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• Elon Musk says Hertz hasn’t actually ordered 100,000 Tesla EVs yet
• Twitch launches a dedicated home for its animal livestreams
• Miso Robotics made its Flippy kitchen robot faster and even more autonomous
• 'Squid Game' cryptocurrency collapses in a $3 million scam
• Meta details its latest efforts to combat climate change as COP26 starts
• Tesla launches Supercharger pilot program to charge other EVs
• Facebook verified a Bitcoin scammer pretending to be Elon Musk
• Sega partners with Microsoft on its 'Super Game' project
• Instagram is letting people publicly participate in Stories for the first time
• What’s in the Facebook Papers and what it means for the company
• Amazon’s Project Kuiper will launch two prototype satellites by the end of 2022
• Chevrolet's 1957 Project X car is now an EV
• Qualcomm plans to produce net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2040
• Facebook takes down government-run troll farm in Nicaragua
• The Chinese version of 'Fortnite' will shut down on November 15th
• Fender is buying studio gear company PreSonus
• 'The Book of Boba Fett' trailer introduces Tatooine's new kingpin
• I wish anyone other than Kanye had made the Stem Player
• Amazon begins early Black Friday sales on its own devices
• The best tech toys for kids
• Beats Fit Pro offer noise cancellation and the best AirPod features for $200
• Beats Fit Pro review: All the perks of AirPods with a more comfortable design
• Apple is reportedly working on a way for iPhones to detect car crashes and auto-dial 911
• The best laptops and tablets to give as gifts
• The best early Black Friday tech deals we've found so far

Elon Musk says Hertz hasn’t actually ordered 100,000 Tesla EVs yet Posted: 02 Nov 2021 03:35 AM PDT Last week, a press release from Hertz indicated that the rental company had placed an order for 100,000 Tesla Model 3s for its rental fleet. Late yesterday, however, Elon Musk tweeted that the order is far from firm, saying that "no contract has been signed yet," Gizmodo has reported. Hertz's announcement stated that it made "a significant investment to offer the largest EV rental fleet in North America... [which] includes an initial order of 100,000 Tesla's by the end of 2022." That release and a report from Bloomberg, combined with other good news about sales in Europe, may have motivated investors to push Tesla's value over the $1 trillion mark.  You're welcome! If any of this is based on Hertz, I'd like to emphasize that no contract has been signed yet. Tesla has far more demand than production, therefore we will only sell cars to Hertz for the same margin as to consumers. Hertz deal has zero effect on our economics. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 2, 2021 Hertz only left bankruptcy four months ago after being purchased by distressed-debt firm Knighthead Capital Management and other firms for $6 billion. As such, announcing a purchase of 100,000 EVs valued at around $4.2 billion obviously raised eyebrows. As Gizmodo pointed out, though, Hertz technically never said it signed a contract or purchase order for the vehicles. The phrase "an initial order of 100,000 Tesla's by the end of 2022" could be taken to mean that the order itself and not the vehicle deliveries will happen at the end of 2022. Tesla itself never responded to the initial news.  Musk's tweet came in reply to Twitter user "Tesla Silicon Valley Club," which was thanking him for Tesla's recent stock price rise. He appeared to want to dampen down some of that hype, however, stating that any Hertz deal would have no impact on the company's sales and bottom line.  "Tesla has far more demand than production, therefore we will only sell cars to Hertz for the same margin as to consumers. Hertz deal has zero effect on our economics."

Twitch launches a dedicated home for its animal livestreams Posted: 02 Nov 2021 02:40 AM PDT As part of Animal Week, Twitch has launched a new category called Animals, Aquariums and Zoos that groups animal livestreams all in one place. There, you'll find streams of furry/feathered creatures from zoos, conservation habitats and private owners that were previously spread across categories like Travel & Outdoors, Music and Pools, and even ASMR.  The new space sounds like a perfect antidote other, more stressful Twitch offerings. Some sample streams include an otter enclosure, wolf den, barn owl breeding habitat and, of course, numerous kitties, doggos, ducks and bunnies. On top of the live channels, you can see numerous videos and short highlight clips, since the otters or owls might be sleeping on the livestream — though even that can be adorable.  Some of the streams are even interactive, in that you can feed ducks or change turtle habitat lighting by donating Twitch's Bits currency. If you're okay something more direct, Twitch also launched some emotes available across channels that can also be unlocked with Bits. All of this could help get resources to conservation and other organizations that need it — it seems a fair trade for some calming, adorable and life-affirming content.

Miso Robotics made its Flippy kitchen robot faster and even more autonomous Posted: 02 Nov 2021 02:00 AM PDT Back in 2020, Miso Robotics teamed up with White Castle to pilot a kitchen robot that can cook sliders called Flippy in select locations. Now, thanks to data and employee feedback gathered from the pilot, Miso was able to create a new version of the machine called Flippy 2, which works faster and doesn't need human intervention. Apparently, one of the main things Miso learned from the pilot was that human assistance was still needed on both sides during operation. Since basket management wasn't automated, human employees would still need to help load the uncooked product and unload the cooked food in the holding area.  Miso has designed an "AutoBin" system for the Flippy 2 that solves that problem, specifically for lower volume and specialty foods like onion rings and chicken tenders. The machine's AI vision can automatically identify the ingredients it's working with, place them in the right fry basket and then place the cooked food in the holding area. The company says the closed-loop system it creates can increase the kitchen's throughput by around 60 baskets per hour.  In addition to that upgrade, Flippy 2 also takes up less space than its predecessor. It doesn't take up as much of the kitchen aisle, is a bit shorter and has fewer overall surfaces that need to be cleaned. After its pilot with White Castle, Miso upgraded the original Flippy with more features, including the ability to adjust the queue to ensure that everything in an order finishes cooking at the same time. However, basket management hasn't been an automated process until now. Mike Bell, CEO of Miso Robotics, said in a statement: "Flippy 2 takes up less space in the kitchen and increases production exponentially with its new basket filling, emptying and returning capabilities. Since Flippy's inception, our goal has always been to provide a customizable solution that can function harmoniously with any kitchen and without disruption. Flippy 2 has more than 120 configurations built into its technology and is the only robotic fry station currently being produced at scale"

'Squid Game' cryptocurrency collapses in a $3 million scam Posted: 02 Nov 2021 12:39 AM PDT A cryptocurrency inspired by Squid Game successfully enticed enough investors to see its value soar to over $2,800... before its creators cashed out and vanished. The cryptocurrency called $SQUID, which wasn't officially sanctioned by Netflix, launched in late October and rose up to 310,000 percent in value within just a few days. It was sold supposedly as a way to play an upcoming online game based on the South Korean series, in which people buried in debt are forced to play a deadly game.  At 5:40AM on Monday morning, however, the coin's value plummeted to $0, its website disappeared (you can view an archive here) and its Twitter account got blocked. As Gizmodo explained, its creators staged what's called in the crypto world as a "rug pull," wherein the coin's creators cash out for real money and disappear. The scammers may have made off with as much as $3.38 million.  There were multiple signs that the cryptocurrency was a scam from the start — people merely missed or ignored them, perhaps due to the promise of a game based on the popular Netflix show. Its website was riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, and as Gizmodo pointed out, people were able to buy coins but weren't allowed to sell them.  This isn't the first time a coin based on a pop culture phenomenon was launched, and it won't be the last. While some may be legit, those interested to invest in them will have to keep an eye out for signs of fraud. Just earlier this year, a cryptocurrency based on The Mandalorian turned out to be a scam, as well.

Meta details its latest efforts to combat climate change as COP26 starts Posted: 01 Nov 2021 05:00 PM PDT Meta (Facebook's parent company) has joined other major tech companies in making more climate change pledges as the UN's COP26 summit commences. Along with taking measures to reduce its own carbon footprint, Meta is focused on "helping people find accurate, science-led information, while also tackling misinformation," according to Nick Clegg, Meta's vice-president of global affairs and communication. The company says that when its fact-checking partners rate a piece of content as false, a warning label is added and the post pops up less often on users' News Feeds. There's a keyword detection feature that Meta switches on during "critical public events" to help fact checkers find relevant content faster. This will be enabled during COP26 to help fact-checkers in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Indonesian, German, French and Dutch find and debunk climate misinformation more quickly. The Climate Change Information Center, which debuted last year to provide users with knowledge from experts on the issue, is now being rolled out to more countries and it will soon be available in more than 100 territories. The hub will also show national greenhouse gas emissions alongside countries' targets and commitments to perhaps make governments more accountable. On top of that, in more than a dozen countries, Facebook is expanding its use of labels on climate change posts to direct users to the center. The UN will soon update its ActNow chatbot on Messenger, Instagram and its website to suggest 10 more actions users can take to fight combat change. There are new camera stickers on Messenger, Instagram and Messenger Kids that aim to help users "strike up a conversation" about climate change. In addition, Meta is starting up a program to help businesses that use its apps reduce their carbon footprint and adopt more sustainable practices. The Green Boost for Small Businesses project will start this month in the UK and Spain, primarily centered on food producers, restaurants and the hospitality sector. Meta will broaden the program to Italy, France and other nations in 2022. Elsewhere, Meta says it's a founding member of the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance. The group's goal is to push toward net zero air travel by investing in sustainable aviation fuel. These efforts are intended to complement internal actions Meta has undertaken to combat climate change. The company hit net zero carbon emissions in 2020 and as of earlier this year, it's using 100 percent renewable energy. Other environmentally conscious efforts include reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 97 percent in the last four years and supporting measures to remove carbon from the atmosphere. Like Microsoft, Meta aims to restore more water than it uses by 2030.

