X CEO Linda Yaccarino called a report from a watchdog group that led to a large-scale advertiser pullout “misleading and manipulated” in a note she sent to X employees on Sunday night.
“While some advertisers may have temporarily paused investments because of a misleading article, the data will tell the real story,” Yaccarino wrote in the note, which was first published by The Hollywood Reporter, and which Engadget has seen a copy of. “Because for all of us who work at X, we’ve been extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination, as there’s no place for it anywhere in the world.” Yaccarino’s note was titled “Our Work is Meaningful”.
She also framed the situation as a free speech issue, writing that “no critic will ever deter us from our mission to protect free speech.” In doing so, she aligned herself with X owner Elon Musk’s repeated claims that free speech on the platform is paramount. Musk has repeatedly dismissed concerns of hate speech increasing on X ever since he bought the service last year.
Major advertisers including IBM, Apple, Disney, Lionsgate, Warner Brothers Discovery, Paramount Global, and NBCUniversal, whose advertising division Yaccarino previously headed, pulled their ads from X last week after a report from watchdog group Media Matters for America found that ads from some of these brands ran next to pro-Nazi content on the website. The move also came days after Musk publicly endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory as a response to a far-right X user. Musk’s comment drew widespread criticism, including a statement from the White House, which called his post an “abhorrent promotion of Antisemitic and racist hate” that “runs against our core values as Americans.”
On Friday, Musk said that the company would file “a thermonuclear lawsuit against Media Matters and ALL those who colluded in this fraudulent attack on our company” when court opens on Monday. As of Monday afternoon, there was no sign of a lawsuit.
Yaccarino was already under pressure to resign as X CEO from advertisers who are questioning her decision to risk her reputation to protect Musk, Forbesreported. In a post on X on Monday morning, Yaccarino doubled down on her criticism of Media Matters. “When you’re this consequential, there will be detractors and fabricated distractions, but we’re unwavering in our mission,” she wrote. “Thank you for standing with us!”
An X spokesperson sent a link to Yaccarino’s X post in response to Engadget’s request for comment.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/x-ceo-calls-article-that-led-to-latest-brand-exodus-misleading-and-manipulated-204025411.html?src=rss
Amazon has the Dyson Airwrap on sale for a record low. The innovative styling tool uses air rather than extreme heat to dry and shape hair — potentially boosting your hair’s long-term health when used regularly. Typically $599, a clickable coupon on its product page drops the price to $480.
The Dyson Airwrap utilizes the Coanda effect, a phenomenon describing airflow’s tendency to follow the path of a curved surface. Here, the air jet flows around the tool’s barrel or brush attachment, wrapping, drying and styling your hair. It does so without extreme heat, which could cause hair damage if used long-term. Dyson says the device measures the airflow’s temperature over 40 times per second, maintaining a safe temperature for your hair.
The styling tool has a rotating cool tip, three airflow speeds, three heat settings and a cold shot feature that immediately turns off the heating element, setting your style with a blast of cool air. Its seven bundled accessories include a 1.2-inch long barrel, a 1.6-inch long barrel, separate brushes for soft or firm smoothing, a Coanda smoothing dryer, a round volumizing brush and a detangling comb. In addition, you’ll get a filter cleaning brush and storage case.
Dyson
The blue blush holiday gift set and a complete set for straight-to-wavy hair are covered in the sale. Note that a third model on the product page, “Complete Diffuse for Curly to Coily Hair,” isn’t eligible for the $119 coupon.
The Dyson Airwrap has been a hot item on social media that’s regularly gone in and out of stock. So, if you’ve been considering one, you may not want to wait long before snagging Amazon’s record deal.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-black-friday-deals-include-the-dyson-airwrap-for-its-lowest-price-yet-203322271.html?src=rss
The James Webb telescope is back with some more gorgeous images. This time, the telescope eyed the center of the Milky Way galaxy, shining a light on the densest part of our surrounding environs in “unprecedented detail.” Specifically, the images are sourced from a star-forming region called Sagittarius C, or Sgr C for short.
