Bang & Olufsen has long offered true wireless earbuds, but its designs have all been monolithic models that might not fit as well as you’d like. The company is finally shaking things up, however, by introducing the Beoplay EX. It’s B&O’s first set of earbuds with an AirPods-like stem design, and the audio brand is promising a more comfortable fit thanks to the smaller in-ear housing. Whether or not you consider them more fashionable than AirPods is more a matter of opinion, but the black, black-and-blue and gold colors at least beat Apple’s signature white for variety.
It’s too early to say if B&O’s claims of “superior sound” match reality. The Beoplay EX design allows for the company’s largest-ever (9.2mm) drivers in wireless earbuds, though, so you’ll at least get more power than in past models. B&O further boasts of improved call quality and Bluetooth 5.2 support.
And yes, you’ll get the features that are virtually mandatory in upscale earbuds. You can expect active noise cancellation, IP57 dust/water resistance, two-device pairing and a battery case with wireless charging support. B&O is estimating a healthy (if increasingly expected) six hours of listening with ANC enabled, and a total 20 hours of playback when you use the case.
The caveat, as you’d imagine, is the price. B&O is selling the Beoplay EX for $399. That’s on par with past models like the Beoplay EQ, but they’re considerably more expensive than the AirPods Pro, not to mention other comparable buds like Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 2 and Sony’s WF-1000XM4. Still, this is likely your top pick if you prefer B&O’s sound and minimalist design.
Blackmagic Design has unveiled a raft of new products including the DaVinci Resolve 18 video editing/color correction app and Blackmagic Cloud, a cloud collaboration system designed for editors, VFX artists and others. It also launched the “Cloud Store” networked storage box that uses a familiar-looking enclosure.
The key product is DaVinci Resolve 18 which now includes a feature called Blackmagic Cloud designed to help content creators work together. Multiple users around the world can instantly share projects, allowing editors, colorists, VFX artists and audio engineers to collaborate in real time on the same timeline.
Blackmagic Design
A big part of that is the Blackmagic Proxy Generator App, which automatically generates smallish proxy video files (H.264, H.265 and Apple ProRes) that can be transferred quickly by internet. The idea is that remote editors can complete their work on proxies, then the colorist or VFX editor could automatically relink to the much larger original camera files. It also has new intelligent media location management, eliminating the need to manually relink or search for video, music and other assets.
Resolve 18 also introduces new creative features, with the biggest being a new object mask that can recognize and track thousands of types of objects. “The DaVinci Neural Engine intuitively isolates animals, vehicles, people and food, plus countless other elements for advanced secondary grading and effects application,” Blackmagic wrote in a press release.
It also lets you create a 3D depth matte of a scene to quickly color grade the foreground separately from the background. Another cool feature it demonstrated was a warp tracker that lets you create a mesh over complex objects like the logo on someone’s T-shirt, then erase it or replace it with something else in a way that looks natural and realistic.
There are a host of other new features like “ultra beauty” for corrective beauty work, new transitions, improved subtitle support and more — check Blackmagic’s press release for a detailed list. DaVinci Resolve 18 beta is now available to download for free, or you can pay $295 for the Studio version.
Blackmagic also announced Cloud Store, a networked storage box that uses the same enclosure as its eGPU for Intel Macs. The idea is that you can load it up with 20TB, 80TB or 320TB of storage built from high speed M.2 SSDs. It uses a RAID 5 configuration for fault tolerance and has enough speed to completely saturate the four 10G Ethernet connections. “It’s so fast, multicam editing is incredibly smooth, even if it’s used with massive digital film camera files,” the company said.
Blackmagic used the eGPU box as it has a reasonably professional look, and it’s also nearly silent so it can be placed right on a desktop. Each port can be plugged into a separate computer or used together for 40G Ethernet. It has a USB-C to Ethernet adapter built in so it can be plugged directly into the USB-C port on a laptop for location work, for example. It can sync footage with multiple editors using Dropbox files, which can automatically be moved to the Blackmagic Cloud for collaboration.