Tesla launches Supercharger pilot program to charge other EVs Posted: 01 Nov 2021 03:38 PM PDT As promised earlier in the year, Tesla is expanding access to its Supercharger charger network. Starting today, the company is opening 10 locations in the Netherlands to non-Tesla EVs as part of a pilot program. Provided you live in the country and you've installed the Tesla app on your phone (version 4.2.3 or later), you can use them to charge your car. The stations are located in Sassenheim, Apeldoorn Oost, Meerkerk, Hengelo, Tilburg, Duiven, Breukelen, Naarden, Eemnes and Zwolle. The one thing to note about the pilot is it's only open to EV drivers who live in the Netherlands. However, if you drive a Tesla vehicle and you're visiting the country, you can charge your car as normal at the stations. Additionally, how the program expands beyond this initial pilot will depend on congestion at the stations. "Future sites will only be opened to Non-Tesla vehicles if there is available capacity," the company said. On Monday, the company also put a non-Tesla port home charger on sale. Both the pilot and charger are a sign Tesla is looking outside of its ecosystem for revenue. That said, it may take a while before we see the automaker open its charging stations in the US to EVs from other companies since those use a proprietary connector.

Facebook verified a Bitcoin scammer pretending to be Elon Musk Posted: 01 Nov 2021 02:46 PM PDT Despite Facebook's attempts at verifying suspiciously popular accounts, it isn't perfect (to say the least). The Verge has reported that the company has mistakenly verified a Facebook fan page for Elon Musk as Musk's own official account. On top of that, it appears to be run by a Bitcoin scammer. The page, which has 153,000 followers as of this writing, actually acknowledges it isn't Musk... at least in the About section. It says there: "This is a fanpage, uploading tweets etc from him." But then the URL ends in "ElonMuskoffici", which indicates they're certainly pretending as if it's official. In the Page Transparency section, it says that the people who manage the page are "based in Egypt," not in the US, which is where Musk resides. Engadget The account currently has 11 posts, and while most of them are just reposts of Musk's tweets, the most recent one is clearly a phony Bitcoin giveaway (the post has since been removed). The earliest is on October 21st, but as The Verge pointed out, the page was actually created on July 28th 2019 under the name "Kizito Gavin" with several name changes since then. It changed its name to Elon Musk on October 17th. Facebook verification requires account owners to submit proof of their identity, such as driver's license or passport, but scammers have at times found ways around the official process. We've reached out to Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, for comment, but have not received a response just yet.  Update 7:16PM ET: The page is currently "unavailable." It's unclear if it has been deleted.

Sega partners with Microsoft on its 'Super Game' project Posted: 01 Nov 2021 01:47 PM PDT Sega is partnering with Microsoft to use the company's Azure cloud platform to produce "large-scale, global games" as part of its recently announced Super Game project. The publisher first teased the initiative this past May during an investor event. At the time, the company said it would become available sometime during its fiscal 2026 year. In this latest announcement, Sega said the project is integral to its mid to long-term strategy and will see it creating games with a global online component. "This proposed alliance represents SEGA looking ahead, and by working with Microsoft to anticipate such trends as they accelerate further in future, the goal is to optimise development processes and continue to bring high-quality experiences to players using Azure cloud technologies," the company said. At this point, we wouldn't read too much into the fact that Sega and Microsoft are partnering on the project. Plenty of companies, including ones like Sony, depend on Microsoft for their cloud infrastructure, in part because they want to avoid building an online backend from scratch.  "We look forward to working together as they explore new ways to create unique gaming experiences for the future using Microsoft cloud technologies," Microsoft's Sarah Bond said of the alliance. "Together we will reimagine how games get built, hosted, and operated, with a goal of adding more value to players and Sega alike."

Instagram is letting people publicly participate in Stories for the first time Posted: 01 Nov 2021 12:54 PM PDT Following last week's rollout of link stickers, Instagram is introducing a new sticker called "Add Yours." The company describes it as a way to create public threads in Stories. It also notes it's the first time it's added a way for people to publicly participate in the format. Effectively, the sticker acts as both a prompt for other people to upload their own Stories and a way for them to discover new people to follow. That's because when you tap on the sticker the interface will display everyone who has contributed to the thread and you can view their Stories from there. Add Yours = a sticker that creates public threads in Stories 🤝 With custom prompts and public responses, you can share the sticker and see who responds to it in their own Stories. pic.twitter.com/C9AXiFEo92 — Instagram (@instagram) November 1, 2021 The tool could help Instagram boost engagement at a time when it's reportedly losing users, especially younger ones, to competing platforms like TikTok. It's not a coincidence the screenshot the company shared shows teens using the feature to its fullest. Since 2018, Instagram has spent millions advertising to teens in an effort to attract them to the platform.

