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Engadget Black Friday officially starts tomorrow, but heres the deal: Nearly all of the best deals are live now, and we dont expect further major price drops. Really. And that goes for Cyber Monday as well. So for Thanksgiving, we thought we'd give you a sort of executive summary of the best tech deals this year. This list includes some Engadget team favorites (and some personal ones) along with a bevy of alternate picks, as well as a large swath of Apple deals. That final one is notable because we're seeing some of the best prices of the year in some cases, the best prices ever on a wide range of current Apple gear, including AirPods, iPads and MacBooks, all of which Engadget readers have been scooping up over the past few days and weeks, and the price drops have settled in. If you're looking for a more comprehensive list, check out our best Black Friday tech deals roundup, which has more than four dozen picks and growing. And we've linked to several of our other deal roundups below, too, if you want some more specific breakouts. PlayStation PlayStation 5 Slim game console: As a longtime Xbox guy, it pains me to say this: The PS5 is the game console you probably really want. That's largely due to its impressive list of exclusive titles that you cant play on Microsofts (or Nintendos) rival gaming machines franchises like God of War, The Last of Us, Horizon Zero Dawn, Helldivers and Marvels Spider-Man, to name some of the most noteworthy. If you havent yet taken the PS5 plunge, nows a better time than ever: The Slim version of the console is slightly less chunky than the 2020 original in both girth and cost, starting at just $375 for the all-digital version, and $424 for the PS5 model with a built-in Blu-ray drive. (Get the latter if you want to play disc-based games or movies.) Alas, there are no discounts on the $699 PS5 Pro, but that's overkill for all but the most hard-core PlayStation fans. See more Black Friday video game deals. AirPods Pro 2 earbuds: Apples best earbuds are now on sale for nearly $100 less than their price at the Apple Store, despite being more full-featured than ever. And while the latest firmware update lets them work as hearing aids, average users will be more impressed with their top-notch noise-canceling, as well as their effortless compatibility with Apple devices, from iPhones, iPads and Macs. Want Android compatibility? Go for the Bose QuietComfort Ultra for 23 percent off, or opt for full-size headphones like the Beats Solo 4 (down to $100) or the superb Sony WH-1000XM5 (25 percent off). JBL Clip 5 Bluetooth speaker: Yes, you can get Bluetooth speakers for as little as $20 this Black Friday. But wed recommend spending up for something like the JBL Clip 5. I own and love the predecessor, but this new-for-2024 model adds stereo pairing (if you get a second set) and an adjustable EQ via JBLs app. Its also fully dust- and waterproof, in addition to being partially made from recycled plastics. Sealing the deal? Its currently discounted 37 percent. Save a bit more with the even smaller stepdown model, the JBL Go 4, now marked down to $40. See more Black Friday deals under $50. Nathan Ingraham / Engadget Apple iPad (10th generation): For the past several months, Apple has been blowing out its discontinued 9th generation iPad for as little as $199. But now the current baseline model has dipped down to $250, making it even more appealing. This 2022 model doesnt have the computing muscle to run current or future Apple Intelligence apps, but its otherwise a solid entry in the company's touch-screen computing line, with a Touch ID power button, a big 10.9-inch screen and compaibility with the Apple Pencil (sold separately). Need more storage? The 256GB model is down to $410 twice as much space as youll get with the admittedly nicer and newer iPad Air (also currently on sale for $100 off). See more Black Friday Apple deals. Roku Ultra: Engadgets list of best video streamers is littered with Roku models, including this new-for-2024 Ultra box. And with good reason: This latest high-end Roku pretty much erases complaints from the previous version, with a full range of HDR compatibility, an updated rechargeable voice remote (USB-C, finally) and both Ethernet and Wi-Fi 6 support. The 20-percent Black Friday discount gets it to $80, but if youre on a tighter budget, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K ($29) will get you most of the same features at less than half the price. And we'll give an honorable mention to the Amazon Fire Stick 4K Max currently on sale for just $33 which is a better choice for anyone who uses a VPN to increase their streaming options. And whether you're buying a new streamer or you're already covered on that front, note that Disney/Hulu, Peacock and Max all have some solid Black Friday specials worth checking out. Apple Watch 10: The Apple Watch got a nice redesign for 2024, with a thinner body and larger face the small one is now 42mm while the larger one is 46mm, effectively eclipsing the Apple Watch Ultra. Yes, youll still need to recharge it almost every day, but the always-on screen and more efficient battery make this a nice upgrade for anyone whos still rocking a Series 7 or earlier. With the starting prices down to $329 for Black Friday, its a great time to buy. It's worth noting, though, that the Apple Watch SE has dipped as low as $149, if you dont need all the latest and greatest features. MacBook Air: There are at least three new MacBook Airs you can buy right now, with prices starting as low as $600 for the M1 model at Walmart. My advice? Splurge not only for the latest M3 model, but pay a bit extra to get it with half a terabyte of storage. That 512GB MacBook Air M3 model, paired with the now-standard 16GB of RAM gets you an extremely capable Apple laptop for just $1,049. Thats $250 less than the Apple Store price, and a cool $150 lower than what I paid when I purchased that configuration at Amazon last March. Of course, the inevitable M4 version of this product is expected by next spring but that wont help you hit your gifting deadlines, will it? See more Black Friday laptop deals. Devindra Hardawar / Engadget Meta Quest 3S: Yes, a standard Xbox, PS5 or Switch will never disappoint under the tree, but if youre aiming for