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Right around the Super Bowl is typically a good time for TV deals, as the major brands often lower prices on their older models in order to clear out inventory for their newer (and subsequently more expensive) sets arriving later in the year. In many cases, though, those older TVs can still represent good value. We’re seeing this trend again this week, with well-reviewed options from LG, Samsung, TCL and others all available for all-time lows. We’ve noted a few highlights below, including a 48-inch LG C2 OLED TV for $947 and a 55-inch TCL 5-Series Roku TV for $370. Besides TVs, our weekly deal roundup includes Amazon’s Fire HD 10 for $85, plus discounts on a handful of Anker chargers and Samsung storage devices, among others. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.

The 48-inch version of LG’s C2 OLED TV is down to a new all-time low of $947. While LG is promising improved brightness with its 2023 lineup, last year’s C2 should still offer an excellent image in darker or moderately-lit rooms, with the kind of high contrast, deep black tones and wide viewing angles that are expected from a premium OLED panel.

If you want a larger step up, Samsung’s S95B is generallyregarded as a superior TV overall, one that can get bright and saturated enough to look good in well-lit rooms but doesn’t sacrifice the typical benefits of an OLED display. It’s back down to $1,448 for a 55-inch panel and $1,798 for 65-inch panel; neither of those are cheap, but both deals match the lowest prices we’ve seen.

If you’re looking to pay less than $500 on a new TV, reviewers we trust at Rtings, Wirecutter and elsewhere have praised TCL’s latest 5-Series TVs for delivering impressive contrast and color performance at an affordable price. The panel tops out at a standard 60Hz refresh rate, but it has full-array local dimming and supports all the major HDR formats. Both the 55- and 65-inch 5-Series TVs are down to new lows at Amazon and Best Buy this week, coming in at $370 and $500, respectively.

Just note that these are Roku TVs. If you prefer the Google TV interface, Hisense’s U6H is a good alternative that’s available for the same prices, but it doesn’t get as bright as TCL’s model.

Amazon’s entry-level Fire HD 10 is on sale for $85, which is $10 more than the 10.1-tablet’s previous low at the retailer but still about $30 below its typical street price in recent months. This is the slate to get if you just want something competent for less than $100: Its hardware is nowhere near as nice as an iPad, but its 1920×1200 display is perfectly serviceable, it gets 12-ish hours of battery life, and it’s performant enough for basic streaming and web browsing. Just remember that, like all Amazon tablets, it it comes with lockscreen ads unless you pay extra and lacks (official) access to Google’s Play Store.

Anker’s Nano II 65W is an ultracompact GaN charger with enough power to charge most phones, tablets and even some laptops at full speed. Right now it’s on sale for $35, which is $3 above the lowest price we’ve seen but $15 off its usual going rate. This deal comes as part of a wider range of discounts on Anker charging gear going on this week; other standouts include a multi-port variant of this charger for $46 (with an on-page coupon), and a MagSafe-compatible wireless charging pad for $45.

The 512GB version of Samsung’s Evo Select microSD card is currently on sale for $47, which is only about $2 more than the lowest price we’ve tracked. Typically, it retails closer to $55. The U3- and V30-rated Evo Select isn’t the absolute fastest microSD card in a vacuum, but it’s still more than capable of handling 4K video or storing games with minimal fuss. At this price, it’s a good value if you just want to dump a bunch of storage into a GoPro, Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck or the like.

Along those lines, the 2TB version of Samsung’s 980 Pro SSD is on sale for $180, which is roughly $25 below the NVMe drive’s average street price over the last few months. If you don’t need that much space, the 500GB model is also on sale for $75, which matches an all-time low. A PCIe 4.0 drive like this isn’t essential for most, and the 980 Pro is technically an older model now, but we note it here because it meets Sony’s requirements for expanding the PlayStation 5’s storage. You’ll just need to add a cheap heatsink along with it. (Samsung sells a variant with an integrated heatsink, but it costs more.)

If the 980 Pro runs out of stock, note that the WD Black SN850X is also on sale for $10 more at Best Buy. That one is a bit faster than the 980 Pro, though its gains aren’t as noticeable in the context of a PS5. If you’re looking to upgrade an old computer’s HDD to a cheap SSD, meanwhile, Crucial’s MX500 is a dependable SATA drive, and it’s currently down to an all-time low of $62.

