Sony's WH-1000XM4 wireless headphones have been some of our favorites since they first came out in 2020. While the company has since moved on to the XM5, which build upon the solid foundation of the XM4, the 2020 version remains a great options for those who prefer over-ear headphones and want strong ANC in a comfortable package. Thanks to Amazon Prime Day deals, you can pick up the WH-1000XM4 for only $228, which is a new record-low price and $120 off their usual rate. Those who like wireless earbuds more can also snag the WF-1000XM4 buds for only $198 right now, too.
We gave the WH-1000XM4 a score of 94 when they first came out. We liked their comfortable design with padded earcups and headband, and the new matte finish they have. You'll be able to wear them for hours on end, and their battery life will support that, too. The XM4 should last up to 30 hours on a single charge, so you could wear them a few hours a day for more than a week before they'll need more juice.
These headphones also excel when it comes to sound quality and ANC. Audio is immersive with excellent clarity and detail, plus these cans support Sony's 360 Reality Audio as well. ANC is strong and adjustable via the companion app, and you can even turn on a feature that will automatically change the ANC levels depending on your location.
Sony added a few new features when it debuted the XM4, namely multi-device connectivity and Speak to Chat. The former lets you connect to two devices at once, switching between them as needed. This feature works quite well as you can seamlessly go from listening to music on your laptop to taking a call on your smartphone. Speak to Chat, when enabled in the mobile app, will automatically pause audio when the headphones' mics sense that you're speaking.
We should note that Sony's new XM5 did dethrone the XM4 as our current favorite pair of wireless headphones. The $398 cans have all of the same features as the XM4, but they have a more refined design, additional mics and even better sound quality and ANC. But those upgrades do come at a hefty price, so if you're willing to skip them, you can get an excellent pair of cans for much less right now.
As for the WF-1000XM4, they are the true wireless earbud equivalents to Sony's over-ear headphones. You'll get a lot of the same features on these buds too, including 360 Reality Audio support, solid ANC, great sound quality and a formidable battery life.
Amazon Prime Day is officially here and a number of our favorite gadgets are on sale. If you're a Prime member, you can save hundreds on devices from Sony, Razer, Apple and others over the next 48-hours, plus Amazon has discounted most of its own devices, too. Prime Day deals can hard to navigate, and a good portion of them are not worth your time. That's why we've collected the best tech deals for Prime Day 2022 here so you don't have to go wadding through the bad ones.
Sony WH-1000XM4
Engadget
Sony's excellent WH-1000XM4 headphones are down to £209 right now. We gave these cans a score of 94 for their powerful ANC, immersive sound quality and multi-device connectivity.
The latest Apple Watch Series 7 has dropped to £298, which matches its all-time low price. That's the starting price on the GPS-only models, but you can pick up a GPS + Cellular model for as low as £379, too. It's the most comprehensive wearable Apple makes and it earned a score of 90 from us for its larger screen, faster charging and handy features in watchOS 8.
Amazon's standard Kindle has fallen to just £35, which is half off its normal price. We gave this e-reader a score of 91 for its improved contrast display, extra front lights and sleeker design.
The Kindle Paperwhite is on sale in the UK for £85, which is a new low for the Amazon e-reader. The updated model has 17 front lights, a sleeker design, an adjustable warm light, weeks of battery life and Audible support.
The Echo Dot is on sale for £20 while the Echo Dot with Clock is down to £30. We like these tiny smart speakers for their good audio quality, compact design and tap-to-snooze feature.
The Echo Show 5 has fallen to £35, or £40 off its usual price. If you want a smart alarm clock, this is the smart display to get. We like its sharp 5-inch display, ambient light sensor, smart home controls and tap-to-snooze feature.
The Echo Show 8 smart display is back on sale at a record-low price of £80. It earned a score of 87 from us for its attractive design, excellent audio quality and improved camera for video calls.
The Fire HD 10 has dropped to £80 for Prime Day. It's the Fire tablet to get if you want the best performance possible. We like its 1080p display, 12-hour battery life and its Show Mode feature.
You can pick up Amazon's most affordable streamer, the Fire TV Stick Lite, for only £13 right now. It supports 1080p streaming and gives you access to some of the most popular services like Netlfix and Disney+.
