Samsung is giving you one last chance to grab the Galaxy Buds Pro at a discount from Amazon before the year ends. The earbuds, which we called Samsung's best ones yet when we reviewed them in January, are currently available for $125. That's $75 less than their original retail price of $200 and only $5 more than their all-time low on Amazon-owned Woot. The main Amazon website has return policies Woot doesn't offer — plus, the model isn't available right now on the deals site anyway. 

We have the Galaxy Buds Pro a score of 85 in our review and praised them for their comfortable fit, thanks to Samsung combining the Live's curves with the original Buds' small form factor. The company said the model has "the most comprehensive sound" among its true wireless earbuds, and we did find its sound to have real depth and solid clarity. The buds have active noise cancellation and their ear tips are effective enough in sealing off the ear canal to block out constant background noise. Further, the model uses Dolby Head Tracking tech to create more immersive sound with Dolby Atmos content, so long as it's paired with a Galaxy device that supports the feature. 

We also found voice calls to have better quality than other models due to the buds' three microphones and Wind Shield technology. When it comes to battery life, we found that it matches the company's estimates of five hours with ANC and Bixby and eight hours without them. 

All the colors of the Galaxy Bud Pro are on sale at the moment, so you can choose between White, Phantom Black, Phantom Silver and Phantom Violet.

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In the future, Waymo's robotaxi fleet in the US will feature electric vehicles build specifically for the service by Chinese automaker Geely. The Alphabet company has teamed up with Geely to create a version of its recently launched all-electric Zeekr vehicle that's custom-built for autonomous ride-hailing. Waymo has detailed and shown renders of the modified EV, which was designed in Sweden, in a blog post. 

It has no steering wheel or pedals, as you'd probably expect by now from a purely autonomous vehicle — where the traditional cockpit would be is a tablet that most likely serves as the navigation and infotainment system. Waymo said they modified the vehicle and gave it a flat floor for more accessible entry, generous head and legroom, reclining seats and chargers all around. The company will then incorporate its Driver technology, which includes its software and hardware components like cameras and sensors, into the vehicles.

Waymo's current ride-hailing fleet consists mostly of Jaguar I-Paces and Chrysler Pacifica hybrids also modified with its technology. While it didn't specifically mention its vehicles, a spokesperson told TechCrunch that its team-up with Geely will not affect its current partnerships. The company also didn't mention when passengers will be able to ride the Geely vehicles, only that they will be added to its fleet in the US over the coming years.

Riot Games has agreed to pay $100 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed in November 2018 by former employees alleging gender discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation. The League of Legends publisher was only going to pay $10 million per the preliminary settlement in 2019, but the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing went to court to block the agreement. $10 million was much too small, the agency argued, and the women suing the company could be entitled to as much as $400 million.

The lawsuit was originally filed by Melanie McCracken and Jess Negrón after a Kotaku report exposed the developers' "men-first" and "bro" company culture. In the report, Kotaku detailed employees' experiences within the company, such as instances of "genital grabbing" and senior leaders passing around lists of employees they would sleep with. One former employee who left the company due to sexism said working for Riot was like "working at a giant fraternity."

Under the terms of the settlement, $80 million will go towards members of the class-action lawsuit, while $20 million will go towards the plaintiffs' legal fees. All employees and contractors in California who identify as women and who worked at Riot between November 2014 until present day qualify for a payout. Those who've been with the company longer will get a bigger cut than newer workers. And there are quite a lot of newer ones — while only around 1,000 workers were qualified for a payout in 2019, there are now around 2,300 eligible personnel. In a statement, the developer told The Washington Post:

"Three years ago, Riot was at the heart of what became a reckoning in our industry. We had to face the fact that despite our best intentions, we hadn’t always lived up to our values. As a company we stood at a crossroads; we could deny the shortcomings of our culture, or we could apologize, correct course, and build a better Riot. We chose the latter... While we'e proud of how far we’ve come since 2018, we must also take responsibility for the past. We hope that this settlement properly acknowledges those who had negative experiences at Riot."

