Anker’s Black Friday deals will save you up to 37 percent on some of our favorite charging gear

A number of Anker chargers, cables, power adapters and other accessories are on sale for Black Friday at Amazon, with discounts of up to 37 percent. One key callout is on our favorite premium power bank, Anker’s Prime 20,000 mAH battery with charging base. It’s currently down to $130 for the set and the lowest price ever. At full price, we’ve seen the set go for as high as $200. The base is what makes it really stand apart from other power banks — simply drop the brick on the platform and it starts recharging. 

The screen on the Prime bank is impressive as well, detailing just how much charge the pack has left and how much is heading out of each of the three ports (one USB-A and two USB-C). In our tests, it revived a dead iPhone back to 100 percent in just over an hour and 45 minutes, with enough left over for another three-quarters charge. It brought a spent iPad Air back to full in a little under two hours. Not only is the base an easy way to recharge the battery, it also acts as a charging hub with three ports of its own for powering up other stuff. 

Other Anker accessories we like are seeing big discounts too, including the 67W USB-C charger for 37 percent off, bringing it to $38, matching its all-time low. It has two USB-C ports and one USB-A port, so you can charge your phone, tablet and even a battery pack at one time. 

Our top 65W fast wall charger is Anker’s 735 GaN Prime, which is down to a new low price after a 38 percent discount. It’s got the same three ports as the above wall adapter and outperformed other contenders in our tests. 

Finally, the diminutive and handy Anker Nano Power Bank is seeing one of its first discounts since coming on the market a couple months ago. It’s down to $21 and would make a great stocking stuffer — particularly for those who always seem to have a phone hovering around 5 percent. The small brick has a built-in foldable USB-C connector and in my experience, it got a Galaxy S23 Ultra to 62 percent in about an hour. Plus its easy to use the phone while the bank is pugged in. 

Check out the larger Black Friday Anker sale here.  

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/ankers-black-friday-deals-will-save-you-up-to-37-percent-on-some-of-our-favorite-charging-gear-183048555.html?src=rss 

Cadillac’s midrange Optiq electric SUV takes cues from the high-end Lyriq

Cadillac has unveiled a new entry-level compact electric SUV. The Optiq will sit below the Lyriq in Cadillac’s lineup, and images the automaker shared suggest it will also borrow from the more expensive SUV’s stylings. However, you may have to wait a while before buying one, as Cadillac says we won’t hear more about the Optiq (including its full specs) until 2024.

The Optiq will continue Cadillac’s naming convention of ending its EVs’ names with some form of “IQ.” In addition to the Lyriq, other examples include the Escalade IQ and Celestiq.

Although Cadillac hasn’t explicitly stated so, the Optiq will likely use GM’s Ultium battery platform. Road and Driver speculates that since Cadillac’s SUV is similar in size to the Chevy Equinox EV, it could have similar specs. The Equinox has a 210-horsepower electric motor for the front wheels and an optional 290-horsepower dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup with a range likely capping out at around 300 miles for maxed-out configurations.

Cadillac

Autoblog notes details we already know about the version of the Optiq made for China, thanks to photos and information shared through the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) pre-market vehicle approval process. That model is allegedly 189.8 inches long, 75.3 inches wide and 64.6 inches tall. That would make it around 2.5 inches narrower and seven inches shorter (in length) than the Lyriq. The China model is listed as weighing 4.850 lbs with a top speed of 112 mph. It has two front-wheel-drive configurations, including a 201-horsepower motor and a 241-hp one.

Cadillac’s full press release was short and to the point. “Today, Cadillac has confirmed the fourth vehicle to join its expanding global electric vehicle portfolio — OPTIQ,” the announcement reads. “OPTIQ will act as the entry point for Cadillac’s EV lineup in North America, slotting in below LYRIQ, a luxury compact SUV. OPTIQ’s spirited driving dynamics are designed to appeal to global luxury customers.  Additional details, as well as available features and pricing, will be unveiled next year.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cadillacs-midrange-optiq-electric-suv-takes-cues-from-the-high-end-lyriq-183414934.html?src=rss 

Apple joins Meta and ByteDance in contesting the EU’s ‘gatekeeper’ designation

Apple has joined Meta and TikTok owner ByteDance in contesting their platforms’ definitions as part of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). The legislation allows regulators to designate dominant companies’ services or platforms as “gatekeepers,” or big and powerful enough to act as a bottleneck between businesses and customers, which it can then fine for prohibited behavior. It currently targets 22 gatekeeper services run by six Big Tech companies (Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet’s Google, Meta, Amazon and ByteDance’s TikTok). The law encourages consumer-friendly competition, preventing businesses from imposing unfair conditions on customers.

