for easy storage and wireless charging.

You can’t do any better than an Apple Pencil if you’re looking for a stylus to work with your iPad. It was crafted with Apple’s tablet in mind, and as such it’s one of the best iPad accessories available. The second-gen Apple Pencil offers low latency so there’s no lag as you’re writing or drawing on the touchscreen, and Apple says it achieves “pixel-perfect precision.” It also has pressure and tilt sensitivity for more natural control over things like stroke width, opacity and shading. You can double-tap the pencil to easily switch between tools.

The second-generation Apple Pencil doesn’t work with every model of iPad, though, and you’ll want to double-check compatibility before picking one up. It’s compatible with the iPad Pro 12.9-inch (third-generation and later), all generations of iPad Pro 11-inch, iPad Air (fourth- and fifth-gen), and the iPad mini (sixth-gen). The Apple Pencil can magnetically attach to the side of these iPads to charge wirelessly while it’s not in use. For those who have an iPad Pro, it also supports Apple Pencil hover, which lets you preview tools or colors before committing to them.

Apple also still offers the first-generation Apple Pencil, which is compatible with older iPad models, and it’s on sale for Cyber Monday too. It’s down to $80 from its usual price of $100, and works with iPad Pro 12.9-inch (first and second generation), iPad Pro 10.5-inch, iPad Pro 9.7-inch, the third generation iPad Air, fifth generation iPad mini, and iPad (sixth-gen and later). Apple’s more budget-friendly Apple Pencil with USB-C charging is discounted right now as well, dropping to $71 from $80. That model works with the same iPad models as the second-generation Apple Pencil, plus the 10th generation iPad.

Your Cyber Monday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Cyber Monday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Cyber Monday tech deals. Learn about Cyber Monday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Cyber Monday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Cyber Monday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-cyber-monday-deals-drop-the-price-of-the-2nd-gen-apple-pencil-to-an-all-time-low-of-80-154236215.html?src=rss

Black hole behavior suggests Dr. Who’s ‘bigger on the inside’ Tardis trick is theoretically possible

Do black holes, like dying old soldiers, simply fade away? Do they pop like hyperdimensional balloons? Maybe they do, or maybe they pass through a cosmic rubicon, effectively reversing their natures and becoming inverse anomalies that cannot be entered through their event horizons but which continuously expel energy and matter back into the universe.

In his latest book, White Holes, physicist and philosopher Carlo Rovelli focuses his attention and considerable expertise on the mysterious space phenomena, diving past the event horizon to explore their theoretical inner workings and and posit what might be at the bottom of those infinitesimally tiny, infinitely fascinating gravitational points. In this week’s Hitting the Books excerpt, Rovelli discusses a scientific schism splitting the astrophysics community as to where all of the information — which, from our current understanding of the rules of our universe, cannot be destroyed — goes once it is trapped within an inescapable black hole.

Riverhead Books

In 1974, Stephen Hawking made an unexpected theoretical discovery: black holes must emit heat. This, too, is a quantum tunnel effect, but a simpler one than the bounce of a Planck star: photons trapped inside the horizon escape thanks to the pass that quantum physics provides to everything. They “tunnel” beneath the horizon.

So black holes emit heat, like a stove, and Hawking computed their temperature. Radiated heat carries away energy. As it loses energy, the black hole gradually loses mass (mass is energy), becoming ever lighter and smaller. Its horizon shrinks. In the jargon we say that the black hole “evaporates.”

Heat emission is the most characteristic of the irreversible processes: the processes that occur in one time direction and cannot be reversed. A stove emits heat and warms a cold room. Have you ever seen the walls of a cold room emit heat and heat up a warm stove? When heat is produced, the process is irreversible. In fact, whenever the process is irreversible, heat is produced (or something analogous). Heat is the mark of irreversibility. Heat distinguishes past from future.

There is therefore at least one clearly irreversible aspect to the life of a black hole: the gradual shrinking of its horizon.

But, careful: the shrinking of the horizon does not mean that the interior of the black hole becomes smaller. The interior largely remains what it is, and the interior volume keeps growing. It is only the horizon that shrinks. This is a subtle point that confuses many. Hawking radiation is a phenomenon that regards mainly the horizon, not the deep interior of the hole. Therefore, a very old black hole turns out to have a peculiar geometry: an enormous interior (that continues to grow) and a minuscule (because it has evaporated) horizon that encloses it. An old black hole is like a glass bottle in the hands of a skillful Murano glassblower who succeeds in making the volume of the bottle increase as its neck becomes narrower.

At the moment of the leap from black to white, a black hole can therefore have an extremely small horizon and a vast interior. A tiny shell containing vast spaces, as in a fable.

In fables, we come across small huts that, when entered, turn out to contain hundreds of vast rooms. This seems impossible, the stuff of fairy tales. But it is not so. A vast space enclosed in a small sphere is concretely possible.

If this seems bizarre to us, it is only because we became habituated to the idea that the geometry of space is simple: it is the one we studied at school, the geometry of Euclid. But it is not so in the real world. The geometry of space is distorted by gravity. The distortion permits a gigantic volume to be enclosed within a tiny sphere. The gravity of a Planck star generates such a huge distortion.

An ant that has always lived on a large, flat plaza will be amazed when it discovers that through a small hole it has access to a large underground garage. Same for us with a black hole. What the amazement teaches is that we should not have blind confidence in habitual ideas: the world is stranger and more varied than we imagine.

The existence of large volumes within small horizons has also generated confusion in the world of science. The scientific community has split and is quarreling about the topic. In the rest of this section, I tell you about this dispute. It is more technical than the rest — skip it if you like — but it is a picture of a lively, ongoing scientific debate.

The disagreement concerns how much information you can cram into an entity with a large volume but a small surface. One part of the scientific community is convinced that a black hole with a small horizon can contain only a small amount of information. Another disagrees.

What does it mean to “contain information”?

More or less this: Are there more things in a box containing five large and heavy balls, or in a box that contains twenty small marbles? The answer depends on what you mean by “more things.” The five balls are bigger and weigh more, so the first box contains more matter, more substance, more energy, more stuff. In this sense there are “more things” in the box of balls.

But the number of marbles is greater than the number of balls. In this sense, there are “more things,” more details, in the box of marbles. If we wanted to send signals, by giving a single color to each marble or each ball, we could send more signals, more colors, more information, with the marbles, because there are more of them. More precisely: it takes more information to describe the marbles than it does to describe the balls, because there are more of them. In technical terms, the box of balls contains more energy, whereas the box of marbles contains more information.

An old black hole, considerably evaporated, has little energy, because the energy has been carried away via the Hawking radiation. Can it still contain much information, after much of its energy is gone? Here is the brawl.

Some of my colleagues convinced themselves that it is not possible to cram a lot of information beneath a small surface. That is, they became convinced that when most energy has gone and the horizon has become minuscule, only little information can remain inside.

Another part of the scientific community (to which I belong) is convinced of the contrary. The information in a black hole—even a greatly evaporated one—can still be large. Each side is convinced that the other has gone astray.

Disagreements of this kind are common in the history of science; one may say that they are the salt of the discipline. They can last long. Scientists split, quarrel, scream, wrangle, scuffle, jump at each other’s throats. Then, gradually, clarity emerges. Some end up being right, others end up being wrong.

At the end of the nineteenth century, for instance, the world of physics was divided into two fierce factions. One of these followed Mach in thinking that atoms were just convenient mathematical fictions; the other followed Boltzmann in believing that atoms exist for real. The arguments were ferocious. Ernst Mach was a towering figure, but it was Boltzmann who turned out to be right. Today, we even see atoms through a microscope.

I think that my colleagues who are convinced that a small horizon can contain only a small amount of information have made a serious mistake, even if at first sight their arguments seem convincing. Let’s look at these.

The first argument is that it is possible to compute how many elementary components (how many molecules, for example) form an object, starting from the relation between its energy and its temperature. We know the energy of a black hole (it is its mass) and its temperature (computed by Hawking), so we can do the math. The result indicates that the smaller the horizon, the fewer its elementary components.

The second argument is that there are explicit calculations that allow us to count these elementary components directly, using both of the most studied theories of quantum gravity—string theory and loop theory. The two archrival theories completed this computation within months of each other in 1996. For both, the number of elementary components becomes small when the horizon is small.

These seem like strong arguments. On the basis of these arguments, many physicists have accepted a “dogma” (they call it so themselves): the number of elementary components contained in a small surface is necessarily small. Within a small horizon there can only be little information. If the evidence for this “dogma” is so strong, where does the error lie?