The higher-end Fire TV Stick 4K Max has dropped to £33, which is £22 less than usual. On top of all of the features in the standard Fire TV Stick 4K, the Max version also supports WiFi 6 and live picture-in-picture viewing.
Razer Book 13 is Razer's take on a professional laptop, with a 16:10 display and Intel Evo certification, it's focused more on productivity than gaming, though Intel's XE graphics can keep up with some casual gaming. As you'd expect from an Evo laptop, its battery life is strong, and it should get you through a whole day of web browsing or light work. This one is pink with an 11th-gen Intel i7 processor, 1TB SSD and 16GB of RAM, and is £500 cheaper than it's ever been on Amazon.
Prime Day always provides an opportunity to grab some PC accessories for much less than you normally would. Logitech is one such company offering solid discounts across the board, including its best keyboard, the G915 Lightspeed, which at just £100 is a full £110 (or 52 percent) lower than its usual price.
If you need a mouse to go with that, you can't go wrong with the Logitech G Pro Wireless mouse, which is 58 percent off at £55. Enjoying a similar discount is Logitech's powerful StreamCam, providing Full HD capture at 60 FPS, facial tracking and auto-focus.
A combo pack that includes the DJI Mini 2 drone plus a bunch of accessories has dropped to £449 for Prime Day. While DJI is on the Mini 3 at this point, this pack is a good option if you want all of the extra things you could ever need for your drone.
Ninja's dual-zone air fryer has dropped to £180, which is 28 percent off its usual price. It earned a spot in our best air fryers guide for its large capacity, quick heat-up time and Smart Finish feature, which lets you prepare two different things at once and have them finish cooking at the same time.
iRobot's Roomba i7+ is 28 percent off and down to £579 for Prime Day. This is slightly less advanced than the s9+, which is our current favorite premium robo-vac, but it remains one of the most powerful Roombas you can get. It also comes with a clean base, so the robot vacuum will empty its dustbin into the base automatically after each job.
Tile trackers are up to 30 percent off for Prime Day and you have a few different designs to choose from. The standard Tile Mate is down to £13, while the Tile Starter Pack is now just £31.50. These Bluetooth chips help you keep track of your things digitally and they can lead you to your lost items by emitting a chime.
Sony's more affordable WH-XB910N wireless headphones have dropped to a new low of £114 for Prime Day. These are a great option if you want deep, punchy bass, solid ANC and 30-hour battery life all in a budget-friendly package.
Jabra's Elite 85t earbuds are on sale for £119, or a whopping 46 percent off their normal price. We like these true wireless earbuds for their strong ANC, comfortable size and wireless charging case.
Jabra's excellent Elite 3 earbuds have dropped to £50, or £30 off their normal rate. These already affordable buds earned a score of 88 from us for their impressive sound quality, good battery life, reliable touch controls and comfortable fit.
The Roku Express 4K is just £20 right now, down from £39. It's powerful Ultra HD streaming box that will upgrade any living room that offers access to nearly all of the major streaming services.
Sony's popular full-frame mirrorless cameras rarely go on sale, so if you've been eyeing one, now might be the time to act — multiple models have discounts for Amazon Prime Day. The best deals are on the high-resolution "R" models, with the current A7R IV on sale at $2,998 ($502 off) and the A7R III available for just $2,198 ($602 in savings). You can also find great deals on desirable Sony lenses like the 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master zoom ($300 off) and Sony 24-105 f/4 G zoom ($300 off).
The Sony A7R IV received one of Engadget's highest camera review scores ever thanks to the fast and accurate autofocus, superb high-resolution photo quality, a bright and sharp viewfinder and great handling. I was particularly impressed with the high burst speeds considering the huge RAW file sizes on the 61-megapixel images. It can even handle video reasonably well for a high-res camera. The downsides are a mediocre menu system and high price, but the Prime Day discount helps take the sting off the latter.
The older A7R III offers a lower 42-megapixel resolution, but it's also a highly-rated camera with excellent autofocus performance, 5-axis stabilization and more. And along with the two high-res models, Sony is also offering a $200 discount on its stalwart A7 III ($1,798) and has dropped the price on the aging, but still very useful A7 II model to just $900 — making it one of the cheapest new full-frame cameras you can get.