The Cloud Store is designed for professional installations, so it’s priced at $10,000 for the 20TB model and $30,000 for the 80TB model (that storage includes the extra RAID 5 parity drives required). There’s no pricing for the 320GB box, but it might be over $100K. If all that’s too much, Blackmagic Design also unveiled the Cloud Store Mini priced at $3,000 for 10TB with fewer ports and RAID 0 (no redundancy), along with the $395 Cloud Pod, a “bring your own disk” setup with 10G connectivity.
Blackmagic Design
Finally, Blackmagic launched the HyperDeck Shuttle HD, a recorder/player designed to be used on the desktop with products like the Atem Mini switcher. You can playback media from USB-C disks or SD cards, or record an HDMI signal from a camera or other source. From there, you can scroll through footage using the jog dial and even use it as a teleprompter. The HyperDeck Shuttle HD is now available for $495.
Samsung’s Galaxy A52 5G wasn’t the best midrange phone you could buy in 2021, but it did possess some standout features, including a responsive display and versatile camera. It was easy to imagine the company iterating on the A52 5G to make it the top …
You’ll want to act quickly if you’ve been looking for a frill-free tablet. Amazon is selling Apple’s latest 10.2-inch iPad (that is, the 2021 model) at an all-time low price of $290 after an instant checkout coupon. This only applies to the 64GB WiFi model in silver, and you’ll have to wait until early May for delivery. If those aren’t obstacles, however, this is an exceptional deal that beats some of the bargains we’ve seen for past models.
The 10.2-inch iPad remains alluring thanks to its sheer value for money. It’s fast for the price, offers a solid screen and lasts a long time on battery. On this newest model, the wide-angle camera with Center Stage is particularly useful — it’s easier to fit more of your household into the frame during a video call, even if they’re in the background. Toss in the upgraded base storage, a robust app ecosystem and iPadOS 15’s better multitasking and you might not need more than this.
The same issues still apply, of course. This iPad design now feels old compared to newer models like the iPad Air and iPad mini. You won’t get those tablets’ thinner bezels, faster processors and improved cameras. There’s no support for the Magic Keyboard or second-generation Pencil, for that matter. However, there’s a real chance you don’t need those extras — the 10.2-inch iPad is still a very capable device for gaming, reading, video viewing and many other everyday tasks.
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If you’re looking for a budget-friendly robot vacuum to get for yourself or for mom for Mother’s Day, iRobot’s Roomba 694 is a great option. It’s our current favorite affordable robo-vac, and now you can pick it up for even less than its normal rate of $274. Amazon has the machine for $179, which is $95 off and a return to its record-low price.
Chances are you’ve heard of iRobot before even if you have never owned a robot vacuum because the brand is, arguably, the most well known in that space. With that recognition comes high price tags, but the Roomba 694 is a solid machine made better by this discount. It has a three-button design and app connectivity, giving you a few ways to control it, and it cleans both hard and carpeted surfaces well. It’ll putter around your home, sucking up dirt, debris and even pet hair as it moves from room to room, and it’ll automatically return to its charging base when it’s finished.
In addition to starting cleaning jobs from the iRobot app, you can also set cleaning schedules, which make the robot even more autonomous. The Roomba 694 is also compatible with Alexa and the Google Assistant, so you can use voice commands to control it as well.
iRobot estimates the Roomba 694 will run for about 90 minutes before it needs a recharge, but we found that it often ran for less time before returning home. That means that those with larger homes may have to wait longer for clean floors as the machine will have to charge up before it completes a job, but otherwise, there aren’t many downsides to this robo-vac. It’s an especially good pick for novices since iRobot’s mobile app is quite easy to use and the machine does the cleaning basics well.
A couple of other iRobot machines are also on sale right now, and they’re best for those that want to splurge on an advanced robot vacuum. Both the Roomba j7+ and the Roomba s9+ are $200 off right now, bringing them down to $599 and $799, respectively. The former is one of the company’s newest devices with a pet poop detection feature (yes, you read that right), while the latter is the highest-end machine you can get from iRobot. Both also come with clean bases, so the robots will empty their dustbins into the base after every cleaning job.