What’s in the Facebook Papers and what it means for the company Posted: 01 Nov 2021 12:45 PM PDT Facebook (and now, Meta) might just be experiencing its most sustained and intense bout of bad press ever, thanks to whistleblower Frances Haugen and the thousands of documents she spirited out of the company. The Wall Street Journal was the first publication to report on the contents of the documents, which have also been turned over to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Since then, the documents have made their way into the hands of more than a dozen publications who formed "a consortium," much to the dismay of Facebook's PR department. There have now been more than a hundred stories based on the documents. And while many of those reference the same documents, the details are significant. But as important as they are, it's also a dizzying amount of information. There are detailed documents written by the company's researchers, free-form notes and memos, as well as comments and other posts in Workplace, the internal version of Facebook used by its employees. This mix of sources, together with the fact that the consortium has not released most of the documents to researchers or other journalists, makes the Facebook Papers difficult to parse. Gizmodo has been publishing some of the underlying documents, but new revelations could be trickling out for weeks or months as the material becomes more widely distributed. But amid all that noise, a few key themes have emerged, many of which have also been backed up by prior reporting on the company and its policies. This article will detail Haugen's disclosures, and additional details that have arisen from reporting on the Facebook Papers. We'll continue to update it as fresh allegations emerge. Facebook allowed politics to influence its decisions This likely won't be a surprise to anyone who has followed Facebook over the last five years or so, but the Facebook Papers add new evidence to years-long allegations that Mark Zuckerberg and other company leaders allowed politics to influence their decisions. One of the first stories to break from Haugen's disclosures (via The Wall Street Journal) included details about Facebook's "cross check" program, which allowed politicians, celebrities and other VIPs to skirt the company's rules. The initial motivation for the program? To avoid the "PR fires" that may occur if the social network were to mistakenly remove something from a famous person's account. In another document, also reported byThe Journal, a researcher on Facebook's integrity team complained that the company had made "special exceptions" for right-wing publisher Brietbart. The publication, part of Facebook's official News Tab, also had "managed partner" status, which may have helped the company avoid consequences for sharing misinformation. At the same time, while Facebook's policies were often perceived internally as putting their thumb on the scale in favor of conservatives, Zuckerberg has also been accused of shelving ideas that could have been perceived as benefiting Democrats. The CEO was personally involved in killing a proposal to put a Spanish language version of its voting information center into WhatsApp ahead of the 2020 presidential election, The Washington Post reported. Zuckerberg reportedly said the plan wasn't "politically neutral." Facebook has serious moderation failures outside the US and Europe Some of the most damning revelations in the Facebook Papers relate to how the social network handles moderation and safety issues in countries outside of the United States and Europe. The mere fact that Facebook is prone to overlook countries that make up its "rest of world" metrics is not necessarily new. The company's massive failure in Myanmar, where Facebook-fueled hate helped incite a genocide, has been well documented for years. Yet a 2020 document noted the company still has "significant gaps" in its ability to detect hate speech and other rule-breaking content on its platform. According to Reuters, the company's AI detection tools — known as "classifiers" — aren't able to identify misinformation in Burmese. (Again, it's worth pointing out that a 2018 report on Facebook's role in the genocide in Myanmar cited viral misinformation and the lack of Burmese-speaking content moderators as issues the company should address.) Unfortunately, Myanmar is far from the only country where Facebook's under-investment in moderation has contributed to real-world violence. CNN notes that Facebook's own employees have been warning that the social network is being abused by "problematic actors" to incite violence in Ethiopia. Yet Facebook lacked the automated tools to detect hate speech and other inciting content even though it had determined the country was one of the most "at risk" countries. Even in India — Facebook's largest market — there's a lack of adequate language support and resources to enforce the platform's rules. In one document, reported byThe New York Times, a researcher created a test account as an Indian user and started following Facebook's automated recommendations for accounts and pages to follow. It took just three weeks for a new user's feed to become flooded with "hate speech, misinformation and celebrations of violence." At the end of the experiment, the researcher wrote: "I've seen more images of dead people in the past three weeks than I've seen in my entire life." The report was not an outlier. Facebook groups and WhatsApp messages are being used to "spread religious hatred" in the country, according to The Wall Street Journal's analysis of several internal documents. Facebook has misled authorities and the public about its worst problems Lawmakers, activists and other watchdogs have long suspected that Facebook knows far more about issues like misinformation, radicalization and other major problems than it publicly lets on. But many documents within the Facebook Papers paint a startling picture of just how much the company's researchers know, often long before issues have boiled over into major scandals. That knowledge is often directly at odds with what company officials have publicly claimed. For example, in the days after the Jan. 6 insurrection, COO Sheryl Sandberg said that rioters had "largely" organized using other platforms, not Facebook. Yet a report from the company's own researchers, which first surfaced in April, found that the company had missed a number of warning signs about the brewing "Stop the Steal" movement. Though the company had spent months preparing for a chaotic election, including the potential for violence, organizers were able to evade Facebook's rules by using disappearing Stories and other tactics, according to BuzzFeed. Likewise, Facebook's researchers were internally sounding the alarm about QAnon more than a year before the company banned the conspiracy movement. A document titled "Carol's Journey to QAnon" detailed how a "conservative mom" could see QAnon and other conspiracy theories takeover their News Feed in just five days only by liking Pages that Facebook's algorithms recommended. "Carol's" experience was hardly an outlier. Researchers ran these types of experiments for years, and repeatedly found that Facebook's algorithmic recommendations could push users deeper into conspiracies. But much of this research was not acted on until "things had spiraled into a dire state," one researcher wrote in a document reported by NBC News. The documents also show how Facebook has misleadingly characterized its ability to combat hate speech. The company has long faced questions about how hate speech spreads on its apps, and the issue sparked a mass advertiser boycott last year. According to a document cited by Haugen, the company's own engineers estimate that the company is taking action on "as little as 3-5% of hate" on its platform. That's in stark contrast to the statistics the company typically showcases. Similarly, the Facebook Papers indicate that Facebook's researchers knew much more about vaccine and COVID-19 misinformation than they would share with the public or officials. The company declined to answer lawmakers' questions about how COVID-19 misinformation spreads even though, according to The Washington Post's reporting, "researchers had deep knowledge of how covid and vaccine misinformation moved through the company's apps." Facebook has misled advertisers and shareholders These are the allegations that could end up being some of the most consequential because they show serious problems affecting the company's core business — and could tie into any future SEC action. Instagram has long been viewed as a bright spot for Facebook in terms of attracting the teens and younger users Facebook needs to grow. But increasingly, teens and younger users are spending more time and creating more content in competing apps like TikTok. The issue is even more stark for Facebook, where "teen and young adult DAU [daily active users] has been in decline since 2012/2013," according to a slide shared byBloomberg. The story points out another issue that could get the company into hot water with the SEC: that the company is overcharging advertisers and misrepresenting the size of its user base due to the number of duplicate accounts. Though this is hardly the first time the issue has been raised, the company's own reports suggest Facebook "undercounts" the metric, known as SUMA (single user multiple account), according to Bloomberg. Zuckerberg prioritized growth over safety While the Facebook Papers are far from the first time the company has faced accusations that it puts profit ahead of users' wellbeing, the documents have shed new light on many of those claims. One point that's come up repeatedly in the reporting is Zuckerberg's obsession with MSI, or meaningful social interaction. Facebook retooled its News Feed around the metric in 2018 as a strategy to combat declining engagement. But the decisions, meant to make sure Facebook users were seeing more content from friends and family, also made the News Feed angrier and more toxic. By optimizing for "engagement," publishers and other groups learned they could effectively game the company's algorithms by, well, pissing people off. But politicians learned they could reach more people by posting more negative content, according to The Wall Street Journal. Publishers also complained that the platform was incentivizing more negative and polarizing content. Yet when Zuckerberg was presented with a proposal that found reducing the amount of some re-shared content could reduce misinformation, the CEO "said he didn't want to pursue it if it reduced user engagement." That wasn't the only time a Facebook leader was unwilling to make changes that could have a detrimental effect on engagement, even if it would address other serious issues like misinformation. Several documents detail research and concerns about Facebook's "like" button and other reactions. Because the News Feed algorithm prioritized a "reaction" more than a like, it boosted content that received the "angry" reaction even though researchers flagged that these posts were much more likely to be toxic. "Facebook for three years systematically amped up some of the worst of its platform, making it more prominent in users' feeds and spreading it to a much wider audience," The Washington Post wrote. The company finally stopped giving extra weight to "angry" last September. Facebook slow-walked, and in some cases outright killed, proposals from researchers about how to address the flood of anti-vaccine comments on its platform, the APreported. The company has also been accused of downplaying research that found Instagram can exacerbate mental health issues for some of its teen users. The documents, which were some of the first records to emerge from Haugen's disclosures, forced Facebook to "pause" work on an Instagram Kids app that had already drawn the attention of 44 state Attorneys General. The research also prompted the first Congressional hearing as a result of Haugen's whistleblowing.  What does all this mean for Facebook Meta? While the Facebook Papers contain a dizzying amount of details about Facebook's failures and misdeeds, many of the claims are not entirely new allegations. And if there's one thing Facebook's history has taught us, it's that the company has never let a scandal affect its ability to make billions of dollars. But, there are some signs that Haugen's disclosures could be different. For one, she has turned over the documents to the SEC, which has the authority to conduct a wide-ranging investigation into the company's actions. As many experts have pointed out, it's not clear what could actually come from such an investigation, but it could at the very least force Facebook's top executives to formally answer detailed questions from the regulator. And though Haugen has said she is not in favor of antitrust action against the social network, the FTC has reportedly begun to take a look at the disclosures. (The FTC is already in the midst of a legal battle with Facebook.) Facebook already seems to be reacting as well. The company has asked employees to preserve documents going back to 2016, The New York Times reported this week. There are other, more practical, issues too. The company is reportedly struggling to recruit engineering talent, according to documents reported by Protocol. The constant scandals and internal roadblocks have also taken a toll on existing employees. For as much scrutiny as the company has faced externally, the Facebook Papers paint a picture of a company whose employees are at times deeply divided and frustrated. The events of January 6th in particular sparked a heated debate about Facebook's role, and how it missed opportunities to recognize the threat of the "Stop the Steal Movement." But there have been fundamental disagreements between researchers and other staffers, and Facebook's leaders for years. As Wiredpoints out, the Facebook Papers are full of "badge posts" — Facebook speak for the companywide posts employees write upon their departure from the social network — from "dedicated employees who have concluded that change will not come, or who are at least are too burned out to continue fighting for it."

Amazon’s Project Kuiper will launch two prototype satellites by the end of 2022 Posted: 01 Nov 2021 12:05 PM PDT Amazon has hit another milestone on the way to its goal of putting 3,236 low Earth orbit to blanket most of the planet with internet access. On Monday, the company filed a license application with the Federal Communications Commission to launch two prototype satellites, KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2. They will feature many of the technologies the company plans to include in the final production variant of its constellation satellite, giving it the chance to test how those systems fare outside of a lab environment. At the same time, the tests will allow it to validate its launch procedures and mission management when it comes time to start putting its full network in orbit. "We've invented lots of new technology to meet our cost and performance targets for Project Kuiper. All of the systems are testing well in simulated and lab settings, and we'll soon be ready to see how they perform in space," said Rajeev Badyal, vice president of technology for Project Kuiper. "There is no substitute for on-orbit testing, and we expect to learn a lot given the complexity and risk of operating in such a challenging environment." According to Amazon, it will launch KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2 toward the end of 2022. Once the test is complete, the company plans to deorbit the satellites so they don't add to the junk pile that's circling the planet. Additionally, one of the satellites will feature a sunshade so Amazon can see if it helps make it less reflective and thereby less visible to telescopes on the ground.  With today's announcement, Amazon shared it's working with ABL Space Systems to put KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2 in space. The company's new RS1 rocket will ferry the satellites to orbit. One of the main design features of Amazon's Kuiper craft is that they're compatible with multiple launch systems, including the Atlas V rocket from United Launch Alliance. Once it completes the test, Amazon will need to move quickly to put the entire system into space. When the FCC approved its initial plan, the company said it would put half the satellites in orbit by 2026 and the entire constellation by July 30th, 2029.

Chevrolet's 1957 Project X car is now an EV Posted: 01 Nov 2021 11:07 AM PDT One of the most famous cars Chevrolet ever built is now an electric vehicle. The company teamed up with Cagnazzi Racing and Hot Rod publisher MotorTrend to electrify the 1957 Chevy Project X vehicle. MotorTrend's defunct Popular Hot Rodding magazine bought the Project X car for $250 in 1965. Over the decades, it has been used to test a range of power technologies. Before the electric system, it had a Chevy LSX V-8 engine. The car now has a 400-volt electric powertrain with an estimated 340 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque — those are very similar numbers to Cadillac's Lyriq EV. Chevrolet says the battery can store 30 kilowatt-hours of electricity. The range depends on the quick-change differential that's fitted, which can be swapped to optimize the car for acceleration or range. Still, Chevy claims the now-EV has "enough range for weekend cruising." Although the car still has the front suspension that was installed in 2007, Cagnazzi Racing made some changes, such as swapping to an electric brake booster and electrohydraulic power steering pump. Some springs have been switched too, as there's less weight under the hood and more at the rear compared with the previous incarnation. Project X now has the same push-button gear selector as the 2021 Chevrolet Corvette as well. This is the third straight year that Chevy has converted a classic car into an EV for SEMA. The automaker did so to show off the capabilities of the eCrate Connect and Cruise system, as Autoblog points out. That's an electric crate motor and battery combination designed to make it easier for tinkerers to build battery-powered projects.

Qualcomm plans to produce net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2040 Posted: 01 Nov 2021 10:45 AM PDT With the UN's COP26 climate summit now underway, Qualcomm has become the latest company to announce a sustainability pledge. The chipmaker says it will achieve net-zero emissions by 2040. Here's the roadmap the company laid out. By 2030, Qualcomm says it will reduce its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent from base 2020 levels. That same year, it plans to reduce its Scope 3 emissions by 25 percent from where they were in 2020. Scope 1 includes all pollution produced directly by the company or any emissions sources it owns or controls. Scope 2, meanwhile, entails indirect emissions created from the electricity, heating and cooling Qualcomm consumes. Lastly, Scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions produced by its value chain. In the context of a company like Qualcomm that relies on TSMC, Samsung and other foundries to produce its chips, reducing its Scope 3 emissions is the most impactful (and difficult) way the company can lessen its impact on the environment. According to an estimate from Imec, which recently announced a sustainable chip program involving Apple, approximately 75 percent of the greenhouse emissions tied to a mobile device are produced when it's made, with almost half coming from the chip fabrication process. Notably, that's where Qualcomm says the least about its sustainability plans. It notes it's working towards purchasing all of the power it uses at its San Diego headquarters from renewable sources and decarbonizing its operations using a "minimal" amount of Renewable Energy Credits and carbon offsets. That's not to say the company is trying to greenwash its environmental responsibilities, but there's a significant difference between making its offices environmentally friendly and doing the same for its supply chain.

