Our top air purifier is $35 off in an early Prime Day deal

We now know that the 2025 edition of Amazon’s blockbuster Prime Day sales event will start on July 8, and it’s set to be bigger than ever as it will run for four days. But you don’t need to wait until then for tasty deals. There will be plenty in the lead up to the event, including this one for the Levoit Core 400S air purifier. At $185, the device is $35 off.

It’s not quite the lowest price we’ve seen for this model. However, it’s not too far off that mark of $176.

The Levoit Core 400S is our current pick for the best air purifier overall. Sure, it might not have the prettiest design of all the options we have tested and the companion app might have a little too much going on. But the Core 400S does its job and does it well.

This smart air purifier is slated to clean the atmosphere in spaces of up to 1,733 square feet in as little as one hour. The Core 400S has a cylindrical shape with vents at the top and a touch display that shows air quality readings. You’ll be able to get a sense of the current air quality in your space at a glance with a color-changing ring that will light up in blue, green, orange or red. The 360-degree filtration system is said to be capable of capturing over 99.9 percent of pollutants as small as 0.3 microns, such as dust, pet dander and pollen.

There is an auto mode that should suffice for maintaining air quality, but the Core 400S is compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant voice controls too. The fan isn’t too loud, even when it’s operating at maximum speed — the volume topped out at 62dB in our testing. Meanwhile, at $50 each, the air filter replacements aren’t too expensive compared with those from many of Levoit’s competitors.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/our-top-air-purifier-is-35-off-in-an-early-prime-day-deal-143224919.html?src=rss 

Adobe’s Firefly generative AI app is now available on mobile

When its redesigned Firefly app arrived earlier this year, Adobe launched the platform without Android and iOS app support, saying those would come at a later date. Today, the company is making good on that promise, with both versions available to download from their respective storefronts.

If you’re new to Firefly, it’s the place where Adobe brings together all of its AI image, video, audio and vector generation tools. The company relaunched the app in April at its Max conference in London. Since then, it has been working on enhancing the functionality that’s already there, starting with a feature it calls Firefly Boards.

The tool is, like the name suggests, a way to make digital mood boards. It was available in private beta when Adobe relaunched Firefly. Now, the company is rolling it out to everyone with a few new features in tow, including the ability to easily arrange uploads and generate video from sample assets. With today’s release, Boards also offer continuity through Adobe Creative Cloud, meaning if you download an image and make a change to it in Photoshop, it will be reflected in the board.

Adobe

When the new Firefly first arrived, it launched with support for Adobe’s own image models, as well as several partner systems such as Imagen 3, Veo 2 and ChatGPT image generation. Today, Adobe is also expanding the number of third-party models to include Runway, Luma, Pika and Ideogram. Both new and old model providers have agreed to not use data from Adobe users for training purposes.

According to Zeke Koch, the vice president of product management for Adobe Firefly, most people use the company’s Firefly Image 4 for the majority of their generative AI needs in the app, with its top of the line model, Image 4 Ultra, accounting for less than 10 percent of usage. “Partner models are another step down from that,” he says, suggesting they get little usage. So why then offer generative systems?

“Our belief is that people are choosing other models when there’s a capability that those models have, that our models don’t have, and that they need, and they’re using them in an ideation rather than production context,” says Koch. For example, OpenAI offers instruction-based editing through its image generator, which makes it easy to tweak a picture without generating it again from scratch. Other models, like Ideogram, are better at generating text, and each system offers a slightly different “artistic” style people may prefer for specific tasks.

Moving forward, Koch says Adobe hopes to support as many models as possible, as long as the companies behind them agree to Adobe’s terms. “There are a few models that we’ve chosen not to engage with because we’re worried about data protection issues or things we have to sign to,” he adds.

You can download the Adobe Firefly app from the App Store and Google Play.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/adobes-firefly-generative-ai-app-is-now-available-on-mobile-130055044.html?src=rss 

Pick up a Samsung SmartTag 2 tracker for only $16 right now

We live in a world filled with so much stuff. There’s keys, phones, wallets — the list goes on of things that you need to hold on to every day. With this in mind, it’s often a good idea to get a Bluetooth tracker for all the important things. 

