Kalakshar US

Amazon’s Blink Mini security cameras are down to $20 each right now, as part of a larger sale on security devices from the brand. That’s $2.50 above the lowest price we’ve seen and amounts to a 33 percent discount. The small, plug-in camera takes 1080p video during the day and infrared footage at night while the built-in mic and speaker let you hear and talk with whomever is in the room. You can set it to send notifications to your phone when motion is detected so you can view a live feed. If you connect it to a compatible smart display, like an Echo Show or Fire TV, you can view footage from those screens too. Keep in mind that Blink cameras only work with Alexa-enabled products. 

Elsewhere in the Blink sale, you can get a single Blink Outdoor 4 for $65, which is a record low price and $35 percent off its full $100 price tag. We named the Blink Outdoor 4 camera the best wireless security camera in our guide to smart home devices. The weather-proof camera can run for a claimed two years on a set of AA batteries (which are included). It also comes with a screw-in mounting kit so you can attach it to your house or a fence. The field of view was increased to 143 degrees for the latest generation and it has the ability to differentiate between human and non-person movement — though you’ll need to pay for Blink’s add-on subscription plan to enable that feature. The plan is currently $30 a year for one device or $100 a year for multiple cameras. The subscription also enables cloud storage of clips and dual-zone motion detection. Like the Blink Mini, the Outdoor 4 offers two-way audio, 1080p daylight footage and infrared video at night. 

The Blink Video Doorbell system is down to $45, which is 36 percent off the $70 list price and also a record low. This one also runs on two AA cells so you don’t have to hook into your doorbell wires, but the option is there if you want the doorbell to activate your existing chimes when someone pushes the button. The Blink Video Doorbell also offers day and night video capture, two-way audio and motion detection. This set includes a Sync Module 2 which lets you store clips locally. 

Cameras like these can be a good way to keep tabs on your home and offer peace of mind when you’re not there, but it’s important to keep in mind that Amazon, mostly through it’s other security brand, Ring, has not always had the best privacy record. Though a recent announcement suggests they may rethink at least some of those practices. 

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/blink-mini-security-cameras-are-only-20-each-right-now-170958462.html?src=rss 

One year after fully embracing generative AI chatbots, Microsoft is giving Copilot a fresh lick of paint. Copilot now has a more streamlined design on the web and in its mobile apps. The company says there’s a cleaner look and feel for the chatbot’s responses, while Copilot will display a carousel of suggested prompts to highlight what it can do.

The redesign comes just ahead of the Super Bowl. Microsoft is running an ad for the big game for the first time in four years. The commercial shows off Copilot (surprisingly enough) and some of the things users can do with the chatbot’s mobile app.

Microsoft debuted the AI-powered Bing Chat a year ago today. The company says that so far, folks have taken part in 5 billion chats and generated 5 billion images through its various Copilot experiences. It notes that Copilot (which is now its catch-all branding for chatbots with “Bing Chat” being phased out) has helped it increase the market share of Bing and Edge, though perhaps not by as much as it would have hoped.

Meanwhile, Copilot now has more image-editing and creation options. Designer in Copilot (at least in some territories) now allows you to edit images you’ve generated without having to leave the chatbot. You can turn an image into pixel art or blur the background, for instance. Copilot Pro subscribers can resize images between landscape and square formats and regenerate them without having to exit the chat. Microsoft will also soon debut Designer GPT inside Copilot. It says this will provide users with “an immersive, dedicated canvas inside of Copilot where you can visualize your ideas.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-redesigns-copilot-for-the-web-and-mobile-173036164.html?src=rss 

We recommend the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds in our guide to the best wireless earphones for those who just want the strongest active noise cancellation (ANC) possible in a true wireless design. If you’ve been looking to pick up a pair, take note: A recent sale has brought the earphones back down to $249, which takes $50 off their usual price and matches the previous low we saw during the holiday season. The offer is available at several retailers, including Amazon, Walmart and Bose’s own online store, and it comes as part of a wider spate of discounts on the company’s headphones, earbuds, soundbars and Bluetooth speakers.

