Category: Technology

The Thanksgiving holiday might have come and gone, but one of the best pair of wireless headphones you can buy right now are back to their Black Friday price. Amazon has discounted Sony’s excellent WH-1000XM5 headphones. All four colorways — black, midnight blue, silver and smoky pink — are currently $298, or 25 percent off their usual $400 price.

At this point, the WH-1000XM5 likely need no introduction, but for the uninitiated, they strike a nearly perfect balance between features, performance and price; in fact, they’re the Bluetooth headphones Billy Steele, Engadget’s resident audio guru, recommends for most people. 

With the Sony WH-1000XM5, Sony redesigned its already excellent 1000X line to make the new model more comfortable. The company also improved the XM4’s already superb active noise cancelation capabilities, adding four additional ANC mics. That enhancement makes the WH5 even better at blocking out background noise, including human voices.

Other notable features include 30-hour battery life, clear and crisp sound and a combination of handy physical and touch controls. The one downside of the XM5 are that they cost more than Sony’s previous flagship Bluetooth headphones. Thankfully, this sale addresses that fault nicely.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/sonys-wh-1000xm5-headphones-are-back-on-sale-for-100-off-174551119.html?src=rss 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is sending out 629,344 payments worth more than $72 million to Fortnite players as part of a settlement deal with Epic Games, according to an FTC announcement. The $72 million is intended to compensate Fortnite players who were “tricked” into making unauthorized purchases.

Epic Games was ordered to pay $520 million just under two years ago to settle allegations that the gamemaker “used design tactics known as dark patterns” to deceive customers into making unwanted purchases and allowed children to rack up charges without parental involvement. Epic Games was also accused of blocking users from their purchased content when they disputed the unauthorized charges. About half that money was paid as penalties to the FTC directly. The rest is earmarked for player refunds, and today’s $72 million covers a little under a third of the total amount, with the rest to be distributed “as a later date,” according to the announcement.

Fortnite players can still submit claims for unauthorized charges online at ftc.gov/fortnite.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/ftc-paying-out-first-round-of-fortnite-refunds-181158920.html?src=rss 

Still Wakes The Deep is one of this year’s standout horror games. It’s a narrative-heavy survival title that pits you — an electrician stuck on an oil rig — against eldritch terrors from the briny depths of the North Sea. Not only that, but because you’re off the coast of Scotland, there’s some harsh weather to contend with too. If that all sounds overly cheery for you, there’s a new option to add to the gloominess, thanks to a black-and-white mode.

After you’ve installed the game’s latest update, you can toggle this so-called Silver Screen filter at any time during your playthrough via the video section in the settings. Developer The Chinese Room (Dear Esther and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture) has also added a chapter select feature, so you can now relive your favorite moments from this dark tale in monochrome if you choose.

Engadget Senior Editor Jessica Conditt described Still Wakes The Deep as a modern horror classic in her review and called it one of this generation’s most beautiful games. It sounds great too — having actual Scottish actors voicing the characters certainly helps add authenticity.

Still Wakes The Deep is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It’s included in Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass for Console.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/still-wakes-the-deeps-eldritch-terrors-are-now-available-in-a-black-and-white-mode-173209350.html?src=rss 

If you recently bought yourself an iPhone 16, now is a great time to pick up a wireless charger for it. Amazon has discounted Apple’s new, more powerful MagSafe charger. After a 29 percent discount, the model with a 2m (6.6 ft) cable is $35, down from $49. That’s a return to the all-time low price we saw for the accessory during Black Friday. The more affordable 1m (3.3 ft) model is also on sale. Thanks to a 23 percent discount, you can get it for $30.

Apple refreshed its MagSafe charger alongside the iPhone 16 lineup this fall. Provided you own an iPhone 16 and an adapter that offers at least 30W of power, the charger reaches charging speeds of up to 25W. According to Apple, that’s enough to allow iPhone 16 Pro users to charge their device to 50 percent in 30 minutes. With older iPhones and Qi-compatible accessories, power delivery speeds are limited to 15W. 

Apple’s official MageSafe charger is one of our favorite iPhone accessories. Even at full price, it’s a great purchase for getting a little more out of your new smartphone. With Amazon’s current discount, there’s no reason not to buy one if you prefer wireless charging.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/apples-latest-magsafe-charger-is-on-sale-for-35-154041686.html?src=rss 

Amazon sells practically everything, including tiny homes, so why not add cars to the mix? Starting today, users in 48 cities across the continental US can buy a new Hyundai car from a local dealership via Amazon Autos.

You can check out which models are available at your local dealership and browse by make, model, trim, color and features. The marketplace has finance options and a way to schedule a pick-up from a local dealership. You can even get an instant valuation of your current vehicle’s trade-in value, then just drop it off when you collect your new ride.

Amazon is also offering transparent pricing and promising that this will remove the need for haggling with a salesperson. Talking to a human in 2024? How passé. Since this all takes place using the familiar Amazon interface, you’ll be able to see user reviews of cars and dealerships (aka sellers).