Luckily, right now the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 2 is down to a record-low price. Our pick as the best Bluetooth tracker for Samsung devices is down to $16 from $30 — a 48 percent discount. The only catch is that just the white model has such a steep markdown. If you want to pick up a bunch of trackers then check out the four-pack option, on sale for $78, down from $100. 

The Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 2 is a solid purchase due to features like being IP67-rated water- and dust-resistant, a sizeable keychain hoop and over 16 months of battery life. It also emits a ring louder than competitors like the AirTag or Tile. The only snag is that you must have a Samsung device in order to use it. 

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/pick-up-a-samsung-smarttag-2-tracker-for-only-16-right-now-130753660.html?src=rss 

OpenAI awarded $200 million US defense contract for the use of its AI models

OpenAI has just launched an initiative called OpenAI For Government starting with a modest new contract. The company was awarded $200 million by the US Department of Defense (DoD) to develop “prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in both warfighting and enterprise domains,” according to the DoD’s website.

The contract is the DoD’s first with OpenAI. It will last a year and take place largely in an area that includes Washington, DC and nearby counties in Maryland and Virginia. The company said its new program will provide federal, state and local governments access to its latest models through ChatGPT Enterprise and ChatGPT Gov, along with custom models for national security on a limited basis.

“This contract, with a $200 million ceiling, will bring OpenAI’s industry-leading expertise to help the Defense Department identify and prototype how frontier AI can transform its administrative operations, from improving how service members and their families get health care, to streamlining how they look at program and acquisition data, to supporting proactive cyber defense,” the company said.

Last last year, OpenAI announced that it was partnering with Palmer Lucky’s defense startup Anduril Industries to develop AI for the Pentagon. The companies said they aimed to combine OpenAI’s models, including GPT-4o, with Anduril’s systems and software to improve the US military’s defenses against unpiloted aerial attacks. However, OpenAI and the DoD didn’t reference Anduril or drone defense in their announcements today.

The contract opens up a new source of revenue for OpenAI. The company recently said that it will increase sales from around $10 billion currently all the way to $125 billion in just four years, without providing many details on how it plans to do that. Currently, OpenAI makes money from ChatGPT for consumers, along with business products and its application programming interface (API). It spends a lot more than it makes, having lost $5 billion in 2024 on around $4 billion in revenue. 

In January, OpenAI announced the $500 billion Stargate program to develop additional computing power in the US. The company completed a $40 billion financing round that values it currently at over $300 billion. However, critics have argued that that despite burning enormous amounts of cash on cloud infrastructure, it still has no clear path to profitability. Relations are also reportedly tense with the company’s close partner Microsoft at the moment. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-awarded-200-million-us-defense-contract-for-the-use-of-its-ai-models-120052807.html?src=rss 

Tinder now lets you find double dates with friends

Tinder has officially launched a new feature that will help you find people to double date with a friend. The dating service says it’s a “low-pressure, group-first” way to date, but really, it’s a fantastic option if you prefer meeting someone new with a friend beside you, whether for your safety or your anxiety. To use the feature, you’ll have to tap the Double Date icon and choose up to three friends to create a pair with. As TechCrunch notes, you’ll then be able to scroll through other Double Date pairs who share at least one of your preferences, such as gender and sexual orientation. 

A group chat is created with all four participants even if just one pair gets a match, though you can always swipe right on an individual in the group for a one-on-one chat. According to Tinder, the feature was a hit with users 29 and under when the service was tested. It was also more popular with women, who were apparently three times more likely to like a pair than an individual profile. 

Perhaps more importantly for Tinder owner Match Group, the feature was able to get new users onboard and to convince old ones to come back to the service. Based on its tests, 15 percent of users who accepted a Double Date invite were either new to Tinder or had recently reactivated. In March, the company announced its plans to cut 13 percent of its workforce as a cost-cutting measure after a 5 percent decline in paying users in the first quarter of the year, which resulted in lower revenue and share prices. Double Date builds on the success of Tinder Matchmaker and Share My Date, which “turn dating into more of a team sport,” the service’s head of marketing, Cleo Long, told TechCrunch. It was designed with the understanding that most single people seek support from friends when dating. 