Engadget Senior Reporter Billy Steele gave the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds a score of 88 in his review last September. Again, ANC performance is the big attraction here: The earphones do a superb job of reducing external sound across the board, and Bose’s app lets you lower the intensity of the ANC if it ever feels uncomfortable. (Though, as with most noise-canceling headphones, voices and other higher-pitched sounds will come through a little clearer than bass- and midrange tones.) The actual earpieces are larger than most other pairs, but they’re comfortable, with soft silicone tips that don’t create too much pressure in the ear. 

Bose’s sound signature is a bit bass-heavy out of the box, but not to the point of sloppiness, so it should particularly satisfy fans of hip-hop and pop. If you want a little less low-end, you can tweak the EQ curve through Bose’s app. This model also comes with an optional spatial audio feature dubbed “Immersive Audio,” which aims to give any song a greater soundstage and sense of width. Some tracks will still take to it better than others, but Steele found it to offer impressive detail on the whole.

There are some issues to keep in mind, though. The QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds lack wireless charging by default; to add it, you need to buy a $49 case cover. They also can’t connect to two devices simultaneously. The built-in mic is fine for phone calls, but not good, and the six to seven hours of battery life is similarly just OK. With Immersive Audio on, the latter drops closer to four hours. Sony’s WF-1000XM5, the top pick in our guide, offer a wider feature set and excellent ANC performance in their own right (though they may be less comfortable for those with smaller ears). Apple’s AirPods Pro, meanwhile, still include a bevy of conveniences for iPhone owners. Still, if you want a true wireless set that focuses on ANC and spatial audio, this is a decent discount.

In other Bose deals, the over-ear version of the QuietComfort Ultra are also $50 off at $379. That pair delivers top-notch ANC as well, but it’s harder to justify when Sony’s WH-1000XM5, our favorite wireless headphones overall, is currently on sale for $50 less. The older QuietComfort Earbuds II are available for $199 as well, though our review found the Ultra model’s spatial audio tricks to be worth the upgrade.

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/one-of-our-favorite-noise-canceling-earbuds-is-cheaper-than-ever-155517532.html?src=rss 

Ring has announced a refresh of its popular Battery Doorbell Plus outdoor camera. The Battery Doorbell Pro is an upgrade in nearly every way, as is usually the case when companies slap “Pro” at the end of a name.

Ring says this new model is its “most advanced battery powered doorbell” ever and that it’s packed with features that exceed even its wired doorbells. It boasts radar-powered 3D motion detection, which was also included with the company’s Stick Up Cam Pro. Otherwise called “Bird’s Eye View”, this technology tracks an object’s path through the camera’s field of view so you can monitor where visitors are going and the route they took to get there.

This is paired with an algorithm that sets more nuanced and discrete motion alerts, so you won’t get pinged every time a cat or shadow crosses your yard. You also get something called “Bird’s Eye View” that translates this information into a series of dots on an aerial image of your property.

The visuals have received an upgrade. The camera records 1546p HD+ video and there’s some upscaling features to make the image more crisp. Ring says the doorbell’s dynamic image processing and high-efficiency compression delivers “life-like color and sharpness whether you’re watching in Live View or a video recording from the night before.” To the latter point, there’s a new tool called Low-Light Sight that provides “clear color” videos even in the dark.

The Ring Battery Doorbell Pro also includes a noise-canceling algorithm so you can actually hear who’s at the door, and not just a truck passing by. As the name suggests, it’s powered by a rechargeable battery and not by splicing into your home’s electrical system. Ring is owned by Amazon, so you get Alexa functionality and Echo Show integration. The company would also very much like you to sign up to its Ring Alarm Pro subscription plan for cloud storage, package alerts and backup internet for when the power goes out.

