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Amazon has started its Black Friday sales on a number of watches including $60 off the Watch Ultra, its best discount yet. We’re also still seeing nice discounts on Apple’s other new models, including the Watch Series 8 and Watch SE 2nd-gen, with savings up to 13 percent. 

Shop Apple Watch models at Amazon

Unlike the last sale, the Apple Watch Ultra models are available with both the small, medium and large Alpine Loop bands, so they should fit everyone’s wrists. You can currently get one in green, orange and starlight colors, all for the same $739 price with any band size.  

As we detailed in our Engadget review, the Watch Ultra is geared toward outdoor activity and endurance athletes. It offers more refined navigation and compass-based features than regular Watch models, like the ability to set waypoints and guidance so you can follow your own breadcrumbs if you get lost. There’s a new depth gauge and dive computer, along with accurate route tracking and pace calculations, thanks to the dual-frequency GPS. 

Like other Watch models, it also delivers sleep tracking, temperature sensing and electrocardiogram features, plus messaging, audio playback and Apple Pay. It currently offers about 36 hours of battery life, but that will increase to 60 hours maximum with an upcoming low-power mode.

If $739 is still too much, don’t forget that the latest Watch Series 8 GPS model (41mm) is still on sale for $349 (13 percent off) in red or black with two different sized wrist bands. While not a huge update over the Series 7, it does carry some useful new features like a temperature sensor tied to women’s health and Crash Detection. In addition, the budget Watch SE 2nd-gen model is also available at 8 percent off, bringing the already affordable $249 price down to just $229.

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Following its stretchy LCD panels, LG Display’s latest gadget is a super-thin speaker designed to be installed in car interiors while remaining “invisible.” The Thin Actuator Sound Solution was developed with a “global audio company” (LG didn’t say which), as a replacement for traditional speakers in automobiles. 

The system eschews the usual voice coils, cones and magnets found in most speakers, instead employing so-called film-like exciter technology. That can vibrate off display panels and various materials inside the car body to enable a “rich, 3D immersive sound experience,” according to the company. 

With the panels’ small dimensions (5.9 x 3.5 inches and just a tenth of an inch thick) and 1.4 ounce weight, they can be hidden inside car interior parts like the dashboard, headliner, pillar, and headrests. That frees up spaces normally occupied by speakers “without compromising sound quality,” according to LG. 

The concept isn’t entirely new, as we’ve seen similar vibrating panels used in OLED TVs from Sony and LG itself. However, car interiors are a new application with appreciable benefits, if LG Display’s claims about sound quality are accurate. We may find out for ourselves soon, as LG is due to show the technology off at CES 2023 (yep, it’s right around the corner). LG said the speakers will be commercialized in the first half of 2023.

 

Samsung’s 32-inch Smart Monitor M8 plays dual roles, acting not only as a monitor with a webcam, but also a smart TV with built in speakers and support for cloud gaming and streaming. Now, with Black Friday week upon us, it’s dropped back to its all-time low price of $500 (in white, pink, blue and green) at Amazon and Samsung.

Buy Smart Monitor M8 at Amazon – $500Buy Smart Monitor M8 at Samsung – $500

As a computer display, the Smart Monitor M8 offers UHD (3,840 x 2,160) resolution at up to 60Hz, along with HDR10+. With a VA panel, it’s decently bright at 400 nits, offers a 4-millisecond response time and displays up to a billion colors, with 99 percent sRGB coverage. Input-wise, you get USB-C and Micro HDMI 2.0 inputs, along with a USB-C charging interface. Finally, it has a a detachable SlimFit Cam for video calls, making it a solid choice for work or light content creation.

Other features include the ability to change the angle and position with the high-adjustable stand, along with a game bar that makes it easy to switch between cloud services. And with Samsung TV Plus and Alexa built in, you can watch streaming content, play games and even do work activities without the need to be plugged into a PC. Normally the white model sells for $700 and the color models for $730, so you get a 29 percent discount on former and 32 percent off the latter.

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Bob Iger is returning as Disney CEO in a shocking leadership shakeup, with current CEO Bob Chapek stepping down, the company announced in a press release. Iger is set to return temporarily for two years, with a mandate for “renewed growth” and to find and groom his successor. Iger said he’s returning “with an incredible sensor of gratitude and humility — and, I must admit, a bit of amazement.”

“We thank Bob Chapek for his service to Disney over his long career, including navigating the company through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic,” said Disney chairman Susan Arnold in a statement. “The Board has concluded that as Disney embarks on an increasingly complex period of industry transformation, Bob Iger is uniquely situated to lead the Company through this pivotal period.”

Iger handpicked Chapek to follow him as CEO, but a clash in their styles quickly became clear. Iger was known as a talent- and creative-friendly CEO, while Chapek focused on streaming, particularly as the pandemic decimated Disney’s theme park and theatrical distribution businesses.