It lies in the fact that both arguments refer only to the components of the black hole that can be detected from the outside, as long as the black hole remains what it is. And these are only the components residing on the horizon. Both arguments, in other words, ignore that there can be components in the large interior volume. These arguments are formulated from the perspective of someone who remains far from the black hole, does not see the inside, and assumes that the black hole will remain as it is forever. If the black hole stays this way forever—remember—those who are far from it will see only what is outside or what is right on the horizon. It is as if for them the interior does not exist. For them.

But the interior does exist! And not only for those (like us) who dare to enter, but also for those who simply have the patience to wait for the black horizon to become white, allowing what was trapped inside to come out. In other words, to imagine that the calculations of the number of components of a black hole given by string theory or loop theory are complete is to have failed to take on board Finkelstein’s 1958 article. The description of a black hole from the outside is incomplete.

The loop quantum gravity calculation is revealing: the number of components is precisely computed by counting the number of quanta of space on the horizon. But the string theory calculation, on close inspection, does the same: it assumes that the black hole is stationary, and is based on what is seen from afar. It neglects, by hypothesis, what is inside and what will be seen from afar after the hole has finished evaporating — when it is no longer stationary.

I think that certain of my colleagues err out of impatience they want everything resolved before the end of evaporation, where quantum gravity becomes inevitable) and because they forget to take into account what is beyond that which can be immediately seen — two mistakes we all frequently make in life.

Adherents to the dogma find themselves with a problem. They call it “the black hole information paradox.” They are convinced that inside an evaporated black hole there is no longer any information. Now, everything that falls into a black hole carries information. So a large amount of information can enter the hole. Information cannot vanish. Where does it go?

To solve the paradox, the devotees of the dogma imagine that information escapes the hole in mysterious and baroque ways, perhaps in the folds of the Hawking radiation, like Ulysses and his companions escaping from the cave of the cyclops by hiding beneath sheep. Or they speculate that the interior of a black hole is connected to the outside by hypothetical invisible canals . . . Basically, they are clutching at straws—looking, like all dogmatists in difficulty, for abstruse ways of saving the dogma.

But the information that enters the horizon does not escape by some arcane, magical means. It simply comes out after the horizon has been transformed from a black horizon into a white horizon.

In his final years, Stephen Hawking used to remark that there is no need to be afraid of the black holes of life: sooner or later, there will be a way out of them. There is — via the child white hole.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/hitting-the-books-white-holes-carlo-rovelli-riverhead-153058062.html?src=rss

The 63 best Cyber Monday deals you can get right now from Amazon, Target and others

Cyber Monday is right around the corner and this year, much like year’s past, we’re seeing plenty of Black Friday deals bleed into the new week. If you didn’t get the chance to shop on Friday, there’s still time to snag a few good deals on all kinds of tech, including AirPods, tablets, TVs, streaming devices, robot vacuums and more. We expect there to be a few surprises among the Cyber Monday deals — there always are — but we think most of the best Black Friday deals will transition into being the best Cyber Monday deals once the day actually arrives. In the meantime, here are the best Cyber Monday deals you can shop right now.

Best Cyber Monday Apple deals

$100 Apple Gift Card + $15 Amazon credit

If you purchase an Apple gift card totaling $100 or more from the retailer, you can get $15 in Amazon store credit for no extra cost. Just use the code APPLET5USA at checkout to see the offer. The deal applies to the digital version of the card; as of this writing, you can get the credit with a physical Apple gift card as well by using the code APPLET5USAP, though you may not want to clip the coupon on those cards’ product page, as Amazon’s listing says that will only give you a $10 credit. As a reminder, you can use an Apple gift card for App Store credit, subscription services like Apple Music or iCloud, and/or purchases made at a physical Apple store.

Apple AirTags

A four-pack of Apple’s AirTags have dropped to $80, which is just about $5 more than the pack’s record-low price. If you’re unfamiliar, AirTags are small Bluetooth trackers that you can keep in your bag or luggage or attach to items like your keys so you can keep track of their location. The only catch is that these only work with Apple devices as their host device, so Android users will have to pick a tracker from another brand to get similar benefits. AirTags connect to Apple’s Find My network, so you can see where your stuff is in that app and even force the gadgets to ring so you can more easily find your belongings (if you’re within close proximity).

Apple AirPods Pro (USB-C)

The latest version of Apple’s AirPods Pro is back on sale for $190 at Amazon and Target. That matches an all-time low and comes in $60 below the pair’s usual going rate. The AirPods Pro are the “best for iOS” pick in our wireless earbuds buying guide thanks to their easy pairing and deep integration with Apple devices. Effective active noise cancellation (ANC), a superb transparency mode and a pleasingly warm sound profile help as well, as does a new “adaptive audio” mode that can adjust the earphones’ noise control settings based on your surroundings. That said, their battery life is just average at six-ish hours per charge, and you really have to use an iPhone to get anything out of them.

We gave the Lightning-based version of the second-generation AirPods Pro a review score of 88 last year; this new iteration is almost identical, only it comes with a USB-C charging case and has a higher IP54 dust-resistance rating. If you don’t care about the updated charging port, note that the older Lightning version is on sale for $169 at Walmart.

Apple AirPods (3rd gen)

The third-gen Apple AirPods are back down to $140 at Amazon and Best Buy, matching the lowest price we’ve seen. Typically, the wireless earbuds have retailed between $10 and $20 higher over the past few months. We gave these AirPods a review score of 88 back in 2021: You can get better-sounding and more featured earbuds for much less, but if you’re an iPhone owner who hates the feeling of traditional in-ear headphones, it might suit you well. It has a mostly balanced sound despite its unsealed design, and it gets the usual AirPods conveniences like hands-free Siri, Find My device tracking and quick pairing with other Apple gadgets. Just don’t expect much in the way of deep bass or noise cancellation, as is the case with all earbuds with an “open” design.

Apple Watch Series 9

The new Apple Watch Series 9 has dropped to $329 at Amazon, Walmart and Target in a Cyber Monday deal. That’s $70 off its usual price and the lowest we’ve seen since it debuted in September. That’s the price you’ll pay for the 41mm model, but the 45mm models are now down to $359 with the same $70 discount. The Series 9 took the crown of the best smartwatch you can get right now in our guide thanks to its new S9 SiP that brings slightly speedier performance and on-device Siri processing, the new Double Tap feature and other improvements.

Apple Watch SE

The Apple Watch SE has dropped to a record low of $179 for Cyber Monday, which is $70 off its usual price. It may not have all of the advanced health tracking features of the Series 9, but the SE has all of the basics you’d want in a smartwatch, including smart notifications, all-day activity tracking and perks like Fall and Crash Detection and Emergency SOS. If you’re looking for a good entry-point into the Apple Watch space, or a gift for someone who has never worn a smartwatch before, the Apple Watch SE is a great option.

Apple iPad (9th Gen)

Apple’s 9th gen iPad is down to a new low of $230 at Amazon and Target. This is the budget pick in our iPad buying guide, and it earned a review score of 86 in 2021. It’s the last iPad to use Apple’s old design language, so it has thick bezels, a Lightning port, a Home button and a non-laminated display. This variant also comes with a paltry 64GB of storage. At this price, though, it’s hard to do better if all you want is a large screen for streaming video, playing games and browsing the web. If you need more storage space, the 256GB model is also down to a low of $380.

Apple iPad Air

The iPad Air M1 is back down to a record low of $500 right now ahead of Cyber Monday. All color options are discounted. The Air is still the best iPad for most people at the moment, although we expect to see a fresh lineup with the latest M-series processor debut early next year. However, if you want a new iPad immediately, the Air offers speedy performance, good battery life, a slim design and Apple Pencil 2 support.

Apple iPad (10th Gen)

The 10th-generation iPad is down to its lowest price ever at Amazon and Target. The 64GB model is just $349 for Cyber Monday in all four colors. That’s $100 off and $30 less than the previous low. We gave the revamped standard iPad an 85 in our review. Compared to the 9th-gen model, the new version ditches the Home button and comes with a larger, 10.9-inch display. The front-facing camera is now on the landscape edge, which is much more convenient for video calls, though the tablet (for some reason) still only works with the first generation Apple Pencil.

Apple Pencil

Apple now makes three different Apple Pencils. The first generation stylus recharges via Lightning. The second generation recharges wirelessly and the new USB-C looks a lot like the first generation, but charges via USB-C instead of lighting. Each one has different iPad compatibility with iPads, so you may want to check on that before you decide which to get. We’re fans of the Pencil overall, and named it one of the best accessories for your iPad.