In addition to paying $100 million, Riot Games is also required to get a third-party expert to conduct "sex/gender equity analysis of total compensation, assignment and promotion outcomes for California employees." Riot must also allow pay transparency and will have to be monitored by a third party, who'll keep an eye on things like HR complaints and pay equity, for three years. The monitor will be able to recommend changes to the company that Riot can implement. 

Genie Harrison, the women's rights attorney who represented the plaintiffs, said in a statement:

"This is a great day for the women of Riot Games – and for women at all video game and tech companies – who deserve a workplace that is free of harassment and discrimination. We appreciate Riot’s introspection and work since 2018 toward becoming a more diverse and inclusive company, its willingness to take responsibility for its past, and its commitment to fairness and equality in the future. Along with the DFEH and DLSE, the brave women of Riot who carried the torch of justice have achieved a precedent-setting result that stands as a beacon for other women and as a warning that employers had better pay and treat women fairly, or else be held accountable."

Amazon is giving you the chance to grab some of Apple's latest iPad models at a discount before the year ends. Both the WiFi version and the cellular version of the basic iPad released just this September are now being sold at the lowest prices we've seen for the devices on the website. You can get the 256GB WiFi model for $449, which is $30 lower than its original retail price of $479. If you want a tablet with mobile data, you can get the 2021 iPad with WiFi and cellular for $580 instead — that's $29 less than the device's original price of $609. 

The tablet's 64GB model is on sale, as well. You can grab the WiFi-only variant with smaller storage space for $320. While the device isn't exactly deeply discounted, that's still $9 off a tablet you may have been planning to get anyway. The 64GB 2021 iPad with WiFi and cellular connections will set you back $449 on Amazon right now, which is $10 less what it will cost you on the Apple Store itself.

We gave the basic 2021 iPad a score of 86 in our review, where we praised it for being affordable, now made even more so with these deals. While it doesn't come with a big redesign, it has double the storage space of its predecessors. We found its A13 Bionic powerful enough for multitasking standard use cases, like browsing the web, playing games or watching videos, without lagging or showing any kind of significant issue. The device has a new 12-megapixel front-facing camera that's identical to the one found on the more expensive iPad mini, as well.

Speaking of the iPad mini, its 64GB cellular model is also at an all-time low of $629. That's $20 less than the device's retail price, so it may be time to grab one if you've been considering a smaller tablet for your needs. We praised the 2021 iPad mini in our review for its significant redesign, including an all-screen front, TouchID-capable top button, second-generation Apple Pencil support and USB-C charging capability.

Former and current warehouse workers at JFK8, Amazon's fulfillment center in Staten Island, New York, have refiled an application to hold a vote on unionization. The workers originally filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board back in November, but they had to withdraw it after failing to gather enough signatures to be approved. This time, the organizers were reportedly able to gather over 2,500 worker signatures or half of the 5,000 people employed at the facility.

The workers are hoping to form the Amazon Labor Union, which will be an independent group that's not connected to any major national union. One of their lead organizers is Christian Smalls who led a walkout at JFK8 over the e-commerce giant's handling of COVID safety at the warehouse. Amazon fired Smalls after that, telling CNBC that he "received multiple warnings for violating social distancing guidelines." Even so, Smalls is still very much involved in the facility's renewed efforts to unionize. In an email to The Washington Post, he referenced what happened at Amazon's Bessemer warehouse, saying that "long drawn-out voting processes are controlled by the bosses who use that period to lie to, intimidate and threaten the workers into voting no for the union."

Majority of the workers at the company's Bessemer, Alabama facility voted against unionization back in April. However, the election was fraught with controversy, with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) — the union the workers were supposed to join — accusing Amazon of interfering with the elections. One of the main issues they pointed out was that the company installed the ballot box in front of the warehouse and in view of security cameras, making workers feel as if their votes were being monitored. After looking into the RWDSU's complaint, the NLRB ordered Amazon to hold another vote. 