Under Chapek, however, Disney initially failed to react to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill and criticized Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson over her lawsuit involving streaming vs. theatrical distribution. And during a Disney retreat, Iger reportedly urged the company not to rely excessively on data to make decisions — seen by some as a dig at Chapek, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Under Chapek, Disney+ has grown to 235 million subscribers (including ESPN and Hulu), but the company lost $1.5 billion on streaming last quarter. Its market capitalization has also fallen from $257.6 billion in Iger’s last full year to $163.5 billion. Much of that fall is pandemic related, though, as movie theaters and Disney’s parks were forced to shut down.

The move comes as a surprise considering that Disney had renewed Bob Chapek’s contract for three years (no comment from Chapel was available in the press release). Iger, meanwhile, has a near-mythical status at Disney CEO, having presided over the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox. That legacy will be put to the test, though, as Disney faces challenging times — the company recently announced plans to freeze hiring and said that layoffs are likely to come soon. 

 

Tesla is recalling more than 321,000 vehicles over a software issue that causes the tail lights on some cars not to work properly. The automaker announced the action on Saturday in a National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration filing (PDF) spotted by Reuters. The recall covers 2023 Model 3 and 2020 to 2023 Model Y vehicles manufactured for US customers.

“In rare instances, taillamps on one or both sides of affected vehicles may intermittently illuminate due to a firmware anomaly that may cause false fault detections during the vehicle wake up process,” the NHTSA notice states. “Brake lamps, backup lamps and turn signal lamps are not affected by this condition and continue to operate as designed.”

Tesla will release a software update to address the issue. The company hasn’t had reports of any crashes or injuries related to the bug. The automaker became aware of the problem in late October. In a separate announcement the day before, Tesla recalled about 30,000 due to an issue that can cause the front passenger airbag in Model X vehicles to deploy incorrectly in some situations.

As of this year, Tesla has so far issued 19 recalls in the US. Earlier this month, the company recalled 40,186 Model S and Model X vehicles over a software issue that could cut power steering assistance to vehicles going over potholes. Before that, the company recalled more than a million vehicles over windows that weren’t working properly.

 

Ahead of Black Friday, Amazon has discounted the Elgato Stream Deck MK.2 to $120. The 20 percent discount off the MK.2’s usual $150 price represents a new all-time low for the controller. Add to the fact that streaming hardware doesn’t frequently go on sale, and you have a promotion that budding content creators won’t want to miss.

Buy Stream Deck MK.2 at Amazon – $120

Engadget featured the Stream Deck Mini in a recent gift guide. The MK.2 has the same strengths as its more affordable sibling while adding a few tricks. The device features 15 programmable keys that you can use to easily launch apps, mute your mic, turn on lights, post to social media and more. The number of customization options can be intimidating at first, but Elgato’s software makes setup easy. The MK.2 model also comes with a customizable faceplate, making it adaptable to any setup.

While the Stream Deck is primarily designed for streamers and content creators, anyone can take advantage of its programmable keys to make their workflow more efficient. With a bit of creativity, you can use the Stream Deck to open folders, control audio levels and launch your most used apps. It’s a great tool for those who frequently find themselves in video chats and presentations. As mentioned above, the Stream Deck MK.2 doesn’t frequently go on sale, so act fast if you’re interested.  

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.

 

Following an Xbox Series X/S and PC release this past summer, Immortality, the latest project from Her Story creator Sam Barlow, is now available on Android and iOS via Netflix. Provided you subscribe to the streaming service, you can download the game at no additional charge and experience one of the most highly acclaimed titles of 2022.

Like Barlow’s past projects, Immortality is a love letter to the full-motion video games of the ‘90s. The game tasks you with finding out the fate of fictional actress Marissa Marcel. You’ll need to piece together what happened to her by watching clips from three unreleased films and behind-the-scenes footage. Barlow recruited Allan Scott and Amelia Gray, best known for their work on Queen’s Gambit and Mr. Robot, to help write the story of Immortality. So if you’re a sucker for a good story, this one is worth checking out.

 

Twitter may cut more of its shrinking workforce as early as Monday. According to Bloomberg, Elon Musk is considering new layoffs that would target the company’s sales and partnerships teams. The scale of the potential cuts is unclear but come after a large number of employees rejected Musk’s Twitter 2.0 ultimatum. On Friday, Musk reportedly asked Robin Wheeler, Twitter’s head of ad sales, and Maggie Suniewick, the firm’s partnerships chief, to fire more employees. Both were terminated after pushing back.

Twitter did not immediately respond to Engadget’s request for comment. The company no longer has a communications team. If Twitter moves forward with the cuts, they would come after Musk already laid off 50 percent of the company’s previously 7,500-person strong workforce. With most of the website’s contract staff gone and “at least 1,200” employees departing in the wake of Musk’s ultimatum, there are concerns that the attrition will leave parts of Twitter inoperable.