Best Cyber Monday home deals

Dyson Airwrap

The coveted Dyson Airwrap is down to the cheapest price we’ve ever seen, just $480. This hair tool uses the Coanda effect to keep air flowing around its barrel, helping you style your hair more easily. It also maintains a safe temperature for hair, resulting in less damage overall. You’re getting a number of accessories with this Airwrap bundle as well, including two differently sized barrels, separate brushes for soft or firm smoothing, a Coanda smoothing dryer and more.

Google Nest Thermostat

Google’s Nest Thermostat is on sale for $90 right now, which is $40 off and close to a record low. It’s a pared-down version of the Nest Learning Thermostat, but it has plenty of smart features and should help you save on energy costs over time. This model is Energy Star-certified and will automatically turn temperatures down in your home when you leave the house, and you can adjust heating and cooling schedules from your phone.

TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug Mini

The smart plug we recommend for most homes is TP-Link’s Kasa Smart Plug mini. A four-pack is on sale for $35 which is about $3 more than it sold for during Amazon’s October Prime day sale, but still a decent $15 savings. Plugs like these are a simple way to add some smart capabilities to any home, letting you turn on lights with just your voice, set automated schedules and routines that are triggered by other activities. These would make a great stocking stuffer for anyone you know who’s curious about smart home connectivity but hasn’t yet taken the plunge.

TP-Link Deco EX75 Wi-Fi 6E mesh router

TP-Link’s Deco EX75 mesh router system with two beacons is $100 off and down to a record low of $200. This is our top pick for a Wi-Fi 6 mesh router system, and the two-pack should cover up to 5,500 square feet with stable connectivity. When we tested the three-pack, we were impressed by how well the system balances power with user friendliness. Its network is reliable and fast, and its companion app is easy to use and clearly shows you things like all of the devices connected to your network, current speeds and more.

Sonos Cyber Monday sale

Sonos’ Cyber Monday sale has brought a range of discounts on smart speakers and home theater gear. The deals include the flagship Sonos Arc soundbar down to $719, which is a $180 discount. The mid-range Sonos Beam (Gen 2) and the more basic Sonos Ray are also on sale for $399 and $223, respectively; that’s a $100 drop for the former and a $56 drop for the latter. All three devices are recommendations in our guide to the best soundbars. In other home theater deals, the Sonos Sub (Gen 3) subwoofer is $160 off at $639, while the more compact Sonos Sub Mini is $86 off at $343.

Elsewhere, the Sonos Roam portable speaker is down to $134 from its usual $179, while the Sonos Roam SL — which is effectively the same device sans built-in microphones — is down to $119 from its usual $159. For a smart home speaker, the Sonos Era 100 is $50 off at $199. We highlight the Roam and Era 100 in our guide to the best smart speakers. For those looking to add Sonos functionality to existing audio gear, the Sonos Amp is now $599, a $100 discount, while the Sonos Port is now $399, a $50 discount.

You can read our reviews of the Arc, Beam, Ray, Roam and Era 100 for more details on what to expect from those devices. We like Sonos speakers for delivering relatively clean and balanced sound and a straightforward app that lets you connect to numerous music services. Their main appeal, however, is their ability to link up with the company’s other devices in one connected audio system. Deals on any Sonos gear are fairly uncommon, so this is a good chance to save if you’re looking to build out your own system.

Amazon Echo Dot + TP-Link smart light bulb bundle

Almost the entirety of Amazon’s Echo speaker lineup is on sale for Cyber Monday, with most bundled alongside a TP-Link Kasa smart bulb for no extra cost. The offers include the Echo Dot back at an all-time low of $23, the Echo Dot with Clock for $35 (a $25 discount), the standard Echo within $5 of its all-time low at $55, the larger Echo Studio for $155 and the entry-level Echo Pop back at its Prime Day price of $18.

Of those, the Echo Dot and base Echo are likely your best bets — the former is the “best under $50” recommendation in our smart speaker buying guide, while the latter is our “best under $100” pick. The Echo Studio is still decent if you want better audio quality, though it’s harder to recommend when the Sonos Era 100 is also on sale, while the Echo Pop is essentially a weaker-sounding Echo Dot for only a few bucks less. But if you’re building a smart home around Alexa, each device offers similar functionality.

Amazon Echo Show 5 + TP-Link smart light bulb bundle

Most of Amazon’s Echo Show smart displays are also discounted. The recently updated Echo Show 8, for one, is on sale for a new low of $105, while the smaller 5.5-inch Echo Show 5 is back down to an all-time low of $40. Those two typically retail for $150 and $70, respectively. Again, both devices come bundled with a free LED smart bulb. You can also get an Echo Show 5 with a Ring Video Doorbell for $65.

The Echo Show 8 is the top Alexa pick in our guide to the best smart displays; compared to the Echo Show 5, it packs a better screen, richer speakers and a much sharper camera for video calls. But if you want something closer to a smart alarm clock for your nightstand, the smaller display still delivers most of the same Alexa smarts. If you want a larger panel, the rotating 10.1-inch Echo Show 10 is $90 off at $160 as well. We gave that one a score of 83 back in 2021, though our review found the Echo Show 8 to be a better value for most.

Echo Show 15

The Echo Show 15 is almost like four devices in one: It’s a smart display, TV, widget-driven bulletin board and Alexa assistant. This is why it’s one of our recommended gifts for tech folk. The 15-inch screen can be wall-mounted in portrait or landscape and can be operated with the remote, via touchscreen or with your voice. Right now, it’s down to $185, which is a 34 percent discount and the lowest price we’ve seen on the device yet.

Google Nest Hub

If you’re partial to the Google Assistant, Google’s Nest Hub is also on sale for $50 at Target and Walmart. That’s $10 higher than its all-time low but still $50 off Google’s list price. The Nest Hub is the top overall pick in our smart display buying guide, and we gave it a review score of 89 back in 2021. It has a 7-inch screen, so it’s a bit bigger than the Echo Show 5 but should still be compact enough to fit neatly in a bedroom or small office. While it lacks a built-in camera, that may be a selling point for those who especially sensitive to their privacy (though no smart display is truly privacy-conscious). If you want a larger model with a webcam and stronger speakers, the 10-inch Nest Hub Max is also on sale for $129.

Vitamix Explorian blender

The Vitamix E310 is on sale for $289 at Amazon, Target and directly from Vitamix, and while that’s not an all-time low, it’s still a $60 discount on a particularly powerful blender. It’s our favorite blender from our guide to kitchen tech because it goes beyond smoothie duty to create salsas, sauces, dips and even soups (which the blender can heat to steaming in the container due to shear friction). Anyone coming from a standard blender will be impressed with the way it renders even the hardest, chunkiest ingredients silky smooth.

Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro

Breville’s Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is 29 percent off and down to $320 for Cyber Monday. That’s the best price we’ve seen since the start of this year on one of our favorite air fryers. This Breville machine is much more than an air fryer, though — it has 13 cooking functions and a capacity that can handle a full turkey, so it’s more like a mini convection oven that sits on your countertop. It’s best for people who love to cook and have big families, or those who maybe don’t have a traditional oven and want a versatile (and relatively small) appliance for their kitchen.

Ooni Cyber Monday deals

Ooni Cyber Monday deals include some of the lowest prices we’ve seen on the company’s pizza ovens and accessories. The 12-inch Fyra is on sale for $244 right now, which is more than $100 off its normal price. It earned a spot on our best pizza oven list thanks to its compact profile and the fact that it runs on wood pellets instead of chunks, making it easier to refill and you’ll spend less time tending to its fire overall. Ooni’s handy pizza steel is also on sale for $70 in this sale.

Solo Stove Cyber Monday deal

Solo Stove’s Cyber Monday deals have knocked up to $245 off fire pit bundles, up to $100 off fire pits by themselves and even more. A standout is the Ranger Backyard Bundle 2, which is $145 off and down to $320. It includes the company’s most compact fire pit along with its accompanying shield, stand, lid and shelter. Everything you’d need for an easy setup right out of the box is included in this bundle, and the 2.0-version of the Ranger includes a removable base plate and ash pan, both of which make the fire pit much easier to clean.

Best Cyber Monday Xbox deals

Xbox Wireless Controller

If you need a spare gamepad for your Xbox, official Xbox Series X/S Wireless Controllers are as low as $40 at Microsoft. As with the DualSense deal above, this discount applies to various colors. Typically, we see the gamepad retail between $50 and $60 depending on the colorway. The Series X/S controller doesn’t have the DualSense’s advanced haptics and requires AA batteries for power by default — we recommend grabbing a rechargeable set — but some will always find its shape and asymmetrical joysticks more comfortable. It’s also simpler to set up and use on PC.

