The newest Apple Watch is down to one of the best prices we’ve seen it go for yet, so if you’ve been thinking about upgrading, now would be the perfect time to do so. The 41mm Apple Watch Series 9 (GPS only) is $100 off on Amazon, bringing the price down to $299. There’s also a deal on the larger version (45mm), which is down to $360 from its usual price of $430. The full discounts apply to Series 9 in Midnight and Starlight, but there are varying deals on the other colors as well.

The Series 9 Apple Watch is the best Apple Watch you can get today, and our favorite smartwatch in general. It comes with some new features made possible by the S9 system-in-package (SiP) processor. With this model, Apple introduced the Double Tap gesture that allows you to carry out certain actions on the watch without touching the screen, like pausing your music. It also has on-device Siri and an improved version of “Raise to Speak” to more easily activate the assistant.

As with the other Apple Watch models, the Series 9 is water resistant and great for fitness and health tracking, though it currently doesn’t offer the blood oxygen monitoring feature that was initially touted, thanks to a patent dispute. It has an always on display with a peak brightness rating double that of the previous model, and twice the internal storage capacity.

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You can get Apple’s third-generation AirPods for under $150 right now. In a deal on Amazon, the AirPods are back down to their record-low price of $140, a 17 percent discount. This model normally costs $170. The third-generation AirPods were released in 2021 and brought some big improvements over the previous version, with a more compact and comfortable design, and much better sound quality.

The third-generation AirPods earned a score of 88 in our review and marked a notable upgrade over their predecessors in the line of regular AirPods. They feature a shorter stem and more angled earbud placement that’s meant to give the sound a more direct path into your ear, on top of fitting more comfortably. They also brought an IPX4 rating to the regular AirPods, making the earbuds and the charging case sweat and water resistant.

This model is powered by Apple’s H1 chip, which allows for features like always-on Siri and one-touch fast pairing. The chip also enables some more advanced features in the sound department like Adaptive EQ, spatial audio and dynamic head tracking. Audio quality got a big boost in the third-generation AirPods. Engadget’s Billy Steele found that “the sound is bigger and more immersive” than with the earlier AirPods, which by comparison offer sound that seems “compressed and downright boring.”

The third-generation AirPods have pretty good battery life too, lasting about six hours on their own and up to 30 with the charging case. They also support quick charging with the case, which allows for about an hour of additional use after just five minutes in the case.

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Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is coming to Netflix on October 10. Netflix announced the release date today along with a new trailer, which finally gives us a slightly more in-depth look at what the series will be like. It picks up after the events of the Survivor Trilogy, which focused on a younger Lara Croft. Per Netflix’s Tudum, it will see Lara “forced to confront her true self and decide just what kind of hero she wants to become,” as she chases down a “dangerous and powerful” stolen artifact.

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft was first announced back in 2021 and is being produced by Legendary Television and Powerhouse Animation, the studio behind the Castlevania anime. It’s executive produced and written by Tasha Huo, known for The Witcher: Blood Origin. Lara Croft is voiced by Hayley Atwell (Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning). The Legend of Lara Croft is not to be confused with the other Tomb Raider series currently in development for Prime Video, which has Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge on board as writer and executive producer.

Godzilla Minus One is now available to stream on Netflix, and the black-and-white version will soon follow. The streaming giant announced the surprise release today, coinciding with the film’s arrival for digital purchase and rental on VOD platforms including Prime Video and Apple TV, where both the color and “Minus Color” versions are available. On Netflix, Godzilla Minus One can be watched with subtitles or dubbed.

For anyone who didn’t get a chance to catch the black-and-white Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color when it briefly ran in theaters earlier this year, distributor Toho International said it’s coming to Netflix later this summer. Anyone else’s plans for a summer Godzilla marathon just get even better?

Godzilla Minus One, which is set in post-World War II Japan, quickly gained a lot of passionate fans when it was released in December 2023, becoming one of those movies that had people running back to theaters to see it again — and again, once the Minus Color version dropped. It received critical acclaim, and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 2024 Oscars. 

The first crewed launch of Boeing’s Starliner capsule has once again been called off, this time after an automatic hold was issued by the rocket’s ground launch sequencer less than four minutes before liftoff. As a launch commentator explained during NASA’s livestream, the ground launch sequencer is the computer that takes over the terminal count and ultimately launches the rocket. “The reason for that hold is not known at this time,” the launch commentator said. Starliner’s next chance to fly is tomorrow at 12:03PM ET, but whether it does will depend on the outcome of the team’s investigation into today’s issue.

