If you missed the sale last month, you have another opportunity to get Apple's AirPods Max for $100 less than usual. The green models are back on sale for $449, which is only $20 more than their record low. While still on the high end, a $100 discount isn't anything to scoff at — especially if you want a pair of headphones that will work seamlessly with the rest of your Apple devices.
It goes without saying that AirPods Max are really only a viable option for those that live in the Apple ecosystem, as you'll lose some of their key features if you're using them with an Android or Windows device. They have excellent sound quality with Adaptive EQ and spatial audio support, plus solid ANC that blocks out most surrounding noise. Onboard controls are reliable as well — there's a rotating crown that adjusts the volume, and a button dedicated to switching between ANC and Transparency mode.
The AirPods Max have Apple's H1 chip inside, which allows them to pair and switch between Apple devices easily, and enables things like hands-free Siri access. These will be some of the most convenient cans to get if you often go from listening to music on your Mac to taking calls from your iPhone. While there are comparable headphones out there for less — like Sony's WH-1000XM4 — the AirPods Max will be most enticing for those who already have a lot of Apple products and want the best sound headphones possible that also integrate seamlessly with the rest of their setup.
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Apple's latest MacBook Pros are some of the most powerful laptops you can get right now, and they have high price tags to match. But if you've had your eye on the 16-inch model, you can grab it for $200 less than usual right now thanks to a new Amazon sale. The online retailer has the 512GB model for $2,299 and the 1TB version for $2,499, both of which are record-low prices.
These are the MacBook Pros many have been waiting for, not only for their impressive power but also their equally improved connectivity. We gave the M1 Pro and M1 Max laptops a score of 92 for their excellent performance, lovely Liquid Retina XDR Displays, great speakers and solid battery lives. Both machines blew every Windows machine we reviewed last year out of the water when it came to performance benchmarks, and we didn't notice a slow down when the laptops ran in battery power. Plus, you'll get a lot of use out of them before you need to power up — the 14-inch laptop lasted about 12.5 hours in our testing, while the 16-inch model survived for just over 16 hours.
Power alone makes these laptops solid options for videographers, photographers and other creatives, but they're made even better by the new ports Apple included on both laptops. You're no longer limited to just a few Thunderbolt ports — both machines now have a full-sized HDMI port, a MagSafe power connector, three USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports and an SD card slot. So while you will still need an adapter if you have USB-A accessories, hooking the machine up to other peripherals is much easier than it was on previous models. They may still be expensive even with this discount, but it's hard to beat the latest MacBook Pros if you're looking for a new laptop with as much power as possible, plus all of the latest features from Apple.
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We all could use a little help keeping our homes clean, and now we live in an age where robots are actually capable of lending a (mechanical) hand. Robot vacuums are some of the most ubiquitous smart home gadgets available today with their circular shapes and propensity for bumping into walls. While they provide an undeniable convenience, they can also be expensive. It’s not unheard of to drop close to $1,000 on a high-end robo-vac.
But in a change from just a few years ago, today there are now plenty of budget robot vacuum options to choose from. At Engadget, we consider anything under $300 to be cheap in this space and you may be surprised to see how many there are at that price point. And if you’re new to the world of robot vacuums, you may find that one of these budget gadgets does everything you expected and more.
Are robot vacuums worth it?
Friends and family often ask me if new gadgets are “worth it,” and when it comes to robot vacuums the answer is yes. The most important thing they have going for them is autonomy: Just turn it on, walk away. If you’re someone who wants to spend as little time as possible cleaning your home — or just someone who detests vacuuming — a semi-autonomous robot is a great investment.
There are plenty of other good things about them, but before we dive in let’s consider the biggest trade-offs: less power, less capacity and less flexibility. Those first two go hand in hand; robot vacuums are much smaller than upright vacuums, which leads to less suction. They also hold less dirt because their built-in bins are a fraction of the size of a standard vacuum canister or bag. And while robo-vacs are cord-free, that means they are slaves to their batteries and will require regular recharging.