Xbox Series X

The Xbox Series X bundled with Diablo IV is down to $439 from Walmart. The console itself has a list price of $500 and the game is typically listed between $40 and $70, so this is like getting a $60 discount on the console plus a free copy of the huge action-RPG. If you’re a frequent Target shopper, note that the retailer is selling this same bundle with a $75 store gift card for $450.

Best Cyber Monday subscription deals

Peacock Cyber Monday deal

Peacock has discounted its monthly and annual subscription plans for Cyber Monday. You can access the services starting at $2 per month for the first year, instead of the usual $6 monthly price, with the code BIGDEAL. If you’d rather pay upfront for one year of access, you’ll spend only $20 with the code YEARLONG. The sale runs from November 22-27, and the offer excludes current Peacock Premium and Premium Plus subscribers. In addition to classic movies and new reality TV shows, Peacock has a smattering of live sports offerings that include Sunday Night Football, Big Ten Football and Premier League.

Audible Cyber Monday sale

A Cyber Monday deal on Amazon’s audiobook subscription service brings a Premium Plus membership down to just $6 per month for the first four months — that’s more than half off the typical $15-per-month cost of access. Plus, new subscribers can get a $20 Audible credit when they get this deal, and that can be used towards audiobook purchases in the future. Audible’s Premium Plus subscription comes with one credit every month to purchase a new or best-selling title. It’s a great digital gift to get friends or family if you’re not going to see them in person this holiday season.

Hulu Cyber Monday deal

Hulu’s Cyber Monday deal is a great one for anyone who has not subscribed to the ad-supported tier yet. You’ll get one year of the service for only $12, which comes out to just $1 per month. That’s 85 percent off the standard monthly price and a great deal if you’ve been wanting to see what all the hype is about for shows like The Bear and Only Murders in the Building. The deal is available to new subscribers, and returning subscribers who have not been paying for Hulu for at least one month.

Max Cyber Monday deal

Max, formerly known as HBO Max, is one of our favorite streaming services with must-watch fare like The Last of Us and Succession. For Cyber Monday, you can get six months of the ad-supported tier for 70 percent off. The Max with Ads plan drops the the price from $10 per month (or $100 per year) to $3 per month. At the end of the six-month promotion, you can either cancel or revert to paying full price. Both new and returning customers can access the deal, which is live now and runs through November 27 (aka Cyber Monday).

ProtonVPN Cyber Monday deal

Our favorite VPN service, ProtonVPN, is having a rare sale for Cyber Monday that brings a monthly subscription down to only $4 for a total of 30 months. That means you’ll pay $120 for two and a half years of access, which is a pretty good deal. ProtonVPN passed our tests with high marks, but what made it stand out among other VPN security services was its independently audited no-logs policy, and the fact that the company has proven they don’t comply with law enforcement requests to reveal data. If you want to jump in head-first with Proton services, the company has discounted Proton Unlimited, which includes access to VPN, Mail, Calendar, Drive and Pass, to just under $9 per month for the first year.

Best Cyber Monday Anker deals

Anker accessories sale

A slew of Anker chargers, cables, power adapters and other accessories are on sale for Cyber Monday at Amazon, with discounts ranging up to 37 percent. The deals extend to our favorite premium power bank, Anker’s Prime 20,000 mAH battery with charging base, which is $130 for the set and its lowest price ever.

One of the company’s 67W USB-C chargers is 37 percent off, bringing it to $38 and matching its all-time low. Our top 65W fast wall charger, Anker’s 735 GaNPrime, is down to a new low price after a 38 percent discount. And the Anker Nano Power Bank is seeing one of its first discounts since coming on the market a couple months ago.

Best Cyber Monday phone deals

Samsung Galaxy S23 smartphones

The entire Samsung Galaxy S23 smartphone lineup is on sale for Cyber Monday: you can grab the S23 Ultra for $900, the S23+ for $800 or the S23 for $700. These are some of the best Android phones you can get right now, and we recommend springing for the S23 Ultra if you’re able to. It has a big, bold 6.8-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a total of five cameras and a built-in S Pen. It also has an impressive battery life thanks to its 5,000 mAh cell.

Google Pixel 8 Pro

Google’s latest flagship smartphones are up to $200 off for Cyber Monday, including the Pixel 8 Pro, which you can snag for $799. The standard Pixel 8 is as low as $549 depending on the storage capacity you choose as well. These are the best Android phones available right now thanks to some substantial upgrades Google brought to each handset this time around. They both have upgraded Tensor G3 processors, vivid OLED displays with 120Hz refresh rates, excellent cameras and solid battery lives.

Fitbit Charge 6

Fitbit’s newest fitness tracker, the Charge 6, is $60 off right now and down to a record low of $100. It’s the follow-up to one of our favorite fitness trackers, the Fitbit Charge 5, and it brings back the physical side button that previous generations had and integrates even more with Google services. It has an AMOLED touchscreen that displays all of your activity stats and smart notifications, a built-in GPS for mapping outdoor workouts, a week-long battery life and the ability to display turn-by-turn directions on its screen from Google Maps.

Best Cyber Monday earbuds and headphone deals

Sony WH-1000XM5

The Sony WH-1000XM5 is down to $328 at Amazon, B&H and others. Though this isn’t an all-time low, it’s about $70 off Sony’s list price and $20 lower than the headphones’ usual recurring sale price. The XM5 is the top recommendation in our guide to the best wireless headphones, as it offers a comfortable design, powerful ANC, crisp call quality and 30 or so hours of battery life. It also comes with a number of useful bonus features such as “Speak to Chat,” which automatically pauses your music when you start talking to somebody else. By default, its bass-heavy sound plays well with hip-hop and EDM, though you can easily customize the EQ curve through Sony’s app. We gave the XM5 a score of 95 in our review last year.

Sony WF-1000XM5

Sony’s WF-1000XM5, meanwhile, is the top choice in our guide to the best wireless earbuds, and it’s now down to a new low of $248 at Amazon, B&H and other retailers. Several other retailers have it for $2 more. Normally, these noise-canceling earphones go for $300. Like the over-ear XM5, this in-ear model delivers excellent ANC (with strong passive isolation), loads of helpful features and a warm sound that’s fun out of the box but can be customized if needed. Battery life is decent at seven or eight hours per charge and, notably, the design is lighter, smaller and altogether more comfortable than past Sony earbuds. The WF-1000XM5 earned a score of 87 in our review this past July.

Google Pixel Buds Pro

The Google Pixel Buds Pro are on sale for $115 at Wellbots. That’s the best price we’ve ever seen on what we consider to be the best wireless earbuds for Android users. Google learned from its previous generations of earbuds and made the best model yet with the Pros; they have improved sound quality, a comfortable design with reliable touch controls and good noise cancellation and battery life.

Anker Soundcore Space A40

The Anker Soundcore Space A40 is down to $54 for Cyber Monday, matching the lowest price we’ve seen. This is the top pick in our guide to the best budget wireless earbuds: It’s comfortable, it supports wireless charging and multi-device pairing, it can last up to 10 hours a charge and its ANC is remarkably effective for a sub-$100 pair. Its bassy sound should please most by default, but it can also be customized through a clean companion app. The only big negatives are its middling call quality and lack of wear detection.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra

The latest flagship noise-cancelling headphones from Bose, the QuietComfort Ultra is seeing a $50 discount at Amazon, Walmart and Bose direct, among others. These headphones debuted last month and retail for $429 at full price. One of our concerns in our review was that higher MSRP, so this deal takes some of the sting out of the purchase. We found this pair to offer exceptional ANC, a comfortable fit and sound quality that has more bass plus “increased clarity and enhanced warmth” compared to previous generations of the QC cans.

Best Cyber Monday vacuum deals

Dyson Cyber Monday deals

Dyson Cyber Monday deals include a $200 discount on the Dyson V15 Detect Absolute, bringing the cordless vacuum down to $550. It’s hard to tell if this is a record-low price, but considering the standard V15 Detect is going for between $650 and $750 across the internet, we consider this to be a good deal. In addition to its strong cleaning power, the V15 Detect has a laser-powered optic cleaner head that illuminates the floor before you as you’re cleaning so you can see dust and grime more clearly. It also has a piezo sensor, which sizes and counts dust particles as you clean and shows you that information on its LCD display.