The bird-themed board game Wingspan is down to $39 at Amazon, which matches the lowest price we’ve tracked. We’ve previously recommended this one in past gift guides; apart from being gorgeous to look at it, it’s a thoughtful engine-building game that is welcoming to less experienced players. Games typically last between 40 minutes to just over an hour, and up to five players can join in, so it should be a worthy addition to any family game night rotations you put together.

There always seems to be at least one PC game sale going on at any given time, but if you’re looking for something new to play, that’s not a bad thing. This week it’s Humble’s turn, as the digital storefront has kicked off a “Winter Sale” that’s scheduled to run until February 7. 

There are too many games included in the sale for us to list them all here, but some personal picks include the open-world Western Red Dead Redemption 2 for $20, the tricky 2D platformer Celeste for $5, the classic JRPG Persona 4 Golden for $14, the relaxing puzzle game Unpacking for $14 and the charming 3D platformer Psychonauts 2 for $20. 

All of those are deals we’ve seen before, but all match or are close to the lowest prices we’ve seen. If you prefer to buy on Steam, a number of the sale’s discounts are also available there. Steam has a few others of note, too, such as the co-op friendlyHalo: The Master Chief Collection for $16 and the wild FPS Titanfall 2 for $3.

We gave LG’s latest CineBeam ultra short-throw projector, the HU915QE, a review score of 87 earlier this week, praising its contrast and color performance, decent built-in speakers and classy design. Our main complaint was that its asking price is too high, but a new deal at Wellbots alleviates that concern a bit, as you can now grab the projector for $4,297 if you use the code ENGTV700 at checkout. 

Clearly, that’s still not cheap, but it at least brings the HU915QE closer to other UST projectors we like such as the Formovie Theater. For reference, this device has typically retailed closer to $5,000 in recent months. If you do take the plunge, just be aware that we found the CineBeam’s input lag to be a bit too high for gaming and that there’s no support for Dolby Vision HDR.

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

 

Apple’s rumored mixed reality headset may help you create apps even if you don’t know how to code. The Informationsources claim Apple is working on a tool that would let anyone create augmented reality apps with Siri. You’d only have to tell the voice assistant what you want — you could have digital animals scurrying around the room without the need for modelling, animation or conventional programming software.

The AR creation tool is said to be based on technology from Fabric Software, a Canadian company Apple quietly bought in 2017. The acquired startup’s Fabric Engine let developers automatically create environments and objects using procedural generation, a technique used in games like No Man’s Sky. A Fabric co-founder, Peter Zion, is believed to be running the development tool project. Apple also bought DigitalRune, which sought to make 3D game development easier, in 2016.

Apple might also save you the trouble of creating unique objects for headset apps. You could scan and import objects that, if all goes well, would look and behave realistically. You wouldn’t have to rely on Apple-made stock models. Existing like Object Capture (which creates 3D models from iPhone photos) and RoomPlan (for virtual floor plans) are apparently part of these efforts.

The company has already declined comment. The state of the Siri-based development tool isn’t known, but the sources say Apple’s original plan was to release the suite at the same time as the headset. Current rumors have the wearable arriving as soon as this spring. 

According to past rumors, the initial mixed reality headset (possibly named Reality Pro) may be very expensive and aimed more at professionals than everyday users. However, leaks suggest Apple is still building features that would appeal to a mainstream audience, such as FaceTime calls with avatars as well as health and fitness apps that could include a meditation experience. Combined with the easy development tool, Apple may be setting the stage for a lower-priced wearable by fostering the app ecosystem — there could be plenty of apps by the time there’s a headset you can afford.

 

Get ready for more clickers, quips from Ellie and perhaps a trip to a decaying Seattle: HBO has renewed The Last of Us for a second season. That’s not exactly a surprise, as the adaptation of Naughty Dog’s games is already a huge hit for the network. Some 22 million people have now watched the first episode, five times the number of people who tuned in on the premiere night 12 days ago. The show also saw the largest second-week jump in audience figures of any original HBO drama series.