If you're more in the market for lenses, Sony has you covered there, too. Along with the $300 price drops on the 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master zoom and 24-105 f/4 G zoom, you can grab $100 discounts on highly desirable models like the Sony 50mm f/1.2 G Master ($1,898) and FE 35mm F1.4 GM G Master ($1,298). The sale ends on July 17th but the best deals are liable to get snapped up well before then, so it's best to act soon.
As it does every year around this time, Sony has introduced new entries in its wireless speaker lineup. The company debuted three new models today, all of which are designed to be used outside thanks to both portable sizing and the proper dust and moisture protections (IP67). The trio is also a part of Sony's X-Series, which features non-circular "X-Balanced" speakers for more sound pressure and less distortion.
First, the largest option in the group is the SRS-XG300. The combination of a tapered cylinder shape and a retractable handle give this speaker more of a boombox-like design in a much smaller package. To give you multiple sound options, the XG300 packs a Mega Bass feature that boosts the low-end response, ClearAudio+ for "the most balanced sound" and Live Sound Mode that simulates the effect of being at a venue. Plus, Sony's Music Center app gives you the ability to adjust the EQ how you see fit and the option of connecting multiple speakers for Party Connect or Stereo Pair modes
Inside, two X-Balanced speakers, two tweeters and two passive radiators handle the audio while the company's trademark customizable light rings shine on either end. Sony says the XG300 will last up to 25 hours on a charge and you can get up to 70 minutes of use after plugging in for 10 minutes. The company has also included Echo Noise Cancelling for more natural sounding calls should you need the speaker for that purpose. This technology allows two people to talk at the same time without cutting each other off. The XG300 will be available July 12th in gray and black color options for $350.
Sony SRS-XE300
Sony
Next up is the SRS-XE300. Sony opted for a pentagon shape for this mid-size model, or as the company describes it, an ergonomic "grab and go" design. The XE300 is equipped with what Sony calls a line-shape diffuser that gives the speaker a wider listening area for those X-Balanced drivers by blasting sound more evenly. Sony's Party Connect and Stereo Pair features allows you to sync multiple speakers for more sound and the on-board controls include a microphone mute button for calls. Echo Noise cancelling is onboard, too. In addition to the dust and waterproof IP67 rating, this speaker is also shockproof, adding another later of protection against drops. This speaker gives you up to 24 hours of battery life on a charge and plugging in for 10 minutes will give you 70 minutes of listening time. The XG300 will be available July 12th in gray, black and blue color options for $200.
Lastly, the most compact option of the three is the SRS-XE200. It's smaller than the XE300, but features the same shape and overall design. The only aesthetic difference is the XE200 has an attached carrying strap. Like the XE300, this model packs in a line-shape diffuser for a larger listening area and it's also shockproof in addition to its IP67 protections. You can link up multiple speakers via the company's Party Connect and Stereo Pair setups. Sony says you can expect up to 16 hours of listening and, once again, a 10-minute charge offers 70 minutes of use. For calls, Echo Noise Cancelling is here too, as is a handy mute button among the other on-board controls. The XG300 will be available July 12th in gray, black, blue and orange color options for $130.
Sony released its LinkBuds S less than two months ago, but you can already pick up the true wireless earbuds for a solid discount on Amazon. Just ahead of Prime Day, they're down to $157. That's a drop of 22 percent from the regular price of $200. It's the lowest price we've seen to date for LinkBuds S and the discount applies to both the white and black variants.
The LinkBuds S have a more regular closed design rather than the open wear format of the standard LinkBuds that Sony unleashed earlier this year. The company claims the more recent model is smaller and lighter than other earbuds that have active noise cancellation (though it admits the ANC isn't as sturdy as on its WF-1000XM4 model).
The earbuds have a passthrough/transparency mode too, so you can hear "natural" ambient sound. With the Adaptive Sound Control feature, Sony says the LinkBuds S can learn your preferences over time and automatically tweak the sound settings based on your location or activity.