When it comes to flexibility, robot vacuums do things differently than standard ones. You can control some with your smartphone, set cleaning schedules and more, but robo-vacs are primarily tasked with cleaning floors. On the flip side, their upright counterparts can come with various attachments that let you clean couches, stairs, light fixtures and other hard-to-reach places.
What to look for in a budget robot vacuum
Valentina Palladino / Engadget
When looking for a cheap robo-vac, one of the first things you should consider is WiFi connectivity. While you may think that’s a given on all smart home devices, it’s not. Some of the most affordable modes don’t have the option to connect to your home WiFi network. If you choose one like this, you won’t be able to control it with a smartphone app or with voice commands. Another feature that’s typically reserved for WiFi-connected robots is scheduling because most of them use a mobile app to set cleaning schedules.
But WiFi-incapable vacuums usually come with remote controls that have all the basic functions that companion mobile apps do, including start, stop and return to dock. And if you’re concerned about the possibility of hacking, vacuums with no access to your WiFi network are the best option.
You should also think about the floors in your home. Do you have mostly carpet, tile, laminate, hardwood? Carpets demand vacuums with more suction power that can collect debris that gets pushed down into nooks and crannies. Unfortunately, there isn’t a universal metric by which suction is measured. Some companies provide Pascal (Pa) levels and generally the higher the Pa, the stronger. But other companies don’t rely on Pa levels and simply say their robots have X-times more suction than other robot vacuums.
So how can you ensure you’re getting a robot vacuum that will adequately clean your floors? Read the product description. Look for details about its ability to clean hardwood and carpets, and see if it has a “max” mode you can use to increase suction. If you are given a Pa measurement, look for around 2000Pa if you have mostly carpeted floors.
Size is also important for two reasons: clearance and dirt storage. Check the specs for the robot’s height to see if it can get underneath the furniture you have in your home. Most robo-vacs won’t be able to clean under a couch (unless it’s a very tall, very strange couch), but some can get under entryway tables, nightstands and the like. As for dirt storage, look out for the milliliter capacity of the robot’s dustbin — the bigger the capacity, the more dirt the vacuum can collect before you have to empty it.
Object detection and cliff sensors are other key features to look out for. The former helps the robot vacuum navigate around furniture while it cleans, rather than mindlessly pushing its way into it. Meanwhile, cliff sensors prevent robot vacuums from tumbling down the stairs, making them a must-have for multi-level homes.
The best budget robot vacuums
Best overall: $274 iRobot Roomba 694
Valentina Palladino / Engadget
Both iRobot and Shark impressed with their affordable robo-vacs. But we think iRobot’s Roomba 649 will be best for most people thanks to its good cleaning power and easy-to-use mobile app. The Roomba 694 replaced the Roomba 675 last year but, aside from an updated exterior, it’s fundamentally the same vacuum. It looks much sleeker now with its new all-black design, giving it an aesthetic similar to some of the more expensive Roomba models. It has three physical buttons on it — start, dock and spot — and it connects to WiFi so you can control it via the iRobot app. Unfortunately, your $274 gets you the vacuum and its necessary parts only so you’ll have to pay up immediately when you need a replacement filter or brushes.
Setting up the Roomba 694 is straightforward: Open the companion app and follow the instructions. Once it’s connected to your home WiFi network, you’re able to use the app to control the vacuum whenever you don’t feel like using the physical buttons. However, the spot-clean function is only available as a button, which is a bit of a bummer.
iRobot’s app is one of the biggest selling points for any Roomba. It’s so easy to use that even someone with no prior experience will be able to quickly master the robot’s basic functions. iRobot’s app puts most pertinent controls on the homepage, so you rarely (if ever) need to navigate through its menu to do things like set a cleaning schedule.
We recommend setting cleaning schedules to really get the most out of the device. After all, these are semi-autonomous robots, so why not make it so you rarely have to interact with them? Doing so will ensure the Roomba runs through your home on a regular basis, so you’re always left with clean floors. The Roomba 694 in particular did a good job sucking up dirt and debris on my carpets as well as the tile flooring in my kitchen and bathrooms. The only thing I try to do before a cleaning job is get charging cables off of the floor – the Roomba will stop if it sucks something like that up and it’s relatively easy to extract a cable from the machine’s brushes, but I’d rather not have to do so if I can avoid it.