Facebook takes down government-run troll farm in Nicaragua Posted: 01 Nov 2021 10:32 AM PDT Facebook has taken out a government-run troll farm in Nicaragua, where multiple government agencies helped run a network of fake accounts and media pages that spanned across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Facebook shared details of the network in its monthly report on coordinated inauthentic behavior on the platform. In addition to hundreds of fake accounts on its platform, the troll farm also operated a "a complex network of media brands" on Blogspot, Wordpress and Telegram, Facebook said in a statement. Some fake accounts posed as government supporters, while some posed as university students, who led protests against the government in 2018. The fake account also mass-reported activists and other government critics in an attempt to get them banned from Facebook. Beginning in 2019, the group also began "posting and artificially amplifying praise about the Nicaraguan government and the ruling FSLN party." While it's not the first time Facebook has caught a government running this kind of operation, Facebook said the Nicaraguan effort was unique because they were able to link it to multiple government institutions, including the Social Security Institute and Supreme Court. The country's post office headquarters Managua served as a "main hub" for the troll farm, and government workers even appeared to post on a regular 9am-5pm schedule. "This was really the closest thing we've yet seen to a whole-of-government operation," Facebook's Global Threat Intelligence Lead for Influence Operations, Ben Nimmo, said during a call with reporters. "This is the first time that I can think of [that] we've seen so many different institutions getting involved." It's also notable that Facebook traced the start of the operation back to 2018, meaning much of the activity went undetected for years. Nimmo noted that while the company's automated systems were able to detect and disable some of the fake accounts in 2018, the operation was "complex" and time-consuming to investigate.

The Chinese version of 'Fortnite' will shut down on November 15th Posted: 01 Nov 2021 09:50 AM PDT Epic Games and Tencent are shutting down the Chinese version of Fortnite. Would-be players are no longer able to register or download the game, and the servers will be closed on November 15th, according to an announcement on the battle royale's Chinese website. "The test of Fortress Night has come to an end," the message reads (via Google Translate). "We will shut down the server in the near future." No reason was given for the game's closure. Players who dropped into that version of Fortnite had a different experience to those elsewhere, as PC Gamer notes. There was a separate health bar for damage sustained in the storm, and several players could earn a Victory Royale if they survived for long enough. Though it's not clear how many Fortnite players there were in China, it never officially launched in the country, according to analyst Daniel Ahmad. Fortnite's Chinese incarnation was in beta testing for over two years and the government didn't grant Tencent, which published the game there, a license. As such, Tencent was unable to monetize Fortnite with in-app transactions. Engadget has contacted Epic and Tencent for comment. Ahmad also pointed out that battle royale titles are "strictly regulated" in China. The original version of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds had no monetization functions in the country. Tencent launched a more patriotic, gore-free replacement in 2019 called Game for Peace, to which regulators gave the green light.

Fender is buying studio gear company PreSonus Posted: 01 Nov 2021 08:54 AM PDT Fender is buying PreSonus, a company that's best known for its studio recording gear and software. The guitar maker announced the acquisition, which still needs regulatory approval, on Monday. Fender didn't disclose the financial terms of the deal, but it did hint at its future plans for the company. "While most guitar and bass players still plug into amplifiers, many also plug their instruments into interfaces, using virtual amps and effects to create their sounds. Players of all levels are spending more time online than ever before and using a variety of products and technologies to learn, practice, jam and perform, record and share," the company said. "Fender envisions an ecosystem that seamlessly integrates hardware and software to create an effortless end-to-end experience for customers at all levels in their creative journey, and joining forces with PreSonus makes that possible." Integrating software and hardware together is something Fender has been doing for a while with its apps and amps. We'll have to see what the company does with PreSonus, but it's easy to envision a future where it could offer digital versions of its iconic amps in its pursuit of its "all levels" vision.

'The Book of Boba Fett' trailer introduces Tatooine's new kingpin Posted: 01 Nov 2021 08:19 AM PDT The most famous bounty hunter in the Star Wars universe is taking center stage in his own show. Disney+ has offered a taste of what's in store in The Book of Boba Fett with the first trailer for the series. Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) is now the crime lord of Tatooine. Fett was presumed dead after falling into the sarlacc pit in Return of the Jedi, but he returned in The Mandalorian. The trailer shows Fett and his partner Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen, also reprising her role from The Mandalorian) ruling over the desert planet's underworld. They attempt to maintain order among criminals, while fending off the threat of a coup. Fett seems more magnanimous than his former boss Jabba the Hutt, who'd have fed someone to one of his creatures over the smallest perceived slight. Fett, however, allows his critics to speak freely. We'll get to learn more about this new era of crime on Tatooine when The Book of Boba Fett premieres on Disney+ on December 29th. Meanwhile, season three of The Mandalorian is in production, but it's not clear when that show will return to the streaming service.

I wish anyone other than Kanye had made the Stem Player Posted: 01 Nov 2021 08:00 AM PDT I want to get one thing out of the way at the top. I wish that anyone — anyone — other than Kanye West had released the Stem Player. At this point he's more than 10 years past the creative zenith of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and five years removed from the uneven, but decent Life of Pablo. These days, his cultural relevance is driven more by spectacle and controversy than artistic output. Still, I can't help but be drawn to the Donda Stem Player: It's a fascinating and unique device. But my interest is in spite of, not because of Kanye West. Terrence O'Brien / Engadget So what is it? Well, it's basically a tiny puck-shaped computer dedicated specifically to remixing Kanye's latest album. Using it you can change the volume of different stems, or tracks, in the songs on Donda. For instance, if you're wondering what "Off the Grid" would sound like as an instrumental you can simply turn down the vocals. Or if you find the sonar ping synth in "Jonah" unbearable, just turn it off. You can also create loops of little song chunks, reverse them, speed them up, slow them down and even add effects. It looks kinda like a sex toy, though, and is covered in what I assume are surplus Fleshlights. It doesn't feel unpleasant, exactly, but it is slightly unnerving. And the vaguely fleshy hue doesn't help matters. The main controls on the front are four touch-sensitive strips that light up to tell you what volume a track is at or what effect you've selected, for instance. The whole thing vibrates, too, with haptic feedback every time you touch a button or a strip, though it can lag behind your actual touch quite a bit. Terrence O'Brien / Engadget One of the limitations here is that it tops out at four stems. This often means all the melodic content is one track. I'll also say that the effect selection leaves something to be desired. There are two different speeds of tremolo, a few different echo options and "feedback" which is basically just an out of control echo. Being able to quickly loop a chunk of music, reverse and slap some reverb on it is kinda fun. It allows you to transform a song into something completely unrecognizable, but it's not super useful as a practical remix tool. I was somewhat disappointed by the Stem Player's ability to handle non-Donda tracks. The site promises that you can upload any song to the player. You can even drop in a YouTube link and it will parse out the audio. Then it will automatically split the song into stems so you can remix it. This is no easy task, even for pro-grade software on a high-powered PC. Predictably, it's hit or miss here. Terrence O'Brien / Engadget The Stem Player handled "DIRTY!" from JPEGMAFIA and "Stonefruit" by Armand Hammer reasonably well, though there was some slight bleed through of the synth line into the vocal stem on "Stonefruit." Nine Inch Nail's "Closer" fared a little worse. Half the bass line was on its own track, while the other half was lumped in with the drums. It even bled into the vocals. There was also a decent amount of digital artifacts in the stems. It would seem that fairly stripped-down hip hop productions will do ok, but as the complexity of a song increases the Stem Player starts to struggle parsing the different parts. The Armed's "An Iteration," for example, was broken down into drums, vocals and a single track of everything else. Then the fourth stem, which is supposed to be for bass, was basically silent. In fact, I often encountered this issue with music I uploaded to the Stem Player myself. Badbadnotgood's "Love Proceeding" was reduced to just two stems: drums and not drums. I have concerns about what happens to the Stem Player in a few years or even months time, too. The only way to upload new songs to it is through the Stem Player website. So if that ever goes offline you might be stuck. I also can't figure out how to get mixes and songs off the player. The instructions both included with the player and on the site are pretty barebones and at times, slightly confusing. In the FAQ it says you can save what you're mixing by pressing the volume up button then it explains that "four recordings can be saved, play back from the final, red track." The only problem is, I have no idea what the hell that means. Perhaps the biggest knock against the Stem Player is the price. $200 is a lot to throw at a musical curiosity. Especially when that money mostly serves to feed the ego of one of the most megalomaniacal celebrities in the world.

