Kalakshar US

Headphones are one of the hottest categories in any major sale and the October Prime Day event is no exception. There are discounts available all over the shop for true wireless earbuds and overear headphones alike. We reckon it’s worth drawing attention to the Beats Studio Pro headset, which has dropped to $180. That’s nearly half off, given that it regularly sells for $350. It’s the lowest price we’ve seen for these headphones to date.

Over the summer, we gave the Beats Studio Pro a score of 81 in our review. So, they’re not exactly the best wireless headphones you can buy. But the conversation changes significantly now that they’re down to $180.

A second-generation Beats audio chip helps to deliver better active noise cancellation, spatial audio and dynamic head tracking than previous models from the brand. We found that voice performance was above average and we appreciated the inclusion of a transparency mode and USB-C wired audio for higher-resolution playback.

There are several reasons why the Beats Studio Pro didn’t score higher than an 81, however. They’re not the most comfortable headphones around and there’s no automatic pause feature that kicks in when you take them off. Even though the Beats Studio Pro are from an Apple subsidiary, there’s no iOS multipoint connectivity option. So, you can’t connect them to, say, your iPhone and Mac at the same time for seamless switching.

Even so, this is an excellent deal, particularly for Beats fans. The sound quality is far better than you’ll find on previous Beats models, so if you’ve been clinging onto an older set for several years, it might be time to upgrade.

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

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/beats-studio-pro-headphones-are-170-off-on-amazon-right-now-for-prime-day-194316696.html?src=rss 

TikTok is making changes to its Effect Creator Rewards program. In a recent blog post, TikTok outlined the upcoming changes, which will include a lower threshold to join, and a new payment structure.

The Effect Creator Rewards program was first announced in May with roughly $6 million set aside to pay the creators of effects and filters. Prior to the program’s launch creators were essentially making filters, mini games and more for little to no reward — despite being integral to the success of the platform. Creators were previously required to have their filters used in at least 500,000 videos. That threshold has now been lowered, requiring creators to have just five filters published on the platform with at least three of them being used in 1,000 videos.  This may open up the program to smaller creators.

The program will also expand geographically. Creators in Brazil, Australia, Canada, Finland, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam are now eligible. While this is a step towards more inclusivity, there’s no indication of when the program may become open globally.

TikTok went on to announce it would be taking a new approach to payouts. Under the new rules, the pay rate will now be variable instead of a flat fee for all creators. TikTok says the payment each creator receives will be based on a few things, such as “the region where the video was created.” As of right now, it remains unclear whether this will be a good or bad thing for creators. If TikTok takes local cost of living into account, we could see creators in the United States pocketing a proportionally  larger amount of the $6 million fund  more than those in developing nations for the same amount of effort.We’ve reached out to TikTok for additional details on how the new pay structure will work and will up update if we hear back.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tiktok-is-changing-how-it-pays-filter-creators-200028299.html?src=rss 

Valve has confirmed that Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) won’t support Mac and older Windows PCs. The game’s predecessor, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), ran on those machines, but the company said since the refreshed title “represents the largest technical leap in CS history,” users on those platforms are out of luck.

In addition to macOS, older hardware, “including DirectX 9 and 32-bit operating systems,” are discontinued. Valve described the abandonment as a “difficult decision” based on technological advances. The company notes that, when combined, users on those platforms represented less than one percent of active CS:GO players, suggesting the gaming behemoth didn’t view legacy support for those platforms as a cost-conscious move.

Valve will offer refunds to eligible players on those systems who bought the Prime Status Upgrade, an optional $15 boost that matches players with fellow subscribers while earning various bonuses. However, there are caveats. Mac users can only get their money back if “most of their CS:GO playtime was on macOS” between March 22 and September 27. Meanwhile, DirectX 9 and 32-bit Windows users must have bought Prime Status Upgrade from Steam between those dates. 

Valve will only offer refunds until December 1. In addition, the company notes that CD keys, gifted purchases and banned accounts are ineligible.

The legacy version of CS:GO, currently classified as a “frozen build,” is still available for players on the defunct platforms. But Valve says that version will lose support after January 1, 2024. Any functionality associated with the Game Coordinator (access to inventory) “may degrade and/or fail” after that date.

Valve launched Counter-Strike 2 in late September after months of hype. The enormous update offers enhanced graphics, upgraded maps and more believable smoke. It uses Valve’s in-house Source 2 engine for more believable lighting, sharper textures and updated geometry. CS2 replaced CS:GO on Steam.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/valve-has-no-plans-for-counter-strike-2-support-on-macs-or-older-windows-pcs-185307909.html?src=rss