Shark AI Ultra 2-in-1 robot vacuum

This Shark AI Ultra robot vacuum is on sale for $300 for Cyber Monday, or half off its regular price. Shark makes some of our favorite robovacs, and this one has strong suction power, a self-cleaning brush roll and support for home mapping and voice control with Alexa and the Google Assistant. Shark’s machines also stand out because their self-emptying bases, like the one included here, are bagless, so you don’t have to constantly buy proprietary garbage bags to use with them.

iRobot Roomba 694

The Roomba 694 is on sale for $159 in this Cyber Monday deal. It’s our current favorite budget robot vacuum thanks to its strong suction power, easy to use mobile app and handy spot-clean function. It doesn’t come with a clean base, but it has Wi-Fi connectivity and voice control with Alexa.

Best Cyber Monday gaming deals

PlayStation DualSense Wireless Controller

Amazon, Walmart, PlayStation Direct and several other retailers have discounted a bunch of PlayStation DualSense controllers for Cyber Monday, including many of the colorways that typically go for $75. You can pick up Cosmic Red, Starlight Blue, Nova Pink and other models for $50 each, which is just about a record-low price. These controllers work with the PS5 as well as PC, and they sport adaptive L2 and R2 triggers, haptic feedback and a built-in mic array.

PS5 + Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 bundle

If you or someone you love hasn’t gotten their hands on a PS5 yet, a Cyber Monday bundle pairs the $500 console with the new (and critically acclaimed) Spider-Man 2 game for no extra cost. The PS5 remains one of the best gaming consoles you can get right now, and we found the open-world game to be even better than its predecessor in our review. In it, you can swap between playing as Peter Parker and Miles Morales, and it includes expanded combat mechanics.

Nintendo Switch OLED + Super Smash Bros. Ultimate bundle

The main Nintendo Switch deal for Cyber Monday bundles the $350 Nintendo Switch OLED with a digital copy of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and a three-month individual subscription to Nintendo Switch Online for no extra cost. This offer is available at Walmart, Target, GameStop, Best Buy and Nintendo’s own online store. Smash Bros. Ultimate was released way back in 2018, so it’s hard to call this an amazing deal, but the game remains one of the console’s best and still typically retails between $50 and $60 on its own. The Switch Online sub, meanwhile, goes for $8. If you’re late to the Switch bandwagon, you could do much worse for a free pack-in game — but keep in mind that Nintendo is expected to unveil its next console at some point in 2024.

PlayStation, Xbox and Switch video game sales

If you’re all set on the hardware front, a truckload of PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch games have dropped in price for Cyber Monday too. Both Sony and Microsoft have rolled out holiday sales on their respective digital storefronts, while a number of physical games are down to new lows at Amazon, Best Buy and others.

There are frankly too many deals for us to list them all here, but some highlights for PlayStation and Xbox owners include Assassin’s Creed Mirage for $40, God of War Ragnarök and the dramatic action-RPG Final Fantasy XV for $35 each, the rhythm action game Hi-Fi Rush for $22, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Horizon Forbidden West for $20 each and Halo: The Master Chief Collection for $10. Many of those make our lists of the best PS5 games and best Xbox games.

On the Switch side, the turn-based strategy game Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is on sale for $15, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and Luigi’s Mansion 3 are each down to $40 and the excellent 2D platformer Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is down to a new low of $30. There are plenty more games on sale beyond those, and we expect to see more PC game deals over the course of the week.

Razer Basilisk V3

The Razer Basilisk V3 is the top overall recommendation in our guide to the best gaming mice, and it’s dropped to $40 for Cyber Monday at Amazon, Walmart, Target and Best Buy. That’s an all-time low and $10 off the device’s usual street price. The Basilisk V3 isn’t the lightest mouse around at 100 grams, but its sturdy shape should be comfortable for users of each grip type and all but the smallest of hands. It has no major issues with latency or tracking accuracy, either, plus it comes with 11 customizable buttons, including a “sensitivity clutch” for moments where more precise aiming is required. Beyond that, its scroll wheel supports both left-right tilt and a faster free-spin mode — both helpful for navigating large documents — though it is on the noisy side.

Best Cyber Monday TV deals

Samsung The Frame QLED TV

The 55-inch Samsung The Frame smart TV is 35 percent off and down to a new record low of $978 at Amazon. Samsung itself has it for a couple bucks more. Other size options are also discounted. The Frame has been super popular thanks to its design, which mimics framed artwork when not in use. It has a matte, anti-reflective display and an included slim wall mount so you can get the true “artwork” effect when you hang it on the wall. As an actual TV, it supports 4K content and Quantum Dot technology, plus it runs on Samsung’s Tizen TV operating system.

Hisense U8K LED TV

The 55-inch Hisense U8K is available for $698, which is an all-time low and $50 less than its typical street price in recent months. Best Buy has it for $2 more. The 65-inch model is also at an all-time low of $897. Several reviews have praised the U8K as one of the year’s best values among midrange TVs, one that gets impressively bright and delivers strong contrast for an LED display. It comes with two HDMI 2.1 ports that play 4K video up to 144Hz, it supports all the major HDR formats and its Google TV platform is easier to use than most smart TV UIs. Its motion and color performance will still trail a good OLED TV, though, and reviews say it’ll wash out much more heavily when viewed from an angle. But if you want to stay under $1,000, it should be a good value.

Meta Quest 2 VR headset

The Meta Quest 2 VR headset is $50 off and down to $249 at several retailers. That matches the best price we’ve seen. At Target and Amazon, you can get the device with a $50 gift card or credit as well. Despite the launch of the impressive Quest 3, we still consider the Quest 2 to be one of the best VR headsets available right now — precisely because of its more affordable price. It’s still the best way to jump into VR without spending a ton of money, and the Quest 2 has the perks of being completely cordless and comfortable to wear for long sessions. The hardware includes fast-switching LCDs with a smooth 90Hz refresh rate, and it comes with Meta’s sold motion controllers.

Roku Streaming Stick 4K

Our top recommendation in our streaming devices guide is the Roku Streaming Stick 4K, which is 40 percent off and down to $30 at Target and directly from Roku. That’s about $5 more than it was last Cyber Monday, but still a decent savings on a dongle that will turn any screen into a smart TV, complete with Roku’s intuitive interface and its simple universal search function. The Roku Express 4K is on sale for $25. It has a shorter Wi-Fi range, lacks support for Dolby Vision and has a different format (a small set-top box instead of a stick that hides behind your TV) but is otherwise pretty similar for $5 less.

Chromecast with Google TV

Google’s 4K Chromecast is down to a new low of $38 for Cyber Monday, while the standard HD model is only $20 for the shopping event. Key to both of these devices are the remotes that come with them that make navigating the revamped UI of Android TV much easier than in years past. The home screen will personalize recommendations for you based on your watch history, and its algorithm-based recommendations come in handy as well — plus, they’re pulling from services you’re already subscribed to, so you won’t be tempted by movies or shows that you don’t have access to. The 4K model is one of our favorite streaming devices thanks to all of those perks in addition to its support for Dolby Vision.

Fire TV Stick 4K Max

The latest generation of the Fire TV Stick 4K Max was just announced in September during Amazon’s Devices and Services event and it’s now down to its lowest price yet, which is $40 and a 33 percent discount off the $60 list price. In addition to handling 4K video, it also supports Wi-Fi 6E and has a faster processor and bigger storage capacity compared to the previous generation. It’ll also support Amazon’s latest Fire TV feature, the Ambient Experience which displays art and shows widgets for weather, calendars, reminders and more when the TV is in standby. Amazon’s most affordable Fire TV Stick is also down to $16 for Cyber Monday, which is only $1 more than its record-low price.

Best Cyber Monday laptop deals

Apple MacBook Air M2

The 13.6-inch Apple MacBook Air is down to $929 at B&H for an entry-level configuration with 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and Apple’s M2 chip. If you need more RAM and storage space, a model with 16GB of memory and a 512GB SSD is $200 off at $1,299. The M2 MacBook Air is the top pick in our guide to the best laptops, and this 13-inch model earned a score of 96 in our review last year. It’s worth noting that a refresh with Apple’s new M3 chip is reportedly planned for the first half of 2024, and the SSD in the entry-level config is technically slower than the storage in higher-capacity models. But if you need a new notebook right away, the M2 Air still ticks all the requisite design and performance boxes for everyday use.