If you haven’t caught The Last of Us yet and are curious what all the hullabaloo is about, there’s some good news. You can now watch the first episode for free on HBO Max.

The streaming service often offers free tasters of certain shows in the hopes of getting viewers hooked and prompting them to subscribe. The first episode of Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon, another major success for the platform, is free to watch on both HBO Max and YouTube.

For the uninitiated, The Last of Us is based on a PlayStation 3 (and PS4 and PS5) game of the same name. It’s often held up as one of the finest examples of storytelling in video games. It tales the tale of a smuggler who reluctantly escorts a teenage girl across the US after the world has been ravaged by a fungus that turns people into terrifying, mutated creatures.

So far, HBO’s terrific adaptation has largely followed the same story with some smart deviations and changes. Critics have hailed the third episode, which airs this Sunday, as the best installment of the season. It focuses on a side story that’s primarily told through a note players find in the game. 

 

Samsung is holding its first Unpacked event of 2023 on February 1st, and many expect the Galaxy S23 family to be the centerpiece. The company has even teased a few details, such as camera and performance upgrades. But will this phone lineup be a major revision, or a modest yearly refresh? Let’s take a look at what you’re likely to see when Samsung takes to the stage in San Francisco.

Galaxy S23 Ultra

If the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s main appeal was its Note-style pen functionality, the S23 Ultra may revolve around its camera system. Rumors from leaker Ice Universe and others have long pointed to the highest-end S23 model sporting a 200-megapixel main camera, and Samsung added fuel to the discussion by unveiling a sensor that could fit the bill. The ISOCELL HP2 promises extremely detailed photos and 8K video at 30 frames per second while still offering solid low-light capabilities. It might also capture more accurate colors in brightly-lit scenarios. The front camera may get a slight bump to 12MP as well.

It won’t surprise you to hear that Samsung is poised to give the S23 family a speed boost with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. It’s supposedly over 25 percent faster than Gen 1 while offering hardware-accelerated ray tracing for more realistic lighting in games. You may see up to a fourfold improvement in AI processing, too. Qualcomm claims Gen 2 is up to 40 percent more energy efficient, and you might get emergency satellite communication in addition to WiFi 7 networking.

However, the biggest shock may be where you find that chip. Well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims Samsung will use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 to power the Galaxy S23 in every country, rather than using its in-house Exynos chips in regions like Asia and Europe. Critics have routinely knocked Exynos-based Galaxy phones for having worse performance and battery life than their Snapdragon counterparts, but that might not be an issue this time around.

You may not see other sweeping changes, but that’s not necessarily a problem. If leaked images at Nieuwe Mobiel are accurate, the Galaxy S23 Ultra will have a slightly flatter design than its predecessor, addressing complaints about the 6.8-inch screen’s curved edges. You’d still find a 12MP ultra-wide camera, dual 10MP telephoto lenses, an S-Pen and up to 12GB of RAM. You may get a 1TB storage option, though, so you might not have to worry as much about that 8K footage chewing up all your free space.

Galaxy S23 and S23+

Samsung’s more mainstream smartphones aren’t expected to receive as dramatic an update, but there could still be meaningful improvements. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and the rumored 12MP front camera might arrive alongside an ever-so-slightly larger battery. The phones could also ship with 256GB of storage as the baseline — important if you’d rather not spend extra just to hold a sizable media collection.

Otherwise we’ll probably get the familiar 6.1- and 6.6-inch displays of the Galaxy S22 line, not to mention a 50MP main rear camera, a 12MP ultra-wide and a lone 10MP telephoto. Leaked pictures at Nieuwe Mobiel suggest Samsung is redesigning the camera array to look more like that of the Ultra family, so the conspicuous camera hump of the S21 and S22 may vanish.

Galaxy Book 3 Ultra

Samsung rarely sticks to phone introductions at Unpacked events, and there are signs a high-end laptop may be the other star of the show. Samsung’s reservation page hints at a new Galaxy Book range, while the company’s mobile experience president TM Roh makes clear in a blog post that there will be Ultra products in “more device categories” besides phones. Expect an Ultra laptop, then.