The EU Court of Justice (via Reuters) posted on X Friday about Apple’s formal objection, announcing that the iPhone maker had joined Meta and ByteDance in contesting its decisions. Although the complaint details aren’t public, Bloomberg News reported last week that Apple would challenge the App Store’s gatekeeper designation. The company said this week it would soon support RCS on iPhone, potentially removing one of the EU’s bones to pick with iMessage consumer lock-in. 

@Apple (Cases T-1079/23 & T-1080/23), #Bytedance (#TikTok) (T-1077/23) and #Meta (T-1078/23) have filed cases contesting decisions taken by the @EU_Commission under the #DigitalMarketsAct #DMA #Competition.

— EU Court of Justice (@EUCourtPress) November 17, 2023

Microsoft and Google have reportedly accepted their DMA designations, while Meta and ByteDance contested theirs. Meta specifically questioned Messenger and Marketplace’s gatekeeper labels, seeking to clarify why they were included. (Meta didn’t challenge Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp’s inclusion.) The company argued Marketplace is a consumer-to-consumer service and Messenger is a chat feature on Facebook, not an online intermediary.

Meanwhile, ByteDance argues that TikTok is a challenger in the social market rather than an established gatekeeper. It claimed designating its platform as such would only serve to protect more established companies.

Like the Digital Services Act (DSA), the DMA has significant teeth. Companies failing to comply can face fines of up to 10 percent of their global turnover, up to 20 percent for repeat offenders and periodic fines of up to five percent of their average daily turnover. Other penalties, including the divestiture of parts of a business, could also be included following market investigations.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-joins-meta-and-bytedance-in-contesting-the-eus-gatekeeper-designation-165915809.html?src=rss 

A GoPro Hero 12 Black bundle with accessories is $100 off for Black Friday

The GoPro Hero 12 Black action camera is on sale for $100 off as part of a Black Friday deal. The sale’s available via Amazon, Adorama and even the manufacturer itself. This deal is for an accessories bundle, so you can get a carrying case, a strap, an extra battery, a mount and other add-ons, in addition to the camera. All told, that brings the price down to $350 from $450.

This is the latest and greatest action camera by the company. We admired the Hero 12 in our official review, calling out the improved battery life when compared to the Hero 11, as it allows for 35 minutes of continuous use per charge. Remember, this deal ships with an extra battery, so that’s 70 minutes, minus 30 seconds of fiddling with the battery compartment.

We also loved the addition of Bluetooth audio streaming, which even works with devices like Apple’s AirPods Pro earbuds. This means you can easily wear earbuds without calling too much attention to yourself while hosting an impromptu vlog or live commentary of some kind. The latency is barely perceptible, if noticeable at all. This functionally also allows you to control the GoPro from afar, thanks to voice commands. Gone are the days of having to chop off those awkward final seconds of footage featuring you clumsily walking to turn the camera off.

The Hero 12 Black boasts a larger image sensor, allowing users to experiment with different aspect ratios using the same footage, in addition to offering an 8:7 mode across every setting. On the downside, this is a modest upgrade of sorts, so many of the remaining metrics remain the same as with the GoPro Hero 11. Your footage will look a bit cleaner, but it won’t be a night and day difference.

Still, this is a good deal for a full-featured action camera that ships with everything you need to not only get started, but thrive. This is a limited-time offer but there’s no set end-date, with the company stating that it “will continue until GoPro terminates the program.”

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/a-gopro-hero-12-black-bundle-with-accessories-is-100-off-for-black-friday-171926991.html?src=rss 

Discord is already killing Clyde, its experimental OpenAI chatbot

Discord is pulling the plug on its AI chatbot, Clyde, less than a year after it was first introduced. Clyde’s support page has been updated with a note alerting users that the bot will be deactivated at the end of this month. The platform announced Clyde back in March, describing it as an experimental feature. It’s powered by OpenAI technology.