In a brief update, NASA said the launch was scrubbed “due to the computer ground launch sequencer not loading into the correct operational configuration after proceeding into terminal count.” Why this happened, though, remains unclear. “The ULA team is working to understand the cause,” NASA said.

Japan’s hit virtual pet, Punirunes, will be released in the US this summer and I can almost guarantee most of you have never seen a toy quite like this before. A play on the Japanese mimetic word for “squishy” (punipuni), Punirunes has a design quirk that sets it apart from other gadgets of its ilk: a doughy button at the center of the device that serves to simulate physical contact with your pet. How do you get to that button? By sticking your finger into the quarter-sized hole in the side of the plastic shell.

It is undeniably a little weird. The device will even display an animation of your finger on the screen when you do this (you can choose from a variety of skin colors during setup). But once you get past the strangeness of the aforementioned act and really get into the things it allows you to do, Punirunes’ oddest feature actually makes for a pretty rich virtual pet experience. The squishy button feels like a joystick wrapped in mochi, which makes sense because the characters themselves are adorable, gummy-like creatures that start their lives as small blobs. You can pat them on the head to show them affection and bounce them to catch items; you can even drag them around to clean the virtual floor using their sticky bodies as a mop.

Spin Master/Takara Tomy

The device has a full-color, LCD display and the potential to raise 55 different characters. There are 6 built-in games, each of which make use of the squish mechanism, plus a food cooking activity in which you have to mix the ingredients yourself. To play the mini-games or visit the other locations — including the marketplace and the forest — you have to bounce your character through a window portal Super Mario 64-style. You can also accessorize your pet and change up the decor in its room. I've been playing around with Punirunes for a few days now, and I've got to say, I'm having a lot of fun with it. The characters are so cute it hurts. 

Spin Master/Takara Tomy

Anyone who follows the digital pet space closely has probably come across Punirunes at some point. The toys were first released in Asian markets from Takara Tomy in 2021 and have since grown to include multiple generations of the devices. They even inspired an anime series, which was released in the fall of 2022. I myself have had my eye on Punirunes for some time, but was hesitant to purchase the Japanese-language version because the gameplay seemed a bit more complex than something like a Tamagotchi.

Their expansion to the US comes through a partnership with Spin Master, the company behind Paw Patrol, Hatchimals and a slew of other popular kids’ brands. Punirunes will make its US debut in August and be available in the teal shell from all major retailers for $40.

Over the past few years, I’ve developed a peaceful little routine to make up for time spent cooped up inside working on sunny days: after I’ve closed my laptop for the day, I throw my sneakers on, open Pikmin Bloom on my phone, and go for a long walk to clear my head and plant virtual flowers with the 'min.

Pikmin Bloom was released for Android and iOS in 2021 by Pokémon Go developer Niantic and Nintendo as another “go outside and touch grass” app, and I’ve been playing it pretty regularly since then. Only recently, when the app announced some special events for its 2.5-year anniversary, did it occur to me how long I’ve actually stuck with it. There isn’t all that much to Pikmin Bloom, but that’s part of the charm — it’s more of a walking buddy than a full-on game. You accumulate Pikmin, feed them nectar so they’ll grow flowers from their heads, then pick the petals and use those to “plant flowers” when you go on walks (don’t think too hard about the science of that, it’s Pikmin).

Unlike Pokémon Go, Pikmin Bloom doesn’t require a lot of your attention while you’re walking around, which really appealed to me as someone who likes to stay fully aware of their surroundings while out and about. That, and the promise of being accompanied wherever I go by a horde of quietly singing Pikmin; I just love those weird little guys.

I typically get everything set up before I leave for a walk, making sure I have plenty of petals ready to plant. Then I hit the ‘Start’ button and mostly leave the app alone until I take a break or am done with my walk, checking in only here and there to see if I’ve passed anything of interest. You can send your Pikmin on expeditions to pick up fruit or destroy mushrooms that’ll pop up on your map, but you don’t need to be actively walking to do this, as they’ll be recorded on a list you can revisit later. Once I’m back home, I love seeing how many flowers I planted versus how many steps I took (I still haven’t figured out the ratio), and delegating different missions for my Pikmin to tackle.

There are frequent events that serve as motivation for reaching certain step count goals or planting a particular number of flowers, including some with community involvement. And, there's the prospect of collecting themed Pikmin who wear special decor outfits. Pikmin Bloom is currently teasing some upcoming Cheese Decor Pikmin for next month, and I’m going to work extra hard to try and get them. While the app does have the potential to lure players into in-app purchases, they’re by no means necessary to get the full experience. I’ve managed to make it this far without spending any money at all.

