For the first time since Amazon released the Fire 7 earlier this year, the company has discounted the base model — the one with 16GB of storage and lock screen ads — to $45. You can also get the 32GB variant on sale. After a 19 percent discount, it’s $65 – or just $5 more than what you would pay for the 16GB version normally. Amazon offers the Fire 7 in three colors (Black, Denim and Rose), all of which are included in the company’s current promotion.
The new 2022 model features a handful of small enhancements over its predecessor. The most notable one is the addition of USB-C charging. It also comes with 2GB of RAM (up from 1GB on the previous generation model) and the same 2GHz processor found on the Fire HD 8. Amazon also claims you can get up to 10 hours of battery life from the new model. That said, don’t expect a fast experience from the Fire 7. When she reviewed the tablet earlier this summer, Engadget’s Nicole Lee found it would often hiccup when she would navigate the interface or try to do any multitasking. The 1,024 by 600 screen is also a disappointment. It produces images that look dull and muddy.
For those reasons, the Fire 7 isn’t a great tablet for most people. However, if you can get past its flaws and know what to expect from a tablet that normally costs $65, it’s a decent enough device for reading and surfing the web.
Ahead of Andor’s debut on September 21st, Disney will bring Rogue One: A Star Wars Story back to theaters. The 2016 film will return to IMAX screens in the US on August 26th, along with an “exclusive look” at the upcoming Disney+ series. Details on the preview are sparse, but it’s likely to expand on the most recent Andor trailer Disney shared on August 1st. Either way, Rogue One’s rerelease will give Star Wars fans a chance to rewatch the film before Diego Luna reprises his role as Cassian Andor.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is returning to theaters later this month in anticipation for ANDOR! ✨ pic.twitter.com/ObryEAjipm
Set five years before the events of Rogue One, itself a prequel to A New Hope, Andor tells the story of how the rebellion began. Disney is billing the series as a spy thriller. With Andor, Diego Luna isn’t the only actor returning to the franchise. Genevieve O’Reilly and Forest Whitaker reprise their roles as Mon Mothma and Saw Gerrera. The series was originally scheduled to debut on August 31st, but Disney pushed it back to give more time for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law to find an audience. The first three episodes of Andor will debut simultaneously, with subsequent episodes to follow every Wednesday.
Rogue One is widely considered one of the better films to come out of the Disney Star Wars era. The movie made more than $1 billion during its original box office run and even earned two Academy Awards. If you don’t live near a theater with an IMAX projector, you can watch the film on Disney+.
Genshin Impact’s long-awaited 3.0 update will launch on August 24th, Hoyoverse announced on Saturday. Dubbed “The Morn a Thousand Roses Brings,” the update will add a new rainforest and desert-themed region called Sumeru for players to explore, as well as a handful of new characters, including multiple five-star combatants, to collect. Collie, one of the new additions to the roster, can be earned for free through the upcoming Graven Innocence event. As you might expect, 3.0 will also continue Genshin Impact’s overarching story.
Hoyoverse shared a lengthy teaser trailer detailing what the update has to offer. The studio also announced that Genshin Impact’s next three updates will arrive within five weeks of one another. As such, you can expect to play them around September 28th, November 2nd and December 7th, respectively. The game’s most recent update arrived on July 13th.
New content for Genshin Impact is only one of a few projects Hoyoverse is working on at the moment. Earlier this year, the studio announced Zenless Zone Zero andHonkai: Star Rail. Neither game has a release date yet, but Hoyoverse began beta testing the former at the start of August.
Nearly nine months after Congress passed President Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill, the federal government has yet to allocate any of the $42.5 billion in funding the legislation set aside for expanding broadband service in underserved communities, according to The Wall Street Journal. Under the law, the Commerce Department can’t release that money until the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) publishes new coverage maps that more accurately show homes and businesses that don’t have access to high-speed internet.
Inaccurate coverage data has long derailed efforts by the federal government to address the rural broadband divide. The previous system the FCC used to map internet availability relied on Form 477 filings from service providers. Those documents have been known for their errors and exaggerations. In 2020, Congress began requiring the FCC to collect more robust coverage data as part of the Broadband DATA Act. However, it wasn’t until early 2021 that lawmakers funded the mandate and in August of that same year that the Commission published its first updated map.
