The blackest of Fridays is nearly upon us and companies have already begun rolling out the deals to separate consumers from their bank accounts. Heres one for a well-regarded and budget-friendly robovac. The iRobot Roomba Essential Vac is on sale for just $140, which is a discount of 44 percent. The regular price is $250.
The Essential Vac features a similar design to the iRobot Roomba 694, which topped our list of the best budget robot vacuums. This one includes a three-stage cleaning system that works on both carpet and hard floors. It features the same smart navigation system as other iRoomba vacuums, so itll avoid stairs and work its way around items of furniture.
Despite being a budget-friendly robovac, there are some modern flourishes. The vacuum will automatically return to the charging station when the battery runs low, which is always nice. It also integrates with the Roomba app for setting cleaning schedules and for building a custom map of the home.
The battery life sits at around two hours, which is a decent metric for the price. That should be more than enough time to thoroughly clean a medium-sized home. The major caveat here is that this is a budget robovac, so it doesnt mop and it doesnt ship with a large debris canister. Still, the price is right for those curious about eliminating sweeping from that to-do list.
Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/this-budget-roomba-robot-vacuum-is-nearly-half-off-ahead-of-black-friday-184426408.html?src=rss
Meta has long been at loggerheads with European Union officials over its approach to targeted Facebook and Instagram ads. The company is hoping to placate regulators with some changes to its ad model in the bloc, which includes lowering the price of its ad-free subscription. Starting November 13, the plan will cost 40 percent less 6 ($6.36) per month for signups via the web and 8 ($8.48) for those who subscribe on an iOS or Android device. The fee for each additional Facebook and Instagram account is 4 per month on the web and 5 via mobile.
The company will automatically drop current subscribers down to the lower pricing. It says that it will once again ask users in the bloc if they'd like to sign up.
When they see this prompt (which can only be ignored for a certain period of time), there will be a third option for EU Facebook and Instagram users to choose from. Those who don't want to pay for a subscription can instead opt to only view ads that are based on what they see in a given session in the apps. Meta will also factor in a few key data markers such as "a persons age, location, gender and how a person engages with ads."
These less-personalized ads naturally won't be as tailored to a given user's interests, the company notes. As such, people are perhaps less likely to click on such ads. To make up for that (and make sure this option doesn't hit Meta in the pocket too hard), folks who choose the less-personalized ads option will sometimes encounter unskippable ads. According to The Wall Street Journal, these will be displayed full screen.
"Such ad breaks are common across other services, and are already offered by many of our competitors," Meta argues. "This change will help us continue to provide value to advertisers which ensures we can offer people a less personalized ads experience at no charge."
Targeted ads are Meta's biggest revenue driver, but EU officials have reportedly been pressuring the company to offer a free, less-personalized option in its apps. Meta has argued that would negatively impact its bottom line. Although it has seemingly caved to officials' requests, the unskippable ad aspect may be construed as malicious compliance, as it worsens the user experience.
Meta claims that these changes to its ad model "meet EU regulator demands and go beyond whats required" by the bloc's laws. The company introduced its ad-free subscription a year ago to comply with laws such as the Digital Markets Act (DMA), as well as stricter interpretations of the General Data Protection Regulation. It was previously ordered to seek permission from users in the bloc before showing them personalized ads.
The EU didn't take too kindly to the paid ad-free approach, however. An investigation into the "consent or pay" model is ongoing. In July, the EU said that in its preliminary findings, Meta was violating the DMA with this plan.
These latest changes are said to be Meta's attempt to settle the case, but according to the Journal, the EU's discussions with the company haven't concluded. The bloc's regulatory body has until late March to finish its investigation and make a final decision. If it determines that Meta has indeed violated the DMA, the company could be on the hook for a fine of up to 10 percent of its annual global revenue. Based on its total revenue for 2023, it could have to pay up as much as $13 billion or so.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/meta-cuts-the-price-of-its-ad-free-plan-by-40-percent-in-a-bid-to-sate-eu-regulators-174926790.html?src=rss
Waymo has announced expanded availability of its driverless rideshare service throughout Los Angeles. Thats right. Waymo One is now available to all customers anywhere in LA county, which is 80 square miles. The company has dropped the waitlist for area residents. Now LA residents will get to experience sitting in endless traffic with a series of cameras and navigational algos leading the way instead of a person.