Provided a leak at The Tech Outlook is authentic, that new model would be the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra. It’s not entirely clear what that laptop might deliver, but Samsung Display said the high-end Galaxy Book line will feature OLED screens with built-in touch, much like smartphones. The Ultra is also expected to arrive in tandem with a more conventional Galaxy Book 3 Pro and a Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 convertible with pen support. We’d expect improved performance, and possibly extras like pen input and advanced display technology (this is Samsung, after all).

Wildcards: New Galaxy Tabs and Galaxy Buds

There hasn’t been much talk of other product unveilings at Unpacked, and there are even rumors casting doubt on potential releases. The Elecsources claim Samsung has pushed out the launch of a Galaxy Tab S9 family, possibly due to economic uncertainty and poor sales of the Tab S8 series. As it is, the company tends to wait longer between tablet revisions than it does phones — the Tab S8 arrived in early 2022 where its S7 predecessor arrived in summer 2020.

We also wouldn’t count on new earbuds. Samsung introduced the regular Galaxy Buds 2 in summer 2021, and the Buds 2 Pro a year later. Short of a revamp of the so-so Galaxy Buds Live, there’s no pressure on the company to update its in-ear audio roster.

Other products are only likely to appear at Samsung’s later events. Don’t brace yourself for new Galaxy Z foldables, Galaxy A budget phones or Galaxy Watch timepieces this early in the year.

 

Pro surfers will soon start using an Apple Watch during competitions. The World Surf League (WSL) has designated the wearable as official wearable equipment. The organization says it’s the first time that Apple Watch is being “used as official competitor equipment in a professional sports environment.”

Before each heat, every surfer on the Championship Tour will receive an Apple Watch that’s preloaded with the new WSL Surfer app. They can use it to keep track of scores, wave priority and times. The app, which works on Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra, syncs with the WSL’s scoring system in real time. The WSL says Apple Watch fits the bill thanks to its durability, cellular data connectivity and large, bright screen.

“The noise of the wind and the waves can sometimes make it impossible to hear the announcers while competing, and that means you miss crucial information,” Ítalo Ferreira, the 2019 WSL champion and an Olympic gold medalist, said in a statement. “Challenging conditions can make it hard to see the beach and a priority penalty could cost you the heat, so not needing to rely on seeing the beach or hearing the announcers makes a huge difference and prevents guesswork.”

The WSL didn’t say which Apple Watch model competitors will use, but the Ultra makes the most sense. It has the largest screen of any Apple Watch to date and it’s the most rugged version the company has built. Apple says the Ultra has more accurate GPS and water resistance than its other models.

The 2023 WSL Championship Tour starts this weekend in Oahu, Hawaii. If you’re interested to see how the Apple Watch is used in pro sports, you can watch the event on YouTube, the WSL’s app or the organization’s website. Meanwhile, the second season of docuseries Make or Break, which follows competitors on the Championship Tour, will hit Apple TV+ in February.

 

When I look back, many of my favorite games supply a distinct sense of movement, a kind of reworked physics that directly connects my hands to the physicality of the thing I’m controlling onscreen. This thrill is the main reason I particularly enjoy driving games. In a good racing game like Gran Turismo, for instance, each car tells a different story with each track, whether I’m threading a luxury sports car through the curves of the Nurburgring or lugging a Sambabus down the Tokyo Expressway.

That said, exactly how much detail the digital cars in these games can convey can feel limited by a standard gamepad. But with a good racing wheel and pedals, those finer sensations – bumping over a curb, transitioning from concrete to dirt, fighting through a tight corner as your car resists – are more intimate. The way a wheel forces me to put my whole body into steering the car only makes me more connected and engaged. And in competitive games, its granularity can be a great benefit. Recently, I’ve been reminded of these pleasures after picking up Thrustmaster’s T300RS GT Edition.

This is not my first wheel. Previously, I used Logitech’s G29, a popular entry-level model. It helped my lap times for many years, and I’d still consider it a decent buy if you can find it, or its mildly upgraded successor, the G923, on deep discount. But as I continued to sink more time into different kinds of simulators and racing games, I felt I could do better. Logitech’s brake pedal could feel stiff and inconsistent – even preventing me from braking 100 percent in a sim like Assetto Corsa unless I effectively stood on it – and its gear-driven force feedback could come off a bit clunky and imprecise.