This area is about 300 light-years from the galaxy’s supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A, and over 25,000 light-years from a little blue rock called Earth. All told, the region boasts over 500,000 stars and various clusters of protostars, which are stars that are still forming and gaining mass. The end result? A stunning cloud of chaos, especially when compared to our region of space, which is decidedly sparse in comparison.
As a matter of fact, the galactic center is “the most extreme environment” in the Milky Way, as stated by University of Virginia professor Jonathan Tan, who assisted the observation team. There has never been any data on this region with this “level of resolution and sensitivity”, until now, thanks to the power of the Webb telescope.
At the center of everything is a massive protostar that weighs more than 30 times our sun. This actually makes the area seem less populated than it actually is, as this solar object blocks light from behind it, so not even Webb can see all of the stars in the region. So what you’re looking at is a conservative estimate of just how crowded the area is. It’s like the Times Square of space, only without a Guy Fieri restaurant (for now.)
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and S. Crowe (University of Virginia).
The data provided by these images will allow researchers to put current theories of star formation to “their most rigorous test.” To that end, Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument captured large-scale emission imagery from ionized hydrogen, the blue on the lower side of the image. This is likely the result of young and massive stars releasing energetic photons, but the vast size of the region came as a surprise to researchers, warranting further study.
The observation team’s principal investigator, Samuel Crowe, said that the research enabled by these and forthcoming images will allow scientists to understand the nature of massive stars which is akin to “learning the origin story of much of the universe.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/webb-telescope-images-show-an-unprecedented-and-chaotic-view-of-the-center-of-our-galaxy-185912370.html?src=rss
Amazon has cut Ember smart mug prices to record lows for Black Friday. The high-tech mugs have built-in heating that can keep your coffee, tea or other hot drink at your ideal preset temperature, allowing you to take your time sipping it without worrying about a lukewarm beverage. Usually $130, you can pick up the 10 oz Ember Smart Mug 2 starting at $90.
One of Engadget’s recommended gifts for teachers, the Ember Smart Mug 2 can keep your mug heated to anywhere between 120 and 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Once you find your perfect temp, you can set the mug’s companion app (available for iOS and Android) to it and forget about it. The mug will remember your setting, automatically heat when it detects liquid and stop when it’s empty. The mug lasts up to 80 minutes on a full charge, and if you leave it on its bundled charging coaster (except, of course, when picking it up to sip), it essentially lasts all day.
At the time of publication, the white, black and red variants of the 10 oz. Mug 2 are available and marked down on Amazon. However, the black and red options cost a (still heavily discounted) $100, requiring an extra $10 over the white model.
Amazon also has the standard 14 oz. Ember Smart Mug 2 for $40 off. The larger model includes the same features, temperature controls and estimated battery life as the 10 oz. one. This variant ships in white and black for $109.46 (usually $150) and you can grab the copper version for $130 (typically $180).
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ember-smart-mugs-are-at-record-low-prices-in-amazons-black-friday-sale-185030627.html?src=rss
The Shark AI Ultra robot vacuum and mop combo machine is on sale for $400 via Amazon as part of a Black Friday deal. This is a discount of $300, or 43 percent, and is the lowest price we’ve ever seen for this particular model. This is a well-regarded midrange unit with plenty of functionality, including the ability to both vacuum and mop.
As a matter of fact, the Shark AI Ultra topped our list of the best robot vacuums in 2023. We admired its reliable cleaning performance, the intuitive mobile app that produces accurate home maps and the inclusion of Alexa/Google Assistant voice control options. We took a look at a slightly older model that didn’t yet include the sonic mop feature, so this refresh is likely even better than the one that topped that list.