Following a contractor dispute, the FCC will publish its latest maps sometime in mid-November. Once they're available, both consumers and companies will a chance to challenge the agency’s data. As a result of that extra step, funding from the broadband plan likely won’t begin making its way to ISPs until the end of 2023, according to one analyst The Journal interviewed.
“We understand the urgency of getting broadband out there to everyone quickly,” Alan Davidson, the head of the Commerce Department unit responsible for allocating the funding, told the Journal. “We also know that we get one shot at this and we want to make sure we do it right.”
Uber is discontinuing its free loyalty program. On a support page spotted by The Verge, the company said it would shut down Uber Rewards on November 1st. Users have until the end of August to earn points, with the final day to redeem rewards falling on October 31st.
Announced in 2018, Uber Rewards gave customers the opportunity to earn points on every Uber and Uber Eats transaction. The program has four membership levels, with members unlocking new perks at each stage. Platinum level, for instance, includes protection against price surging and priority pick-ups at airports. Uber won’t offer a direct replacement for Uber Rewards. Instead, the company plans to promote its paid Uber One membership program. The $10 per month service comes with perks like free Uber Eats deliveries and five percent off rides from top-rated Uber drivers.
“Thank you for being part of Uber Rewards,” the company said in email about the shutdown. “It’s been a great ride, but we’ve decided to end Rewards soon, as we shift our focus to our new Uber One membership program.” Uber will give existing Rewards users a free one-month trial to Uber One. Once that period is over, you’ll need to subscribe if you want keep the benefits associated with the program.
Amazon has reduced the price of the Echo Show 5 by $45. With the 53 percent discount, you can buy the smart display for $40, or just $5 more than it was during Prime Day. Released in 2021, the second-generation Echo Show 8 features a 960 x 480 resolution display and a 2-megapixel camera. Amazon offers the device in a trio of colors – Charcoal, Deep Sea Blue and Glacier White. All three models are currently on sale. Like its bigger sibling, the Echo Show 5 includes a sunrise alarm feature, allowing the display to slowly brighten as a way to wake you gently during dark winter mornings. It also comes with all the usual features found on Amazon Echo devices, including Alexa voice control and Ring integration.
Amazon has also discounted the Echo Show 5 Kids. The kid-friendly version is currently $50 after a $45 price drop. Paying the extra $10, you get a smart display with a two-year guarantee and a trial to Amazon Kids+. The service provides access to child-appropriate ebooks, games, videos and apps. Of course, it wouldn’t be an Echo sale if Amazon didn’t include the 4th-generation Dot. The company’s most affordable smart speaker is currently $40, down from $50. You can get the Kids version on sale too. The Echo Dot is a good option for adding Alexa to one of the rooms in your home.
Meta is making its Portal smart displays more useful to remote workers. Starting today, you can use the Portal Go and second-generation Portal Plus as a second screen for your Mac or Windows PC. The new functionality comes courtesy of Duet Display, the app that inspired Apple’s Sidecar feature in macOS Catalina. Normally, you would need to either buy a copy of the software or subscribe to use Duet Display, but CEO Rahul Dewan told Engadget the company is making both wired and local wireless second display functionality free for Portal users.
One thing to note is you can’t use the app while video calling with the Portal Go or Portal Plus. Duet Display is available to download on Portal Plus in the US, Canada, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Australia and New Zealand, and Portal Go in the US, Canada, UK, France, Spain and Italy.
Meta is also releasing the Portal Companion app on macOS. The software allows you to share your screen while on call. You can also use the app to send links to the device and more easily access controls like the mute toggle. The Portal Companion app is available to download in the US and UK.
The arrival of Duet Display on Portal devices comes after Meta reportedly decided to reposition them as enterprise products. In June, The Information and Variety said the company would not announce any new consumer versions of the smart display line.
On Wednesday, Samsung held its latest Unpacked showcase. As expected, the event saw the company show off its newest foldable devices, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4, but Samsung also devoted part of the proceedings to new wearables. Here’s everything the company announced during the show.
Galaxy Z Fold 4
Samsung
No surprise here, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 was the star of the show. In terms of hardware, Samsung’s latest flagship foldable adds a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, an enhanced 50-megapixel main camera and a more capable telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. The main display is also brighter. That said, the main story of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 are all the software improvements Samsung has added. The foldable is one of the first devices to ship with Android 12L, the new tablet-focused version of Google’s mobile OS. It also features a redesigned taskbar for more efficient multitasking. Critically, more apps from Google and Microsoft now support the Z Fold form factor.