After spending several hours combing through reviews and game forums, I settled on the belt-driven T300RS GT as my upgrade. It’s a clear step behind the direct drive wheels that exist at the top end of this market, but I’m more of an enthusiast than a high-level sim racer. And at $450, it’s about as much as I can consciously invest in a game controller, especially a niche one. After roughly six months of use, however, I can confidently recommend it to others upgrading from an entry-level wheel, or those who are looking to buy their first wheel and know they’ll make use of the extra investment.

The T300RS gives a favorable impression out of the box. Though the wheel is coated in rubber (rather than the G29’s leather), it’s grippy, sturdy and pleasingly smooth. The three metal pedals feel cool and solid, and their base stays in place regardless of how much force I put down. The full set of gamepad buttons built into the wheel are easy enough to reach, and the metallic paddle shifters on the back of the wheel have a tight click when changing gears. The wheel is also completely detachable from its base, on the off chance I ever want to pop on a different one instead.

This is a Gran Turismo-branded wheel, and since Gran Turismo is a PlayStation franchise, all the buttons follow PlayStation’s iconography. Thrustmaster launched this wheel back in 2016, so it’s plug-and-play with the PS5, PS4 and PS3 (which I appreciate as someone who enjoys revisiting older games). The device also works on PC, but, unsurprisingly, Xbox and Nintendo consoles aren’t supported.

The wheel’s multi-piece mounting setup requires more work to attach to a desk than the Logitech wheel’s built-in clamps, but it’s not arduous enough to be a serious hindrance. The wheelbase is on the heavy side, though and, as with any wheel, you’ll want to have ample space to hook everything up.

Once it’s locked in, the T300RS GT Edition gives me little to complain about. The point of a racing wheel is to effectively communicate what your virtual car is doing. This does that. When I start to lose grip after taking a corner too hot, I feel it, and I can tell what subtle corrections I need to make to regain control. It’s not as true-to-life as a direct drive wheel, but its belt-driven force feedback is powerful and strikingly smooth, unlike the stepped sensation I’d get with the G29. It’s also noticeably less noisy than the Logitech wheel, which is great when I want to get in a few races later at night.

Likewise, it didn’t take me long to get used to the pedals, and within a few races I had a good sense of how much force was needed to properly feather the accelerator or fully brake. In general, the pedals don’t require significant pressure, which I like. Still, you can adjust the pedal sensitivity, among other bits, through the wheel’s settings on a PC.

One consequence of this motorized setup is that it needs internal fans and heatsinks to keep itself cool. When you’re pushing it, a fan at the top of the wheelbase will blow out hot air. It’s quiet, but you can sometimes smell it. Cranking the feedback effects isn’t the wisest idea for this kind of wheel’s long-term durability, either, so it’s worth keeping the force feedback at a moderate level more generally.

The GT Edition here is a variant of Thrustmaster’s standard T300RS, which is usually $50 or so cheaper. (Both wheels look to be having stock issues as of this writing.) The main difference, besides the GT branding, is that the former has a nicer-feeling three-pedal set with a built-in clutch pedal. The latter just has gas and brake pedals. The GT Edition also includes a spongy “conical brake mod” that you can stick behind the brake to provide a more realistic sense of resistance, though I prefer the looser feel of driving without it. The pedal upgrade of the GT Edition was worth the extra change for me, but, to be clear, the two wheels are otherwise the same, and it’s always possible to upgrade either model’s pedals down the line.

You should view all of my praise here on a curve. Hardcore racers who only play sims like iRacing or rFactor 2 can do better, and they already know that. A racing wheel isn’t some magic cheat code, either: A gamepad user will be faster than wheel user if they’ve spent more time perfecting their lines and braking points on a given track. If anything, using a wheel for the first time can feel like learning to drive again.

Still, the T300RS GT Edition should be an ideal performer for new converts and moderate enthusiasts looking to upgrade. Even if it’s been around for a while, there still aren’t that many belt-driven alternatives that are truly competing with it in its price range.

 

Google has agreed to provide clearer information to users browsing Google Store, Google Play Store, Google Hotels and Google Flights in Europe, the EU Commission announced in a press release. It will soon show whether it’s acting as an intermediary or selling products directly, and better inform consumers about deliveries, returns and repairs and more. It’s making the moves to comply with EU regulations following a dialogue with the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC) that started in 2021. 