bleeding-edge gaming, its hard to beat the Quest VR headset. The latest 3S model delivers most of the same experience as the earlier Quest 3 model at a much lower starting price, and the Black Friday deal Amazon is throwing in a free $75 credit on top of the bundled Batman: Arkham Shadow game makes this a great time to jump in. See more gift ideas for gamers. Apple AirTags (4-pack): This is pretty much the only Apple product priced to qualify as a stocking stuffer, but its a cant-miss gift for anyone whos got an iPhone. Drop one of these little half dollar-sized trackers anywhere a purse, backpack, suitcase or even a keychain and youll be able to track them down using your Apple device. At $24 for a single tag, the better deal is to go for a 4-pack, which is currently hovering at a record-low $73. See more gift ideas under $25. LG OLED TV: The axiom of TV shopping for the past several years still applies: OLED TVs offer the best overall image quality and black levels, bar none. While Sony and Samsung have finally brought some competition to this space, LG remains the go-to choice and the Black Friday season is still the best time to buy. The top of the line evo C4 model will run you close to $1,500 for 65-inch screen, but the very similar LG B4 OLED has dipped under $1,200 at the same screen size. And bargain hunters shouldn't ignore the 2023 B3 OLED, which is currently under $1,000 for the 65-incher at Walmart. If those price tags are all too rich, or if you're not enough of a videophile to care about perfect black levels, don't fret: We've got plenty of other, more affordable Black Friday TV deals, too. Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-28-best-thanksgiving-black-friday-tech-deals-you-can-get-right-now-122523747.html?src=rss
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According to reporting by TechCrunch and others, Threads is tapping into one of Blueskys best new features: starter packs of people to follow. Chris Messina, who invented the hashtag (!), posted a screenshot of the tool to the social media app. You can see an early version of the tool by pasting installedbarcelona://recommended_follow_lists into Safari on iOS if you have the latest Threads app. The version likely coming to Threads should work like Blueskys version. The lists of users are handpicked by people on Threads and can be about pretty much anything. (Engadget has its own starter pack with many of its writers and editors follow along!) Threads has pulled in several Bluesky features this year. The platform recently rolled out custom feeds and the ability to change the default feed to people you follow. Mat Smith Get this delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here! The biggest tech stories you missed Steams Autumn Sale has deep discounts on Steam Decks and select games Shuhei Yoshida is leaving PlayStation in January after three decades The 50 Black Friday tech deals worth shopping right now Bluesky has a verification problem The company is trying to verify more accounts, but its approach is flawed. Bluesky has its own problems. As the upstart social media service surges, the platform is facing some growing pains, like a wave of scammers and impersonators. Unlike many of its rivals, which offer checkmarks and official badges to government officials, celebrities and other high-profile accounts, Bluesky has a more hands-off approach to verification. The company encourages users to have a custom domain name as their handle to self-verify. Engadget currently has the Bluesky handle engadget.bsky.social. But if we wanted to verify our account, we could change it to Engadget.com. Its more complicated than just switching your handle, demanding a string of text to the DNS record associated with the domain. Its all manual and complicated. Continue reading. Investigators say Chinese ship deliberately dragged anchor to cut undersea cables Russian intelligence is suspected to be behind the operation. European investigators believe a Chinese-owned commercial ship deliberately dragged its anchor to sabotage the two undersea telecommunications cables cut in the Baltic Sea earlier this month. However, Western law enforcement and intelligence officials dont believe the Chinese government was involved the probe is focusing on whether Russian intelligence persuaded the vessels captain to drop anchor. Continue reading. Casetify's latest AirPods case is a giant Gundam head If your giant robot tastes are a little more retro than Evangelion. Casetify Sure, there are cases and lanyards and MagSafe chargers, but lets be real: Its all about this giant pointy Gundam head case for AirPods. Continue reading. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121931628.html?src=rss
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The Federal Trade Commission has put Uber in its sights once again. Bloomberg reported that the regulator is investigating complaints about the Uber One subscription program. Customers alleged that the company signed users up for the service without their consent and made it difficult to cancel their subscriptions. According to documents seen by Bloomberg, the Commission opened this inquiry earlier this year. "We will continue to answer any questions the FTC may have about our cancellation policies, Uber representative Noah Edwardsen told the publication. "The Uber One cancellation process follows both the letter and the spirit of the law: Uber One members can easily cancel their membership in the app in fact, the majority of those cancellations take 20 seconds or less." Earlier in 2024, the FTC ratified a "click to cancel" rule that requires companies make it as easy to end a subscription as it is to start one. The regulator sued Amazon and Adobe for similar claims around their subscription products within the past year. This also isn't the first time the FTC has examined the rideshare company. Uber agreed to a settlement with the agency in 2017 around questions of exaggerating driver income to encourage recruitment. In 2018, the company also reached an accord around a data breach and misconduct in trying to cover up the scope of the problem.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/the-ftc-is-investigating-uber-for-its-subscription-policies-232453366.html?src=rss
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