Amazon begins early Black Friday sales on its own devices Posted: 01 Nov 2021 07:19 AM PDT Even though Black Friday is over three weeks away, some major retailers are getting in on the action early. Among them is Amazon, which has slashed prices on its own devices. One of the products you can save on at the minute is the Kindle, which is $40 off at $50. Kindle Kids, meanwhile, is on sale for $60 (usually $110). Buy Kindle at Amazon - $50Buy Kindle Kids at Amazon - $60 Amazon has also discounted several Fire tablets. Even though you can often find it for $60 (a decent deal in itself), the Fire HD 8 is half off at $45. As such, the tablet is currently less expensive than the $50 Fire 7, which has a smaller screen with lower resolution. Meanwhile, Fire HD 8 Plus, which offers wireless charging and 3GB of RAM rather than 2GB, is currently $55. The tablet typically costs $100, but Amazon often drops that to $80. Buy Fire HD 8 at Amazon - $45Buy Fire HD 8 Plus at Amazon - $55 The kids versions of the tablets are on sale too. Fire HD 8 Kids ($70) is half price, as is Fire HD 8 Kids Pro ($70), which is for older children. Buy Fire HD 8 Kids at Amazon - $70Buy Fire HD 8 Kids Pro at Amazon - $70 Elsewhere, you can pick up a Fire TV Stick 4K for $25 at the moment. The streaming device typically costs around $35, but it can cost as much as $50. As for Echo Glow, Amazon's nightlight, you can save $10, as it's down to $20. The lamp doesn't have a built-in microphone or speaker, but you can use a separate Alexa device to select the brightness and color. Buy Fire TV Stick 4K at Amazon - $25Buy Echo Glow at Amazon - $20

The best tech toys for kids Posted: 01 Nov 2021 07:15 AM PDT It may have been another long year, but the holidays are finally approaching — and, with supply chain issues plaguing retail, it's best to get your shopping done sooner rather than later. This year we're all a little burnt out on screens, so the best gifts for kids are things they can hold. But, since this is Engadget, we're always looking for that tech angle. This year's crop of tech toys for kids is mostly grounded in the real world, with a few electronic twists to surprise and delight. Miles Morales in Winter Suit Funko Pop Will Lipman Photography for Engadget / Funko It's always good to grab a few stocking stuffers, and Funko makes figures from what feels like every pop culture property on earth. Around here we're partial to the video game ones, of course, and what's more festive than this adorable Spider-Man all dressed up for the cold weather? It'll look great while also adding a bit of geeky holiday cheer to someone's bookshelf or desk. Buy Miles Morales Funko Pop at Amazon - $11 Hasbro Lightsaber Forge Hasbro For kids who aren't old enough to build their own lightsaber at Disney's Galaxy Edge, this kit from Hasbro might be the next best thing. Not only is it way more affordable, but it's also quite durable, allowing kids and adults alike to reenact their favorite Jedi versus Sith battles with gusto. Best of all, a child can rebuild their lightsaber again and again using different parts, so they can have a customized weapon that fits their mood each day. Buy Lightsaber Forge at Walmart - $15 R2-D2 Tamagotchi Will Lipman Photography for Engadget Maybe taking care of a small creature was just too stressful for your kid, and you've had to console them many a time when the little ghost floating above a tombstone appears. Well, now Tamagotchi has a special astromech droid they can take care of instead, one they have to clean and play a variety of mini-games with. If they don't take care of little R2, the Jawas will take him away which might still be a bummer but hey, maybe they'll sell him off to a local moisture farmer with a thirst for adventure. Buy R2D2 Tamagotchi at Amazon - $20 Spin Master Purse Pets Will Lipman Photography for Engadget / Spin Master Kids are cute, but also weird and quirky, so why not get the child in your life something that reflects the more wild side of their personality? Purse Pets are basically living bags that can hold stuff but also blink, purr and even blow kisses at a child when it's happy. It's a real eye-catching accessory, one that will have them feeling like they're on the runway — especially when you activate the Purse Pet's runway music. Buy Purse Pets at Amazon - $25 Mattel Samantha Cristoforetti Barbie Doll Will Lipman Photography for Engadget Barbie first went to space way back in 1965 and, while she's had plenty of spacesuits over the decades, none have been as realistic as this one. That's because this one is based on real-life space explorer Samantha Cristoforetti, an Italian astronaut who was once the record holder for the longest space flight by a woman. Your kids can reenact her various scientific experiments in space with the doll, then cheer on the real-life Cristoforetti next year as she commands ISS Expedition 68. Buy Samantha Cristoforetti Barbie Doll at Amazon - $30 Smart Tech Sound Action Tunnel Brio It feels like an unwritten rule that every child has to have one of those wooden train and track sets. Why not spice things up a bit by adding in this tech-enabled station that signals the included train to stop and flash its lights, just like the real thing. If your kid is a railfan you can even use the free Smart Tech Sound app to change the sounds to those from famous systems like London, Paris or Berlin. Buy Smart Tech Sound Action Tunnel at Amazon - $45 Enchanting Hedwig Will Lipman Photography for Engadget We were all super jealous of Harry Potter when Hagrid presented him with a lovely snowy owl who would become his mail carrier and friend. However, in real life owls can be pretty messy and aren't as affectionate. So why not get your loved ones this interactive, life-sized replica instead? She loves to be petted and while she can't fly, she can safeguard letters for you, only releasing them to people who have the secret code. Buy Enchanting Hedwig at Amazon - $40 Got2Glow Fairy Finder Will Lipman Photography for Engadget The Got2Glow Fairy Finder may look like a slightly fancier mason jar, but it has a special electronic twist. When you open the lid, a fairy will "fly" inside and show up on the front screen. What kind of fairy? It depends on how a child holds the jar and how bright the room is. There are 100 different magical creatures to collect and trade with their friends, so it should keep your kids active and busy for a while. Buy Got2Glow Fairy Finder at Amazon - $50 Hot Wheels Mario Kart Vehicle Pack Will Lipman Photography for Engadget / Mattel Your child may not be old enough to drive a real car, but chances are they've taken a few spins around Rainbow Road in Nintendo's Mario Kart video games. And even if they haven't, they'll still enjoy playing with the whimsical vehicles from the series, recreated in 1/64-scale so they can fit in the palm of a kid's hand. All the favorites are here, from Mario to Yoshi and even the often-forgotten Waluigi. Some of the karts even include gliders so kids can simulate some of the more treacherous jumps like Peach's Castle. Buy Mario Kart Vehicle Pack at Amazon - $55 LEGO Adventures with Luigi Starter Course Will Lipman Photography for Engadget We've been a big fan of the Mario LEGO sets since their launch, but now it's time for his brother to have a little time in the sun. It's just like having a Super Mario game you can physically build and hold in your hand, complete with platforms, a see-saw and blocks. Luigi will even react to the course thanks to a small LCD screen embedded in his chest, and he's fully compatible with the other sets so you can build a whole world for him to explore. Buy Adventures with Luigi starter set at Amazon - $60 LEGO Boba Fett's Starship LEGO You can still call it the Slave I if you want, but the most important thing about this Firespray-31-class spacecraft is who it belongs to: the most feared bounty hunter in the galaxy, Boba Fett. He even has his own show coming out at the end of December. We know that's a long time to wait, but your family can at least spend part of that time putting together this 593-piece kit that even includes a tiny minifig Boba and Din Djarin from the Mandalorian. Buy Boba Fett Starship at Amazon - $50 Peek-a-Roo Spin Master There are toys that laugh, eat, burp and even poop, but there aren't a lot that give birth. That's probably because it's pretty weird, but Spin Master's Peek-a-Roo also makes it pretty adorable. This plush panda will react to being petted and spoken to by a child and, if the toy is treated well, it produces a tiny baby from the pouch in its stomach. The baby toy will continue to live there once born, popping up whenever its mama is happy. Buy Peek-a-Roo at Amazon - $60 LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar LEGO Advent calendars are a great way to get your kid excited for the holidays, but sometimes the little gifts inside aren't so great. Why not go full-on nerdy with this Star Wars calendar, which has a smattering of tiny sets your kid has to build alongside minifigs of characters like Rey, Luke Skywalker and a holiday-themed Poe Dameron? The kits will hopefully keep them busy so they're not asking you how many days are left until the big gift-giving occasion. Buy LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar at Amazon - $59 VTech KidiZoom PrintCam Will Lipman Photography for Engadget Kids love cameras but, with everything digital these days, there's a little less tactility, which kids also love. Printcams tend to be too expensive for many adults, never mind children, which makes them a no-go — until now. The VTech KidiZoom prints photos for as little as a penny, so it's not a big financial deal when your child takes 100 photos of their feet. Just make sure you keep them stocked up with fresh paper. Buy VTech KidiZoom PrintCam at Amazon - $75