At the moment, Double Date is only available in the US, Spain, as well as parts of Latin America and the Nordic region. Tinder is rolling it out to users around the world in July. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/tinder-now-lets-you-find-double-dates-with-friends-123050143.html?src=rss 

The Morning After: Trump Mobile is a thing

Oh, Gold. It’s not April 1, it’s just a weird surprise. Donald Trump is launching a phone called Trump Mobile, which comes with wireless plans (starting at $47.25) and even a phone called the T1 Phone.

During the announcement event at Trump Tower in New York City, Donald Trump Jr. said they were building something for “people who have been underserved,” and to “make sure that real Americans could get true value from their mobile carriers.”

(Trump Mobile’s only plan is roughly double that of equivalent offerings at other low-cost carriers, like Mint Mobile and Boost Mobile.)

It’s not just phone service, however: The plan will supposedly include a telemedicine service powered by Doctegrity, roadside assistance provided by Drive America and mobile device protection by Omega Mobile Care.

The T1 Phone will be a gold-accented (of course) smartphone manufactured in the United States. So expect to factor that into what it might eventually cost. (Bloomberg has reported it will be a $500 device.)

According to the Trump Mobile site, the T1 phone will have 6.8-inch AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, a rear three-camera setup with a 50MP main camera and a “5000mAh long life camera,” which we’re all guessing is meant to say battery.

— Mat Smith

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Meta and Oakley tease a smart glasses collaboration

Something’s happening June 20.

Earlier this year, reports teased that Meta was working with Oakley on smart glasses, and it seems they’ve almost finished the project. A new Instagram account called @oakleymeta has popped up, and its first post teased an announcement for this Friday (June 20). Instagram’s own official account and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared the clip on their stories. Unlike the Ray-Ban iteration, these new smart glasses are said to be for cyclists and other athletes.

Continue reading.

Android 16 is out (on all eligible Pixel phones)

Major updates include new live update notifications.

Google

Google has released Android 16 to early compatible handsets. The company says new devices will come preloaded with the OS in “the coming months.” As usual, it’s first coming to Google’s own Pixel phones. The biggest noticeable change might be live updates in notifications. This means actions like ride shares and food deliveries will get a progress bar directly in the notifications. Camera wise, Android 16 adds automatic night mode scene detection, hybrid auto exposure and more precise color temperature adjustments. UltraHDR images have been improved, with support for HEIC encoding.

Continue reading.

Teslas hit kid-sized dummies in Full Self-Driving tests

Anti-Tesla organizations repeated the test-drive trial eight times.

Tesla has reportedly pushed back the rollout of its upcoming all-electric, fully autonomous car called the Cybercab. Meanwhile, a recent demonstration in Austin, Texas, showed a Tesla Model Y running through a school bus’ flashing lights and stop signs and repeatedly hitting child-size mannequins. The Dawn Project conducted the tests by , alongside Tesla Takedown and ResistAustin, and showed Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software repeating the same mistake eight times.

Tesla’s autonomous driving feature is formally known as Full Self-Driving (Supervised) and “requires a fully attentive driver.” Tesla even has a warning that says, “failure to follow these instructions could cause damage, serious injury or death.”

Continue reading.

Switch 2 Pro Controller review

Nintendo’s best gamepad simply costs too much.

Engadget

The Switch 2 Pro controller is the most refined gamepad Nintendo has ever made. It’s just a shame that, at $85, it’s so expensive and doesn’t have Hall effect sticks. There are also a decent number of third-party options, if you’re looking for more refined controls.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-111632614.html?src=rss 

This Roomba with an auto-empty dock is down to a record-low price

The Roomba 105 Vac Robot + AutoEmpty Dock has been discounted to $280 as part of an extended Father’s Day sale. This is a record-low price, as it usually costs $450. Math tells me that’s a cool $170 off.