“By December 1, 2023, users will no longer be able to invoke Clyde in DMs, Group DMs or server chats,” according to the note. Clyde was intended to act as an AI helper that could be accessed right within the server. Users could also converse with it for fun, and ask it to play games or spit jokes. It didn’t seem to roll out universally, though, and in the months after its release some users complained that their servers never got access to the bot. And, screenshots occasionally posted to the Discord subreddit showed it could easily be coaxed into spouting vile language.

Whatever the reason for its shutdown, Clyde will be no more come December. Discord integrated other AI features in the last year alongside the release of Clyde, including moderation tools, conversation summaries and avatar editing.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/discord-is-already-killing-clyde-its-experimental-openai-chatbot-155231238.html?src=rss 

The 10th-gen Apple iPad is at its lowest price ever in an Amazon Black Friday deal

There’s a good iPad deal to be found if you’re looking for an entry-level model. The 10th-generation iPad has dropped to its lowest price ever. The 64GB WiFi variant is down to $349 for Black Friday. That’s $100 off and $30 less than the previous low. You can take your pick from the pink, blue, silver and yellow hues, since they’re all available for $349.

We gave the 10th-gen iPad, which Apple released just over a year ago, a score of 85 in our review. It’s a complete redesign compared with the 9th-gen model. The Home button has vanished, Touch ID is integrated into the lock button and there’s a larger, 10.9-inch display. Apple has also moved the front-facing camera to the landscape edge, which is far more sensible, particularly for those who take video calls on their tablet.

We found that the 10th-gen iPad offers better performance and battery life than the previous model, though its A14 Bionic chip is not as powerful as the M1 or M2 that you’ll find in a current iPad Air or iPad Pro. The display pales in comparison to those on other types of iPads too. However, if you’re looking for a relatively inexpensive Apple tablet on which you can browse the web, answer emails, stream TV shows and movies, take notes and maybe even take care of some light photo editing, the 10th-gen iPad will fit the bill.

Meanwhile, the 9th-gen iPad has been available at a record low price of $249 for a while. It’s our pick for the best budget iPad, though the performance and battery life improvements on the 10th-gen iPad may make that worth the upgrade given the current sale price. However you slice it, the 9th-gen iPad is the least expensive Apple tablet around, and it’s still capable enough when it comes to casual tasks.

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/the-10th-gen-apple-ipad-is-at-its-lowest-price-ever-in-an-amazon-black-friday-deal-160553943.html?src=rss 

Rivian now offers a wall charger and $2,000 install credit with EV truck purchases

Rivian is sweetening the pot just ahead of the Tesla Cybertruck launch by offering a free wall charger and a $2,000 installation credit when you buy an electric pickup. This deal’s only for the R1T truck and doesn’t apply to the company’s R1S SUV. The Home Charging Bundle, as it’s called, will be in effect until the end of the year.

Here’s how it works. The wall charger ships a few days after ordering the truck, saving you around $800, and the purchase automatically provides a credit with Rivian’s installation partner Qmerit. Just contact Qmerit to set up an installation and it should be smooth sailing from there. According to the installation company, these installation projects typically cost $800 to $2,000, plus a $150 deposit to schedule a visit. In other words, Rivian’s deal should essentially make this free. It’s also worth noting that the R1T qualifies for that $3,750 tax credit.

This enticing offer comes just ahead of scheduled Tesla Cybertruck deliveries, which allegedly begin on November 30. Tesla’s experienced its fair share of controversy regarding the stainless steel dystopian wonder. The company originally instituted a strange policy that would fine Cybertruck buyers $50,000 if they attempted to resell the vehicle too soon, before reversing course after public outcry. There’s also this offputting video. It’s certainly been a long, strange trip since the truck-ish vehicle was announced back in 2019.

Of course, Rivian has had its own issues recently. The company instituted two, yes two, airbag recalls in less than a month. It’s also gone through a couple rounds of layoffs, which is not typically a good sign. It’s not all bad news, however, as Rivian is building a $5 billion manufacturing facility in Georgia.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rivian-now-offers-a-wall-charger-and-2000-install-credit-with-ev-truck-purchases-162252249.html?src=rss 

Amazon Black Friday Deal: Elgato’s Stream Deck+ is down to its lowest price ever

The Elgato Stream Deck+ is down to $170 ahead of Black Friday at Amazon and directly from Elgato. That’s a $30 discount and its lowest price ever — a full $10 cheaper than it was for Prime Day in July. Game streamers, podcasters and other creators are likely to find the production console endlessly useful, with its programmable buttons, touch bar and dials for incremental adjustments to app settings. 