Beats Fit Pro offer noise cancellation and the best AirPod features for $200 Posted: 01 Nov 2021 07:00 AM PDT Beats latest earbuds are official. After some early hints in iOS 15.1, the company has formally announced the Beats Fit Pro. This set of true wireless earbuds has a similar look to the Studio Buds that debuted earlier this year with an added fit wing, or "wingtip" as the company calls it. Combined with an IPX4 rating, the $200 Fit Pro are well-suited for workouts but are also packed with the best features from Apple's new AirPods for all-day use.  Thanks to Apple's H1 chip, the Beats Fit Pro offers hands-free access to Siri, one-touch pairing, the latest Find My features in iOS, automatic device switching and audio sharing. Apple's fancy new skin detection sensor that improves the accuracy of automatic pausing is also on board. Beats says H1 also powers the ear tip fit test that's built into the earbuds' settings through iOS. The Beats Fit Pro also have Adaptive EQ like the latest AirPods, a feature that continuously scans and adjusts low- and mid-range frequencies using computational audio and in-ward facing mics. Spatial audio and dynamic head tracking, also key elements of Apple's new earbuds, are available on the Beats Fit Pro as well. This gives you the option of Dolby Atmos in both Apple Music or while you're watching movies and shows.  Beats The Beats Fit Pro go beyond the new AirPods with active noise cancellation (ANC). The company says its ANC setup "continuously adapts in real time," scanning and adjusting up to 200 times per second to counter any changes "in fit and movement." There's also a transparency mode that allows you to hear what's going on around you when needed. With both ANC and transparency turned off, Adaptive EQ takes over to keep things sounding as good as possible.  Beats says new custom transducer and vent system have helped improve overall audio quality. There's also a new acoustic design that delivers what the company describes as "impressive dynamic range and clarity across the frequency curve." On the outside, on-board controls give you the ability to play music and take calls without reaching for your phone. Beats gives you the option to customize the long press action for on-board volume control if you'd prefer that to easy access to noise control (ANC, transparency and off). During calls, the company says beamforming microphones focus on your voice while internal mics and an accelerometer work to filter out environmental noise. Spatial audio in Group FaceTime won't be available on the Beats Fit Pro at launch, but the feature will come in a future update.  Beats Beats is promising up to six hours of listening time with ANC or transparency mode active, plus another 21 hours in the charging case. When you turn those off and use the Fit Pro in Adaptive EQ mode you can expect up to seven hours on the buds with 27 more in the case. The case doesn't support wireless charging but it does offer a Fast Fuel feature that gives you an hour of play time in five minutes. While everything iOS users need for the Beats Fit Pro is built into that software, Android users will need to download the Beats app. The app offers one-touch pairing, the fit test, the ability to change listening modes and customization of the long press action.  The Beats Fit Pro are available for pre-order today for $200 from Apple's website and other retailers in the US. Color options include black, white, grey and purple. The earbuds will begin shipping on November 5th with availability in China in early December. Beats says the Fit Pro will be available "in additional regions" next year. New subscribers also get six months of Apple Music with the purchase of Beats Fit Pro. Read our full review of the Beats Fit Pro right here.

Beats Fit Pro review: All the perks of AirPods with a more comfortable design Posted: 01 Nov 2021 07:00 AM PDT Thanks to some early hints in iOS 15.1, Beats' latest earbuds are hardly a surprise. Today the company officially debuted its latest model: the $200 Beats Fit Pro. With a similar design to the Studio Buds that arrived earlier this year, this new pair offers active noise cancellation (ANC) alongside almost all of the features from Apple's third-generation AirPods. That includes hands-free Siri, Adaptive EQ, spatial audio and more. Beats has also added a wing for a more secure fit during workouts and kept the IPX4 rating from the Studio Buds. All of those features, combined with a more attractive design, gives the company an alternative to the Powerbeats Pro in its lineup. Design If you're thinking the Beats Fit Pro look almost exactly like the Beats Studio Buds, you're not wrong. This new model is a smidge larger and the angle of the tab that holds the on-board controls is slightly different. The overall aesthetic and shape are pretty much identical, though. The biggest design difference is the fit wing, or wingtip as Beats calls it. Unlike a lot of sporty earbuds, this element is very flexible so it can bend to fit a greater range of ear shapes. That also makes it more comfortable. Even though the wing is helping keep the buds in place, you hardly know it's there. Like the Studio Buds, the on-board controls for the Beats Fit Pro are on the lowercase 'b' logo on the outside of each earbud. They're still physical buttons you have to press rather than touch controls built for tapping. Controls are mirrored on each side by default, with options for play/pause and answering calls (single press) in addition to skipping tracks (twice for forward, three times for back) and cycling between ANC on and transparency mode (long press). The long press can be reconfigured for volume control, allowing you to turn it up on one side and down on the other. If you do this, you lose the ability to access noise cancellation or ambient sound mode. Bummer. Beats says it strategically positioned the button for the on-board controls at the bottom of the hump on each earbud "to avoid accidental presses." Just like I encountered on the Studio Buds, I frequently activated the controls when trying to adjust the fit of the earbuds. With the wingtip I had to do this less often than the previous model, but it was still annoying to want to secure the buds in my ear only to errantly pause the audio or change the noise control mode. And due to the positioning of the microphones, any fit adjustment usually meant touching the external mics and creating extra noise. Apple's new wear detection sensor sits around back. Like the tech on the new AirPods, the Beats Fit Pro have an optical sensor outfitted with wavelength LEDs that can determine if an object is skin in addition to proximity. Both Apple and Beats explain that this makes the automatic pausing more accurate, avoiding accidental activation when you don't actually have them in your ear. Of course, this also helps save battery life when you're less likely to erroneously turn them on. Software and features Billy Steele/Engadget Thanks to Apple's H1 chip, the Beats Fit Pro have a lot of the same features as the new AirPods. Those include one-touch pairing, where even the first time you open the case, all you have to do is tap a pop-up on your iPhone and the earbuds are connected. Messing with a Bluetooth menu and putting a device in pairing mode are both relics of a bygone era. H1 also powers hands-free Siri and Apple's enhanced Find My features. Lastly, you get Audio Sharing too, so you can listen to music or watch a movie with someone who has a set of earbuds or headphones made by Apple or Beats. In terms of software, everything you need for Beats Fit Pro is built into iOS 15 for iPhone users. From Control Center, you can easily access noise control and spatial audio settings with a long press on the volume slider. You can reassign the press-and-hold on-board control from the 'i' icon next to the device name in the Bluetooth menu. An ear tip fit test resides there too, just like it does for the AirPods Pro, and you can disable automatic ear detection as well. Noise and spatial audio controls are located on this menu too if you'd prefer to access them here. On Android devices, Beats has a dedicated app that handles fast pairing and includes the ear tip fit test, control customization and battery status features available on iOS. Sound quality Billy Steele/Engadget Beats says it completely redesigned its proprietary transducer for the Fit Pro, creating "an entirely custom acoustic architecture" and promising balanced and powerful sound. That last bit is immediately apparent the first time you fire up these earbuds. There's much more low-end tone on this model than what the Studio Buds offer. The punchier bass establishes more depth as well, so there's more room for vocals, instruments and other elements to come through without sounding compressed or boring. Indeed, guitars ring out in the chaotic metal of Every Time I Die, with bombastic drums booming underneath. The bass is ample and never overpowers, even with genres where things can get out of hand quickly when the tuning is the slightest bit off. There's a clarity on the Fit Pro that's well suited for genres like blues, bluegrass, ambient, electronic and more. Across all of those genres, the crisp details highlight Beats' full range of tones. Bass, fiddle, guitar and mandolin all stand on their own for acts like Nickel Creek, giving space for each to shine. There's no doubt the sound profile here is an improvement over the Studio Buds, but it's not on the level of pricer sets like the MW08, Momentum True Wireless 2 or WF-1000XM4. Thanks to the H1 chip, Beats Fit Pro work with Apple's spatial audio. This gives you the ability to listen to Dolby Atmos Music content in Apple Music — with or without dynamic head tracking enabled. Spatial audio is also available for these earbuds on Apple TV or movies and TV shows streamed iPhone or iPad. Like the latest AirPods, the Fit Pro are equipped with Apple's Adaptive EQ. This feature is active when you disable both ANC and transparency mode, continuously monitoring sound with internal microphones and adjusting the low- and mid-range frequencies to keep the audio quality consistent. The feature also takes into account the shape of your ear when making its tweaks. As I've already mentioned, the Beats Fit Pro have active noise cancellation on board. It's another feature powered by Apple's H1 chip and it, too, adapts to both ambient noise and how the earbuds fit in your ears. Like previous Beats headphones, this tech continuously monitors and automatically adjusts based on the environmental clamor. Beats says the system is powered by an algorithm that can adapt the signal 200 times per second. That looks nice on paper, but at the end of the day, all you need to know is the ANC system on the Fit Pro does a solid job of blocking distractions when you need it to. It's not as powerful as Bose or Sony, but it counters distractions well enough to come in handy. As is typically the case with noise-cancelling earbuds these days, the Fit Pro also offer a transparency mode for tuning into your surroundings. There's no denying this tool is helpful in certain scenarios when you need to pay some attention to what's going on around you. However, like the Studio Buds, these don't feed your voice back into the earbuds when you talk, so you have to speak up to hear yourself. Still, transparency mode will help you keep an ear out for your name at a coffee shop. Call quality Billy Steele/Engadget For calls, Beats equipped the Fit Pro with six microphones: three on each side. External beamforming mics focus on your voice while the internal units for ANC, transparency mode and Adaptive EQ pull double duty to help improve calls. The company says the feed-forward microphones are recessed to avoid wind issues and a voice accelerometer counters external noise with the help of "an advanced algorithm." All earbud companies make some version of this pitch with a mix of mics, algorithms and strategic placement. Mileage varies greatly with these promises and more often than not they don't hold up. With the Fit Pro, your voice sounds better than speakerphone, but it comes across muffled on the other end. The person you're speaking to will also get ample background noise if it's loud enough. At the end of the day, these will work fine if you're in a decently quiet space, but don't expect them to block out a noisy office when you have a phone or video call. When they first arrive, the Beats Fit Pro won't support Apple's new Group FaceTime spatial audio. The feature employs immersive sound so that participants sound like they're speaking from the location they are on your screen. Apple says this makes FaceTime calls more natural, and it does to a degree. It definitely enhances the experience of a meeting or group chat, but it's still far from real life. Beats says it plans to add this feature to the Fit Pro as part of a future software update. Battery life Beats is promising up to six hours of use on the earbuds with ANC or transparency mode active. When you factor in the additional 21 hours in the case, that's 27 hours of listening time with the most attractive features turned on. If you opt to skip those and go with Adaptive EQ mode, you can expect an extra hour on the Beats Fit Pro and three more in the case for a total of 30. As always, the company has included its Fast Fuel feature that offers an hour of noise-cancelling playback with a five-minute charge. Battery life claims are rarely an issue with Beats gear and that holds true here. Using a mix of active noise cancellation and transparency mode throughout the day, I managed nearly seven hours before completely depleting the power. I missed it by about 10 minutes. That's enough to get you through a full day at the office, and if you can dock the buds at some point, you'll have no trouble wearing them during your commute either. All of these figures are on par with the new AirPods, but Apple's latest don't have ANC. Our current top pick for best earbuds, Sony's WF-1000XM4, lasted seven and a half hours during my tests with noise cancellation active. The competition Billy Steele/Engadget Beats has a more affordable alternative to the Fit Pro in its lineup. The Studio Buds will save you $50, but you'll have to make some sacrifices. First, and perhaps most importantly, the sound quality isn't nearly as good. It lacks the punchy bass and overall depth the Fit Pro exhibits. The Studio Buds don't have Apple's H1 chip, but you still get quick pairing and hands-free Siri in addition to the ability to listen to Dolby Atmos tunes in Apple Music. What you won't find is Adaptive EQ or the new skin-activated wear detection sensor. The absolute best true wireless earbuds you can buy right now are still the Sony WF-1000XM4. As feature-packed as the Fit Pro are, the handy features are most useful for iOS. Sony goes beyond ANC to include automatic pausing when you speak and quick attention mode for short conversations. You can also fully automate your noise-cancelling or transparency levels on the WF-1000XM4 based on your activity or location. Of course, that's if you're willing to trade some privacy for convenience. Wrap-up If you're looking for the best of what AirPods has to offer in earbuds that don't have the polarizing stick apparatus, the Beats Fit Pro should do the trick. They offer a nice blend of features, sound and noise-cancelling performance for the price. Sure, there are better options but they also cost significantly more, especially if you're looking for the absolute best audio quality. For now, Beats is giving the masses an AirPods alternative that's actually still packed with Apple tech. And that's an interesting proposition for iPhone owners.