MacBook Air M1

The older 13-inch MacBook Air that was released in 2020 and uses Apple’s M1 chip is also on sale, with an entry-level config available for $750. We’ve seen this deal a handful of times over the last few months, but it matches the lowest price we’ve seen. It’s really worth stepping up to the M2 Air if you can: It’ll get you a more modern design, a faster chip, a sharper webcam and improved speakers. The 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD in this config is only suitable for casual use, and this model will almost certainly be discontinued when we get the inevitable M3 refresh. But if you’re on a stricter budget and really want a MacBook, the M1 Air is still well-built, long-lasting and fast enough for the essentials. We currently highlight it in our guide to the best budget laptops.

Apple MacBook Pro (M3 Pro)

Apple only released its latest MacBook Pros last month, but the new notebooks are already discounted for Cyber Monday. The 14.2-inch MacBook Pro, for one, is down to $1,749 at B&H for a model with an M3 Pro chip, 18GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. That’s $250 off Apple’s list price. A 1TB model is $200 off at $2,199, while a variant with the more powerful M3 Max chip is $200 off at $2,999.

Meanwhile, a model of the 16.2-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 Pro chip, 18GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD is down to $2,299 at Amazon, B&H and Best Buy. That’s $200 off. A variant with 36GB of RAM is $2,649 (or $250 off), while another with an M3 Max chip and a 1TB SSD is $3,299 (or $200 off).

As the name suggests, the MacBook Pro is really meant for coders, multimedia editors and other professional types who’re willing to trade some portability for additional horsepower and a brighter and faster Liquid Retina XDR display. If you fall into that bracket, though, the new Pros are suitably fast, efficient and elegantly designed. We gave both MacBook Pros a score of 90 in our review earlier this month.

Microsoft Surface Pro 9

A configuration of Microsoft’s Surface Pro 9 with an Intel Core i5-1235U processor, 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and Microsoft’s Surface Pro Keyboard is on sale for $1,000 at Best Buy. That’s $540 off Microsoft’s list price. If you don’t need the keyboard, a variant with a faster Core i7-1255U chip is down to a new low of $1,097 at Amazon, Microsoft, B&H and other retailers. That’s roughly $200 off the config’s usual street price. Another Core i7 model with 512GB of storage is on sale for $300 more.

In any event, the Surface Pro 9 tops our guide to the best 2-in-1 tablets. While its 12th-gen chip is about to be two generations old, this is still the device to get if you want the functionality of a laptop in the slim, touch-enabled design of a tablet. We’re past the point of the year when Microsoft would normally announce a refresh, but the current model should still be useful if you’re coming from an older Surface Pro that’s in desperate need of an upgrade.

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus

Lenovo’s IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus is on sale for $379 at Best Buy, which is $120 off its list price. This is the most recent version of the top pick in our Chromebook buying guide: Its 14-inch, 1,920 x 1,200 IPS touchscreen is good for the money, it’s plenty fast for the kind of web browsing and light work you’d do with Chrome OS and both its keyboard and trackpad are comfortable. This model comes with a Core i3-1315U processor, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of eMMC storage, one USB-A port, two USB-C 3.2 ports and a microSD card slot. It also has a decent 1080p webcam. The chassis isn’t especially light at 3.6 pounds, and we found the battery to last roughly seven hours in testing, which is just OK. But for less than $400, this is a strong value for those who just want an affordable notebook for the basics.

Samsung T9 SSD

The latest Samsung T9 portable SSD is on sale for $110 right now for a 1TB drive, which is the best price it’s been since it came out last month. You can snag this Cyber Monday deal from Amazon or Samsung directly. The T9 is the newest iteration of Samsung’s popular portable drive that we’ve long been fans of, and it supports read and write speeds of up to 2,000 MB/s. It also has dynamic thermal guard to prevent overheating, plus it comes with a USB-C to C and USB-C to A cords so you can use it with a variety of devices.

Samsung microSD card sale

If you need a new microSD card for your Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck or GoPro, a trio of Samsung microSD cards we recommend are also down their lowest prices to date. The 128GB version of the Samsung Pro Plus is down to $11 at Amazon, B&H and others, while the 256GB and 512GB models are down to $18 and $32, respectively. Beyond that, the 256GB Samsung Evo Select is on sale for a new low of $15 and the 256GB Samsung Pro Ultimate is available for $25.

The Pro Plus is the top overall pick in our microSD card buying guide, as it consistently ranked among the fastest cards we tested despite its relatively affordable price tag. The Pro Ultimate offers faster read speeds, so it could be worth the step up if you often move files between your card and a computer. The Evo Select is our “best value” pick: It’s slower than the other two, but it’s cheaper, and its losses won’t be hugely noticeable in devices that can’t take advantage of the extra performance such as the Switch. Each card comes with a 10-year warranty.

Additional Cyber Monday deals

Amazon Kindle

Amazon’s standard Kindle has dropped to $80 for Cyber Monday, which is $20 off its normal price and close to a record low. It’s only been cheaper this year during July Prime Day, when it dropped to $65. Even at its normal price, it’s the best budget ereader available right now, so this Cyber Monday deal makes it even more compelling. It has a 300ppi display with an adjustable front light, 16GB of storage for holding thousands of titles and a USB-C charging port. But as with most ereaders, you likely won’t have to charge this one often as it as a weeks-long battery life.

GoPro Hero 12 Black bundle

You can pick up the GoPro Hero 12 Black action cam with a bunch of accessories for only $350, which is $100 off the regular price of the bundle. The included accessories are a carrying case, a strap, an extra battery, a mount and other add-ons, so you’re getting most of the things you’d need to really use this action cam to the fullest. The Hero 12 Black is GoPro’s latest and greatest in this space, and it has an improved battery life when compared to its predecessor, and it now supports Bluetooth audio streaming.

DJI Osmo Action 3 Creator Combo

As part of a larger sale on DJI cameras and accessories, the DJI Osmo Action 3 is seeing a discount as part of a bundle that includes two batteries, a 32GB microSD card and a case. Separately and not on sale, the set would run you $379, but is now down to $319. This isn’t the newest version of DJI’s GoPro Alternative camera, that one, the Osmo Action 4 isn’t on sale. The newer version has a larger sensor and improved dynamic range, but at a higher price. But if you don’t plan on shooting a lot of low-light footage, you may be happy with the performance of the Action 3. We put it through its paces in our review and liked the excellent video quality, and found it to be on par with GoPro’s Hero 10. The the magnetic clip mount and long-lasting, fast-charging battery are also reasons to buy.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-63-best-cyber-monday-deals-you-can-get-right-now-from-amazon-target-and-others-140025770.html?src=rss

Unsealed complaint says Meta ‘coveted’ under-13s and deceives the public about age enforcement

An unsealed complaint in a lawsuit filed against Meta by 33 states alleges the company is not only aware that children under the age of 13 use its platforms, but has also “coveted and pursued” this demographic for years on Instagram. The document, which was first spotted by The New York Times, claims that Meta has long been dishonest about how it handles underage users’ accounts when they’re discovered, often failing to disable them when reported and continuing to harvest their data.

The newly unsealed complaint, filed on Wednesday, reveals arguments that were previously redacted when attorneys generals from across the US first hit Meta with the lawsuit last month in the California federal court. It alleges the presence of under-13s is an “open secret” at Meta. While the policies on Facebook and Instagram state a person must be at least 13 years old to sign up, children can easily lie about their age — something the lawsuit says Meta is well aware of, and has done little to stop. Instead, when Meta “received over 1.1 million reports of under-13 users on Instagram” from 2019-2023, it “disabled only a fraction of those accounts and routinely continued to collect children’s data without parental consent,” the complaint says.

Meta “routinely violates” the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA) by targeting children and collecting their information without parental consent, according to the complaint. The lawsuit also argues that Meta’s platforms manipulate young users into spending unhealthy amounts of time on the apps, promote body dysmorphia and expose them to potentially harmful content. When the lawsuit was first filed in October, a Meta spokesperson said the company was “disappointed” over the chosen course of action, stating, “We share the attorneys general’s commitment to providing teens with safe, positive experiences online.”

Meta earlier this month published a blog post calling for federal legislation to put more responsibility on parents when it comes to kids’ app downloads. Meta’s global head of safety, Antigone Davis, proposed a requirement for parents to have approval power over downloads for kids under the age of 16.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/unsealed-complaint-says-meta-coveted-under-13s-and-deceives-the-public-about-age-enforcement-231034682.html?src=rss

Amazon Black Friday 2023 is still going: The Elgato Stream Deck MK.2 is 20 percent off right now

Elgato’s Stream Deck MK.2 is 20 percent off as part of a Black Friday Corsair gaming sale at Amazon. The accessory is currently available for $120, which is $30 off the usual price of $150. The Stream Deck is one of our recommended accessories for streamers. It’s also useful for other creators like podcasters, as well as anyone who carries out the same tasks over and over on their desktop system.