If you’ve been hesitant about Ring products because of where your data might go, the company recently walked back its police-friendly stance regarding video sharing. Amazon says that Ring’s home doorbell unit would stop acquiescing to warrantless police requests for footage from users’ video doorbells and surveillance cameras. 

The doorbell goes on sale on March 6 for $230, with pre-orders going live today. A Ring Alarm Pro subscription costs $20 per month or $200 per year. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ring-announces-a-new-battery-powered-doorbell-with-3d-motion-detection-and-improved-visuals-141521388.html?src=rss 

Chinese hackers have been hiding in US critical infrastructure for at least the last five years, CNN reported on Wednesday. By lurking behind the scenes of transportation, water, electricity and other important systems, the hackers have the opportunity to strike whenever they deem the time is right, US officials say in a 50-page report on the subject. A public version of the full document is set to be released next week. 

Officials from the FBI and the Justice Department previously issued a court order to update software that could succumb to Chinese hacking. The effort aimed to fight Chinese hacking by remotely disabling certain affected systems. According to the department, it was able to remove code from hundreds of internet routers that could have let Chinese hackers in. 

The forthcoming report reveals just how long this has been going on, and how bad a potential cyberattack could be. It’s set to detail hackers’ techniques, while providing guidance to companies behind critical infrastructure systems on how to find Chinese hackers in their systems. There are no signs in the report that hackers have acted maliciously against US infrastructure yet. 

Hackers started by getting into IT systems and, from there, working their way into more important tech behind US infrastructure. They also broke into security cameras at some of the facilities and, in another case, accessed water treatment plants, the report says. 

Last week, FBI director Christopher Wray warned Congress that Chinese hackers were preparing to wreck havoc on US critical infrastructure systems. “Cyber threats to our critical infrastructure represent real world threats to our physical safety,” he said at the hearing.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/us-officials-believe-chinese-hackers-lurk-in-critical-infrastructure-150319581.html?src=rss 

Given how the smartphone market has evolved over the last few years, it’s little surprise that Apple is looking into the possibility of making foldable iPhones. The company surely has all kinds of weird and wacky devices in its research lab, but a new report has shed some light on what Apple’s doing with foldables there.

According to The Information, Apple has created two clamshell-style foldable iPhone prototypes, though its work on the form factor is in the early stages of development. If Apple were to move forward with foldable iPhones, they likely wouldn’t come to market until at least 2026 — seven years after the Galaxy Fold debuted.

There are two main issues that could prevent Apple from selling foldable iPhones, according to the report. First, its engineers have so far been unable to address the technical issues of foldable smartphones. For what it’s worth, the first Samsung Fold notoriously had a gap between the two halves of the screen into which debris could enter. Second, Apple’s designers are said to have found it tough to create features for a foldable iPhone that would make it a compelling enough option for consumers. That’s critical, given the higher prices of foldables compared with phones that have a more traditional form factor.

Another concern for engineers is that they are said to have wanted to make each side half as thin as a regular iPhone so it would be roughly the same thickness when folded. But the tech isn’t quite there yet, given battery sizes and display constraints.

Apple has been tinkering with making a foldable smartphone for several years. It seems more likely that Apple’s first foldable device, should it choose to release one, would be an iPad. That would carry less risk for the company than making a foldable version of its most important product first. Apple wouldn’t need to be as concerned about the thickness of a foldable iPad. Nor would the tablet need to meet as high standards in drop tests. Apple is said to have been developing a foldable iPad since at least 2020.

There are still some challenges when it comes to a foldable iPad, however. Engineers are said to be working on a solution for the crease that emerges in the center of the display after repeated folds. Apple is also reportedly trying to make sure the screen is totally flat when it’s opened and that there’s no bump in the middle. It took Samsung several years and multiple iterations of foldables to develop a hinge that gets rid of the gap between the two halves of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-has-reportedly-made-foldable-iphone-prototypes-152804263.html?src=rss