Sonos may have an intriguing new addition planned for its product lineup. In a Reddit post spotted by Android Police, a Sonos user recently noticed the S2 app mentions a "Sub Mini" speaker if you tap the "More information" prompt when adding a second Sub to an existing home theatre setup. 

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Sonos does not sell a product called the Sub Mini currently. In the screenshot that was shared online, the company describes the speaker as a "smaller, cylindrical subwoofer" that can't be paired with a third-generation Sub for a dual subwoofer setup. All of that suggests the Sub Mini will cost less than the pricey $749 Sub (Gen 3). Unfortunately, the screenshot doesn't offer definitive details on pricing and release date. Still, the idea of Sonos offering a more affordable subwoofer, even if it has some limitations, is one that will be attractive to fans. 

We've reached out to Sonos to see if it has anything to say about the screenshot. We'll update this article if we hear back from the company.

Whistleblower Frances Haugen will once again appear before Congress. On Wednesday, December 1st, the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on communications and technology will hold a hearing dedicated to discussing potential “targeted reforms” to Section 230 of The Communications Decency Act.

Haugen is among a handful of witnesses House Democrats have called to testify. She’ll be joined by Rashad Robinson, the president of Color of Change, as well as James Steye of Common Sense Media. The subcommittee’s Republicans will also call forward a witness. A second panel later in the day will feature additional testimony from organizations like Free Press Action.

The last time Haugen testified before Congress was in October when she appeared before the Senate Commerce Committee. In her opening statement, Haugen urged lawmakers to impose new regulations on her former employer. “The choices being made inside of Facebook are disastrous for our children, our public safety, our privacy and for our democracy,” she said at the time. Haugen’s second testimony will come just days before Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, will take part in a series of Senate hearings dedicated to online protections for kids.

If you’ve been patiently waiting for Apple’s new MacBook Pros to go on sale, Cyber Monday has delivered. Adorama and B&H have discounted the base 14-inch model by $200. That’s a 10 percent discount off its usual $1,999 starting price. We’ve seen price reductions on the new MacBook a handful of times since launch — most notably when Amazon discounted both the 14- and 16-inch variants by $50 the week they came out. However, $200 off is an all-time low for a computer that only went on sale at the end of October

We'll note here only the Space Gray model is part of today's promotion. If you want the computer in Silver, it’s $1,999. You also can’t upgrade any of the components without paying the full price of the computer. Thankfully, the base model is plenty powerful with its 8-core M1 Pro processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage.

We gave the new MacBook Pros a score of 92. Apple addressed a lot of the issues that made the previous generation so divisive. To start, unlike its predecessor, the 14-inch model comes with almost all the ports you could want. It features three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI connection, a MagSafe power port, a headphone jack and an SD card slot. Another standout feature of the 2021 MacBook Pro is its Liquid Retina XDR display. The one on the 14-inch model features a resolution of 3,024 x 1,964 and is capable of reaching 1,600 nits of brightness. It also has a 120Hz refresh rate, which makes using the computer feel smoother. The only downside of the display is that unsightly notch. But if you don’t mind it, there’s a lot to like about the 2021 MacBook Pro.

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by visiting our deals homepage and following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter.

LG has appointed a new CEO to lead its electronics business. Starting December 1st, current Chief Strategy Officer William Cho will take over for Bong-seok Kwon as the CEO of LG Electronics. Meanwhile, according to The Korea Herald, Kwon will head up LG’s main holding company. Cho has been with LG Electronics since 1987. Prior to his most recent role, he served as the president of LG Canada, and later had the same role at LG Australia and LG USA.

Cho is about to take the reins of LG Electronics at an inflection point for the company. It recently shut down its mobile division in July after the unit failed to make a profit in 23 consecutive quarters. At this point, LG Electronics is probably best known for its TVs and monitors, but there too it faces tough competition from Samsung and a variety of Chinese competitors. 

However, Cho will have help from a handful of executives the company has shuffled into new positions. Most notably, there’s Ik-hwan Jang who’s about to take up the top position at the company’s Business Solutions unit. Jang was most recently responsible for overseeing LG’s IT business portfolio where he helped LG become a powerhouse in the monitor space.

Germany plans to phase out coal use by 2030, eight years earlier than previously planned, as part of its latest climate pledge. That same year, the country wants 80 percent of its electricity to come from renewable sources. Per the BBC, Olaf Scholz, the leader of Germany’s Social Democratic Party, announced the plan on Wednesday as part of a deal that will see the former vice-chancellor govern the country at the head of a three-party coalition made up of the Greens and Free Democrats.

Germany’s September 28th national election saw the Greens claim 118 seats in the Bundestag, making it the party’s best-ever showing. Scholz is expected to tap Greens leader Annalena Baerbock to serve as his foreign minister. Moreover, it’s likely Greens co-leader Robert Habeck will get the vice-chancellorship and the chance to oversee the country’s energy transition.

Notably, the coalition didn’t set a more aggressive emissions reduction target. By 2030, the country still plans to cut emissions by 65 percent from 1990 levels. According to an estimate from nonprofit Climate Action Tracker, Germany needs to reduce its greenhouse gas output by at least 70 percent by the end of the decade to meet the 1.5 degrees Celsius target put forward by the Paris Agreement. 