The Stream Deck MK.2 (not to be confused with Valve’s Steam Deck) is a highly customizable desktop controller. You can set up a Stream Deck to fire up your streaming software, simultaneously start a stream and let social media followers know you’re going live, mute your mic and change your lighting. If you enjoy annoying your friends, you could use the device as a soundboard too.

The Stream Deck is useful for other purposes as well. You can, for instance, set up macros with AutoHotkey on Windows and Shortcuts on Mac to boost your productivity across a wide range of apps. Alternatively, you can use the 15 LCD hotkeys to control music playback, set timers for focused work sessions, trigger actions through IFTTT, change your Slack status, jump into your favorite Discord channel or paste in a lengthy phrase of text that you frequently use. The possibilities are almost endless.

Meanwhile, the Stream Deck+ has dropped to an all-time-low of $170. That’s $30 off the usual price.

This model has eight LCD hotkeys and four dials that offer users more refined control over a variety of functions. You can finely adjust the volume of your headphones or mic, the brightness of connected smart lights or the zoom level of your webcam, for instance. The Stream Deck+ has a touchscreen that displays what each dial does. You can also use this to swipe between different pages of hotkey functions.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-black-friday-2023-is-still-going-the-elgato-stream-deck-mk2-is-20-percent-off-right-now-211508546.html?src=rss

Doctor Who: The Star Beast reminds us that money isn’t everything

The following discusses spoilers for “The Star Beast” and references transphobia.

If there’s one thing the rebooted Doctor Who always tried to do, it was avoid cliches about its predecessor’s small budget. The 1963 – 1989 run was made on a shoestring, leading to lazy gags about wobbly sets and bad visual effects. The 2005 revival was well-budgeted compared to its British TV peers, but still had to work hard to not “embarrass” itself. Now, the show is back, armed with bags of cash from Disney in exchange for its international broadcast rights. And, for the first time in possibly forever Doctor Who can boast about how rich it is.

But, much as we fans may feel inferior when comparing their love to those glossy Treks and Wars, money isn’t everything. For all those wobbly sets and dodgy effects, Doctor Who is a writer’s and actor’s medium first; great writing and acting can go a long way. It can make you believe an alien parasite consuming a person inside out is real, and not just green bubble wrap. It’s also the reason Doctor Who never succeeds when its creative team tries to ram it into the same cult-sci-fi-TV pigeonhole as its supposed American counterparts. This show thrives on taking left turns and playing on the fringes of the epic rather than aping the SyFy-industrial complex.

So what happens when Russell T. Davies returns to re-reboot the show with a big pile of Disney dollars? He writes a kitchen sink drama about a struggling family that’s thrust into the middle of an alien conflict. He writes a script that hinges not on an extended battle sequence with plenty of practical effects, or a lavish CGI moment of London being torn apart. But one where the big blockbuster moment is when Catherine Tate is locked in a tiny room across from David Tennant. This is the story of a mother who loves her daughter so much that she opts to sacrifice herself without a second thought. The Star Beast says, both in its production and dialogue, that there are better things to have than money, including love. And money was never the thing that made Doctor Who good.

The Star Beast has a difficult job, serving as a 60th anniversary special and as a jumping-on point for new viewers. Doctor Who is already a global hit, but its arrival on Disney+ means it’ll no longer be something people need to seek out in order to find. But beyond a short prologue where the Doctor explains why Donna can’t get her memories back, or else she’ll die, you’re dropped in cold. Keep up. The episode is an adaptation of the ‘70s comic of the same name, where the alien Beep the Meep lands on Earth, pursued by the Wrarth Warriors.

The Doctor (David Tennant), with his new / old face and a new sonic, arrives in Camden in time to bump into Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) and her daughter, Rose (Yasmin Finney). He’s anxious to get out of their way since, if Donna remembers him or their time together, she will die. (In the resolution to 2008’s Journey’s End, Donna absorbed a bunch of the Doctor’s regeneration energy, becoming a human-Time Lord hybrid. But in doing so, nearly burned out her own brain until the Doctor wiped her memory in order to save her life.) But while she’s packing a box of shopping, a falling spaceship streaks across the sky, crashing into a nearby steel works. The Doctor hijacks a taxi driven by Shaun (Karl Collins), Donna’s husband, and asks him to drive to the steel works while finding out what Donna has been up to in the last 15 years.

Last time we saw Donna, the Doctor handed her a winning lottery ticket as a gift to celebrate her marriage to Shaun. But beyond paying for the house they live in, she gave the rest of her £160 million windfall to good causes, leaving them on the poverty line. Rose, her daughter, has set up a sewing business selling handmade toys to rich people in Dubai, to help earn some extra money. And as they walk home Rose, who is trans, is deadnamed by a bunch of kids from her school, much to Donna’s ire.

The Doctor investigates the crashed spaceship, avoiding the UNIT soldiers who are swarming the plant. But he is spotted by Shirley Ann Bingham (Ruth Madeley), UNIT’s new scientific advisor – the 56th – the latest in a long line of advisors to follow the Doctor. Rose, meanwhile, encounters Beep the Meep (Miriam Margolyes), a cuddly alien who is on the run from some giant green bug-eyed monsters with laser gun hands. Her compassion sees her hide Beep in her sewing room in the garden shed, which is eventually discovered by Donna. And then the Doctor turns up, followed soon after by a squad of UNIT soldiers who have been hypnotized by some glowing form in the spaceship.

A pitched and lengthy battle ensues where the Doctor fashions an escape by breaking through the walls between houses to get around the warring factions. It’s here, in a set piece that drags out far too long, that you can feel the show reveling in its supersized budget. Doctor Who of old could have probably staged something like this in its late-noughties heyday but not without a lot of cutting elsewhere. But we’re allowed a moment or two of self-indulgence when you get so much money you can flip a Land Rover onto a parked car and have them both explode in flames, right?

After escaping, the Doctor pulls out a judge’s wig from inside his coat and beams in two Wrarth Warriors. He’s not so sure that the cute and cuddly Beep is as innocent as it initially claimed – as fans of the comic will already know – instead being a genocidal maniac. It was Beep that possessed the squad of UNIT soldiers, and plans to wreak more havoc on the universe as soon as their ship is repaired. Meep kills the two Wrarth Warriors and is about to do the same to everyone else but the Doctor convinces them to take them hostage instead. Marched back to the steelworks, where they’re saved by Shirley who has a set of hidden guns and a rocket launcher hidden inside her wheelchair. Beep’s spaceship is ready to go, whereby its Dagger Drive engine will burrow into London and burn the city, and its nine million or so inhabitants, to fuel its takeoff.

The Star Beast reminded me of a lengthy email, written by Russell T. Davies, in the tail end of Doctor Who: The Writer’s Tale. Towards the end of his first tenure running the show, Davies wrote to Benjamin Cook discussing his process. But the email also had the tone of someone addressing the criticisms that had perhaps dogged much of his initial tenure on the series. I’m paraphrasing, but his point was that structure was far less important to him than emotional catharsis. A Davies story is often messy and disorganized, much like life, in contrast to the Swiss Watch formalism of his successor, Steven Moffat. It should come as no surprise that The Star Beast doesn’t quite gel on the structural level, and is instead a series of big, emotionally cathartic set pieces.

But Davies’ instincts are right, and while many shows would build to a wide-frame and glossy climax, Davies shrinks it down. Catherine Tate leaps onto the spaceship to help the Doctor, willingly risking her life to save her daughter and the rest of London. Here, when it’s just David Tennant and Catherine Tate in a small, round room, separated by a glass partition, that things get intense. The whole episode, in fact, hinges on Tate’s acting as she makes the decision to die to save her family, a bigger and better moment than a thousand flipped Land Rovers.

And to fix things, the Doctor has to unlock those memories, sealed away inside Donna’s brain, of when her mind had merged with the Doctor. With it, she is able to help destroy the ship’s launch mechanism in a big moment of heroism before dying in the Doctor’s arms. But, when rescue arrives, she’s not actually dead, and it’s all thanks to Rose, who was helping outside all along. The hidden memories, and the Doctor’s power, were passed down to Rose in the womb who diluted their intensity enough not to overwhelm and kill Donna. It’s a seemingly sweet way to resolve the story, but I’m not sure if the implication the show makes is the one Davies intends. But I’m going to leave the nature of the episode’s resolution, and how it relates to Rose’s gender in the hands of infinitely better-qualified writers.