Apple is reportedly working on a way for iPhones to detect car crashes and auto-dial 911 Posted: 01 Nov 2021 06:41 AM PDT Your iPhone might have a new capability as soon as next year: detecting a car accident and automatically dialing 911. Apple plans to unveil a feature called "crash detection" for both iPhones and Watches, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The feature would supposedly use sensors like the accelerometer built into Apple devices. Apple has reportedly been working on the feature for several years and testing it using real world data. According to documents seen by the WSJ, Apple has been collecting data shared anonymously from iPhone and Watch users. It has detected more than 10 million suspected vehicle impacts, with more than 50,000 of those accompanied by a call to 911. Apple has been using that data to improve the accuracy of its crash-detection algorithm, since a 911 emergency call is pretty solid confirmation of a serious crash.  It's certainly not first to the gate with this. Google introduced a similar feature for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 4 via its Personal Safety app that can detect when you've been in a car crash and alert emergency services. GM has been offering it for years in its cars with OnStar, and recently introduced crash detection to smartphones via the OnStar Guardian app. OnStar's in-vehicle service reportedly responds to over 6,000 crash notifications a month, as the WSJ noted.  Apple introduced fall-detection to the Apple Watch 4 series, and it can automatically call emergency services and contact your loved ones if you don't respond to a prompt in a certain amount of time. The crash-detection feature is supposed to come out for iPhone and Apple Watches in 2022, provided everything goes to plan.

The best laptops and tablets to give as gifts Posted: 01 Nov 2021 06:15 AM PDT If you're thinking of getting a laptop or tablet as a gift, you've got a wealth of options. Thanks to the latest round of hardware from Intel, Apple, AMD and NVIDIA, all of our portable devices have gotten steadily faster and more efficient. Even the cheapest iPad can be a decent productivity machine, while gaming laptops now have almost all of the power of their desktop siblings. And with the arrival of Windows 11, it's a perfect time to give someone a nifty PC upgrade, especially since very old computers won't be able to step up. Dell XPS 13 Dell Not to sound like a broken record, but the XPS 13 is still the best Windows ultraportable you can buy. The design hasn't changed much, but that's not a huge problem: It's still incredibly light and features extraordinarily thin screen bezels. And now you can also take advantage of Intel's latest 11th-generation processors. The XPS 13 can also be configured with an OLED screen, an ideal gift for someone who could use a bright and color accurate display. And if you've got someone in mind who could use even more power, the new XPS 15 has the same sleek design, but it has more room for a bigger display and better hardware. Buy XPS 13 at Dell starting at $950 Apple MacBook Air Will Lipman Photography for Engadget Apple's MacBook Air hasn't been upgraded since last year's miraculous model — which gave it the winning combination of Apple's M1 processor, a fan-less design, and incredible battery life — but it's still one of the best laptops on the market. It's powerful enough to handle most productivity tasks and a few games, and whoever's lucky enough to get it won't have to worry about any fans spinning up, since it's completely passively cooled. You can also find the M1-equipped MacBook Air on sale occasionally, making it one of the smarter gift purchases this season. Buy MacBook Air M1 at Amazon - $999 Apple iPad Apple Kudos to Apple for continually improving its entry-level iPad. Once again, it's one of the best tablet gift options on the market. It's faster than ever, thanks to Apple's A13 Bionic processor, and it includes more storage. The $329 model now comes with 64GB, or you could bump up to 256GB for $479. That's more than enough space to save every episode of Bluey and several seasons of Sesame Street to survive long car trips. Sure, the design hasn't changed much since last year, but that doesn't matter much — it's still a more than capable tablet. Buy iPad at Amazon - $329 Amazon Fire HD 10 Will Lipman Photography for Engadget Amazon's Fire tablets are basically just video-first Android slates, but they also prove you don't have to pay a ton to buy a useful tablet for someone. This year, the Fire HD 10 is a bit faster, has 50 percent more memory and features a slightly brighter screen. And, as a bonus, there's a Bluetooth keyboard accessory that can turn it into a cheap productivity tablet. But its core selling point is the same as always: it can tackle most tablet tasks easily, and it won't cost too much. (There are also kid-centric Fire tablets worth considering, which come with a more durable case and two years worth of free replacements.) Buy Fire HD 10 at Amazon - $150 Razer Blade 15 Razer You can take all of the praise we've given Razer's Blade 15 over the years and apply it to the latest model. Razer's flagship gaming notebook still has a sleek unibody aluminum case, and it packs in the latest CPUs and GPUs, including NVIDIA's top-end RTX 3080. And thanks to improved screen choices, you can also gift models with fast 1,440p displays, which are sharper than 1080p screens, and easier to run natively than 4K displays. If portability is a greater concern, take a look at the new Razer Blade 14, a sub-four-pound notebook sporting AMD's latest processors. Buy Blade 15 at Razer - $1,700 ASUS Zephyrus G15 Will Lipman Photography for Engadget If the gamer in your life wants something more flashy and a bit lighter than the Razer Blade, consider the Zephyrus G15. With the combined power of AMD's latest processors and NVIDIA's latest graphics cards, it'll handle practically any game thrown at it. And if you're on a budget, you can find lower-end models cheaper than the equivalent Razer's. Mostly, though, we love this laptop because it has pretty much everything we'd want in a mobile gaming rig — that includes an excellent keyboard, a speedy 165Hz 1440p screen and excellent battery life. The only downside is that there's no webcam, but any aspiring streamer would rather have a separate external camera anyway. Buy Zephyrus G15 at Best Buy - $1,550 Acer Chromebook 512 Will Lipman Photography for Engadget The best Chromebooks are cheap, sturdy and powerful enough to handle basic school and office work. Acer's Chromebook 512 is one of the best current options, especially if you're looking for something for a child. It has a spill resistant keyboard, a sturdy impact-resistant case, and anchored keys that are harder for kids to pull off. Its Intel Celeron N4000 chip isn't the fastest, but it's enough to work on Google Docs, Sheets and Presentations without breaking too much of a sweat. Buy Acer Chromebook 512 at Amazon - $200 Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 Will Lipman Photography for Engadget Sometimes it seems like there are just too many PC ultraportables to choose from, but Microsoft's Surface Laptop line are always a solid option. They feature some of the best keyboards on the market, excellent displays and support for all of Microsoft's notebook accessories, like the Surface Stylus. But mostly, we appreciate them for their design simplicity. They're sturdy, attractive and built for productivity. The latest 15-inch model also packs in speedy AMD processors that are powerful enough to play a few rounds of Overwatch. Buy Surface Laptop 4 at Microsoft starting at $799