Pikmin Bloom has an AR component similar to Pokémon Go’s, so you can photograph your Pikmin in the real world, but this feature can be pretty glitchy. What’s better than that, in my opinion, are the postcards your Pikmin will sometimes bring back from their travels — they’ve been known to photobomb landmarks in these pictures on occasion. If you have friends in the app, you can send postcards to them too. Pikmin Bloom also has a built-in lifelog, where you can choose a picture from your walk and jot down any notes and feelings from your day. It’s a nice thing to look back on once you’ve racked up a lot of adventures.

I’ve tried out plenty of apps over the years that attempt to gamify physical activity, but I almost always lose interest in them pretty quickly. For all its simplicity, Pikmin Bloom adds just the right amount of reward to a walk without distracting from the actual activity. Plus, there are Pikmin.

It’s officially ice cream season, and if you’ve been wanting to try your hand at making the dessert yourself, Walmart has a deal you might be interested in. The Ninja Creami ice cream maker is $50 off right now, bringing the price down to $149 — the best price we’ve seen for it all year. The Creami is designed for ease of use and gives you control over the texture of the finished product, so you can make ice cream, sorbet, milkshakes and other kinds of frozen treats.

The deal applies to the Ninja Creami model with 5 one-touch progams: Ice Cream, Sorbet, Milkshake, Lite Ice Cream and Mix-in (which lets you toss in embellishments like chocolate chips or nuts). It also comes with two 16oz pints to make and store your ice cream in. The Creami is one of our favorite kitchen gadgets and earned a review score of 90, requiring minimal work on your part to make ice cream with the ingredients of your choice. All you need to do is prep the mixture that will be your base, toss it in the freezer overnight, then pop it in the Creami for processing.

The Ninja Creami won’t take up too much counter space, and most of the parts can go in the dishwasher for an easy cleanup after using it. It operates a bit like a food processor, but uses what the company refers to as a Creamerizer Paddle that has two different types of blades to get a uniform texture. There’s one for shaving the frozen base and another for smoothing it all out. It also has dual drive motors that allow for both a spinning motion and downward pressure to make for a good churn.

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iOS 18 may inject a little more fun into the iPhone experience. In the Power On newsletter this week, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that AI-generated emoji will be among the new features Apple shows off at WWDC next month. As if the current emoji library weren’t overwhelming enough, Gurman writes that the company “is developing software that can create custom emojis on the fly, based on what users are texting.” I, for one, cannot wait to see the cursed creations that are sure to come out of that one.

Apple is also reportedly making it so iPhone users will have more customization options for their apps and home screen, like the ability to change the color of app icons and arrange things more freely, rather than being locked into the grid layout. The latter especially would be a pretty big change for Apple, but surely a welcome one for any users who have been itching to get more creative with their home screen designs. Of course, these are still rumors, so don’t take any of it as set in stone.

There’s been a ton of talk about Apple’s AI plans in the leadup to its annual developers conference, which kicks off on June 10, but rather than debut anything too flashy at this stage, Gurman suggests Apple will stick to practical applications for the technology. Apple is expected to announce a partnership with OpenAI and, according to Gurman, may give an AI boost to things like Safari searches, Siri, photo retouching and voice memo transcriptions. The company may also introduce smart recaps for notifications, web pages and more.

Ah, Flappy Bird. It’s been a long time since I last gave any thought to the game-turned-cultural-phenomenon that briefly had us all in a chokehold a decade ago. At least, that was the case until this morning, when I stumbled upon a Reddit post announcing a Flappy Bird tribute for the Playdate and, without a moment’s hesitation, sideloaded it onto my device. Now here I am, absolutely hooked on this maddening little game once again. And, using the crank to control that silly little bird, it's even harder this time around. FlappyBird by Chibisuke is free and available to download for Playdate on itch.io. You’re welcome... or, I’m sorry.

FlappyBird is just like the OG game, but in grayscale. You can play using the up button on the D-pad, the ‘A’ button or the crank to guide the bird between the pipes, but I’ve been going with the latter for the extra challenge it adds. It also just feels like a perfect use of the crank, and I like making the most of the Playdate’s funky design whenever I can. There are other games inspired by Flappy Bird that you can get for the Playdate, like Cranky Bird and Flappybalt, but Chibisuke’s FlappyBird is a direct clone of Dong Nguyen’s infamous side-scroller. 

It’s definitely one way to get your heart rate up on a Sunday afternoon. Just, please do not ask me about my high score, I… don’t want to talk about it.