When it comes to battery life, the Roomba 694 ran for around 45 minutes before needing to dock and recharge. iRobot says run times will vary based on floor surfaces, but the 694 is estimated to have a 90-minute battery life when cleaning hard floors. While 45 minutes may be enough time for the robot to scuttle around most rooms in my apartment, those with larger homes may have to wait for it to recharge in order to clean everywhere.
iRobot has made a name for itself in the autonomous vacuum market for good reason. Its machines are polished, dead simple to use and the accompanying app is excellent. That ease of use (and the reputation of the iRobot name) comes with a slightly higher asking price, which many will be willing to pay. But there are plenty of solid options now that didn’t exist even just three years ago.
Runner up: $250 Shark Ion RV765
Shark
The Shark RV765 is the updated version of the RV761 that we previously recommended. Like the Roomba 694, the Shark RV765 has a slightly different design and a longer run time than the RV761, but otherwise they’re the same vacuum. You can still find the RV761, but it’s a little difficult to do so now that the latest model is available. Although we haven’t tested the RV765, we feel comfortable recommending it since we found the previous version to be a great robot vacuum.
One thing that the RV765 fixes about the previous version is the latter’s ugly bowling-shirt design. The new model nixes that and opts for a sleeker, all-black look with three buttons for docking, cleaning and max mode. You could rely just on the buttons, but it also connects to WiFi so you can use the Shark Clean app. As for the longer run time, that’s just a bonus. The RV761 ran for about 90 minutes before needing to recharge, which was plenty of time for it to clean my two-bedroom apartment. The additional 30 minutes of battery life on the RV765 should allow it to clean larger spaces more efficiently.
Some other things we liked about the RV761 include its spot-clean feature; adjustable wheels, which raise and lower automatically depending on the “terrain” and the obstacles in its path; and its intuitive companion app that allows you to start and slop cleaning jobs, set schedules and more.
Best bang for your buck: $230 Anker Eufy RoboVac 11S
Valentina Palladino / Engadget
Anker’s $230 Eufy RoboVac 11S was one of the cheapest vacuums I tested but it also proved to be one of the most versatile. First thing to note: This robot vacuum doesn’t have WiFi, but it does come with a remote that gives you most of the functions you’d find in an app (including a schedule feature). Eufy also includes additional brushes and filters in the box.
The “S” in this robot’s name stands for slim, and it’s roughly half an inch thinner than all of the other vacuums I tested. Not only does this make the 11S lighter, but it was the only one that could clean under my entryway table. The 11S has a physical on-off toggle on its underside plus one button on its top that you can press to start a cleaning. It always begins in auto mode, which optimizes the cleaning process as it putters around your home, but you can use the remote to select specific modes like spot and edge clean.
The 11S has three power modes — Standard, BoostIQ and Max — and I kept mine on BoostIQ most of the time. It provided enough suction to adequately clean my carpeted floors, missing only a few crumbs or pieces of debris in corners or tight spaces around furniture. It ran for roughly one hour and 15 minutes when in BoostIQ mode and it has remarkable collision avoidance. Sure, it bumped into walls and some large pieces of furniture, but it was the only budget vac I tried that consistently avoided my cat’s play tunnel that lives in the middle of our living room floor.
As far as noise levels go, you can definitely hear the difference between BoostIQ and Max, but none of the three settings is offensively loud. In fact, I could barely hear the 11S when it was on the opposite end of my apartment running in BoostIQ mode. Thankfully, error alert beeps were loud enough to let me know when something went awry, like the 11S accidentally getting tripped up by a rogue charging cable (which only happened a couple of times and neither robot nor cable were harmed in the process).
Overall, the Eufy RoboVac 11S impressed me with its smarts, despite its lack of WiFi. The lack of wireless connectivity is arguably the worst thing about the robot and that’s saying a lot. It’s worth mentioning that this model is rated for up to 1300Pa suction, but you can grab the next model up, the RoboVac 11S Max, which gives you 2000Pa suction (just know that it’ll likely be louder as a result). But you can’t argue with the value of the $230 11S — especially when you can often find it on sale for $160 or less.