This is the newest streaming controller from Elgato and we recommend its 15-key sibling, the MK.2 in our guide to game streaming gear. This one has fewer buttons (8 instead of 15) but it adds in dials and a touch bar that let you make minute adjustments to volume and image levels, light brightness, camera zoom or whatever else you set them to control. The buttons themselves are programmable with icons so you can quickly tell each button apart.  

Stream decks are game changers (no pun intended) for live streamers with a single button press controlling actions that usually take a few steps. Program a button to mute your mic, activate canned audio snippets, trigger on-screen effects, switch cameras or set off lighting schemes. The deck is also useful for non-game streamers too, allowing for shortcuts in Photoshop for graphic designers, enabling controls for an audio producer’s DAW or handling functions in Premiere or other video editing programs. 

If you know someone getting into game streaming, this could make a great gift, especially now that it’s more affordable than ever. 

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-deal-elgatos-stream-deck-is-down-to-its-lowest-price-ever-163136379.html?src=rss 

The third-gen Apple AirPods are down to $140 in Amazon’s Black Friday sale

Apple’s third-gen AirPods have dropped back down to a record-low price for the Black Friday shopping season. This $30 discount comes back around every so often, but it remains rare in the world of AirPod discounts. That also means that these buds tend to sell out quickly when they’re on sale, so if you’ve needed a new pair for yourself or want to gift these to someone for the holidays, now’s a good time to grab them.

Released in 2021, the third-gen AirPods brought massive improvements to Apple’s popular wireless earbuds. The company redesigned them to be more comfortable and fit better in different ear shapes, and those hardware changes also help lift sound quality. A custom driver and a high-dynamic-range amplifier also bring a lot to the table, and the whole revamped package produces noticeably better sound than that of their predecessors. While these buds do not support ANC, they do support spatial audio, dynamic head tracking and Adaptive EQ, all of which contribute to the overall sound improvements.

Battery life has improved here as well: Apple estimates six hours of listening time on a single charge, and up to 30 hours when factoring in the extra juice their charging case provides. When we reviewed these buds, we managed to get around seven hours of life on a single charge (spatial audio on, dynamic head tracking off), and overall, those battery life estimates are pretty decent when it comes to true wireless earbuds.

These AirPods, like every other pair of earbuds Apple makes, has an H1 chip inside that enables features like hands-free Siri and quick pairing and switching between Apple devices. It’s one of the reasons the company’s earbuds are so popular: if you live within the Apple ecosystem and use an iPhone, iPad or MacBook, using AirPods with any and all of those devices is pretty seamless. Given this sale, the third-gen buds could make a good gift for the Apple obsessive on your list this year, or a good replacement for any aging earbuds you may have.

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/the-third-gen-apple-airpods-are-down-to-140-in-amazons-black-friday-sale-145507691.html?src=rss 

These are the 10 best Amazon Black Friday deals on Kindles, Five TV devices and Echos that you can get right now

Amazon started its Black Friday deals early this year, and many Amazon devices are on sale right now. We sifted through the sale and selected standout deals on Amazon Kindles, Fire TV sticks, Echo speakers, and Eero routers. There’s also a bundle that combines an Amazon display with a doorbell to extend the utility of both. We expect these prices to stay the same through Cyber Monday, so it’s probably a safe bet to do the majority of your shopping now.

Echo Show 5

The Echo Show 5 is Amazon’s smallest smart display and was completely refreshed back in May of this year. The processor and audio quality were improved, but the device remains largely the same. It makes a good screen-enabled bedside alarm clock or a handy kitchen display so you can see recipe videos or make calls as you cook. It’s currently down to $40 which is $50 off and a discount it has hit twice in the past couple months.

Ring Video Doorbell and Echo Show 5

The Ring Video Doorbell paired up with an Echo Show 5 is a great starter kit for a connected home. Right now, the two together are $65. Bought separately and at full price, you’d pay $190, though both devices are often discounted, so this deal is about $10 less than the typical sale price for the two. The doorbell runs on battery or your existing doorbell wires and shoots motion-triggered 1080p video, sending it to the Ring app on your phone or directly to your Echo Show 5.