It’s got all of the features you expect from a decent robovac, including obstacle avoidance, LiDAR navigation and, of course, a self-emptying base. The base is also bagless, so you won’t have to constantly dole out cash for new bags every few months. As a matter of fact, the only bad thing you can say about this thing is that it’s too expensive at its original price of $700. Well, that’s definitely been handled.
This is the week of Black Friday, so Shark’s combination unit isn’t the only robovac on sale. You can spend even less on a combo machine, as the TP-Link Tapo vacuum/mop hybrid device is on sale for $250 instead of $400. This is another fantastic unit and tops our list of the best budget robot vacuums.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/this-shark-robot-vacuum-and-mop-combo-machine-is-300-off-in-an-amazon-black-friday-deal-180041559.html?src=rss
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on online child sexual exploitation on December 6 and the CEOs of major tech companies are set to testify. The committee expectsMeta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his counterpart at TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, to testify voluntarily. It also wants to hear from the CEOs of X (formerly Twitter), Discord and Snap, and it has issued subpoenas to them.
"Big Tech’s failure to police itself at the expense of our kids cannot go unanswered," committee chair Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and ranking member Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said in a joint statement, as Reuters reports. "I’m hauling in Big Tech CEOs before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify on their failure to protect kids online," Durbin wrote on X.
JUST ANNOUNCED: Senate Judiciary Committee will press Big Tech CEOs on their failures to protect kids at hearing on Dec 6.
Subpoenas issued to CEOs of Discord, Snap, & X. Committee remains in discussion w/ Meta, TikTok—expects their CEOs will agree to testify voluntarily.
According to the committee, X and Discord refused to accept service of the subpoenas on their CEO's behalf, "requiring the committee to enlist the assistance of the US Marshals Service" to serve them personally. "We have been working in good faith to participate in the Judiciary committee’s hearing on child protection online as safety is our top priority at X," Wifredo Fernandez, head of US and Canada government affairs at X, told Engadget in a statement. "Today we are communicating our updated availability to participate in a hearing on this important issue." Engadget has also contacted Discord for comment.
The issue of tech platforms allegedly facilitating harms against kids has become an increasingly pressing issue. Earlier this month, former Meta executive Arturo Béjar testified that Zuckerberg failed to respond to his email detailing concerns about harms facing children on the company's platforms. Senators then demanded documents from the company's CEO "related to senior executives’ knowledge of the mental and physical health harms associated with its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tech-ceos-are-set-to-testify-in-a-senate-online-child-sexual-exploitation-hearing-in-december-180206072.html?src=rss
If you’re looking for a VPN with robust cross-platform software support, CyberGhost’s Black Friday sale gives you four extra months when you buy a two-year plan. Combined with the typical savings from committing to two years, it adds up to 84 percent off the security company’s standard monthly pricing over the same period.
When you buy two years of CyberGhost access for $56.94, the VPN provider will throw in four months for free. The deal is live now and runs through Black Friday and Cyber Monday, wrapping up on December 7.
CyberGhost is Engadget’s pick for the best VPN for cross-platform access. It offers simultaneous connections on up to seven devices while supporting devices like computers, phones, routers, smart TVs and more. CyberGhost has Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and Linux apps, and it even offers browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox. Ensuring its status as our favorite cross-platform VPN is the company’s detailed instructions on setting up its various apps, helping to enhance its all-around user-friendliness.
The company recently expanded its server network from 91 to 100 countries, adding Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic to its available locations. CyberGhost committed to an independent audit with Deloitte earlier this year. It also runs a vulnerability disclosure program and recently published an updated transparency report.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cyberghost-black-friday-deal-includes-four-extra-months-with-two-year-plans-174248901.html?src=rss
These days, it's perhaps more difficult than ever to buy someone a video game as a gift. Not only are there thousands of options, your intended recipient may already have access to a given game on another platform or it may already be included in a subscription service they pay for. A gift card is likely a safer bet. To that end, you can save 10 percent on Xbox and PlayStation gift cards for Black Friday. At both Amazon and Target, you can snap up a $50 Xbox gift card for $45.