This expanded service starts today and it offers fully autonomous rides at any time of the day or night. Lets hear it for some drunken late night bonding with an algorithm. Waymo also says itll further expand the service area in the future. After all, Los Angeles comprises five counties.
Its been offering driverless rides to LA customers for a while now, but with a mandatory waitlist. Waymo One also started small in San Francisco and Phoenix before announcing similar expansions. The service will be coming to Austin and Atlanta in the near future.
All told, the company says over 300,000 Los Angeles residents have joined the waitlist for the service and Waymo One has completed hundreds of thousands of paid trips across the city. Waymo says these driverless rides are also highly rated, with an average rating of 4.7 stars out of five. A recent survey indicated that 98 percent of customers are satisfied with the service.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/waymos-driverless-cars-in-la-county-are-now-available-to-everyone-173237519.html?src=rss
If you use Chrome on your iPhone, youre about to see some features sliding over from the Android version. Google Lens will let you add text to your image searches, and you can save files and pictures directly to Google Drive and Photos. You can get Shopping Insights for products youre browsing.
Chrome for iOS now lets you add words to your Google Lens visual searches, allowing you to add nuance to your query or perform more complex and specific searches, as Chrome Product Manager Katia Muradyan wrote in a blog post. After activating Lens by tapping the camera icon in the Chrome search bar, you can ask questions about the object youre snapping a pic of, and it will produce corresponding results. Google says AI Overviews will also appear for some of these search results.
The feature shares some common ground with an Apple Intelligence feature for iPhone 16 owners in iOS 18.2, which is currently in beta. Visual Intelligence lets you point your camera at something and get info about it, including asking ChatGPT questions about it or searching for it on Google.
Chrome for iPhone now has a feature that lets you save a file directly to Google Drive or Google Photos, sparing you from using your phones internal storage. When saving files from Chrome, youll see a new option to save the file to Drive. Similarly, when browsing a photo you want to save, long-press on it, and youll see a new Save in Google Photos option in the context menu. Of course, the feature requires you to be signed into a Google account.
Chrome for iOS also adds a feature that pops up a mini-map when you click on an address. Look for an underlined link to specific addresses; clicking on it will take you to the mini-map without leaving the browser.
Finally, Google is adding Shopping Insights for US users. The company frames it as a way to help you find great prices on items youre shopping for, but its hard to imagine this feature exists strictly from the kindness of Google's heart. Regardless, youll soon see a Good Deal Now alert in Chromes address bar when browsing for products for which its available. Youll see details like price history / tracking and buying options if you tap it.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/chrome-for-ios-now-lets-you-add-text-to-google-lens-visual-searches-170920556.html?src=rss
Climate activists won against Shell in 2021 when a Dutch court commanded the oil giant to reduce its carbon emissions by 45 percent by the end of 2030. Three years later, Shell managed to win its appeal against this ruling. In the court's view, Shell doesnt have a social standard of care to curtail emissions, the BBC reports.
The 2021 ruling was noteworthy, as it was the first time a court made a private company obey the 2015 Paris Agreement in addition to Dutch law. However, the appeals court judge said that while Shell had an obligation to reduce emissions, a 45 percent cut could not be established as there is no universally accepted amount. Shells statement says its planning to reduce its products carbon intensity by a comparatively paltry 15 to 20 percent by 2030 compared to a 2016 baseline.
The 2021 ruling would only be effective in the Netherlands as well. Shell wouldnt have been legally obligated to follow the lower court's ruling for its operations outside Dutch territory. Now even that small gain is off the table for now.