Fire TV Stick 4K Max

The new Fire TV Stick 4K Max is on sale for $40, which is a 33 percent discount and its lowest price since its debut in September. This new model has a faster processor than the previous 4K Max dongle, and is the first stick to support Amazon’s Ambient Experience, which was previously limited to the Fire TV sets. When you’re not watching, the screen will display art, along with widgets for weather, calendar and smart home devices. The Alexa remote lets you search for and play shows and movies just by talking, and also supports Wi-Fi 6E, letting those who’ve upgraded to take advantage of that tri-band connection.

Kindle Scribe

The base model Kindle Scribe with 16GB of storage and Amazon’s “Basic Pen” stylus is down to $240, which is $100 off its $340 list price and and a new low price that’s $15 less than the members-only deal from Amazon’s July Prime Day. We gave it a review score of 85 when it came out last year and it’s one of our picks in our guide to the best E Ink tablets. At its core, it’s a Kindle ereader that lets you take hand-written notes. That includes drawing, making to-do lists, creating sticky notes and scribbling in the margins of a small selection of Kindle titles (mostly puzzle and journaling books).

Echo Dot

Amazon’s most popular speaker, the Echo Dot is back down to $23. That matches its lowest price ever, which it dropped to for both Prime Day sales earlier this year. It’s our favorite smart speaker under $50. It does a good job of delivering Alexa’s abilities and smart home control and is capable of pumping out louder and cleaner music than you’d expect from such a compact device. It can also set reminders, answer questions and turn off your connected smart lights, just by asking Alexa — which should get even more conversational soon. The Dot with a built-in clock is also on sale, with a 42 percent discount making it $35 or about $5 more than it went for Prime Day in July.  

Echo Pop

Amazon’s smallest Echo speaker, the Echo Pop, is currently down to $18, which is a 55 percent discount and matches its all-time low price. It has the same Alexa-enabled features as a full sized Echo speaker, but takes up a lot less space. Of course, the sound won’t be nearly as full as its larger siblings, so this makes more sense as a way to add the AI’s help to the corner of a room than it does as a dedicated music source.

Echo 

The Echo is the original Amazon smart speaker and it’s been refreshed four times since its launch. The latest model switched over to the globe shape, which allows for larger and more directional speakers. It’s currently down to $55, which is the same as it went for during both 2023 Prime sales, but about $5 more than it sold for last Black Friday. We named it our favorite smart speaker under $100 because it is noticeably louder than it’s two closest competitors, the Nest Audio or HomePod mini and can fill a room with sound. The bass is impressive, though the highs could be crisper. It also brings all that Alexa can do to whichever room you park it in. 

Fire HD 10 tablet

Amazon’s revamped Fire HD 10 tablet with 32GB of storage is now down to $80, which is 42 percent off and represents the new model’s first discount since its debut in September. Fire tablets make great couch companions, handling casual streaming and browsing, though they aren’t productivity workhorses. This generation is speedier and lighter than the previous generation and includes a better 5MP camera for video calls.

Echo Show 10

The latest generation of the Echo Show 10 smart display is on sale for $90 off the list price. That makes it $160 and matches its lowest price ever. The Show 10 is unique among smart displays in that it can pivot to face the screen towards you as you move around the room. Combined that with the upcoming chatbot update to Alexa, and it feels like we’re getting closer to the advent of house robots. In the meantime, you can use the smart display to show you the weather, tell you a joke or start playing M3gan.   

Eero Pro 6E mesh Wi-Fi router

If you want to take advantage of that 6 GHz Wi-Fi band, you’ll need a router (and devices) that support it. Amazon’s own Eero Pro 6E mesh Wi-Fi router is $400 for a set of three, that’s a 27 percent discount and matches the lows it’s hit a few times before. The set of three routers should blanket up to 6,000 square feet with Wi-Fi coverage. In our tests, the routers performed well enough; they’re easy to set up and use, with an app that has a clean UI and step-by-step instructions. Unfortunately, many of the management features are paywalled, whereas systems by Google offer many of those tools for free.

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/these-are-the-10-best-amazon-black-friday-deals-on-kindles-five-tv-devices-and-echos-that-you-can-get-right-now-153025921.html?src=rss 

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