They have 5mm drivers that provide what Sony claims are "powerful bass and stunningly clear vocals." With the Integrated Processor V1, which is also found on Sony's WH-1000XM5 headphones, the company aims to bolster sound quality, mitigate distortion and boost ANC. There's support for high-resolution audio as well, powered by Sony's LDAC codec and DSEE Extreme upscaling.
In addition, LinkBuds S have Sony's Speak-to-Chat feature. The idea is that the earbuds will be able to automatically detect your voice. They will pause the audio and switch on the passthrough mode when you start talking. There's a feature called Auto Play as well. This allows LinkBuds S to play or resume audio based on your activity when you put them in or end a call. However, the functionality is somewhat limited for now — it currently works with Spotify and Endel.
Elsewhere, the earbuds have an IPX4 water resistance rating, so they should be able to withstand bad weather and workouts. There's built-in Alexa functionality too.
Sony says LinkBuds S have a battery life of six hours if ANC is switched on. You'll get another 14 hours of ANC listening time thanks to the charging case. Through a quick-charge function, you'll get up to an hour of extra use after five minutes of charging time.
Amazon's free Prime Gaming downloads for Prime Day this year include some pretty well-known titles, though this round's heavy hitter is BioWare's Mass Effect Legendary Edition. The compilation bundles all the single-player base games of the original Mass Effect trilogy, remastered with improved graphics optimized for 4K Ultra HD and with adjusted gameplay. It also comes with over 40 downloadable content, such as promo weapons and armor.
BioWare tweaked the elements that made us not want to replay the original games, including their clunky gunplay and the Mako all-terrain vehicle that's hard to navigate in certain terrains. As we noted in our review, the remastered games feature refined handling and aiming, as well as a less erratic cover mechanic. Levels and across-the-galaxy jumps also load more quickly than in the original games.
In addition to Mass Effect Legendary Edition, the 30-plus free titles for Prime Day also include Grid Legends, the Grid franchise entry released in 2021. The racing game will give you access to more than 100 vehicles from the start and has over 250 events you can participate in. If you're a racing game fan, you can also get Need for Speed Heat, which was released in 2019 and was the first EA title to offer cross-play between gaming systems. Finally, if you're a shooting game fan, take note that the list also includes three Star Wars games, namely Jedi Knight — Jedi Academy,Jedi Knight II — Jedi Outcast and Republic Commando. You can download all the aforementioned games for free if you're a Prime subscriber.
Early Prime Day deals keep popping up as we get close to the two-day shopping event, and this time they discount the Chromecast with Google TV by $10. You can pick up the streaming device for $40 right now, which is a return to its record low. Not only does this gadget give you access to services like Netflix, YouTube TV and others, but it also supports classic casting from your smartphone and other devices.
The latest Chromecast came out in 2020, but it remains a great option for those who already rely on the Google Assistant or those who prefer the Android TV ecosystem. Like most streaming devices in this price range, it supports 4K HDR content as well as Dolby Vision and Atmos. It's just as easy to install as other streaming dongles, but one of the best things about it is its voice remote. That makes it much easier to navigate the Android TV interface, and it has a voice button that you can press when you want to search for content using voice commands.
When you're not binge-watching your favorite show, you can also use the Chromecast with Google TV to turn your set into something like a huge smart display (sans touch capabilities). Using Assistant commands, you can ask the Chromecast to display forecasts on your TV, show live feeds from compatible security cameras and control smart lights and other accessories. We also like that it supports Ambient Mode, which lets you display Google Photos on your TV when you're not actively using it.
Samsung’s next Galaxy S series phone could mark the end of an era. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the company is likely to single-source the processor for its next S series flagship from Qualcomm. That would be a significant departure for Samsung. Over the years, the company has used both Snapdragon and Exynos SoCs in its flagship phones.
The model you got would depend on where you lived. In the US, Galaxy S and Note series phones have exclusively come with Qualcomm chips, much to the envy of Samsung customers in Europe and Asia. In the past, in nearly every situation where Samsung has offered both Snapdragon and Exynos variants of its phones, the former have either outperformed the company’s in-house chips or provided better battery life. Qualcomm processors tend to also offer a more stable experience when it comes to apps and games.