Pre-orders for the Galaxy Z Fold 4 open today ahead of the phone’s August 26th release date. Pricing starts at $1,800 for the 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage model.
Galaxy Z Flip 4
Samsung
Samsung didn’t forget about its more affordable foldable. The Galaxy Z Flip 4’s most notable hardware upgrades are a larger 3,700mAh battery, the addition of a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor and a primary camera Samsung claims is 65 percent brighter than the one found on its predecessor. The company has also tweaked the design of the Z Flip 4 to incorporate a slimmer hinge and add new software customization options for the front screen. Like its sibling, the Galaxy Z Fold goes on sale on August 26th, with pre-orders open today. However, no price cut this time around: the Galaxy Z Flip 4 starts at $1,000.
Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro
Samsung
After Samsung adopted WearOS with the Galaxy Watch 4, the Galaxy Watch 5 is a more iterative update. The company has reshaped the back of the wearable to create more surface area for it to make contact with your wrist. In conjunction with a new infrared sensor, Samsung says the Galaxy Watch 5 provides far smarter health data than its predecessor. It also has a more durable glass exterior and both the 40mm and 44mm models come with bigger batteries. Samsung will also once again offer a Pro model of the Galaxy Watch. The latest one features a titanium case, a bigger 45mm display and a large 590mAh battery. The Galaxy Watch 5 line will start at $280 when it hits store shelves on August 26th. However, you can preorder the wearables today.
Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
Cherlynn Low/Engadget
The Galaxy Buds Pro were among the best true wireless earbuds you could buy last year. The new Galaxy Buds 2 Pro Samsung showed off at Unpacked looks like a promising upgrade. To start, there’s the addition of Bluetooth 5.3, 24-bit audio support and better noise cancelation performance. Together, those features should improve audio quality and make it easier to tune out ambient noises. Thanks to a 15 percent smaller design, Samsung says they should also fit better. But the most intriguing addition is a feature called Intelligent Voice Detect. When you start speaking to someone, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro will automatically turn off ANC and lower the volume of your music. The new earbuds are available to preorder today for $230, making them $30 more than their predecessor.
Follow all of the news from Samsung's Unpacked event right here!
Blizzard will stop selling Overwatch loot boxes on August 30th, the studio announced in a blog post published on Tuesday. The date coincides with the end of the game’s recently launched Anniversary Remix Vol. 3 event. Blizzard notes players will still have the chance to earn free loot boxes after the 30th. Additionally, the game will automatically open any loot boxes in a player’s inventory before the launch of Overwatch 2 on October 4th. With the new gameset to replace Overwatch at that point, that will ensure players don’t lose any skins and other cosmetics before the switch.
In June, Blizzard announced Overwatch 2would abandon loot boxes in favor of a seasonal battle pass and a “consistently updated” in-game store. The move came after the studio said it would not release Diablo Immortal in Belgium and the Netherlands due to laws in those countries against that kind of monetization.
After launching earlier this summer, Yamaha’s flagship TW-E7B true wireless earbuds are now available in the US. You can buy them starting today for $279.95. The TW-E7B have a few things going for them. They’re the first true wireless earbuds from Yamaha to include the company’s proprietary active noise cancelation algorithm. Yamaha claims its take on ANC doesn’t “color” audio the way some implementations do. The earbuds also feature an internal microphone that monitors how the shape of your ear affects audio output and adjusts accordingly.
Many of the other software features you’ll find on the TW-E7B are standard at this price range. The usual ambient mode makes an appearance, as does Google’s Fast Pair. For gamers, there’s a low-latency mode you can activate by triple tapping the volume down button on the right earbud. On that note, the inclusion of built-in volume controls is notable. Most true wireless earbuds don’t have them. Bluetooth codec support isn’t as extensive as some of the earbuds we’ve seen hit the market recently, but you do get access to AAC and aptX adaptive.
According to Yamaha, you can get up to six hours of battery life from the earbuds alone, and a total of 22 hours with the included charging case. The casing protecting the 10mm drivers is IPX5 certified against moisture. The TW-E7B are available in four colors: black, dark blue, beige and white. They also come with five different silicone eartips.