Bluetooth trackers are an affordable way to digitally keep track of your physical belongings, and now you can snag a number of Tile gadgets for less. Amazon has select packs of the trackers for up to 20 percent off right now. The 2022 Tile Mate Essentials pack is included in this sale and it has two Tile Mates, one Slim and one Sticker tracker, all for a record low of $68. You can also get a pack of two Tile Stickers for $45, or 18 percent off, or just one 2022 Tile Mate for $20, or 20 percent off its norma rate.
These little devices let you keep track of things like your wallet, keys, handbag, water bottle and more from your phone. They connect via Bluetooth and you can check their last known location using the Tile network and the companion mobile app (available for both Android and iOS). When within Bluetooth range, you can make the Tile trackers ring so you can more easily find your stuff, and you can also add your contact information to the Tile, so those who find your lost things can more easily contact you.
All of the Tiles on sale right now have the same basic features — IP67-rated designs, three-year non-replaceable batteries and a Bluetooth range of up to 250 feet. Their different sizes and methods of attachment will make each of them better for specific objects. The standard Tile Mate can easily attach to a keychain, while the Tile Slim is designed to comfortably fit into a wallet's card slot. Tile Stickers have an adhesive on one side, so you can attach them to things like a TV remote, video game controllers and more.
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You can pick up everything from headphones to video games to smartwatches on sale this week. Sony's WH-1000XM4 ANC headphones are $72 off and down to $278, while the Apple Watch Series 7 is up to $50 off at Amazon. Nintendo celebrated Mar10 Day this week by discounting a bunch of Switch games, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Luigi's Mansion 3 and others. Plus, you can still get a handful of Fire TV devices for less right now, including the Fire TV Cube, which is down to a record low of $70. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
Sony WH-1000XM4
Engadget
Our current favorite pair of ANC headphones, Sony's WH-1000XM4, are down to $278 right now. That's $72 off their usual price and close to an all-time low. They earned a score of 94 from us for their powerful ANC, immersive sound quality and multi-device connectivity.
Certain colors of the Apple Watch Series 7 are down to $349, or $50 off their normal price. Apple's latest flagship smartwatch earned a score of 90 from us for its slightly larger display, faster charging and handy watchOS8 features.
Both the Mario and Luigi sets of Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit are 40 percent off and down to $60 on Amazon. These toys work with the Nintendo Switch and let you build your own raceway in your home.
The Bose QC45 headphones are on sale for $279, which is their all-time-low price that we saw last Black Friday. We gave the cans a score of 86 for their excellent sound quality, strong ANC and comfortable fit.
The Fire TV Stick 4K is down to only $30, which is 40 percent off its usual rate. It's a handy streaming device to get if you don't want to spend a ton of money but want a device that supports 4K content with Dolby Vision and HDR, and that comes with an Alexa Voice Remote.
The Fire TV Cube is back down to a record low of $70, or 42 percent off its normal price. We gave it a score of 84 when it came out for its 4K streaming with Dolby Vision and HDR+, speedy performance and hands-free Alexa controls.
The 44mm LTE version of Samsung's Galaxy Watch 4 is down to a record low of $225, making it cheaper than its WiFi-only counterparts. We consider this smartwatch to be the best available right now for Android users and it earned a score of 85 from us for its bright, crisp display, comprehensive health tracking features and improved third-party app support.
A two-pack of the Google Nest WiFi system is on sale for $189 across the web. That's only $10 more than the pack was during the holiday shopping season last year, so this is a solid sale. We gave the mesh WiFi system a score of 84 for its minimalist design, simple installation process and built-in Google Assistant smart speaker.
The T7 Touch portable SSD in 1TB is on sale for $140 right now. This palm-sized drive works with most devices thanks to the duo of cables it comes with, and it supports 1,050 MB/s read speeds, 1,000 MB/s write speeds, AES 256-bit encryption and Dynamic Thermal Guard.