Amazon has been adamantly opposed to its workers joining unions. When the people at JFK8 first filed a petition to unionize, the e-commerce giant told Engadget in a statement:

"As a company, we don’t think unions are the best answer for our employees. Every day we empower people to find ways to improve their jobs, and when they do that we want to make those changes — quickly. That type of continuous improvement is harder to do quickly and nimbly with unions in the middle. The benefits of direct relationships between managers and employees can’t be overstated — these relationships allow every employee’s voice to be heard, not just the voices of a select few. We’ve made great progress in recent years and months in important areas like pay and safety. There are plenty of things that we can keep doing better, and that's our focus — to keep getting better every day."

The NLRB has confirmed to The Post that it received the group's petition and would be reviewing signatures over the coming days.

A bunch of Apple Stores across the US and Canada won't be able to cater to customers' last-minute holiday shopping. According to Bloomberg, the tech giant temporarily shut down eight locations due to a surge in COVID-19 cases both among the public and among its employees. Apple typically shutters a retail store if around 10 percent of its employees had tested positive for COVID-19, the news agency said. 

The following locations have been closed since Tuesday:

• Dadeland in Miami

• The Gardens Mall in Palm Beach

• Lenox Square in Atlanta

• Cumberland Mall in Atlanta

• Highland Village in Houston

• Summit Mall in Ohio

• Pheasant Lane in New Hampshire

• Sainte-Catherine in Montreal

The company also shut down stores in Hawaii, Maryland, Ohio, Ottawa (Canada) and Texas earlier this month, though it only lasted for a few days. One of its retail locations in Miami, however, remains shuttered. The company told Bloomberg in a statement: "We regularly monitor conditions, and we will adjust our health measures to support the well-being of customers and employees. We remain committed to a comprehensive approach for our teams that combines regular testing with daily health checks, employee and customer masking, deep cleaning and paid sick leave."

Perhaps in an effort to persuade people to shop online instead, Apple is offering customers "free two-hour courier delivery on eligible in-stock items." The offer doesn't apply to "customized Mac, engraved products and... certain order types including orders paid for with financing or by bank transfer." But so long as the product is eligible and available — it's the holidays and companies are still struggling from component shortages, so availability will most likely be limited — buyers can get their orders delivered for free if they order before 12PM on December 24th.

Apple had taken other steps earlier this month following the rise in cases and the emergence of the Omicron variant. It had chosen to delay its return-to-office plans, which were slated to begin in February, and reinstated mask requirements across all its stores in the US.

The James Webb Space Telescope is finally ready for launch after 14 years in development. NASA cleared its launch readiness review and gave it the go-ahead for launch, which was supposed to take place on December 24th. Unfortunately, poor weather conditions have prompted the agency to delay its launch yet again. James Webb will be lifting off from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana on an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket with the new target date of December 25th and a launch window of between 7:20 AM and 7:52 AM Eastern time.

This is the closest the telescope has ever gotten to starting its month-long journey towards its destination. It's been delayed numerous times in the past due to one reason or another — NASA targeted an October launch date after its development was delayed by the pandemic, but it determined that the telescope wouldn't be ready until November or December. 

NASA (and its partners, the European and Canadian space agencies) then targeted a December 18th launch date, before pushing it back to December 22nd. The James Webb team needed the extra time to inspect the telescope and make sure nothing was damaged during an incident that happened at testing. Its launch was delayed to December 24th after that because of a communication issue between the telescope and its Ariane 5 launch vehicle. This time, NASA had already conducted a news conference confirming that the telescope is ready for launch before announcing the new target date.

After the James Webb telescope arrives in its orbit near the second Lagrange point of the Earth-Sun system, researchers around the world will be able to use it to peer at some of the universe's earliest galaxies, look into black holes and assess exoplanets' habitability. NASA will confirm the new launch date this evening.

RadioShack — yes, that RadioShack that used to sell electronic goods — is now a crypto business. The company filed for bankruptcy back in 2015 after 11 unprofitable quarters in a row, bringing it's almost 100-year history to an end. After that, the former retail chain's branding rights were sold several times until they were acquired by Retail Ecommerce Ventures Review (REV). If you visit RadioShack's website right now, you'll see a banner talking about its new mission to bring cryptocurrency to the mainstream. You'll also see a sign up section to be notified as soon as its RADIO token launches. 