This week, WhatsApp began rolling out emoji reactions. And it looks like the company could soon implement another overdue feature. With the latest beta release of its iOS app, WhatsApp has added an option that allows users to limit specific individuals…
Back in 2021, The Washington Postreported that around two percent of the 1,000 highest-grossing apps in the Apple App Store were some form of scam. Turns out the Mac App Store also isn’t immune to shady developers. As The Verge reports, a developer named Kosta Eleftheriou has shed light on questionable apps listed on the Mac App Store, which use pop-ups that make it difficult to exit unless you pay their subscription fees. Eleftheriou had also previously identified a number of scam apps for iOS that made it through Apple’s review process.
I didn’t think this was possible:
This App Store app immediately asks you for money and then *disables* the “Quit” option so that you can never close it!
The developer started looking into the situation after a Twitter user named Edoardo Vacchi posted about an app called My Metronome that disables the Quit option until you pay for a subscription. (Apple made it easier to report scam apps on iOS 15, but Vacchi said there was no way to report My Metronome on Mac.) Eleftheriou confirmed Vacchi’s claim and pointed The Verge to other applications exhibiting the same behavior. Mac and iOS developer Jeff Johnson did some digging of his own and found that the developer behind My Metronome, Music Paradise LLC, is registered at the same address in Russia as another developer named Groove Vibes.
The Verge downloaded apps by both Music Paradise and Groove Vibes and found that while some of them had appropriate ways to quit, others disabled the quit option and Mac’s force quit keys. It’s still possible to exit the applications without paying, but the links to close their pop-ups look like they were deliberately designed to be hard to find.
Apple prides itself in having a rigorous review process for the App Store — Tim Cook even said during an Epic trial last year that the store would be a “toxic mess” without it. Shady and fraudulent apps are still slipping through despite the measures taken by the tech giant, though, and it may even be earning from them. According to that 2021 report from The Post, the scam apps it found may have defrauded users out of an estimated $48 million, including Apple’s commission. The My Metronome app is no longer available for us when we checked, but it’s unclear if it was Apple itself that removed it. We asked the tech giant for a comment and will update this post if we hear back.
You might not be thrilled with in-game advertising, but you might soon see more of it. Insidersources (sub. required) claim Microsoft is developing a program to help marketers place ads in free-to-play Xbox games. Companies could buy from an ad inventory to secure space on virtual billboards. It’s not clear if this would extend to character skins or video rolls, but Microsoft is apparently crafting a “private marketplace” to limit ads to brands that won’t disrupt gameplay.
Microsoft is reportedly still pinpointing ad technology firms that would build the catalog and cooperate on placement. The debut might not take long, though, as the program could launch by the third quarter (that is, summer).
The company declined to confirm or deny the plans. In a statement to Insider, a spokesperson said Microsoft was constantly striving to “improve the experience” for developers and players but didn’t have “anything further to share.”
The program could rankle gamers worried about ads for real-world products finding their way into fictional universes. However, the focus on free-to-play titles might prove crucial. This could help developers make money from free games without leaning too heavily on paid content like skins and season passes. That, in turn, might persuade creators to make Xbox-centric games rather than building for the PlayStation or Switch.
A few months after AMC Theatres started accepting crypto payments, you can use its app to buy movie tickets using Dogecoin, Shiba Inu tokens and other virtual currencies. CEO Adam Aron said the app is using Bitpay to process cryptocurrency payments, which are only accepted in the US for now. You can also buy tickets with Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and an old-fashioned thing called a credit card.
Exactly as promised, the AMC mobile app for AMC’s U.S. theatres now accepts online payments using Doge Coin, Shiba Inu, and other crypto currencies — thanks to Bitpay. Also Apple Pay, Google Pay and Paypal. To do so, you first will need to update to the latest version of our app. pic.twitter.com/MMy7SIxYbl
It seems customers have embraced AMC’s adoption of cryptocurrency. Very soon after AMC enabled crypto payments on the web, they accounted for 14 percent of online transactions. So, if you happen to have some Dogecoin that’s been languishing in your wallet since someone gave it to you as a joke in 2014, you can grab your phone and put your coins to use by booking a ticket for a movie over this long weekend.
A number of gadgets remain on sale as we head into the holiday weekend. Apple’s latest AirPods remain $30 off and down to $150, and you can pick up the AirPods Pro for $175. Certain colors of the Apple Watch Series 7 are on sale for as low as $313, plus you can save on a bunch of Surface devices in Microsoft’s spring sale. Finally, Amazon has discounted its regular Kindle to $55 while also slashes prices of its Fire tablets. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
AirPods (3rd gen)
Billy Steele/Engadget
Apple’s newest earbuds are close to their record-low price right now. You can grab the third-gen AirPods for $150, or $30 off their normal rate. We gave them a score of 88 for their improved design, much better audio quality and longer battery life.