“EU consumers are entitled to clear, complete information so that they can make informed choices,” said commissioner for justice Didier Reynders in a statement. “The commitments made by Google are a step forward in this direction.”

Google Flights and Google Hotels will soon make clear to consumers whether they’re selling directly or merely acting as an intermediary for other companies. They must also state what was used as a reference price for discounts, and clarify that Google Hotels reviews aren’t verified. Finally, they must conform to the same transparency rules followed by other platforms like Expedia.com. 

Meanwhile, Google Store and Google Play Store must provide “clear pre-contractual information” on delivery prices, right of withdrawal and repair or replacement options. They must also make it easy to find information on vendors including their legal name and address, along with “direct and effective” methods of contact, like live telephone agents. 

Finally, it must show users how to provide different country versions of the Google Play Store to conform to EU geo-blocking regulations, while allowing them to use payment from any EU country. As it stands now, Google restricts changes to country of residence to once a year, which can cause users to lose content or any credit. The change is designed to let consumers “enjoy the same rights and access the same content, wherever they are in the EU.” Neither Google nor the EU Commission have yet to say when the changes will go into effect. 

 

We’ve finally got new gadgets to review! This week, Cherlynn, Devindra and Engadget’s Sam Rutherford dive into the new 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M2 Max chip. Sure, it looks the same as before, but demanding users may appreciate the performance bump. Also, they discuss where the new M2 Pro-powered Mac Mini fits into Apple’s lineup. And of course, Cherlynn and Sam update us on everything they expect from Samsung’s Unpacked event next week. We’ll get the Galaxy S23, naturally, but rumors also point to new computers too.

Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you’ve got suggestions or topics you’d like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!

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Topics

MacBook Pro M2 Max review and Mac mini thoughts – 1:26

Samsung Unpacked 2023 preview – 13:02

Other news: Hacker leaks 2019 No Fly list – 27:14

Microsoft announces multibillion dollar investment in OpenAI days after layoffs – 33:45

Scientists found a colony of Emperor penguins after tracking poop markings on satellite images – 43:10

Formovie Theater UST projector and LG CineBeam projector reviews – 47:30

Ayaneo 2 handheld review: Like a Steam Deck, but fancier – 59:00

Pop culture picks – 1:06:14

Livestream

Credits
Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Devindra Hardawar
Guest: Sam Rutherford
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O’Brien
Livestream producers: Julio Barrientos
Graphic artists: Luke Brooks

 

In a new study, University of Minnesota law professors used ChatGPT AI chatbot to answer graduate exams at four courses in their school. The AI passed all four, but with an average grade of C+. The University of Minnesota group noted ChatGPT was good at addressing “basic legal rules” and summaries, but it floundered when trying to pinpoint issues relevant in a case.

When faced with business management questions in a different study, the generator was “amazing” with simple operations management and process analysis questions, but it couldn’t handle advanced process questions. It even made mistakes with sixth-grade-level math – something other AI authors have struggled with.

If you’re unsure whether we’re ready for robot lawyers, you’re not the only one. DoNotPay is a free AI-powered chatbot that can draft letters and fill out forms for various legal matters, including appeals for parking tickets. Joshua Browder, the CEO of the New York startup, announced his company’s bot would represent a defendant fighting a traffic ticket in the courtroom on February 22nd. However, he received multiple jail threats from state bar prosecutors if he was to go through with his plan. DoNotPay is postponing its court case. Browder told NPR “The truth is most people can’t afford lawyers. This could’ve shifted the balance and allowed people to use tools like ChatGPT in the courtroom that maybe could’ve helped them win cases.”

– Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

BuzzFeed is the latest publisher to embrace AI-generated content

‘Dead Space’ is the new benchmark for video game remakes

Apple’s Studio Display drops to a record low price at Amazon

Amazon’s Blink Wired Floodlight Camera is now available for $100

Audi’s Activesphere EV concept is built for off-roading and augmented reality

OnePlus teases its first tablet ahead of next month’s official reveal

NYC wants all Uber and Lyft cars to be electric by 2030

Tesla Cybertruck won’t enter mass production until 2024

The electric pickup will only be available in small numbers this year.