Additionally, in making a deal with the Social Democratic Party, the Greens made a significant compromise. Per Bloomberg, the country will use natural gas to ease the transition between coal and renewables. Critics also say the coalition had to do more to push electric vehicle adoption. The government only plans to have 15 million EVs on German roads by 2030. “This does not look like a coalition for progress,” Christoph Bautz, the head of Campact, told Clean Energy Wire. “The climate movement will have to keep pushing the coalition to truly make it a climate government."

Japan is about to take a significant step toward developing a digital currency. Per Reuters, a consortium made up of approximately 70 Japanese firms said this week they plan to launch a yen-based cryptocurrency in 2022. What’s notable about the project, tentatively called “DCJPY,” is that three of the country’s largest banks will back it. At a news conference on Wednesday, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group said they’ve been meeting since last year to build a shared settlement infrastructure for digital payments.

Some of the other members of the consortium include the East Japan Railway Company and Kansai Electric Power Company. They plan to start testing the currency in the coming months. The experiment is separate from the work the Bank of Japan is doing to create a digital yen. CBDCs are something China and the US are exploring as well. For Japan, there’s an additional incentive to the push. It’s a country that famously loves cash. Even as recently as 2018, 80 percent of all retail transactions in the country were completed in notes and coins. It’s something the government of Japan has tried to change as a way to make the country’s economy more consumer-friendly and productive.

Following a warning letter from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Owlet has stopped selling its popular Smart Sock family in the US. On October 5th, the agency contacted Owlet to tell the company it was selling the wearables “without marketing approval, clearance or authorization.”

In a response spotted by Deseret News, Owlet says it’s complying with the FDA’s request. It has stopped selling the socks while it seeks clearance from the FDA. The company says it will offer a “new sleep monitoring solution” in the near future.

“With over one million babies monitored, we are extremely proud of the innovation and technology Owlet has delivered,” the company said. “We will continue to stay focused on our mission and cooperate with the FDA so we can continue to provide sleep monitoring products and solutions to parents and babies.”

If you own the Smart Sock 3 or one of its predecessors, Owlet notes the FDA didn’t identify any safety with the wearables. It also hasn’t asked the company to issue a recall. Owlet says it will continue to support those products while it works on a new device.

Virgin Galactic has announced the winner of its Omaze giveaway. Announced in July, the sweepstakes saw the company give everyday people a chance to earn two tickets to the edge of space. The winner is Keisha S, a health coach from Antigua and Barbuda. She plans to give the second ticket to her daughter, who, it turns out, is an astrophysics student.

“I’ve always had a lifelong love of flying and a fascination with space, and this is truly a dream come true for me,” said Keisha. “It means the world to me. I hope to share this experience with my daughter, so together we can inspire the next generation to follow their dreams.”

While the sweepstakes was free to enter, you could also donate to Space for Humanity, a charity devoted to making spaceflight more accessible, to earn more entries. Virgin Galactic estimates it raised about $1.7 million in grants for the organization’s Citizen Astronaut Program in that way.

As we noted when the company first announced the sweepstakes, it was a way for Virgin Galactic to drum up hype for its space tourism efforts. At the same time, it was something of a moment for private spaceflight. The idea of winning tickets to space wasn’t something a person could dream of when government-funded agencies were the only organizations flying to space.

If you want to make music on your computer, you’ll need a digital audio workstation or DAW. One of our favorites is Ableton Live and it’s currently on sale for Black Friday. Until Monday, November 29th, you can get 25 percent off all of the company’s music-making software. That includes all three tiers of Ableton Live 11. The “Intro” tier currently costs $74, down from its usual price of $99, while the “Standard” and “Suite” versions are priced at $337 and $562 at the moment. Abelton has also reduced the cost of Standard and Suite upgrades by 25 percent. You can also get that same discount on packs.

We’ve seen Ableton offer a 30 percent discount on its software a couple of times in the past, but it doesn’t do so frequently. Students and teachers can get Ableton Live 11 for 40 percent off. If you don’t fall in that category, this may be the best deal you can get on the DAW for the foreseeable future.

When it comes to audio production tools, Ableton Live is one of our favorites, particularly after the recent version 11 update. The interface can be intimidating at first, but once you learn to find your way around, you’ll discover that it will encourage you to experiment. If you want to try the software before you commit any money, Ableton offers a 90-day trial. That’s enough time to get a good sense of what it’s all about.

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by visiting our deals homepage and following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter.

In a rare move to avoid a potential conflict with the Federal Aviation Administration, AT&T and Verizon say they will limit the power output of their 5G cell towers for a period of six months while the agency investigates the effects of C-band spectrum on aircraft safety systems. According to The Wall Street Journal, the carriers made the offer on Wednesday in a letter they sent to the Federal Communications Commission.

“While we remain confident that 5G poses no risk to air safety, we are also sensitive to the Federal Aviation Administration’s desire for additional analysis of this issue,” AT&T and Verizon wrote. Should the FAA accept the proposal, the limit will extend to July 6th. AT&T and Verizon told the FCC they don’t expect the limits to impact their services.

At the start of November, both companies agreed to delay their C-band rollouts by one month to January 2022. Officials with the FAA worry widespread use of C-band spectrum may interfere with the altimeter equipment on some aircraft. Pilots often rely on those tools when they need to land, especially when visibility conditions aren’t favorable.

Both AT&T and Verizon have a strong financial incentive to avoid any further delays to their C-band rollout. The two carriers spent a combined $68.8 billion to secure the necessary licenses for their mid-band buildouts and an additional $15 billion on the necessary infrastructure to take advantage of that spectrum.