The activists, who are largely associated with Milieudefensie (the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth), issued a statement promising to continue the fight against climate change. Large polluters are powerful. But united, we as people have the power to change them, said Donald Pols, Director of Milieudefensie. Theyre now trying to take the case to the Supreme Court, but getting a final verdict will likely take years.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/shell-wins-appeal-in-dutch-court-after-three-year-battle-against-green-groups-165543894.html?src=rss
Netflix is crowing that its ad-supported tier now boasts 70 million users throughout the globe, as reported by Variety. The company announced 40 million users back in May, so this is some real growth. The streamer has been slowly ramping up its ad tier, going all the way back to 2022.
Amy Reinhard, president of advertising at Netflix, says that the company continues to see steady progress across all countries member bases. She also noted that over 50 percent of new Netflix sign-ups are for these ad-supported plans. The transformation of streaming into regular TV is nearly complete.
Theres one major potential caveat. The company released the aforementioned data regarding new sign-ups, which is impressive, but there isnt any information regarding pre-existing customers. Its highly possible a whole lot of people downgraded from a premium tier to an ad-supported tier.
Im one of them. I dont mind watching an ad or two as I mindlessly stuff food down my gullet while pseudo-watching an episode of The Diplomat or The Circle. In other words, theres an argument to be made that the ad-supported tier could be eating into the more expensive offerings.
Theres also an argument to be made that this years growth spurt for the ad-supported tier could attract companies with deeper ad-spending budgets, thus making up the difference. Netflix is airing live NFL broadcasts on Christmas Day, and it says it has already sold out all available commercial inventory. The streamer is actually betting big on live streams, with wrestling events, cooking shows and talk shows all airing in the near future. The companys recent forays into audience measurement and the ad-tech space should help entice sponsors for these events.
Netflix even has plans for themed advertisements with certain shows. The next season of Squid Game will include a three-part linked commercial by Kia. Nothing makes me want to buy a car more than a deadly dystopian bloodsport that seems closer and closer to the real world by the day.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/netflixs-ad-tier-has-attracted-more-than-70-million-subscribers-162011582.html?src=rss
I'm a big fan of Anker's chargers, especially its portable ones, as they tend to be sleek, fast and small enough to shove in my pocket (the last bit is a requirement for me). While the company's products run the gambit price-wise, there's a big sale on one of Anker's more expensive options: the 200W Prime Power Bank. Right now, you can get this power bank and its 100W charging base for just $110, down from $185 a 41 percent discount.
Anker's 200W portable charger is our choice for best premium power bank thanks to features like charging an iPhone in an average of one hour and 48 minutes. One of the best parts of the power bank is its sleek screen, which shows the power coming in or out and how much battery the accessory is holding. This feature is much more exact than the four dots on my cheaper (but still loved) Anker Nano Power Bank.
The power bank and charging base both offer one USB port and two USB-C ports so there's plenty of ways to charge your devices. The base also uses magnets to secure its pins to the power bank and charge it upright. Our biggest quip with the power bank was its high price, but with this sale it's definitely worth looking into.
Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/one-of-our-favorite-anker-power-banks-is-41-percent-off-for-black-friday-161543537.html?src=rss
It's rare that you'll find discounts on Apple products through the company's own retail channels, but other storefronts are often happy to slash prices on such wares. You can find early Black Friday deals on a bunch of Apple products, including MacBooks. The M3 MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM has dropped to its lowest price to date at Amazon. The laptop will run you $899, which is $200 off the list price.
This is a 13-inch MacBook Air with 256GB of storage. Other configurations with more storage space are on sale too. One with 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD is $300 off at $999, though we'd recommend having at least 16GB of memory. It's not possible to upgrade the RAM in an Apple Silicon MacBook, but you can always add external storage if need be.
To that end, you can snag a 13-inch M3 MBA with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of built-in storage for $1,099. If a model with 24GB and the same SSD is what you're looking for, you can snap one up for $1,299. Both are $200 off.