Samsung's 980 Pro internal drive in 2TB is 35 percent off and down to $280 — a great price for a powerful SSD that works with the PS5 (provided you have a heatsink). It has read speeds up to 7,000 MB/s, advanced thermal controls and works with Samsung's Magician Software, which lets you check its health and optimize settings as you'd like.
The OnePlus 9 Pro smartphone is $270 off and down to $799 right now. We gave the handset a score of 88 for its fantastic display, great performance and much-improved main camera.
The Beats Studio Buds are 20 percent off and down to $120. We gave these true wireless earbuds a score of 84 for their tiny, comfortable design, good sound quality and quick-pairing on both Android and iOS.
Woot has Apple's AirTags for up to 7 percent off right now: you can get a single pack for $27 or a four-pack for $95. These accessories provide a handy way to keep track of your belongings using Apple's Find My network. Just make sure you pick up a case or holder if you plan on attaching the AirTag to your keys or bag.
Sony's 55-inch Bravia XR OLED set is $600 off right now, bringing it down to $2,200. In addition to deep blacks and the improved contrast that comes with OLED TVs, this set also supports XR Motion Clarity, HDMI 2.1, Acoustic Surface Audio+ and Alexa voice commands.
Jabra's Elite 7 Pro earbuds are on sale for $180, which is $20 off their normal price. These buds have 6mm custom speakers and MultiSensor Voice technology to improve call quality, plus an eight-hour battery life and a charging case that gives you up to 30 hours of usage.
Fitbit's most advanced smartwatch, the Sense, is down to £189 right now. That's not a record low, but it's still 37 percent off its usual rate. We gave it a score of 82 for its comprehensive health tracking features and big, bold display.
John Lewis has the Elite 75ts for £79, which is nearly half off their usual rate. We gave the buds a score of 87 when they first came out for their good audio quality, long battery life and small, comfortable design.
As the weather gets warmer and spring approaches, many of us will be spending more time outside. If you're looking for a new gadget that you can bring with you on family outings, DJI's Mavic Air 2 could be a good option — especially now that it's on sale at Amazon. The online retailer has knocked 20 percent off the Fly More combo pack, which includes a bunch of extra things in addition to the drone, bringing the whole thing down to $789. The discount is only good for today, but it allows you to get a plethora of handy accessories essentially for free, since the drone on its own costs $799.
Here's what you're getting in the combo pack: the Mavic Air 2 drone, a remote control, three flight batteries, extra low-noise propellers, RC cables, a battery charger and charging hub, a shoulder bag and a few additional accessories. Ultimately, you're getting everything you'd need to take the drone with you on your next trip and, if you plan correctly, enough battery power to keep it in the sky for a long time.
DJI came out with the Mavic Air 2 in 2020 as a follow-up to the original Mavic Air of 2018. It has a lot of updates when compared to its predecessor, key among them being its extended flight time of 34 minutes. DJI achieved that by outfitting the drone with electronic speed controllers, a new battery and a refined design. The Mavic Air 2's camera uses a 1/2-inch Quad Bayer sensor and can shoot up to 48-megapixel images and 4K video at 60fps.
In addition to new safety features, the Mavic Air 2 has a number of fun features that both newbie and experienced drone pilots will enjoy experimenting with. The "scene recognition" feature can detect sunset, blue skies, snow, grass and trees and automatically adjust camera settings to shoot the best photos and videos possible. FocusTrack has a number of improvements, too, including better a Point of Interest 3.0 feature that has better surface recognition and dynamic tracking. While nearly $800 is still a lot of money to drop on a high-tech toy, it's a great deal if you want a solid DJI drone with as many useful accessories as possible.
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Samsung's newest tablets have only been available for a few weeks, but they're already receiving discounts on Amazon. You can snag both the Galaxy Tab S8 and S8+ for less right now thanks to clippable coupons that knock $50 and $75 off the tablets, respectively. Just make sure to clip the coupon on the product page before checking out and you'll receive the discount. Amazon has credit codes for each as well that will give you up to $75 to use in the future. Use the code ZXDDSPWVWFRB if you're buying the Tab S8 and the code 3SQB2LND8NEE if you're buying the S8+ at checkout to get the respective credits.