The metropolitan areas where Amazon Autos is available at the jump are Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Birmingham, Boston, Champaign/Springfield, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbia, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Fond Du Lac, Ft. Myers/Naples, Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York, Harrisonburg, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nashville, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Raleigh-Durham, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Sheboygan, Springfield, St. Louis, Tampa, W. Palm Beach, Washington DC.

Amazon says it will add more Hyundai dealerships over time (the two sides reached a deal last year to offer this service). Next year, Amazon Autos will include more manufacturers, brands, cities and features.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/you-can-now-buy-your-next-ev-on-amazon-155634838.html?src=rss 

Video creators on Instagram now have a new way to test out content. The app is introducing “trial Reels,” which allows creators to publish Reels that bypass their followers’ feeds and are instead recommended to non-followers.

Given that so many Instagram creators complain about Meta not showing their content to their followers, this may seem like an odd feature. But in a blog post, the company said that trial Reels was created in direct response to feedback from creators who “feel nervous” about posting videos that may not perform well. Meta said the new feature is meant to make it easier for creators to experiment with different genres and “easily get a gut check on how your content might perform.”

Now, creators will be able to select a “trial” toggle before publishing a video. These Reels won’t show up on a creator’s grid and will be recommended to accounts that aren’t followers (Meta notes that it’s impossible to guarantee a follower won’t come across a particular video somewhere else in the app, like their DMs.)

After 24 hours, creators will be able to revisit the video and see metrics about how it performed, including the total number of views, shares, likes and comments. While Meta says that this type of “trial” content can take longer to gain traction than other posts since it won’t be shown to an account’s followers, it could still be useful for creators that want to post in a more low-pressure format.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/instagram-will-let-video-creators-make-trial-reels-for-non-followers-160016725.html?src=rss 

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League had a rough start. Its launch was delayed, and it lost Warner Bros. $200 million. In more recent news, the developers have announced that Season 4 Episode 8, which comes out in January 2025, will be the last seasonal Episode of the game. Players will finally get to fight Braniac in a final battle.

Not to worry, though. The game isn’t shutting down just yet, as all online features will stay up, meaning you can still play with your friends. If you prefer playing alone, the new offline mode is coming with Episode 8. Offline mode works by starting a new profile or copying your current progress into a new one, letting you pick up where you left off.

You might be wondering if there will be any new content that isn’t a new season in light of this news. This FAQ page seems to avoid a direct answer, only stating what was said above. It neither confirms nor denies “any new content.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/suicide-squad-kill-the-justice-leagues-current-season-is-its-last-161356174.html?src=rss 

Earlier this year, Apple finally offered third-party developers access to its Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology. Not only are iPhone users in the EU receiving access, but other regions can also leverage this technology. Yesterday, Vipps MobilePay became the first Apple Pay alternative on the iPhone using its NFC technology for tap-to-pay transactions.

“Tap with Vipps” is the app’s NFC payment solution. It works for sending money to friends and making online purchases, but that’s not all. You can also pay organizations and associations with it. In other words, it’s PayPal combined with Apple Pay if you want to think of it that way.

The reason Apple is opening up access to its NFC technology is primarily EU pressure. Apple had signed an agreement with the European Commission to open up the iPhone’s NFC technology in July. By doing so, it avoided a legal fine of up to 10 percent of its $40 billion worldwide annual turnover.

With Vipps being the first Apple Pay alternative, Apple’s monopoly on tap-to-pay is finally over. Still, Vipps is a Norwegian firm, and it currently only works there. Customers belonging to more than 40 local banks will be able to use Tap with Vipps to pay, and the company is planning to add more banks to the list. MasterCard and Visa support are also coming before Summer 2025.

Vipps’ success story is likely the first example of a challenge to the Apple Pay monopoly on the iPhone. According to Apple Insider, UK company Curve said in May that it wanted to be the first Apple Wallet alternative. However, Curve hasn’t announced anything yet.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/theres-now-an-apple-pay-alternative-for-iphone-users-in-norway-153634514.html?src=rss 

Another day, another case of the European Commission going after big tech for targeting minors. The bloc’s regulators have probed Google for more information on a secret ad partnership with Meta that targeted Instagram ads at minors on YouTube, the Financial Times reports. 

The Commission has yet to open a formal investigation, but is building on information it requested in October that includes internal chats, presentations, emails and more related to the YouTube ads. Google gathered this evidence during an internal probe codenamed “Tangerine Owl.” 

The FT first revealed in August that Google employees were using a work around to allow for ads directed at individuals under 18. This was a big no no as Google has long banned advertising targeting minors. However, these Google employees told Meta to push ads at a group called “unknown,” as internal data found it had a large group of under 18s in it. The two companies teamed up with media agency Spark Foundry to launch a pilot ad program in Canada and then expanded to the US. The companies halted their plan to expand beyond the two countries and to include other Meta platforms following the public report. 

This is not the first time Google and Meta have been in hot water for their ad practices. In 2022, the duo was the subject of antitrust investigations from the European Commission and the UK’s Competition and Market Authority — however, both entities eventually closed their cases. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/eu-digs-further-into-google-and-metas-secret-ad-campaign-targeting-minors-140047175.html?src=rss