As the name suggests, this lil robovac will automatically head to the included debris dock to empty its contents. It’ll do this after every cleaning session and the company says the canister is large enough to go 75 days before requiring manual disposal. However, results will likely vary on that front. I’m talking to you, pet owners.

This is a solid effort by Roomba, which is a company that appeared numerous times in our list of the best robot vacuums. The suction power is on point and the dock includes a filtration bag that traps allergens. It ships with a multi-surface bristle brush and an edge-sweeping brush. Of course, it also provides access to the company’s LiDAR software for navigation. It can even clean in the dark.

There’s one downside. This is a fantastic vacuum, but it is just a vacuum. The Roomba 105 is not a hybrid unit, so there’s no mopping functionality. For that, you’ll have to spring for a pricier model.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/this-roomba-with-an-auto-empty-dock-is-down-to-a-record-low-price-184105673.html?src=rss 

Borderlands 4 will not cost $80, despite misguided executive comments

Borderlands 4, the latest entry in Gearbox Software’s popular looter shooter franchise, is available to pre-order now for $70, a good $10 less than many assumed it would cost. The game’s price first came into question when its September 12 release date was announced without pre-order details, and Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford suggested that whether the game came with a $80 price tag was out of his hands.

Pitchford put his foot in his mouth in a thread on X sharing a behind-the-scenes video about bringing Borderlands 4 to the Switch 2. A fan replied to the video asking Pitchford to not charge $80 for the game, to which Pitchford responded, “A) Not my call. B) If you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen.”

A) Not my call. B) If you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen. My local game store had Starflight for Sega Genesis for $80 in 1991 when I was just out of high school working minimum wage at an ice cream parlor in Pismo Beach and I found a way to make it happen.

— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) May 14, 2025

Naturally, that came off as a bit glib to anyone surprised by the sudden emergence of $80 games following the release of Mario Kart World. Pitchford didn’t exactly double-down next, but at a PAX East panel later in May, he also didn’t deny the game would have a higher price, noting that “Borderlands 4 has more than twice the development budget than Borderlands 3.

The official pre-order information settles things: the game is not going the way of Mario Kart. The Standard Edition of Borderlands 4 costs $70 and comes with free Vault Hunter, weapon and drone skins if you pre-order. If you step up to the $100 Deluxe Edition, you get even more skins and a “Bounty Pack Bundle” that includes exclusive areas and weapons. For the $130 Super Deluxe Edition, you get all of that plus the “Vault Hunter Pack,” which includes the game’s two story DLC packs and new playable characters. A $70 game is not a $60 game, but if price is your biggest concern, it’s better than $80.

Gearbox plans to show off more of Borderlands 4‘s story and gameplay at Borderlands Fan Fest on June 21. The game is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X / S and PC on September 12. The Switch 2 release is scheduled for 2025, too, and Gearbox plans to share more information about it at a later date.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/borderlands-4-will-not-cost-80-despite-misguided-executive-comments-205622443.html?src=rss 

Instagram is running another test of a repost feature

Instagram is testing a new repost feature. TechCrunch reported that social media network is currently running a test that gives users the opportunity to repost content. The current feature test is focused on resharing a post, the content that appears in a user’s feed, as a new post. The platform does already offer the ability to share a post to someone’s Story, but this post-to-post repost would be a new addition to the available interactions. A rep from Meta confirmed that the tests are happening, but declined to add any additional comments.

Instagram did a very similar test of a very similar feature in 2022 and also trialed a repost button all the way back in 2017. Considering the company has made multiple attempts at an idea that’s already well-established on other social networks, it seems surprising that the platform would once again revisit this idea. Between posts, Stories, Reels and DMs, Instagram already has a lot of unique content types. On the one hand, there are plenty of ways to share and resurface content, either your own or another account’s to the feed. On the other hand, though, having different rules about what material can be shared to which format can put users in confusing situations.

Update, June 16, 2025, 6:22PM ET: Added response from Meta representative confirming the feature test.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/instagram-is-running-another-test-of-a-repost-feature-210309548.html?src=rss 

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