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Portable speakers can come in handy in all kinds of situations, from camping trips to simply keeping one with you as you move throughout your home (just don’t use one on public transit unless you like being hated with the fire of a thousand suns). JBL makes some of our top picks for portable Bluetooth speakers, and several models are currently on sale for up to 34 percent off. The JBL Charge 5 has dropped by $50 (or 28 percent) to $130, just $10 more than the lowest price we’ve seen for it to date.

This is one of our favorite portable Bluetooth speakers. It has a battery life of up to 20 hours and, handily, you can use it to charge other devices via USB-C. The Charge 5 is IP67-rated for water and dust resistance too.

There are less expensive and still-capable options out there, but the Charge 5 delivers bigger audio than many rivals. The sound quality is good too, thanks to its bright output and solid low end. What’s more, you can pair two Charge 5 units for stereo listening.

Elsewhere as part of a broader sale on JBL products, the Xtreme 3 has dropped from $380 down to $250. That’s 34 percent off and just $20 more than a record low.

This is another of our picks for the best portable Bluetooth speakers. It too is IP67-rated and while it won’t run as long as the Charge 5 before you need to top up the battery (it’ll run for up to 15 hours on a single charge), the Xtreme 3 offers more volume. That could make it a solid choice for a picnic or a backyard get together. However, we reckon it sounds best in close proximity or even indoors, where you can get the most of the bass tones.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/some-of-our-favorite-portable-jbl-bluetooth-speakers-are-up-to-34-percent-off-150938467.html?src=rss 

Disney didn’t waste much absorbing Hulu into its multimedia maw. After taking full ownership of Hulu last November, the company started beta testing integration with Disney+ a month later. Today, Hulu on Disney+ is officially coming out of beta, making it easy for subscribers to access content for both services. Really, though, it’s a way for Disney to push the value of its Hulu bundle, which starts at $9.99 a month with ads. If you want to go ad-free and download content for offline viewing, there’s the Duo Premium bundle for $19.99 a month. And if you don’t have a Hulu subscription, you’ll get a notification that you can join within Disney+ for $2 more a month.

Existing bundle subscribers can hop into Hulu’s shows using a new tab on Disney+, and the company says Hulu content like Shogun and The Handmaid’s Tale will also be highlighted in the main carousel of shows and content recommendations. If you’re old school (like me) and subscribe to Disney+ and Hulu separately, you can also start viewing Hulu content easily (assuming you’re using the same e-mail address for both services). 

I didn’t have any trouble launching Shogun on my Disney+ app, but I was disappointed to find that my existing Hulu viewing progress didn’t carry over. That’ll be particularly annoying for people catching up on older multi-season shows, since they’ll have to manually figure out where they left off.

“This marks the most significant technical, operational, and product evolution for Disney+ since its launch – one that reflects a wider technology transformation that we have been undertaking,” said Aaron LaBerge, President & CTO, Disney Entertainment & ESPN, in a statement. “That work is going to drive an enhanced, more engaging user experience with Disney+ and lays the foundation for the innovations and enhancements we are planning for the future.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/hulu-on-disney-officially-launches-bringing-together-mickey-mouse-and-the-handmaids-tale-152114434.html?src=rss 

There’s good news for anyone looking to upgrade their phone as the Google Pixel 8 is currently down to a record-low price. Woot is running a 33 percent discount on the new Google Pixel 8 — one of our picks for 2024’s best smartphones — dropping its cost to $470 from $700. The sale is on for the next five days or until the smartphone sells out. 

The new Google Pixel 8 launched last October and scored a 90 in our review due to features like its Tensor G3 chip. Google claims the chip allows the Pixel 8 to support more text and natural voice recognition. Plus, the company boasts that the G3 chip has twice the number of machine learning models as the G1 in the Pixel 6. This strength is more important than ever with AI’s growth and the recent launch of Magic Editor, a content-aware fill and lasso hybrid.

Externally, the Google Pixel 8 looks a little different. The screen has shrunk a tad to 6.2 inches from 6.3 inches screen on the Pixel 7 — a small but noticeable change. Also visible on the smartphone are a 50MP primary camera and a 12MP ultra-wide camera. 

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-google-pixel-8-is-230-off-and-down-to-a-new-record-low-price-131621967.html?src=rss 

It never blocked competitors’ apps and services, and it doesn’t employ anticompetitive tactics preventing users from breaking out of its “walled garden,” Apple said in response to the antitrust lawsuit filed against it by the Department of Justice. The company refuted the agency’s claims in statements shared with Apple Insider, expanding upon its earlier response that the lawsuit would hinder its ability to create devices and software that made it one of the most valuable companies in the world. 

The DOJ accused Apple of illegally monopolizing the software app market by imposing limitations on iOS that degrade the compatibility of innovative apps and cloud streaming services with the mobile platform. But the company claimed it only selectively restricts the APIs app developers have access to in order to protect user privacy and security. It gave the same reason for why it implements limitations for third-party digital wallets. The company also said that it never blocked “super apps” from its platforms, pointing out that Facebook, WeChat and Line are available for iOS users. Game streaming services, it clarified, have always been welcome in the App Store, as well.

In response to the accusation that it is anticompetitive for the Apple Watch to be capable of deeper integration with the iPhone compared to rival wearables’, the company explained that offering wide support for all smartwatches means having to develop products with every OS and model in mind. Most importantly, Apple denied that it’s making it difficult for users to switch to competing products, whether it’s because of iMessage’s lack of interoperability with Android or any other reason. Users can easily transfer data from iPhone to Android devices, it reportedly said while suggesting that people may not be switching to its competitors because they simply love its products. 

Apple previously said that the lawsuit, if successful, would “set a dangerous precedent, empowering government to take a heavy hand in designing people’s technology.” It vowed to “vigorously defend against it.” US Attorney General Merrick Garland wrote in a press release, however, that “Apple undermines apps, products, and services that would otherwise make users less reliant on the iPhone” and that it’s “discouraging innovation” that threatens its monopoly by stifling innovation. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-refutes-every-claim-made-in-dojs-antitrust-lawsuit-123223870.html?src=rss