The episode ends with the Doctor and Donna cruelly preventing Rose from taking a look at the new TARDIS. Which, much like the rest of the episode, is a big money moment, with what feels like the biggest console room set ever. Again, there are probably too many beauty passes over the architecture as the show reminds everyone what it can do with some extra cash. Sadly, the coffee machine gets just one run out before Donna spills a cup all over the console and the TARDIS is engulfed in flame. Man, it feels good to be excited about the next episode of Doctor Who, and that’s a feeling I haven’t felt since March 1st, 2020.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/doctor-who-the-star-beast-reminds-us-that-money-isnt-everything-200008217.html?src=rss

This Black Friday gaming monitor deal takes $120 off one of our favorite LG OLED displays

The biggest shopping event of the year is a great opportunity to beef up your gaming setup. As part of a Black Friday LG sale at Amazon, our pick for the very best gaming monitor has dropped to an all-time-low price. If money’s not too much of an obstacle, it’s worth taking a look at the LG 27GR95QE-B. It has dropped by $120 to $780.

This is a 27-inch OLED QHD display with a resolution of 1440p, 240Hz refresh rate and sub-1ms pixel response times. We have yet to see a dedicated gaming monitor that delivers better HDR performance. However, it’s worth noting that, at a maximum of around 200 nits, the display isn’t very bright.

It’s also worth bearing in mind the typical issues with OLED displays, such as potential burn-ins and text legibility. But if those aren’t a concern for you and you have the cash to spare, we highly recommend the LG 27GR95QE-B.

If you’d rather snap up a mid-range monitor, consider LG’s 27GL83A-B. That’s also available for an all-time-low price, albeit at a far more palatable $200. That’s $100 off.

The 27GL83A-B is one of our favorite mid-range gaming monitors. It has a 27-inch IPS display, 165Hz refresh rate and a QHD 1440p resolution. Unless you have a high-end gaming rig (say one with a GeForce RTX 4080 or 4090 GPU), this monitor should more than do the trick.

On the downside, the power supply isn’t built into the display’s housing, so you’ll have a cumbersome power brick to deal with. Also, like most LCD displays, you won’t get true HDR here. That said, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better mid-range gaming monitor for $200.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/this-black-friday-gaming-monitor-deal-takes-120-off-one-of-our-favorite-lg-oled-displays-201517396.html?src=rss

The best Lego Black Friday deals on Amazon are still live: Here are our favorite deals on Marvel, Star Wars and Mario sets

For those looking to finish a bit of holiday shopping ahead of time, some of the best Lego sets remain on sale ahead of Cyber Monday. There are a few to choose from, starting with the Iron Man Armory. This 496-piece kit is suitable for children seven years and older. Normally, it costs $90, but right now it’s more than half off at $41. The set comes with five minifigures — including an appropriately smug Tony Stark – and three battle suits. Plus, you get one of Stark’s sports cars, though it’s not an Audi R8 like the one seen in Endgame.

If your kid is more of a Guardians of the Galaxy fan, the Spectacular Spaceship is also on sale. After a 40 percent discount, this $100 set is down to $60. Being slightly more complex and made up of 1108 pieces, the New Guardians’ Ship is suitable for children aged 10 and older. It comes with five minifigures from the latest movie: Mantis, Drax, Star-Lord, Nebula and Adam Warlock. The cockpit of the ship is large enough to seat three of the characters. If you download the Lego Builder app, you can access additional instructions on how to put the set together.

For the Star Wars fan in your family, consider the Millennium Falcon Rise of Skywalker set. Thanks to a 20 percent discount, it will set you back $136, instead of $170 like normal. This impressive set is made up of 1,351 pieces and comes with six minifigures representing R2D2, CP3O, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, Finn and Boolio. It’s also not just a display piece, with the Falcon’s turrets able to rotate. You can even lift up the top of the starship to see inside.

Last but not least, there’s the Super Mario Adventures Starter Course. At the moment, it’s 20 percent off, making it $48 instead of $60. This set is suitable for kids as young as six years old, so it’s a great option for younger children. Compared to the Lego Marvel sets, what makes the Mario ones so great is that they encourage kids to be creative by thinking up their own course designs instead of simply follow an instruction manual.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-lego-black-friday-deals-on-amazon-are-still-live-here-are-our-favorite-deals-on-marvel-star-wars-and-mario-sets-184535080.html?src=rss

Black Friday TV deals: The Samsung Frame TV is still on sale for up to $1,000 off

Samsung’s Frame TV has hit record low prices thanks to Black Friday deals at Amazon and Samsung, with discounts on every size available. The 55-inch Frame TV is $520 off — a 35 percent discount — bringing it down to just $978. If you want to go big, the 85-inch Frame is a full $1,000 off, for a sale price of $3,298. With seven different size options starting at 32 inches, there’s something for everyone. The Frame is designed to complement its surroundings when it’s not in use, displaying art rather than standing out as the black mirror eyesore we’ve become accustomed to with standard TVs.

The discounts apply to the most recent 4K QLED Frame TVs, all of which feature Samsung’s anti-reflection matte display. The Frame comes with a slim-fit wall mount so it can be hung flush with the wall, just like any painting or framed picture, and offers 100 percent Color Volume with Quantum Dot technology to make colors pop. When it’s not in use, you can put it in Art Mode, which will display the art of your choosing. The Frame is a game-changer for anyone who detests how TVs clash with their home decor.

Samsung offers 10 free artworks to choose from, or you can subscribe to the Samsung Art store for access to curated collections from its museum partners, like The Louvre. You can also upload your own images to display, and use it like a massive digital picture frame. When the TV is in Art Mode, it can be programmed to display artwork based on whether you’re in the room. With motion sensing, The Frame can identify when you’ve left and turn off the display so it isn’t projecting to an empty room. It’ll come back on when you return.

Like Samsung’s other smart TVs, The Frame is powered by Tizen, and it’ll have all the apps you need for your streaming purposes. You can also stream Xbox games to your TV through Samsung’s Gaming hub if you have Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. The Frame comes in seven sizes: 32-inch, 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch, 65-inch, 75-inch and 85-inch. It might normally be a bit of a splurge, but there’s potential to save hundreds of dollars with the current Black Friday sales.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/black-friday-tv-deals-the-samsung-frame-tv-is-still-on-sale-for-up-to-1000-off-193053842.html?src=rss

The Google Nest Wi-Fi Pro is still on sale for Black Friday, with discounts up to $120 off

If you’re fed up with spotty Wi-Fi connection in some parts of your home, now’s a great time to pick up a pack of Google Nest Wi-Fi Pro 6E mesh routers while they’re steeply discounted on Amazon for Black Friday. You can get a three-pack for just $280 — a record low, shaving $120 off the usual price of $400 for the bundle. Amazon is also running a deal on two-packs of the Nest Wi-Fi Pro, bringing the price down to just $200. Mesh Wi-Fi networks create multiple points of connectivity so the signal can be distributed more reliably all throughout the home.

Google’s Nest Wi-Fi Pro 6E is made for the latest generation of Wi-Fi, and touts faster internet speeds, shorter loading times and consistent connection. Each device provides coverage for areas up to 2,200 square feet, so a three-pack can cover up to 6,600 square feet together. The Nest Wi-Fi Pro is one of the best Wi-Fi routers available, especially for anyone looking for easy setup. It’s controlled through the Google Home app, where you’ll be able to see every device that’s connected to it.

The Nest Pro 6E offers tri-band connectivity, supporting the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands. You’ll be able to make the most out of newer devices that support the latest Wi-Fi standard, freeing up some of the congestion on the other bands, which will support your older devices. However, Google Nest Pro 6E isn’t compatible with older Google Nest Wi-Fi devices, so if you’re intending on using it to upgrade an existing system, be prepared for a full overhaul.

The device itself is sleek and unobtrusive, coming in a white color dubbed Snow for the deal on the two- and three-packs. But, it doesn’t have a built-in speaker, unlike other Nest Wi-Fi models. In our review, we found it achieved stable connection throughout the home, even managing decent connection in areas previously considered to be dead zones. We gave it a review score of 87. There aren’t many frills, but if what you’re after is a straightforward mesh Wi-Fi network that you can rely on not to crap out on you for streaming, internet browsing and video calls, the Google Nest Pro 6E is a great option.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-google-nest-wi-fi-pro-is-still-on-sale-for-black-friday-with-discounts-up-to-120-off-174506958.html?src=rss