During a conference call discussing Tesla’s latest earnings, company chief Elon Musk said mass production of the Cybertruck, its electric pickup, won’t begin until 2024. He still expects manufacturing to kick off “sometime this summer” but warned output would be “very slow” early on. Tesla unveiled the Cybertruck in 2019.

Continue reading.

Ayaneo 2 review: A Steam Deck Pro?

A nicer screen, way better performance, but double the price.

For people intrigued by the Steam Deck but want something with a bit more performance, the Ayaneo 2 is a great little (pricey) portable gaming PC, says Engadget’s Sam Rutherford. It features a newer Ryzen 7 6800U CPU that pumps out frame rates between 25 to 40 percent higher than the Steam Deck, while its sophisticated hall sensor joysticks deliver even more responsive controls. The Ayaneo 2 also features a seven-inch bezel-less LCD display with a higher 1,920 x 1,200 resolution and tons of connectivity, thanks to three USB-C ports. Crucially, it’s based on Windows 11 instead of SteamOS, which means it should run practically any game you can think of. The main downsides are somewhat short battery life (about two and a half hours on a charge), the lack of built-in touchpads and a starting price $450 higher than the Steam Deck. Yeah, that’s about double.

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DOJ says it disrupted a major global ransomware group

The agency claims the infiltration has thwarted over $130 million in ransom demands.

The US Department of Justice has spent months infiltrating and disrupting the Hive ransomware group, the agency announced on Thursday. The DOJ says Hive has targeted over 1,500 victims in 80-plus countries, extorting hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom payments. It first infiltrated Hive’s network in July 2022, providing over 300 decryption keys to Hive’s current victims and more than 1,000 keys to previous victims – preventing over $130 million in ransom payments.

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Hacker arrested for trying to sell personal information of nearly every Austrian citizen

The personal data includes full names, addresses and dates of birth.

Dutch authorities arrested a hacker for obtaining and trying to sell the personal information of nearly every Austrian citizen in May 2020 – and the defendant had also offered “similar data sets” from Italy, the Netherlands and Colombia. Authorities say the hacker posted in an online forum the nine million data sets, which police say consists of “registration data” residents must provide to authorities: full names, addresses and dates of birth – but no financial info. “Since this data was freely available on the internet, it must absolutely be assumed that these registration data are, in full or in part, irrevocably in the hands of criminals,” the police said.

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The best VR headsets for 2023

There’s never been a better time to jump into virtual reality.

Headsets have come a long way since the launch of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive six years ago. The Meta Quest 2 has already been around for two years, and it’s proven to be a very capable portable VR experience. And if you’re looking for a more immersive experience, high-end PC headsets are getting cheaper (and there’s the new PS VR 2 to look forward to). Read on for our top picks.

Continue reading.

 

With the launch of the Galaxy Buds 2 last year, Samsung brought premium features like active noise cancellation (ANC) to its entry-level headphones, while keeping the same $150 price as the Galaxy Buds+. If that’s still too much money, you can now grab a pair at Amazon in multiple colors for just $95, for a savings of $55 or 37 percent. 

Buy Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 at Amazon – $95

The Galaxy Buds 2 received a solid 84 Engadget Review score thanks to a number of big improvements. The biggest is the addition of ANC, along with an adjustable ambient sounds mode. While the ANC doesn’t block external sounds as well as more expensive earbuds, it’s a big improvement over simple passive noise cancellation They also offer improved sound quality, with ample base and balanced sound. It also offers EQ presets and the ability to control features using the Galaxy Watch 4.

They’re 15 percent small and 20 percent lighter than the Galaxy Buds+, making them he company’s smallest and most comfortable earbuds to date. Battery life isn’t incredible at 5 hours (with ANC enabled), but the case holds an additional three full charges and it supports Qi wireless charging as well. Call quality is solid thanks to AI that helps reduce background noise.

All those features make the Galaxy Buds 2 a very solid buy, particularly at the $95 sale price that’s just off the all-time low. They’re designed to work best with Android devices, though so iPhone users will probably want to look elsewhere.

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