That's almost enough to cover three months of access to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which now costs $17 per month. Alternatively, that's enough to pay for four months of Xbox Game Pass access (at $11 per month) or five months of PC Game Pass ($10 per month). Should your recipient choose to pay for Game Pass with their gift card, they'll have access to a library of hundreds of games. They could always just buy games outright, of course.
PlayStation Plus gift cards are also 10 percent off at Amazon. A $70 gift card is down to $63, while a $30 option is on sale for $27. The former will cover five months of PlayStation Plus Extra access. Similar to Game Pass, that tier of Sony's subscription service includes access to hundreds of PS4 and PS5 games. PS Plus Extra costs $15 per month, $40 per quarter or $135 per year.
Last but not least, a 12-month Nintendo Switch Online Family membership is available for $32 (usually $35) at Amazon. This is a solid gift for a household that has at least two Nintendo Switches — a family membership lets up to eight people use Nintendo Switch Online. The service includes access to online multiplayer, as well as a library of NES and SNES classics and a few battle royale-type exclusives from Nintendo, such as Tetris 99 and F-Zero 99.
Apple has just three smartwatches in its current lineup: the affordable Apple Watch SE, the advanced Apple Watch Ultra 2 and the flagship Apple Watch Series 9. All three offer fitness tracking, safety features, Siri support and iPhone integration, and all come in carbon-neutral configurations. But there are plenty of differences too, not the least of which is pricing: the Apple Watch SE starts at $250, whereas the Ultra 2 will run you a whopping $799. Internal sensors, displays and battery life vary from model to model, as well. In short, deciding the best Apple Watch for you might be trickier than you think. We put together this guide to help you figure out which model makes the most sense for you.
What to look for in an Apple Watch
Chips and sensors
Both the Series 9 and Ultra 2 were recently updated with Apple’s latest smartwatch silicon, the S9 SiP (system-in-package). In addition to on-device processing of Siri requests, the chip supports a new Double Tap gesture that lets you answer calls or stop an alarm by tapping your thumb and forefinger together twice. It also enables faster machine learning performance for interpreting sensor data, recognizing speech and performing other “thinking” tasks. The Apple Watch SE still relies on the S8 SiP, which was also used in the Series 8 and the original Ultra.
Both the Series 9 and Ultra 2 have temperature sensors, which can help track ovulation. The two higher-end models also include blood oxygen sensors and the ability to take an ECG. All three models have a compass, altimeter and support fall- and crash-detection. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 has an on-board SOS siren, as well as dive features like a depth gauge.
Displays and case sizes
The Apple Watch 9 and the Ultra 2 have always-on displays, but you’ll have to lift your wrist to tell time or read notifications on the SE. The SE can reach a maximum brightness of 1,000 nits, the Series 9 can get as bright as 2,000 and the Ultra 2 hits 3,000 nits. Both the higher-end screens can dim to a single nit, making them less distracting in the dark. As for case sizes, the SE is available in 40 or 44mm and the Series 9 comes in 41 or 45mm. The Ultra 2 just comes in one case size measuring 49mm.
Battery life
Since it’s the largest wearable, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 sports the biggest battery and can last for a claimed 36 hours on a charge. That number jumps up to 72 hours if you turn on low power mode. Both the Apple Watch 9 and the SE get 18 hours of life on a charge, and longer when using battery saver mode.
Photo by Amy Skorheim / Engadget
Fitness features
Believe it or not, all three Apple Watches have similar fitness chops. The Activity app uses three “rings” to keep tabs on how much you’re moving in a day: The Move ring tracks your active calories; the Exercise ring monitors the minutes you’ve spent walking, running, doing yoga and so on; and the Stand ring tells you how many hours in a day you’ve stood up and moved around for at least one minute.