There are signs that’s already happening. On Saturday, some users noticed the platform’s automated copyright strike system wasn’t working. In one thread spotted by The Verge, someone posted the entirety of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift across nearly 50 tweets. The thread was up for about a whole day and widely shared before Twitter suspended the account responsible for posting the movie.

 

Following two weeks of negotiations that felt doomed to go nowhere, the COP27 climate conference delivered a breakthrough deal to help developing nations cope with the often catastrophic effects of climate change. The Washington Post reports dignitaries agreed to create a “loss and damage fund” in the early hours of Sunday morning after two extra days of negotiations. The Alliance of Small Island States, an organization that includes countries whose very existence is threatened by climate change, called the agreement “historic.” However, as with the Glasgow Climate Pact that came out of last year’s COP26 conference, the consensus is that COP27 failed to deliver the action that is desperately needed to meet the demands of the current moment.

For one, the conference failed to see nations agree to new and stronger commitments to reduce their carbon emissions. According to The Post, China and Saudi Arabia were strongly against language calling for a phaseout of all fossil fuels, as were many African nations. Alok Sharma, the chair of COP26, said (via Phys.org) a clause on energy was “weakened, in the final minutes.”

The conference also left many of the most important details related to the loss and damage fund to be sorted out by a committee that will need to answer some difficult questions in the coming months. Among the issues that need to be decided on is how much the United States, historically the greatest emitter of greenhouse emissions globally, should pay out to vulnerable countries. The conference also ended without a clear commitment from China to pay into the fund.

The committee now has a year to draft recommendations for next year’s climate meeting in Dubai. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said governments took “an important step towards justice,” but fell short in pushing for the commitments that would ultimately protect the world’s most vulnerable people from the worst effects of climate change. “Our planet is still in the emergency room,” Guterres said. “We need to drastically reduce emissions now and this is an issue this COP did not address.”

 

Sonos has rolled out its Black Friday sale for the year, taking 20 percent off a range of its wireless soundbars, speakers, and subwoofers. It’s still Sonos, so some of the discounted devices are still on the expensive side. But deals of any kind on Sonos speakers are uncommon, making this a good opportunity to save if you’ve been looking to expand an existing Sonos system or try out the company’s connected audio gear for the first time.

Shop Sonos Black Friday sale

Here’s a full list of the deals available in the sale, which runs through November 28th:

The top-end Sonos Arc soundbar has dropped from its usual $899 to $719.

The compact Sonos Beam (Gen 2) soundbar has dropped from $449 to $359.

The Sonos Sub (Gen 3) subwoofer has dropped from $749 to $599.

The Sonos One smart speaker has dropped from $219 to $175.

The Sonos One SL, a variant of the One without built-in microphones, has dropped from $199 to $159.

The Sonos Roam SL, a mic-less version of the Roam portable speaker, has dropped from $159 to $127.

All of these devices deliver a relatively clean and balanced sound profile, but the main appeal of any Sonos speaker remains the ability to easily link it to other Sonos devices in one connected audio system. We gave the Arc a review score of 85 back in 2020: It’s the company’s largest soundbar and its most expansive, particularly with Dolby Atmos content. The Beam also supports Atmos, but since it’s smaller and lacks the Arc’s upward-firing drivers, it can’t deliver quite as much detail or bass power. Like the Arc, it’s also limited to one HDMI eARC port. It’s easier to fit alongside a smaller TV, though. We gave it a score of 88 last year. Not included in the sale is the entry-level Ray soundbar; that one is more compact and a step down sonically, but it’s priced at $279.

The Sub, meanwhile, is a powerful wireless subwoofer that greatly improves any Sonos soundbar’s bass performance, though it comes at a high cost, even at this deal price. Again, Sonos sells a more compact and affordable option in the $429 Sonos Sub Mini, but that model isn’t included in the sale.

We gave the Sonos One a score of 90 when it launched back in 2017; it remains a solid audio-focused alternative to smart speakers from Amazon and Google, albeit a bit less adept at voice control. Both the One and the One SL can be used as surrounds when paired with a Sonos soundbar, too. The Roam/Roam SL and Move, meanwhile, are the only truly wireless speakers Sonos makes, as well as the only Sonos devices to support Bluetooth audio. The Move sounds better, but the Roam is significantly more compact. We gave the Move a review score of 80 in 2019 and the Roam a score of 87 last year.

There are plenty other soundbars, portable speakers, and smart speakers that cost less or perform just as well without locking you into one ecosystem, and it’s worth remembering that Sonos hiked the prices of some of these devices last year. Still, this sale makes the company’s lineup a little more approachable.

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