We gave the Galaxy Tab S8+ the full review treatment and it earned a score of 85. It's a powerful, premium Android tablet that more than holds its own against the competition thanks to things like Dex mode and Samsung's S Pen. The slab is pretty sleek, measuring 0.22-inches thick and weighing only 1.24 pounds, and it has a gorgeous 12.4-inch OLED display that can hit 120Hz refresh rates. It runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip and 8GB of RAM, and you can choose from 128GB or 256GB of storage. You may want to spring for Samsung's book cover keyboard if you want to use the tablet as a laptop replacement, but Samsung does include the S Pen in the box, which is a great perk.
Dex mode has come a long way since Samsung first debuted it, and now it's a handy feature for multitasking. It switches from the standard Android UI to one that's more desktop-like, with support for things like multiple windows and a taskbar. You'll likely spend a lot of time in Dex mode if you plan on using the Tab S8 as an on-the-go productivity machine. And if you're a fan of handwritten notes, Samsung's S Pen is better than ever on these tablets. The company reduced the input latency to only 2.8ms, making the pen an even better, smoother tool with which to take notes, doodle and more. As far as battery life goes, we got nearly 9.5 hours out of the Tab S8+, which should be enough to get you through most of a work day.
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If you're on the market for a new pair of true wireless earbuds, Woot's latest electronics garage sale has a couple of compelling offers right now. The site knocked Apple's AirPods Pro with the MagSafe charging case down to $180 — not a record low, but a decent sale for this time of year — and discounted Samsung's Galaxy Buds Pro to their record low of $105. As usual, be sure to check out Woot's return policy before making a purchase. Woot may be owned by Amazon, but it has a much different return policy than the online retail giant.
These are solid options for iPhone and Android users, respectively. The AirPods Pro remain Apple's best sounding earbuds, and chances are they'll fit your ears better than standard AirPods thanks to their interchangeable ear tips. We were impressed by the clarity in the sound quality, which can be attributed in part to Apple's Adaptive EQ feature, which automatically tunes more low- and mid-range frequencies to each user's ear. Active noise cancellation does a good job of blocking out environmental noise, and Transparency mode makes it easy to jump in and out of conversations when necessary. Battery life is decent, too: you can expect up to five hours of listening time and up to 24 hours total when you employ its charging case in between sessions.
Samsung's Galaxy Buds Pro are a good alternative to the AirPods Pro for Android users. We gave them a score of 85 when they came out last year and called them the company's best sounding earbuds yet. They have a wider audio range than previous models along with solid active noise cancellation and improved calling features with three microphones and Wind Shield technology. We also liked their comfortable fit, five-hour battery life, wireless charging case and their IPX7-rated design, which should allow them to withstand sweaty workouts and accidental dunks in water.
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Apple's "peek performance" event today brought a bunch of new hardware across many of its product families. The new iPhone SE 5G brings long-awaited features to the small handset, including 5G support and an upgraded processor. The new iPad Air may look the same as the previous model, but it also has significant performance improvements thanks to the M1 chipset and 5G capabilities. On the Mac side, the new Mac Studio is powered by the most powerful M1 chip Apple's made yet, and the Studio Display sports over 14.7M pixels. Here's how to pre-order the iPhone SE 5G and everything else Apple announced today.
iPhone SE 5G
Apple
The new iPhone SE 5G will be available for pre-order starting at $429 on Apple's website on Friday, March 11th. It'll be widely available on March 18th.
As expected, Apple didn't reinvent the wheel here. The latest iPhone SE looks much the same as the previous model, featuring a 4.7-inch inch display and a physical Home button with TouchID. The biggest changes are inside the small handset, where Apple put an A15 Bionic chipset and support for 5G. The new processor should make the smartphone feel much zippier than before, and 5G support is a much-needed addition.
iPad Air M1
Apple
The new iPad Air with the M1 chipset will be available for pre-order starting at $599 on Apple's website on Friday, March 11th. It'll be widely available starting March 18th.