Different internal sensors detect those activities, for example the accelerometer senses when you’re moving versus sitting still, and the optical heart rate sensor judges how hard you're working out and how many calories you’ve burned. You can set your goals for each ring and you’ll earn badges and animations when you hit them.
The Workout app lets you start and track an exercise session. The sensors can even auto-detect when you’re working out, tapping your wrist to suggest you track the activity. Apple Watches will integrate with Apple’s Fitness+ subscription, displaying real time heart rate and calorie burn data on your iPhone or iPad as you take a class. Fitness+ also includes audio-guided walks and runs with just your watch and Bluetooth earbuds. All three models support the Activity and Workout apps for free. The Fitness+ app also works with all Apple Watches, but costs $10 per month.
Siri
You can get the weather, start a workout, identify a song and dictate a text just by asking Siri. All Apple Watch models support the Raise to Speak feature that bypasses the need to say “Hey Siri” and will instead listen for your request when you lift your wrist near your mouth.
Both the Series 9 and the Ultra 2 utilize onboard processing of Siri requests. That means executing simple requests like starting workouts and timers are quicker, as they won’t need to access external networks. However, requests like sending texts or getting weather forecasts still need to communicate with Wi-Fi or cellular, so you’ll need to have your phone nearby if you have a GPS-only model.
Price
There’s a $550 difference between the cheapest and most expensive Apple Watch. For $250, you can get the 40mm Apple Watch SE with GPS-only connectivity. The Apple Watch Series 9 starts at $399 for the 40mm model, and if you go for the larger case size for either, you’ll pay $30 more. Adding cellular connectivity adds $50 for the SE and $100 for the Series 9. The latter also comes with the option of a stainless steel case, plus cellular and GPS, and starts at $699. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 has just one price: $799 for a titanium 49mm case with both GPS and cellular power.
Best overall: Apple Watch Series 9
The Apple Watch Series 9 happens to be our favorite smartwatch, period. It’s a notable improvement over the previous generation, with new features like Double Tap, onboard Siri requests, a brighter screen and a new ultra wideband (UWB) chip that can help you pinpoint your misplaced iPhone 15 using the FindMy app.
In her review, Engadget’s Cherlynn Low spent some time working with the Double Tap feature and, while it took a little practice to get the tapping cadence correct, she found it actually did make her life easier. You can use it to dismiss a timer or an alarm, play music or reply to messages. Double tapping also pulls up the Smart Stack, the sequence of watchOS 10 widgets available with the latest software update. You can customize a few of the gesture’s actions, including how it navigates the Smart Stack and music playback.
The Series 9 also handles on-device processing of Siri requests. Though we didn’t notice a huge difference in response time between our review unit and the Series 8, we did like that it lets you ask Siri to start a workout when you’ve left your phone at home. Apple also improved the Raise to Speak feature, using a two-second audio buffer from the always-on mic to better anticipate your Siri needs. Ideally, you should be able to lift your wrist and say your requests without having to use the wake words. We found it only worked half the time, but when it did, it was “almost magical.”
All new tricks aside, the Apple Watch 9 is a steadfast companion for your iPhone, letting you see and respond to notifications without pulling out your handset. The various sensors can give you insights into your overall health and the fitness tracking tools, and Activity rings are both reliable and motivating. We do wish the battery lasted a little longer; you can’t typically get more than a day of use before needing a recharge, which can make it difficult to use the sleep tracking functions.
Apple didn’t make a new generation of the Apple Watch SE when it updated its other two wearables in September, but you still get a lot for just $250. Cherlynn also reviewed the SE when it came out in 2022, calling it “the best smartwatch for the money.” It uses the same chip as the original Ultra and the Series 8, and in our review of the new Series 9, Cherlynn “barely noticed a difference in performance” compared to the previous generation.