Apple’s AirPods Pro are back on sale for $175, which is 30 percent off their normal price. We gave them a score of 87 for their improved fit, good audio quality and solid ANC.
Both Amazon and Walmart have the entry-level iPad for $309 right now, or $20 off its normal price. We gave the slab a score of 86 for its improved performance, excellent battery life and Center Stage-capable front cameras.
Many color options of the 41mm Apple Watch Series 7 are down to $330, or $70 off their normal price. The green model is even cheaper, coming in at $313. We gave the wearable a score of 90 for its bigger screen, faster charging and handy watchOS 8 features.
You can pick up the Mac Mini M1 desktop for $570, which is an all-time-low price, thanks to a $99 coupon that’s automatically applied at checkout. It runs on an eight-core CPU, eight-core GPU, a 16-core Neural Engine, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It’s a good option if you want a relatively new desktop that won’t take up too much space on your desk.
Through April 21st, you can save hundreds on Surface devices, Xbox games and more in Microsoft’s spring sale. The Surface Laptop Go is up to $200 off, so you can grab the model with a Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $700.
Amazon’s regular Kindle is down to $55, which is $35 cheaper than usual. You can also pick up the Kids Edition for $65 instead of the usual $110. While the latest Paperwhites have a lot of bells and whistles, the standard Kindle remains a good option for those on a budget.
A number of Fire tablets are on sale right now, including the Fire HD 8, which is down to $50. The larger Fire HD 10 has also been discounted to $100, which is $50 off its normal rate. These slabs are good options for those that want a basic, lightweight device for travel or doing things like online shopping and checking email from your couch.
iRobot’s Roomba j7+ and s9+ are $200 off at Wellbots right now when you use the code ENGMOM200 at checkout. These are some of the company’s most powerful robo-vacs: the j7+ has a convenient “poop-detection” feature while the s9+ has the strongest suction power of any Roomba. Both also come with clean bases, which allow the robots to automatically empty their bins after each cleaning job.
Amazon’s smart thermostat is back on sale for $48, which is 20 percent off its regular price. The Energy Star-certified device uses Honeywell’s Home Thermostat tech to help you save on energy costs — and, like other Amazon devices, it works with Alexa so you can use voice commands to control the temperature in your home.
Both Google’s standard Nest Thermostat and the more advanced Learning model remain discounted right now. You can pick up the regular version for $119, while the Learning Thermostat is still on sale for $200. They share most of the same features, but you’ll get a slicker design, a higher-res display and the ability to connect with Nest Temperature Sensors with the Learning model.
The latest Chromecast with Google TV is $10 off at Walmart and Best Buy, bringing it down to $40. We gave the compact streaming device a score of 86 for its solid remote control, good Google Assistant integration and support for 4K content with Dolby Vision and Atmos.
You can get a $5 promotional credit when you buy a $50 Apple gift card at Amazon when you use either the code APPLEDEAL or APPLEAPRIL at checkout. The promotional credit can be used on future Amazon purchases, and while it’s not a huge credit, it’s more than what we usually see attached to Apple gift cards.
The Elite 7 Active earbuds are 17 percent off and down to $150 right now. These are some of Jabra’s newest buds and they have a special “ShakeGrip coating” that helps keep the buds in place during sweaty workouts. Plus, the elite 7 Active support adjustable ANC, HearThrough technology and four microphones for better call quality.
Through April 17th, you can get 15 percent off at Satechi when using the code EASTER15, and for orders of $100 or more, they’ll up it to 20 percent with the code EASTER20. Now’s a good time to pick up a new keyboard, mouse, USB-C hub or other accessory while you can get it for less.
NordVPN’s latest deal lets you save 51 percent off the price of a two-year subscription, so you’ll pay only $96 for that time period. After the first two years, the price goes up to $99 per year. NordVPN is one of our favorites thanks to its speed, its no-logs policy, the thousands of servers it has to choose from and that one account supports up to six connected devices.