Much like the iPhone SE, the new iPad Air will look familiar as all of the pertinent updates are inside the device. The updated tablet features the same 10.9-inch LCD display as the previous model, along with flat edges and a TouchID-toting power button. Inside, Apple upgraded the machine with its M1 chipset, a 16-core Neural Engine, 5G support and new front-facing cameras that support Center Stage. The M1 processor along with 5G will make this iPad even more viable as a productivity tool and laptop replacement, while Center Stage will keep you in frame during FaceTime calls.
Mac Studio & Studio Display
Apple
The new Mac Studio desktop and Studio Display are available to pre-order today starting at $1,999 and $1,599, respectively, from Apple's website and both will be widely available on March 18th.
Apple's latest desktop is designed for creative professionals and those that want a ton of power in their main computer. It looks like a taller Mac Mini, featuring an aluminum body with a rounded-square design. It'll come powered by either Apple's M1 Max or new M1 Ultra chipsets, with the latter being the most powerful M1 chip Apple has made yet.
In addition to the performance gains you'll get from either chip, the Mac Studio has a variety of connectivity options. On its back edge are four Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 10GB Ethernet port, two USB-A connectors, an HDMI port and a pro audio slot. Apple also added a few connectors to the front edge, too — M1 Max machines have two USB-C ports on the front, while M1 Ultra devices have two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and both tote an SD card slot, too. On top of that, the Mac Studio supports WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5 and connecting to up to four Pro Display XDRs or a 4K TV.
Unsurprisingly, Apple's positioning the Studio Display as the ideal companion screen for the Mac Studio. The "all-screen" monitor has an aluminum enclosure and a 27-inch 5K Retina panel that has 14.7M pixels, a peak brightness of 600 nits and support for TrueTone. You'll be able to tilt the standard model up to 30 degrees, but Apple's also offering a tilt- and height-adjustable model if you need more control over your screen. There will also be a VESA-mount option as well.
Inside the Studio Display are some powerful components, too. It runs on an A13 Bionic chip and it has the same 12MP ultra wide camera found in the latest iPads, so it supports Center Stage. There's also a three-mic array, which should help keep your voice loud and clear during video conferences. The display also has a six speaker sound system that supports Dolby Atmos and spatial audio, along with three USB-C ports and one Thunderbolt port. While it's designed to work with the Mac Studio, the Studio Display can be used with MacBooks as well — and you can connect up to three of the monitors to a MacBook Pro.
iPhone 13 (green)
Apple
Apple's adding two green hues to its iPhone 13 lineup. The regular iPhone 13 will get a colorway simply known as "green," while the Pro family will get the Alpine Green color. You'll be able to pre-order both the iPhone 13 and 13 Pros in the new green colors this Friday, March 11th, and they'll be widely available starting March 18th.
If you're looking to add a new streaming device to your living room setup or replace an aging one, you can grab one of Amazon's Fire TV devices now for less. The company has discounted many of its streaming devices to near record-low prices, including the Fire TV Stick 4K, which is only $30 right now. The Fire TV Stick Lite is 33 percent off and down to $20, while the Fire TV Cube is back down to its all-time low of $70, too.
The Fire TV Stick 4K is a great option if you want a low-profile streaming device that can handle 4K content. It also supports Dolby Vision and HDR, plus it comes with the Alexa Voice Remote, which lets you search for and launch content with voice commands. The Fire TV Stick Lite, on the other hand, is Amazon's most affordable streaming device with supports for 1080p streaming. It's best for those with tight budgets, or those that just want to make an old TV with an HDMI port a bit smarter.
Amazon's Fire TV Cube remains its most powerful streaming device with a hexa-core processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. It supports 4K, HDR content with Dolby Vision and Atmos, and it has picture-in-picture live view as well. You're also getting hands-free Alexa controls, too, which means the Cube's built-in speaker will hear and recognize your commands to turn off your lights or check the weather, even with your TV is off. It's arguably the best option if you want a higher-end streaming device and you already have a lot of Alexa-enabled devices in your home.
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