That said, there are some trade-offs. You won’t get an always-on display, blood oxygen monitoring or a temperature sensor. The SE also can’t support the new Double Tap feature and requires your phone to be nearby for Siri requests (if you don’t have a cellular-enabled model). Materials-wise, the SE face is covered in Ion-X glass, which is less robust than the sapphire crystal on either the stainless steel Series 9 or the Ultra 2.
That said, the SE has more in common with its pricier sibling than not, including crash detection, heart rate monitoring, emergency calling, and 50 meters of water resistance. Though the screen isn’t quite as bright as the pricier models, we thought it was crisp and easy to read, even in bright sunlight. The fitness tracking is accurate, the design is lightweight and comfortable and the processor is snappy. If you’re looking for a starter smartwatch and don’t mind the few missing features, the SE is still the way to go.
Apple announced the Ultra 2 at the same event as the Series 9. The Ultra is a big, feature-rich smartwatch with plenty of tools for athletes and outdoor adventurers. It comes in just one variation: a 49mm titanium case with both cellular and GPS connectivity. And interestingly, the latest model carries the same $799 price tag as the previous generation (though the older model is now seeing significant discounts).
Engadget’s Cherlynn Low took the original Ultra out on a hike to take advantage of its outdoor-specific features and the Backtrack function actually saved her and our video producer Brian from taking an unintended detour in the wrong direction. The function lives within the Compass app and lets you set waypoints such as marking the parking lot before you set out. There’s an onboard siren that’s loud enough to alert passersby or emergency personnel to your whereabouts if you should need it.
For water-based activities, the Ultra 2 packs diving features that can measure water temperature, dive duration and gauge up to 40 meters of depth. For workouts closer to home, the dual-frequency GPS gives you more accurate route tracking and pace calculations. And the action button can be programmed to start a workout, control the stopwatch, trigger the flashlight, set a waypoint and more. Just note that we found it pretty easy to accidentally trigger the action button when trying to press the crown, so it may take a little practice.
The new S9 SiP chip enables Double Tap and on-device Siri processing, just as it does on the Series 9. The screen has been bumped up to 3,000 nits and while we didn’t get to take the new model on a hike, the original at 2,000 nits was plenty bright enough in direct sunlight. We like how the new Modular Ultra watch face makes great use of the oversized screen (though that’s also available on the original AWU.) The battery life remains the same at 36 hours, and we got about three days of moderate use out of the Ultra before needing a recharge. The low power mode is particularly impressive, squeezing out many extra hours from a near-empty watch.
The TP-Link Deco AXE5400 Wi-Fi 6 mesh router system is on sale for $200 as part of Amazon’s Black Friday commercial festivities. That’s a discount of $100 and matches a record-low price for the device. This deal is for the two-pack, so you get both the actual router and an extender to place somewhere else in the home.
This is a fantastic mesh router setup for most consumers at $300, so that absolutely remains true at $200. There’s a reason, after all, why TP-Link’s device topped our collection of the best mesh Wi-Fi router systems of 2023. We ended up calling it the “best for most people” in that list, citing the budget-friendly price tag and the powerful range, which is more than enough to offer coverage to every nook and cranny within the home.
In our official review of the router system, we admired the “blisteringly-fast speed” and decent reliability. We also liked that the security and parental control features are free, nestled within a proprietary app. The app itself is a bit bare-bones when compared to competing software, but it's still useful.
On the downside, if you can call it that, the hardware itself isn’t quite as attractive as some rival units, like those cute ‘lil Google Nest ovals, but routers typically get stuffed somewhere out of the way, so this isn’t a huge deal. In other words, we are nitpicking. This is a great mesh router system for just about anyone.
Amazon’s primary Black Friday deal is for the two-pack, as mentioned, but the single pack and the three-pack also get some love. You can snag the single-pack system for $120 instead of $170 and a three-pack, which covers up to 7,200 square feet, for $360 instead of $450.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-black-friday-deals-include-100-off-our-favorite-wi-fi-6-mesh-router-system-155618201.html?src=rss