The best early Black Friday tech deals we've found so far Posted: 01 Nov 2021 05:35 AM PDT November has begun with a bang when it comes to tech deals. A whole slew of early Black Friday deals are available right now, making it a good time to cross some items off your gift list. Unsurprisingly, Amazon and Best Buy are the places to go for the best tech deals right now. Some of our favorite headphones and earbuds have hit record-low prices, and there are bunch of discounts on everything from smartwatches to OLED TVs to Instant Pots. Here are the best early Black Friday tech deals you can get right now. Sony WH-1000XM4 Billy Steele / Engadget Our favorite pair of Sony headphones, the WH-1000XM4, are down to a record low of $248 right now. We gave these cans a score of 94 for their powerful ANC, immersive sound quality and multi-device connectivity. Buy WH-1000XM4 at Amazon - $248Buy WH-1000XM4 at Best Buy - $248 Sony WF-1000XM4 Sony's WF-1000XM3 (L) and the new WF-1000XM4 (R). Billy Steele/Engadget Sony's excellent WF-1000XM4 earbuds are down to $248 during this sale. We gave them a score of 86 for their great sound quality, powerful ANC and improved battery life. Buy WF-1000XM4 at Amazon - $248Buy WF-1000XM4 at Best Buy - $248 Sony WF-1000XM3 Billy Steele/Engadget The Sony WF-1000XM3 earbuds are down to $128, or more than $70 off their usual price. We gave these buds a score of 89 for their excellent sound quality, great battery life and comprehensive companion app. Buy WF-1000XM3 at Amazon - $128Buy WF-1000XM3 at Best Buy - $128 Bose QuietComfort earbuds Billy Steele / Engadget Bose's QuietComfort earbuds are down to $199, which is a record low. These are some of the company's best true wireless earbuds and they earned a score of 87 from us for their clear sound, powerful ANC and comfortable size. Buy QuietComfort earbuds at Amazon - $199Buy QuietComfort earbuds at Best Buy - $199 Instant Pot Duo Plus (6-quart) Instant Pot The Instant Pot Duo Plus dropped down to its all-time-low price of $60. This multicooker has functions for pressure cooking, slow cooking, yogurt making, sous vide and more, and its six-quart capacity should make enough food for four to six people people. Buy Instant Pot Duo Plus at Best Buy - $60 Jabra Elite 85t Engadget Jabra's Elite 85t earbuds are on sale for a new record-low price of $150, which is $80 off its normal price. These earbuds impressed us with their strong ANC, comfortable size and wireless charging case. Buy Elite 85t at Amazon - $150Buy Elite 85t at Best Buy - $150 JLab Go Air Pop JLab JLab's already affordable Go Air Pop earbuds are down to only $13 right now. These colorful true wireless buds sport an eight-hour battery life, a small and comfortable design and touch controls. Buy Go Air Pop at Best Buy - $13 Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 David Imel for Engadget The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is on sale for $200 right now, which is a new record low. The Watch 4 Classic is also on sale for $320. These remain the best smartwatches for Android users and we gave the Watch 4 a score of 85 for its bright screen, comprehensive health tracking and improved third-party app support. Buy Galaxy Watch 4 at Best Buy - $200Buy Watch 4 Classic at Amazon - $320Buy Watch 4 Classic at Best Buy - $320 Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 and S7+ Cherlynn Low / Engadget Samsung's Tab S7 and S7+ are down to $500 and $700, respectively, during this sale. We gave these Android tablets a score of 80 for their lovely build, striking 120Hz displays and long battery life. Buy Galaxy Tab S7 at Amazon - $500Buy Galaxy Tab S7 at Best Buy - $500Buy Galaxy Tab S7+ at Amazon - $700Buy Galaxy Tab S7+ at Best Buy - $700 Google Nest Audio Engadget Google's Nest Audio is down to an all-time low of $60. This is one of the best smart speakers you can get, especially if you already use the Google Assistant. We gave it a score of 87 for its solid audio quality, attractive design and good performance. Buy Nest Audio at Best Buy - $60 Google Nest Hub (2nd gen) Cherlynn Low / Engadget The latest Nest Hub is half off, bringing it down to only $50. It earned a score of 89 from us for its speedy performance, clearer and louder audio and accurate sleep tracking sensor. Buy Nest Hub (2nd gen) at Best Buy - $50 Google Nest Hub Max Engadget The Nest Hub Max is on sale for $180 right now. This is the biggest version of Google's smart display and we gave it a score of 86 for its excellent sound quality, great display and handy gesture controls. Buy Nest Hub Max at Best Buy - $180 Google Nest WiFi Daniel Cooper Google's Nest WiFi system with one router and one access point is on sale for $180. We gave this mesh system a score of 84 for its lovely hardware, simple installation process and built-in smart speaker capabilities. Buy Nest WiFi at Best Buy - $180 55-inch LG G1 OLED smart TV LG A 55-inch LG G1 OLED TV will set you back $1,700 if you grab it during this sale. It's part of the "gallery" series and it uses OLED evo panel technology, which provides better brightness and clearer whites than standard OLED displays. It also runs on LG's a9 Gen4 AI Processor 4K and supports features like G-SYNC, FreeSync, OLED Motion Pro and voice commands via Alexa and the Google Assistant. Buy 55-inch LG G1 evo OLED at Amazon - $1,699Buy 55-inch LG G1 evo OLED at Best Buy - $1,699 48-inch LG A1 OLED smart TV LG The latest LG OLED lineup just became available a few months ago and now you can grab the 48-inch A1 model for $900. The A1 series is the most affordable of the bunch, making these sets good options for anyone looking to upgrade to OLED while on a tight budget. Buy 48-inch LG A1 OLED at Amazon - $900Buy 48-inch LG A1 OLED at Best Buy - $900 55-inch Vizio OLED smart TV Vizio Vizio's 55-inch OLED 4K TV is down to $1,000 right now, or $300 off its normal price. This set supports HDR and Dolby Vision, DTS Virtual X surround sound audio and AirPlay and Chromecast technology built in. Buy 55-inch Vizio OLED at Best Buy - $1,000 Lenovo Smart Clock Essential Nicole Lee / Engadget Lenovo's Smart Clock Essential is $20 off, bringing it down to $30. We gave this compact smart alarm clock a score of 83 for its minimalistic design, built-in nightlight, tap-to-snooze feature and good smart home controls. Buy Smart Clock Essential at Best Buy - $30 Lenovo Smart Clock Gen 2 with Dock Cherlynn Low / Engadget The new Smart Clock Gen 2 is on sale for $70, or $20 off its normal price. This model has a better processor plus a wireless charging pad that you can use to juice up your smartphone, earbuds or other devices. Buy Smart Clock Gen 2 at Best Buy - $70 Amazon Echo Nathan Ingraham / Engadget Amazon's latest Echo smart speaker has been discounted to $60, which is a new record low. We gave the orb-shaped device a score of 89 for its good audio quality, solid Alexa performance and stereo pairing option. Buy Echo at Amazon - $60Buy Echo at Best Buy - $60 Amazon Echo Show 8 The previous-gen Echo Show 8 has fallen to $60 in this sale. While it doesn't have the improved video camera that the new version does, it's still a good option if you're looking for a mid-sized smart display to put in your kitchen, office or elsewhere in your home. Buy Echo Show 8 (previous gen) at Amazon - $60Buy Echo Show 8 (previous gen) at Best Buy - $60 Amazon Kindle Engadget The base Kindle is $40 off, bringing it down to a new low of $50. That's a great deal if you don't need the bells and whistles that come with the new Paperwhite edition. We gave the Kindle a score of 91 for its front-lit display, improved contrast panel and sleeker design. Buy Kindle at Amazon - $50Buy Kindle at Best Buy - $50 Eero Pro 6 Amazon / Eero The Eero Pro 6 mesh WiFi three-pack is just about $150 off, bringing it down to an all-time low of $449. This pack can cover 6,000 square feet, supports WiFi 6, has a speedy setup process and works with Alexa. Buy Eero Pro 6 at Amazon - $449Buy Eero Pro 6 at Best Buy - $449 Facebook Portal Facebook's Portal smart display is on sale for $80, or $100 off its normal price. We gave it a score of 79 for its HD display, smart camera tracking, bevy of video chat features and good sound quality. Buy Facebook Portal at Amazon - $80Buy Facebook Portal at Best Buy - $80 Facebook Portal TV Engadget The Portal TV has been discounted by $70, bringing it down to $80. This device basically turns your TV into a giant video chat screen and we gave it a score of 78 for its smart camera tracking and immersive video chat experience. Buy Portal TV at Amazon - $80Buy Portal TV at Best Buy - $80 Fitbit Sense Cherlynn Low / Engadget The Fitbit Sense is back down to its record low of $200. This is the company's most capable smartwatch and it earned a score of 82 from us for its big, sharp display and comprehensive health tracking features. Buy Fitbit Sense at Amazon - $200Buy Fitbit Sense at Best Buy - $200 Fitbit Inspire 2 Fitbit The Fitbit Inspire 2 tracker is down to a record low of $60 right now. This is one of the Fitbit bands to get if you want a device that lasts up to 10 days on a single charge while tracking daily activity, steps and sleep. Buy Inspire 2 at Amazon - $60Buy Inspire 2 at Best Buy - $60 Logitech C922 Pro webcam Logitech Logitech's C922 Pro webcam has been discounted to $80, or $20 off its normal price. Recording in up to 1080p/60fps, this webcam is a good one if you want just one gadget for both Zoom calls and game streaming. Buy C922 Pro webcam at Best Buy - $80 Razer BlackWidow V2 Tournament Edition Razer This Razer mechanical keyboard is on sale for $80, which is $60 off its normal price. It boasts programmable backlit keys, anti-ghosting with 10-key rollover and an included wrist rest. Buy BlackWidow V2 Tournament edition at Best Buy - $80 Nanoleaf Hexagon starter kit Nanoleaf Nanoleaf's Hexagon pack is down to $170, or $30 off its normal price. You can hang these up in your own, unique pattern and they can shine in over 16 million colors. The companion app allows you to create scenes, set schedules and program the lights to change with music you may be playing. Buy Nanoleaf Hexagon pack at Best Buy - $170 Segway ES2-N electric scooter Segway Best Buy slashed $250 off the Ninebot ES2-N electric scooter, bringing it down to $400. This foldable scooter uses 700W of power to reach a max speed of 15.5mph, and its non-pneumatic tires keep you stable even on rough terrain. It also has a built-in headlight for safer riding in the evening and an LED display that shows speed and battery level. Buy ES2-N scooter at Best Buy - $400 Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by visiting our deals homepage and following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter.

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