As CNET and Tom's Hardware explain, RadioShack is building a Decentralized Finance ecosystem in partnership with the Atlas USV (Universal Store of Value) protocol. Atlas was designed by Alex Mehr and Tai Lopez, who are also the duo behind REV. RadioShack's DeFi ecosystem will start with a decentralized exchange, which the company describes as the "lowest hanging fruit that is full of opportunities" on its website. When it's up, the DeFi exchange will allow users to send cryptocurrency directly to each other rather than through an exchange service like Coinbase.

Based on what's written on RadioShack's website, REV is hoping that the "100-year-old brand" is embedded enough "into the global consciousness" to encourage widespread crypto adoption. It's even hoping that RadioShack could become the gateway for large corporations like Starbucks and Louis Vuitton to becoming blockchain companies. It's a lofty goal, especially for a brand that declared bankruptcy twice within the span of a few years. If you're interested in reading REV's plan for RadioShack, though, you can check out its documentation for the project on its website.

A handful of key tech companies has already pulled out of next year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Amazon, Meta, Twitter and T-Mobile have announced that they're no longer attending the event in person due to the threat brought about by the COVID-19 Omicron variant. The show earlier this year was a strictly online-only affair, but the Consumer Technology Association announced in April that the event is returning as an in-person affair in 2022. While the organizer requires attendees to show proof of vaccination to be able to attend the expo, the Omicron variant's emergence prompted companies to reconsider their plans. 

Amazon told Bloomberg in a statement that it'll no longer have an on-site presence at the event "due to the quickly shifting situation and uncertainty around the Omicron variant." Its smart home subsidiary Ring will no longer be attending, as well. Meanwhile, Facebook parent company Meta said it won't be attending the expo in person anymore "due to the evolving public health concerns related to COVID-19." It might participate in the event in a virtual capacity, but the company has yet to release more concrete details.

Similarly, Twitter has canceled its in-person appearance "due to the spike in Covid cases across the country in the past week." It's reportedly exploring ways to be able to participate virtually, as well. Even CES sponsor T-Mobile has chosen to step back and limit its on-site participation. "While we are confident that CES organizers are taking exhaustive measures to protect in-person attendees and we had many preventative practices in place as well, we are prioritizing the safety of our team and other attendees with this decision," it said in a statement. Other companies that have chosen to cancel include Pinterest and iHeartRadio. 

There's still a lot of unknown factors surrounding the Omicron variant, but researchers have found it to be a highly transmissible strain. Further, what they've discovered suggests that most non-mRNA vaccines (such as Sinovac and Sinopharm) offer almost no protection against the variant. At the moment, though, the CTA has yet to announce any changes to the event, and the in—person expo is still scheduled to take place in January.

LG has revealed a couple of monitors it's debuting at its virtual CES event, and one of them is apparently a completely new format in the market. The company's new DualUp Monitor has an unusual 16:18 aspect ratio. It's a vertical display with a 2,560 x 2,880-pixel resolution that LG is calling "Square Double QHD." When you use its vertical split view function, the DualUp looks like you put two 21.5—inch monitors on top of each other. 

It could be a better form factor than the typical monitor if you're constantly having to look at information on multiple windows or screens for work or for any other reason. In its announcement, LG says the model will help reduce side-to-side head movements that cause neck pain. DualUp was also meant to save space and will ship with the LG Ergo stand that clamps to most desks and tables. The Nano IPS monitor's other features include a brightness of 300 nits, a 1000:1 contrast ratio and HDR10 support. 

In addition to DualUp, LG has also introduced the UltraFine, a 32-inch 4K UHD monitor. It has a more conventional aspect ratio, but it is the first to use LG's Nano IPS Black panel technology, which enables a contrast ratio of 2,000:1. The company will reveal more about both premium monitors at its virtual press event on January 4th. It's unknown at this point whether LG will still push through with a physical experience at CES 2022, assuming the event will still take place despite the threat posed by the Omicron variant. It was planning on showcasing a list of new items during the conference aside from these monitors, though, including a soundbar with a center up-firing speaker, a wireless TV on wheels and an OLED TV with a motorized cover.