Apple just released its first M4-powered Macs, but it has yet to slot the latest chip into the MacBook Air. To that end, we reckon the 13-inch M3 MacBook Air is the best laptop for most people. It's our pick for the best laptop for college students too.
The 13-inch MBA's blend of power and portability makes it a potent choice and we gave it a score of 90 in our review. It delivers fast performance and has a killer display. The design is sleek and sturdy and it sounds great thanks to a quad-speaker array. We like the trackpad and keyboard as well, while the upgrade to Wi-Fi 6E connectivity is a definite plus. Our main quibble is that the USB-C ports are on the same side of the unit as the one for the charger having even one USB-C on the right side would be handy. But that's a minor complaint about an otherwise excellent laptop.
Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-m3-macbook-air-with-16gb-of-ram-is-on-sale-for-899-ahead-of-black-friday-154922025.html?src=rss
Signal users may be familiar with the problem of creating group chats just for a group call, but thats about to become a thing of the past. You can now share a call link and let up to 50 people hop in, all in the span of a few seconds. The days of selecting contacts one by one are over.
Now, all you have to do is create a call link after going to the Calls tab and send it to whomever you want. The link is also reusable, which is convenient if you have fixed call times. Participants can raise their hands and send emojis. Hosts can set the room up so people must be approved before joining the conversation.
Based on Signals blog post, the new group call experience highly resembles Zoom. Those interested in privacy yet desire a conference call-like experience may find the new update helpful. Like Zoom, the desktop app offers more options.
Besides Zoom, these features will be familiar to frequent users of Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and some WhatsApp users. Raising hands is found on all three platforms as a non-verbal way to signal the speaker. WhatsApp does have a lower participant count of 32 people after an update in June. While theres no raise hands function, doing certain gestures can send emojis for all to see. Its worth noting that many apps with group call functionality are adopting similar features.
These new features are available on Android, iOS, Windows and macOS. If you dont see them yet, we recommend updating your Signal app.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/signal-makes-it-easier-to-start-group-video-calls-153519653.html?src=rss
Rode has announced the Wireless Micro, a two-mic kit with a smartphone receiver and charging case that costs just $149. The idea is to help TikTok and other creators capture much better-quality audio than their smartphone's microphone can offer.
The receiver unit connects to the bottom of your smartphone via a USB-C or lightning port. Meanwhile, the microphones (aka transmitters) attach to the subject via integrated clips or magnetic attachments, then capture what Rode calls "pristine" quality sound. Specifically, they offer a 20-20 kHz frequency range and 73 dB signal-to-noise ratio, with a transmission range around 330 feet.
Rode
To use it, simply connect the receiver to your iOS or Android device and it will take over as the system microphone. From there, everything is automatic, as the transmitter mics are automatically paired to the receiver and sound will be captured to your camera app of choice. Levels are automatically controlled with the company's GainAssist technology.
The omnidirectional transmitters weigh just 12 grams (0.42 ounces) and are tiny enough to be discreet when clipped onto your subject. The built-in microphones use what Rode calls "acoustic chambers" with a patent-pending design. That supposedly lets you capture clear and intelligible audio while reducing wind noise, though a pair of windmuffs is also included in the kit.
Rode
The Wireless Micro also includes a charging case that delivers two full recharges for up to 18 hours of battery life, while giving you a secure place to store everything.
There are a few things missing, though. You can't connect an external mic to the transmitters, unlike with other Rode wireless mics or the DJI Mic 2. There's no smartphone Bluetooth capability, and it doesn't offer a 3.5mm connection for cameras a feature that will supposedly exist on the rumored DJI Mic Mini. Still, this looks like a great option for creators who primarily use smartphones. It's now available in a two mic kit with a receiver and charging case for $150.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/rodes-tiny-149-wireless-micro-kit-is-designed-for-smartphone-users-150040695.html?src=rss