(1/3) 1. Qualcomm will likely be the sole processor supplier for Samsung Galaxy S23 (vs. 70% shipment proportion for S22) thanks to the next flagship 5G chip SM8550 made by TSMC 4nm.
Kuo suggests that reality has become too hard for Samsung to ignore. “S23 may not adopt Exynos 2300 made by Samsung 4nm because it can’t compete with SM8550 in all aspects,” he wrote on Twitter, referring to the next flagship chips from both Samsung and Qualcomm. Kuo adds such a decision would further cement Qualcomm’s dominance in the Android market.
What all of that could mean for the future of Samsung’s Exynos brand is hard to say. The company spent years working with AMD to design and create the Galaxy S22’s Exynos 2200, only for that chip to run into many of the same issues that affected its predecessors. In April, Samsung Mobile president TM Roh reportedly told employees the company was working on a chipset that would be “unique” to Samsung smartphones but didn’t elaborate on how that component would be different from the company’s existing Exynos designs.
Ford has issued a recall for certain 2020 to 2022 model Corsair, Escape and Maverick hybrid vehicles over concerns that they could catch fire. According to UPI, the recall affects 100,689 vehicles in the US, all with 2.5-liter hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric engines. The automaker told the news agency that in the event of an engine failure, the affected vehicles could release a significant amount of engine oil and fuel vapor. Both substances could then accumulate near the vehicles' ignition sources and cause a fire under the hood or melt the components inside.
Ford said engine failures involving the recalled vehicles are caused by isolated manufacturing issues. The company added it hasn't received any reports of injuries or accidents associated with the problems that compelled it to issue a recall. The automaker has already notified dealers about its decision, and owners are slated to be notified by August 8th. Dealers will fix recalled vehicles when owners turn them in by modifying their under-engine shields and active grille shutters.
Last month, Ford also recalled 49,000 Mach-E EVs, citing concerns about the possibility of their high-voltage battery connectors overheating. In that particular case, the issue could prevent the vehicle from starting or cause them to lose propulsion power while on the road. Unlike the hybrid vehicles that have to be physically modified, the recalled Mach-Es only need an over-the-air software update that Ford rolled out a few days ago to fix the issue.
Starlink has launched a ruggedized version of its dish for boats, ships and yachts, merely a few days after the FCC gave it permission to provide internet service to vehicles. The satellite internet provider says Starlink Maritime can deliver up to 350 Mbps download speeds while at sea, which isn't bad at all for boats that didn't have an internet connection to begin with. However, it doesn't come cheap: The hardware alone will set customers back $10,000, which they have to pay for up front.
The service itself costs $5,000 a month, though like Starlink for RVs, customers can pause it when it's not in use. They can choose which billing cycle to begin their pause, but they'll still have to pay for the full month whenever they switch the service on. In comparison, the residential Starlink setup's hardware costs only $599, while the service costs $110 a month.
SpaceX chief Elon Musk explained on Twitter that Starlink Maritime's antennae differ from their residential counterpart. They're "dual, high performance terminals," he said, and have the power to maintain connection in choppy seas and heavy storms. The terminals were also designed to be able to withstand "relentless salt spray [and] extreme winds [and] storms." Musk said SpaceX has been paying $150,000 a month for "a much worse connection" on its ships.
No, it’s dual, high performance terminals, which are important for maintaining the connection in choppy seas & heavy storms.
Still obv premium pricing, but way cheaper & faster than alternatives.
SpaceX was paying $150k/month for a much worse connection to our ships!
The Starlink Maritime page also mentions that the service allows you to connect from the most remote waters across the world, but it's worth noting that its coverage area is still limited. At the moment, it will only work in the coastal waters of the USA (not including Alaska), Europe (except most of Norway, Sweden and Finland), Australia, Brazil, Chile, most of the southern part of Australia and New Zealand. Starlink is expected to roll out connectivity to more locations in the fourth quarter of 2022 and next year.
SpaceX has long had plans to connect moving vehicles to the Starlink network and even previewed a ruggedized dish for boats and planes way back in 2021. It's only just a few days ago, though, when the Federal Communications Commission authorized a new class of terminals for the satellite internet service "to meet the growing user demands that now require connectivity while on the move."
